Left Shark and the Lexicon

At the beginning of the month, people everywhere sat in front of their newly bought, over expensive televisions and watched three hours of commercials, and in the middle of it all, a football game broke out.  Which saved the day, because without the Super Bowl, and Half-Time show, the world would have taken a collective Prozac because they were all depressed.  I've never seen a Super Bowl with commercials that inept, nor commercial and business advisers get nearly every idea wrong.  It was a malaise of social consciousness and utter failure.  It will be a miracle if Nationwide gets a positive ad campaign going in the next 6 months because of that one commercial.

Which is why, however exciting the game was, it was Katy Perry who saved the Super Bowl, and more specifically, Left Shark who should have driven off in the car (along with Malcolm Butler, who eventually did get it) that Tom Brady received.  There's so few times in pop culture when a term can be instantly inserted into the lexicon of idioms and sayings.  The presence of cable TV and the Internet makes it all the more possible, however, and it goes without saying that, while the Super Bowl will be forgotten in years to come, if you say "Left Shark," people will know what you are talking about and what it means.

Left Shark: A person or thing that is slightly out of sync, doing its own thing, out of step with the rest of the world. The person or thing named as such may be intentional or accidental. Something that

Thoreau would call "marching to the beat of a different drum." The Antonym for this is, of course, Right Shark, someone or something that is following along the proscribed procedures or directions.

It's amazing, that for all the technical marvels done with the Halftime Show, with things that come straight out of a Olympic Opening Ceremony, very little of it is actually talked about.  The lion Perry rode was astounding! Made me think of an old Magic: the Gathering card... but I digress.  What is talked about, probably more than anything except the last minute of the game itself, is the Left Shark's dance moves, or lack thereof.  It made me think about other sayings popped into the cultural lexicon during events such as this.

I thought to myself when hearing about Katy Perry performing the Halftime Show that, if a "wardrobe malfunction occurred, it might well be fatal."  This is due to fireworks coming out of her jumblies on her "Firework" music video.  The term "wardrobe malfunction," of course, comes from a fateful Halftime Show some years ago where Janet Jackson's breast was exposed after part of the costume was removed by Justin Timberlake.  Now the term is used whenever clothing is worn that accidentally exposes parts of the anatomy that is not normally supposed to be seen.

Then there is the term "sidebar," which everyone glued to the proceedings of the O.J. Simpson trial (not surprisingly also dealing with football, to a degree) learned was a conversation had by Judge Ito and the head lawyers in such a manner that the jurors could not hear what was being said without them having to leave the courtroom.  Now, of course, you can say, "that was just sidebar," meaning any conversation or happening that occurs outside of the normal routine of things.

Of course, there are countless sayings from movies and TV shows, but I was thinking about things that happened live, where the introduction to the idiom was instantaneous throughout the country. Can't think of any others at the moment.... how about you???

Replacement Refs and President Obama

So the replacement referees for the NFL goofed one up and cost the Green Bay Packers the game.  And so there were many backdoor meetings where things happened, and phone calls were made, and who knows what, and now the regular referees are now there to make games go as they normally would.  Great. But the damage is much more than just one game or a deal made by the NFL.  We have seen how people react with substitute refs., just as much as substitute teachers in high school.  Authority becomes useless when given to people that cannot demand respect.  This goes for sports especially.  If we have learned that replacement refs have no authority, by what means do we give regular refs that same authority?  Would the foundations of sports games be torn down just because we don't want to honor the social contract given to the people that regulate the game?  Football players, and even the spectators, have agreed upon the rules (else we wouldn't watch the game), giving the refs or umpires or the guys in black and white the ability to organize the game and enforce the rules, by however means necessary.  In an ideal world, the players themselves should follow the rules and no officials would be needed.  There are some instances where this happens.  Self-reporting in Golf, for instance.  In those cases, the act of what should be normal is heralded as supreme sportsmanship.  In most cases, it's get away with whatever you can to win the game and hope you don't get caught.

Obviously, we can take this beyond the realm of sports.  We must respect those who are put in positions of authority above us.  I might have thought that some of my former managers were jerks and idiots, but they had the position to run the store, to sign paychecks, and to hire and fire, and so they must be given that ability.  Now, there are different levels of that respect.  I am talking about the most basic adherence to the social contract that we enter into when we are hired into a job.  We have to accept the hierarchy inside the company.  Genuine respect, of which I have had with most of my managers.  The kind that makes me work hard and passionately wish that our store would succeed, that is earned by the leadership of those above me.  This goes for the people running our government.  Like Mitt Romney did in the debate a week ago, he acknowledged the power and position of President Obama, even while he vehemently disagreed with him.  If we don't agree with the social contract, or the people that are put in place because of it (in this case, the Constitution, the rules of our Government), we have the privilege and responsibility to either change the contract (which is hard) or change the people elected (which is much easier).  No matter who is there as Congressman, Senator, or President, you have to respect that position, no matter who is there.

This takes me back to the Replacement Refs and Substitute Teachers.  If you respect the position of the Referee and the Teacher, then those people who are put in place of the regulars should be given the same respect and obedience as those substituting.  But if they aren't given that, it says much about the respect for those in authority in the first place.  We have to be concerned when the even most basic power structure in our country breaks down because no one acknowledges the social contracts that are established.  If teachers, the police, judges, lawmakers, aren't respected, then what makes even more basic contracts secure?  If even parents are no longer respected, then the result is chaos and anarchy, loosed upon the world.  Far more important than complying with a Pass Interference call, but the idea is exactly the same.

Tim Tebow and Symbol Drain

 It's astonishing the ways in which Sports and Faith intertwine.  The Biography section in Lifeway, where I work currently, is stocked full of books about the lives of Tony Dungy, Jeremy Lin, Kurt Warner...etc... These are men who have excelled in the highest levels of athletic competition, and yet they are quick to acknowledge Christ as the source of their strength.  They have tons of admirers, and the countless people who they may have helped convert to Christianity are more important than any championship they may have won. One could easily argue there is no greater symbol of the Christian Faith today, than that of former Florida Gator, and former Denver Bronco Quarterback Tim Tebow. In relation to my previous blog, Tebow has garnered the anti-religious group into a well constructed "symbol drain" to trivialize the praying warrior.

This isn't "Atheists against Tebow." If we are to put a religious context in the fate of Tebow Time, Satan works in subtle ways, as well.  The main threat that Tebow has toward those who are fans of football is that he brings forth numbers that make no sense. He is the opposite of every empirically derived statistic that has been formed about football.  How can a quarterback throw for only 2 passes, and somehow still win the game?  And when he wins his first Playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, in a game that lasted 3:16, throwing for an amazing 316 yards (think John on this) it's impossible to think that some supernatural force is at work with his gameplay.  Tebow has done this all his playing career, and it will be interesting to see how he manages in New York (the parallel of sending Jonah to Nineveh.) Most sports fans, John Elway probably included, can't understand the skewing of numbers from what is normal to something totally out of the ordinary. It goes against every bit of sports science they knew. In fact, it goes against the idea that science, numbers, technology, is supposed to be the answer for everything. Tebow is a threat to the status quo so anyone who doesn't understand the work of God behind his play, wants to see him fail.

Again, this wasn't done by some direct assault, but rather   through what Neil Postman called Symbol Drain.  I call it "Symbol Inflation," but it's the same thing. You make the target funny, inconsequential, irrelevant.  And there were many ways of doing this. First, and most important, the idea of "Tebow Time," and the man itself must be clearly made into a symbol. Tebow himself gave them the answer as he prayed after each miraculous touchdown. In a pose that is now called "Tebowing," the kneeling stance became a symbol of everything Tebow stood for. But as it became a phenomenon, mostly through the usage of Youtube (one of the most influential Media ever created for instant manipulation of any Message), everyone started Tebowing. It became a fad, like "Planking," to kneel "as if praying" and record it in a photo or a Youtube video. The crucial part of this action, however, is that the meaning of the act, in reverence to God, was totally wiped away. It became just a motion, bereft of any prayerful attitudes. This culminated with the Jimmy Fallon impression of Ziggy Stardust/Tim Tebow singing a parody of "Major Tom". In the end, he sings, "Everyone out there Tebow," and Fallon, as Ziggy Stardust, "Tebows," and the crowd goes crazy. In this act, Tebow is trivialized, as are the principles by which he lives his life. Christianity goes by the wayside.

Fortunately, Tebow has refused to do very many talk shows, probably because he knows that any interview will further trivialize his message. But that doesn't stop the Paparazzi from taking pictures of Tebow whenever they can.  In New York, he was spotted having a manicure, and so they took a picture and spread it far and wide, comparing the new Jets QB to the arrogance of Joe Namath, but without the star playing power.  It will continue to happen, and Tebow will be ridiculed and trivialized all throughout the media. Let us hope that his Message is stronger than their Medium. Since it is God's Message, it has to be.

4th and 1

Ah, the Playoffs... to quote Jimmy Mora, "Playoffs??"  It's been a season of heart-pounding excitement and mind-numbing boredom.  Seeing the Atlanta Falcons only scoring 2 points, I learned some things about this sport of 20th century gladiators.  There is nothing... NOTHING... more that spurs the adrenalin of a football fan more than the words, "Fourth and One"  Especially when they're close to the red zone.  It's like you can smell the carnage... a whole 6 points, if only the QB would just lean forward and pass the ball over that one yard.  So simple, right?  The emotion of the game takes over, heartbeats speed up to dangerous limits, and the coach has to make a decision, faced with the ridicule of the fans if he kicks a field goal (and gets 3) or goes for it and misses.  It's a chess move with sometimes the whole season on the line.  And so, Mike Smith, faced with a 4th and 1 in Overtime against New Orleans, goes for it, and falls short.  Saints Win.  However, in the recent Saints game with the Lions, they go on 4th down and make it every time.  So it's a toss up.

It's just like playing Price is Right.  There are rules for playing any game on there that will increase your odds of winning the most money.  But they don't.... they go with their emotions, risk it all, and more than likely, they wind up losing.  For example, on "Temptation," always take the prizes.  Or on "Cover Up," it's a very smart move to purposely pick the wrong number on the first row in order to get another chance down the line to win the car.  But these things never happen (it's also why I'd never get picked on the show.).  You go with your emotions, and you might win, or not.  But the smart thing is to go by what will work.

For instance, 1st Quarter, no score, you're on the 23 yard line, ready to score, but you get stopped, so it's 4th and 1.  Kick. The. Field. Goal.  Get points however you can, because those points could mean the difference in the game later on.  Now, if it's 4th quarter and you're down 21, that's a different story.  But Coach Smith went for it, and it didn't work....twice... that was 6 points, which might have made a difference had Drew Brees not gone touchdown crazy later.

When it comes to 4th and 1, the issue, ultimately, is trust.  Trust in the entire football team to execute the plays as practiced and to perform at the top level of their sport.  And it's the trust of the spectators that the coach will execute the plays necessary to provide a win, to justify the revenue that has been shelled out to spend three hours of one's life watching people run a ball up and down the field.  Without trust, all games that we call "sports" would be moot.  It wouldn't be worth watching.  In the situation of 4th and 1, there are 4 issues of trust that arise.

First, there's the trust that the offensive line can achieve the one yard needed to continue the drive.  Mike Smith went for it, mistakenly confident that the offensive line could force the defensive line of the Saints back three feet so that Matt Ryan could basically fall forward and get the 1st down.  It didn't work, and the issue here is that the O-Line needs improvement. The other option Ryan had was to either hand it off to Turner (which would have failed), or throw it to any of the Wide Recievers (who had been dropping the catches all day) or to Throw it to consistently reliable Tony Gonzales, who, for some reason, had only ONE catch that whole day.

Second, there's the trust that the defense can stop the other team's offense in case the 4th and 1 play doesn't work.  There shouldn't have been any trust in the case of the Falcons/Saints game because there are very few defenses (outside the 49ers, obviously) that can stop Drew Brees.  Or, Mike Smith should have realized that if they punted on 4th and 1, Brees would have scored easily anyway, so it was more justified to go for it and keep Brees on the sidelines.  Except that didn't happen.

Then there's the lack of trust in the Kicker.  Someone needs to get Morten Anderson and Vinateri together and hold a practice session for Field Goal Kickers, because every game I've watched this year has been woefully lacking in reliable FG kickers.  It could be that the ascendance of Soccer in the United States as a popular sport has drawn the FG kickers away from Football.  Or it could be that drafting other players, such as WR or QBs becomes more important than the FG kickers who score more points than any other person on the team (that was sarcasm). But most likely, I think that the lack of FG kickers is based upon the treatment that kickers get in any level of football.  Even Payton Manning referred to Adam Venateri as "that idiot kicker" when he missed one.  They face ridicule and name calling every time they miss a goal, and with the rise of social media, it just gets worse.  Reminds me of the U2 video for "Stuck in the Moment." Why would anyone want to be a kicker in Football and have to face those issues?  I wouldn't. Also, the kicker doesn't get to tackle someone, to lay out all their aggression and primal instincts into flattening another player on the ground.  It is a position that says, "We give up." They are a white flag, a surrender sign.  And sometimes coaches don't want to call the white flag onto the field.  Of course, there are exceptions, the 1999 St. Louis Rams, for instance.  Late in the season, the Field Goal kicker became injured, so "The Greatest Show On Turf" simply went for it every time, and with the offensive weapons they had (Faulk, Warner....etc.), they made it consistently.

Lastly, there's the unique position that every team playing the Chicago Bears have.  Namely, that, if they punt the ball, it will fall into the hands of Devin Hester, which I have talked about at length prior.  Hester would, on any given runback, achieve as many yards as the kick was, or potentially run into the end zone for a Touchdown.  It's much better, field position-wise, to go for a 4th and 1 and not make it than to kick it to Devin Hester and risk a Special Teams touchdown.

In the end, the Falcons lost the game with the Saints, and then in the playoffs with the Giants, and now let us hope that the team practices 4th and 1 for at least an hour each practice.  And give the ball to Gonzales, for Pete's sake.  He just got a one year, $7 million dollar extension. Make it worth your money.  And reevaluate your trust in your team.  The real trust, not that based on emotion and gambling, but that based on the logic and reason of knowing the strengths of the team and using them.  And if that's not enough, go get the right players during the off season (which means the Offensive Line) and we'll try it again next year.  Punt, and let's go at it again.   

Strength in America

This weekend, as I sit at home, unemployed, and watch football, a thought comes to me, something that I heard Rush Limbaugh say a week or so ago.  When times are tough, when disaster strikes and the courage of people is tested, it is sports, specifically Football, that we turn to as a method of escape.  When Brett Farve lost his father suddenly, he turned to his Green Bay team and produced what, to me, was the greatest individual performance I have ever seen on that field.  Michael Jordan did the same thing when he was with the Bulls.  And I think there's something more to it than just escape, but first I'll include Rush's transcript of that program:

 RL: Sunday Night Football had their best opening night ratings-wise in 15 years, a series high for Sunday Night Football last night. // Thursday night, the opener was near record highs for NBC on the season opener of the NFL. Tonight the Republicans have a debate up against Monday Night Football, and the game they are going up against is the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins. Now, I'm gonna tell you, there's a reason why these numbers for football are so high. Look, Obama clearly has people hungering for an escape. But television's on every night. And television's not drawing these kinds of numbers every night. But the National Football League is, and I think, A, it's new, it's not a rerun, it's drama, it's unscripted, it's genuine reality TV. Everything on television's fake and fraud and phony now. Even reality TV is scripted.

But sports, whether it be football or baseball, it's unknown, it's drama, and the only people that can screw it up are the announce crews. But in the case of football, what is the thing about football? It is power. It is strength. I believe that watching football is nostalgic for people. I believe that it helps people remember what America is. It helps people remember what America was. There's nothing different about football this year than from last year and in previous years. We have had some rule changes, the number of superstars spread out the league and so forth. I think there's a mad desire to escape from what this country has become, and the horror each and every day of having to live through whatever policy or plan President Obama has for people. There is a genuine unsettledness or worse, and sports has always been an escape, but never more so than now, and in the case of football, power, strength and a nostalgic reminder of what the country is.

 We've lost what was strong in this country.  We see glimpses of it, every now and again, when Captain Scully lands his plane in the Hudson River, or when Seal Team Six takes out Bin Laden deep into Pakistan.  There are times when we are reminded of the things that makes America such a fantastic place to live in.  But I don't think its necessarily heroes that bring us strength.  I mentioned an advertisement a while back,

,

from Jeep, that I immediately loved, because it had to do with the strength of American workers, building, making. Artists have sculpted that strength, poets have written about it, authors have written words that soak the skin with sweat and desire to see the glowing beam of steel out of the fire and watch it molded into something that we will use. And while there have been magnificent works of mankind made all throughout time and countries, only here in America should those things me made by all of us, with our dreams made real by our drive to succeed. There should be no government to regulate who realizes our dreams, and who must wait in line for meager livings. And yet, there are people who sit atop the skyscrapers which have been constructed from our minds, and they make millions of dollars simply by flicking a switch on a computer, guaranteeing loans that were never there, driving the lot of us bankrupt, whose vices are greed without self-regulation. Or there are people who, instead of using their time and effort into making this country better, would protest outside of buildings in an action that will clearly make no difference other than give the media something to spread throughout the world at how unstable America is. Let the masses linger in the streets and undo the very thing that they are protesting for. Let them go back to their homes, and educate themselves, through colleges and trade centers, to produce something, to make America what it was once so long ago. Walt Whitman:

The butcher-boy puts off his killing-clothes, or sharpens his knife at the stall in the
market,
I loiter enjoying his repartee and his shuffle and breakdown.
Blacksmiths with grimed and hairy chests environ the anvil,
Each has his main-sledge . . . . they are all out . . . . there is a great heat in the fire.

From the cinder-strewed threshold I follow their movements,
The lithe sheer of their waists plays even with their massive arms,
Overhand the hammers roll—overhand so slow—overhand so sure,
They do not hasten, each man hits in his place.

The negro holds firmly the reins of his four horses . . . . the block swags underneath
on its tied-over chain,
The negro that drives the huge dray of the stoneyard . . . . steady and tall he stands
poised on one leg on the stringpiece,
His blue shirt exposes his ample neck and breast and loosens over his hipband,
His glance is calm and commanding . . . . he tosses the slouch of his hat away from
his forehead,
The sun falls on his crispy hair and moustache . . . . falls on the black of his polish'd
and perfect limbs.

I behold the picturesque giant and love him . . . . and I do not stop there,
I go with the team also.
...

Oxen that rattle the yoke or halt in the shade, what is that you express in your eyes?
It seems to me more than all the print I have read in my life. (from http://whitmanarchive.org/published/LG/1855/whole.html, page 20)

Should strength lie only in the hammer and the frame, in the chrome outlinings of automobiles and the laden steel of tracks on which the trains run across the fields? I doubt that, for the strength that America has also remains in the hearts of its people, in the families that live together, striving to make it one meal to the next. But that too is slipping. When men leave and women neglect and suddenly the children are left to themselves, without the guidance of those that brought them into the world, where is the strength then? We must look to those who have it, those who are seen on the television every night performing acts of sheer will and determination. We see it in the quarterback who defiantly throws the football into the hands of the Wide Receiver even though he knows a Defensive Lineman is coming towards him. (And while were on the subject, that is the job he is paid millions of dollars to do, to provide that semblance of steadfastness in the face of getting knocked unconscious. To complain about the referees afterwards at the press meetings, like Mike Vick has done, and others have mentioned in recent weeks, is the downfall of the sport. It relegates the sport of football to the hideous realm of politicians standing outside the Capitol whining about not getting anything done. Find the clip of then Marshall QB Leftwich being carried down the field as he cannot walk to complete a game winning drive when the season was on the line. Or Tony Romo, just this year, playing with a fractured rib and a punctured lung, to come back and win against the 49ers. People are flocking to NFL games because it provides people with something that the other television shows on now cannot. The reality shows and the sit-coms provide us with weak fathers who would rather drink at bars or be incompetent, or men who would rather double-cross or whine at a camera about how unfair the reality game is. May they get voted out first. The tribe has called, they want warriors. This is why the NFL is so successful every night. It is also why Romo is so criticized when he does the stupid things he often does to lose games.

I see people walking Pit Bulls down the street almost daily, and I wonder, what makes that breed so special above all the other breeds? I've realized that, even accepting the violent behaviors that come with Pit Bulls, and the maulings that are often shown by the media, those dogs are the symbol of strength to a lot of people. We seek strength in everything that we own, in all that we do, we search for those things that we can rely upon. Those things that make us safe at night, no matter how dangerous it might be. A neighborhood gang? A gun in the drawer beside the bed? A Pit Bull sleeping in the hallway? Any of those things might be risky, but all of them provide a certain sense of comfort, knowing that they are there. It is the sense a lover has when the comforting arms of his or her partner are enclosed around them at night. And we would seek for that protection no matter what the cost or risk. To be safe, to find strength in those things around us, that is what America is searching for, and unfortunately, human beings find that strength in exactly the wrong places.

Post World War I, with the economy in collapse and the destruction widespread, the people of Germany looked for a leader to bring them back to European prominence. And while the sudden rise of Hitler is the most extreme example, it is certainly true that hanging onto those with strength, even at the risk of getting hurt, is a very bad idea. The strength should come from within, with ones own hands and minds. We must rely on ourselves to see us through the hard times, so that when the lighter times come, we should be stronger for it. We then will throw the touchdown, or construct the buildings that will tower above cities. Then we will solve the worlds problems, from the mysteries of space travel to the exploration of the tiniest bodies and dimensions. Should we be kept from this, I know of nothing that will keep us from continuing our slide towards mediocrity. When all the courage we can muster is to check our bank accounts every morning and then watch football at night, that's pretty bad. The n our roads would turn to dust, our train tracks rust away, and the buildings that we had once so handily constructed be turned into dust as well, leaving those cherished memories and people to pass away.

Football: Like Rain on your Wedding Day...

San Francisco gets to enjoy the hullabaloo of being a National Champion city, with the Giants winning the World Series. Something they've not done since the last time the 49er's won the Super Bowl. I loved the status message that one of my friends posted, who lives in the area, that the city of cupcake and wine shops proves it can be one step away from being Detroit (who has problems with crowd control whenever the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup.) I thought it funny. Anyway...

It's the irony of sports that caught my attention, especially those involving Football, although it can be other sports as well. Take for instance, a couple of years ago when the Celtics won the NBA Title Game. Earlier that playoff season (and it's amazing that their playoff season can last almost as long as the season itself), the Celtics were taken down to the wire by the Atlanta Hawks, who were finally defeated in Game 7. But to us, it was good that the Celtics won the Title that year because the Hawks had been much more competitive than the Lakers had, who they beat in 6 games. It's not so much losing in the playoffs that hurts, but rather who you lost too. The Braves this year feel better having been beaten by the Giants, who won the World Series, than the Yankees, who were beaten by the Rangers. Course, there's always more complexities when we talk about the Yankees in baseball than almost any other team.

And this is true in almost every sport, except, and this is noticeable, in College Football, where there is no playoff system, but rather an opinionated ranking system where, usually, someone is left out, and angry. And that's okay. When talking about sporting events, there is nothing that will bring up such ire and support as the current Bowl system for College Football. The BCS. Even just saying the name will evoke visceral responses from people. Whole books have been written on the subject. And yet it still brings the excitement of watching every football game on TV every Saturday (and now most weekdays) until the end of the season. The reasonings, I found, are most interesting.

In a Playoff system, while each game played effects the win-loss record of the team, the games themselves, while entertaining, aren't really all that important. Why should I care if the Kansas Basketball gets beaten by Po Dunk U at the beginning of the season. They're still going to get to the Tournament, and more than likely get to the Final 4. But if Kansas gets beaten by, say, South Dakota State, in Football... that's it. It's done. Over. See ya later! Every game is extremely important to the overall postseason hopes of the school. Especially when it comes to the BCS and the National Championship. You've heard this all before, I know. But all this importance on each and every game has much more impact on the mighty dollar than perhaps any other sport.

Take, for instance, the much talked about match up between Boise State and Virginia Tech early this season. I could have cared less, having come from Oklahoma (well, now, I'm actually biased, since Oklahoma got killed by Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl some years ago...), the game really didn't matter that much to me, or wouldn't have, if the NCAA FBS system were playoff based. The actual importance of that game made the whole country watch. Virginia Tech fans sprouted up all over the country, because there were a great many schools across the nation that wanted to see Boise State lose. It didn't happen. But what happened the next week was just as satisfying, but in a totally different scenario. The next Saturday, VaTech played FCS (1-AA) team James Madison. And lost!! That did as much to hurt Boise state in the rankings as a loss the week before. A game that would make no difference to anyone normally suddenly became the talk of the sports world, all because there are no playoffs in college football.

So there is a monetary benefit to everyone by not having playoffs in college football, but rather this totally opinionated, totally biased method of picking teams. And the other sports have something similar, something to make us all watch every single game and be enthralled by the physical acts of the players. Fantasy Football. My brother is quite good in his fantasy football games, and it makes him watch games he wouldn't normally just to see how his players perform on the field. This is why fantasy football is such a ginormous business, with hundreds of magazines, TV shows, websites...etc... all covering this cyber-based past time. As for me, myself, I would rather just watch the games for what they are, to see the performances of athletes at the peak of human endurance and fitness. And to see the violence, the brutal clashing of players as their anger, and ours along with it, is transferred from padding to padding. They are our gladiators, our Roman Adonises (that, coincidentally, are either built like an Adonis or just the opposite, fat walls of meat that protects the ball.), our heroes in a battle (war metaphor again) in which there is no death, but maybe some injuries, but that's it. And I'll watch every game I can, and prepare for the days of spring when we must wait for months until the great game of Football, and the controversy, will begin again.

Football: Something has to Give

Let's take football and deconstruct it.  Lay it bare upon the field between the goal posts and see what lies inside the ball, and the player's need to drive it down the field toward some imaginary line.  Let's take all the violence of the game, the hitting of tanks against each other resulting in concussions and long term mental conditions, and let's reduce it to the basics of human nature.  Take apart the game itself, and you are left with mankind, with a man himself, and the insatiable desire to be victorious.  The coach says, "Winning is everything."  Such words could never be more true in the minds of man. 

I once quoted a blog dealing with Tribalism and Football by a John Stonger, from a blog site called Heretical Ideas.  The website is no longer there, of course. Such is the effervescent nature of the Internet, where ideas come and go, flickering like a candle flame until it is blown out when someone can't pay their bill.  Good articles shouldn't just be deleted (I have all my blogs printed out on paper twice at least, so that it won't be electronically destroyed.) But I digress... 
Basically, it says that, someplace in the subconscious region of our brain, we retain the tribal instincts of our ancestors.  Like animals, we recognize the idea of the Alpha Male and Alpha Female.  That even in this society, there are always people who are better than others, stronger, faster, smarter, and those should fight to reach the top.  And this happens every day, from the financial world to the political one. Although now days we're not talking about using clubs or, in the case of my brother's cats, claws and teeth, to best one another.  We have reached a point where victory is one of mental power, of financial success.  But still we like to see the power of brute physical strength triumph over those who are like-built.  It's been this way for a while, from the Ancient Greeks and their Olympics, to the Roman Coliseum, to today's professional sports. Even in Meso-America, where soccer games meant the winner was a hero, and the loser was sacrificed to the Gods.  It's not so different today (the loser, or the manager of the losing team, usually gets roasted on the Internet and then fired from their job.) than hundreds of years ago.  As I've said in previous postings, the modern day Football player is no different from the Gladiators of Ancient Rome.  Well, except for in Rome, the Lions usually won. 

We like seeing people succeed in sports, breaking records, claiming victory over those much larger than they are... but we also like to see them fall.  The gladiator of Rome would become a hero to those after a Farve-like performance, but there was a certain satisfaction in seeing the loser, well, die or get eaten by some ferocious animal.  We want to see the quarterback get sacked.  Those who are pleasant and civilized are suddenly wanting the Defensive Backs to break a QB's arms.  Violence is wished upon to other humans, and in this case, it's perfectly legal and even encouraged.

The ironic thing is that, at least in the Pros, this happens mostly on Sundays.  The Bible tells us to be humble, to "turn the other cheek," to forgive our enemies.  Then we go home (or to Applebee's) and cheer at the TV when someone gets knocked unconscious by a devastating tackle.  Society has in its very essence a desire to be non-violent, and it does so by having outlets for violence to occur in highly regulated, specific ways.  Thus, sports are a needed and healthy part of today's world.  A recent book on the matter of violence in Football calls it A War without Death.  It makes sense to use the "war" metaphor when talking about football (go to Youtube and find George Carlin's act on Baseball vs. Football). 
So it comes as no surprise, given the situation, to find that ESPN's NFL PrimeTime show, prior to the Monday Night game, took off its "Jacked Up" section, where they showed the most vicious hits of the week, and replaced it with a "Com'On Man," where they complained about stupid things that happened that weekend. The former section was very popular, so it seemed odd to have it pulled. 

The reasoning is that with the current hype of helmet to helmet hits being investigated by the NFL and most media outlets, any type of untoward violence on the field, even the acts which we might find satisfying and entertaining, must be looked at.  Thus ESPN did the politically correct thing and eliminated a platform by which defensive players could be shown in a highlight reel.  Yet the vicious hits still are shown on replays and reels time and time again on Sportscenter and even in the games themselves.  So the media is both promoting and condemning such violent physical acts. 

I think Canton would be a good place for the media to go, see the players that are in the Hall of Fame that were originally inducted. Those that played many years ago, and see how we have evolved from light infantry players to heavily armored Abrams M1A1 Tanks.  The padding on the uniforms and the thickness of the helmets make each player a veritable battering ram, and the NFL has allowed this all to protect the player. 

Which is why the person with the best opinion on how to curtail concussions and violent tackles is Joe Paterno, who has lived through most of the modern football era.  His idea is to get rid of part of the helmet, the facemask, in order to change the psychological mindset of defensive players.  Troy Aikman said here that even getting rid of the helmets all together would eliminate such hard hits on the players.  Makes sense to me. 

In a time when such extreme punishments are given out for using performance enhancing drugs, football players become superhuman when they put on all the padding and the protection and the rock of a helmet and go play. But if football becomes a sport of pure human physical endurance, of psychological tricks and athletic ability, all this tanking of players isn't necessary. 

What else can be done to eliminate the injuries sustained in football?  Well, after making the humans more natural, let's make the field more natural.  Artificial turf is wonderful for domed stadiums for northern cities, but it has no give when you are plummeted down upon it.  If you hit the soft grass and mud, the impact will be absorbed somewhat.  Try doing that on plastic or concrete. 

Ultimately, however, the line from Airplane! fits this situation best. "They bought their tickets. They knew what they were getting into." Football players, when they accept the millions of dollars in payment for becoming gladiators for all of America to watch, know that they are going to become bruised, squashed, tackled, and probably injured along the way.  They know that, afterward, they will probably have lingering pains and problems on throughout life, but they accept the money  and the contract anyway.  And while the unfortunate mental conditions brought on by concussions can lead to abuse, suicide, even murder, in some respects, it is a risk that the player is taking when playing Football.  That having been said, the NFL should have the best health insurance in the world, using the finest of doctors to look after players after they retire.  It should be as the secret service is the President.  We all watch these men destroy themselves for the sake of our entertainment, and we agree with the paychecks they receive. We should give them the same respect and benefits after they leave the game and must face real life with the pains they have endured.  Something has to give.  It should be the padding, the playing field, and, ultimately, the NFL.

Observations on Attending a High School Football Game

It's odd, standing inside your own microcosm, glaring out into the world, onto the football stadium where once stood a collection of pine trees under which the students would sneak away and smoke their cigarettes.  My mom and I decided to attend the Heritage High School vs. Salem High football game on 8/27/10, and out of it came very interesting observations.  It would be a sociologists dream, to look upon the whys and wherefores of this unusual gathering of children, teenagers, adults...etc... to witness a sporting event that, I am convinced, very few people cared little about.  Or maybe that's just my opinion transferred to them.

First off, the paying of tickets.  $7.00 for adults, and probably less for the students (maybe $5?).  The adults pay for their seats (unless they stood), but I wonder, with all the students in the stadium, the ones not sitting in the student section with their shirts off and red white and blue paint slathered all over themselves, did they actually pay to get into the game?  Couldn't they have just hopped a fence, or circled around the baseball field or the like, to slip in and enjoy the general fracas without paying money?  I probably think so.  I don't think that students would have wanted to pay money just to see a football game that, no matter how much pride one takes in winning against a county rivalry (and believe me, that would be a lot), that the actual football game would be worth paying that much for.  Or if they did, was it more for the social aspect of the game as the game itself?

I observed a distinct lack of attention being centered on the football game, and more on the people around them.  It became a social event, with the eyes as much focused backward as forward, toward the bazillions of silly bands on people's wrists, or slyly looking at the short lengths of girls shorts (if you want to call them that), than what play was actually called on the field.  These students see each other in the school all the time, and with lunchtime and between classes (and in classes, in most cases), they should have a ton of time to socialize without having to come back to school on a Friday night to see some game.  Wouldn't it have been just as much fun hanging out outside the McDonald's with the cars and teenagers than going to a sporting event where they know there will be tons of police officers around?  And yet, there they all were, mostly jubilant, laughing, carrying on, and having a good time.  I guess it is my own lack of social skills that made me think that a football game was just that, something to witness and watch, not a social activity around which the noise of the game occasionally filtered.  

The adults were very little different, talking more to their friends and family around them than watching the game.  This, however, I understand.  That $7.00 is a fair price to pay to convene at a certain spot and socialize outside of work and home.  There are very few places in this world for adult men and women to socialize.  I think that is the overall pull of churches and bars, as they are places you can talk to people who are not your co-workers.  The people around you have similar interests, be it religion or wine, and can share opinions about those things.  Usually, even in church, it centers around sports.  The evaluations of the defense or offensive line, the criticism of the coaches and of the team in general.  All of this is routinely discussed while nursing a beer, or a Bible.  But at a High School Football game, aside from roast coach every now and again, the talk seems to center on the children, which college they are going to, what scholarships they have, and nevermind the marching band or the football game going on.  That they see the scoreboard and cheer at the appropriate times is enough. 

And then there was the rain.  The clouds that built ever so slowly as the game went on, during the pleasant warm, but not hot, summer evening.  Until, after the sun had set and the clouds were merely blocking the moon and stars, it started to rain.  Hard.  A brief outburst that had the effect of sending everyone that had not graduated yet into a fit of hysterics.  And not because they were getting wet, as they minded that very little.  It was, I think, because they could.  It was permissible to clog up the pathways out of the stadium, stampeding like so many cattle out to someplace where they would be no less dry, but so much more chaotic.  The push out of the stadium became like some contagious disease, but not met with fear, but with laughter.  They enjoyed trampling over each other to reach some unknown destination.  They yelled and screamed and undoubtedly cursed, but laughed and smiled while doing it.  It was almost as if they paid (or didn't) to ramble around in the stadium until that very moment, when the inevitable rainstorm would vomit them out, with a pressure and a rush that was expected, yet surprising at the same time.  My mom and I stayed in the stadium until it started lightning, and then we made the slow track around the high school back to our car.  Heritage, where I graduated from, won the game, 24-7, but only after a 90 minute lightning delay, and in front of an empty stadium, because everyone had gone home.

B&B: Basketball and Beelzebub

It's amazing what fits into a line of thought, so precipitous it was that game 7 of the NBA finals was played a couple of nights ago.  Lakers vs. Celtics, the classic, immortal battle of East Coast vs. West Coast.  And the Lakers won in a supposedly amazing comeback by Kobe Bryant.  As you can tell, I care nothing for basketball.  It's not my sport.  Give me the coliseum-like atmosphere of Jerry Jones' palace and a game of Football (that's American football to the people watching the linoleum peel in South Africa).  Football has so often been likened to the Ancient Roman sport of gladiatorial fighting, with two warriors fighting out to the death, or, when that got boring, watching Christians battle it out with the Lions. Real ones, not those in Detroit.  Cause the Lions usually won.  Or there have been the cases where Football has been compared to war, with terms of battle used in the game itself. Find George Carlin's comparison of baseball vs. football on youtube.  Carlin does an amazing job with this. 

There is a blog post, here, which deals with the "Tribalism" of football.  In short, football brings out the "violent tribal reservoir of the hindbrain", or the part of the sub-conscious mind that is wired toward domination, control, destruction.  John Stonger says that we attend sporting events such as football (hockey, wrestling, NASCAR) to see the destruction of another human being through the might and athletic ability of another.  There are teams to be sided on, and profit to be made by being on those teams.  It's the exaltation of mankind through the destruction of another.  And maybe this is taking it a little to extremes, but I think a comparison between tribal desires to raid other people's villages and the organized violence of football can be made.  I don't fully agree with Stonger's essay, or for those who commented below, all of which is worth reading, but I do see where winning and losing in sports can be compared with the forces that "Make" and "Unmake" our world.

 ***
As humans, we desire a sense of organization, of order, in our lives. Even as the world around us falls apart.  For example, take my room.  If I do nothing about my room, it will eventually become a pig sty.  This is because the natural order is for things to break down, for chaos to set in.  "The center cannot hold," as Yeats said.  Diane Duane, in her Wizard series, calls this Entropy, after the physics term in which a system breaks down given time and effects on a that system by friction, gravity, etc... It can also be termed "decay".  It makes sense, as only through decay and Entropy can new systems emerge, renewed.  If Las Vegas kept every resort and casino place ever made, those buildings would eventually crumble of their own making, because it is increasingly difficult to maintain a structure when the elements are continuously trying to break it down.  So the structures are torn down, and new buildings are made in their places.  Again, I digress...
***

Lets go back to the Laker/Celtics game.  The Lakers won, at home, and the spectators spilled out into the streets.  Revelatory (well, for those who were Laker fans), welling with pride for their city and for the athletes who had just been crowned the champions of their sport, most people went home.  Some however, decided that, in a drunken state, that the proper way to celebrate would be to destroy their own city.  Cars were burned, glass windows smashed, goods from store fronts looted.  Where is the pride from seeing those that represent your "tribe" conquer those from another?  You've just seen the best of mankind, athletically, and so now you are going to show us the worst possible behaviors as recompense? It makes no sense, that, after seeing the Creation of a champion team, people would want to spill out into the streets (most not coming from the arena, but rather from houses, bars, and back alleys) and Uncreate their city.  What force lies behind these actions? 

This happens far more often than one might think.  After important football games at the University of West Virginia, the sofas from the residential halls are routinely brought out into the campus and burned.  Most goal posts in football stadiums are now either retractable or easily removed, so that they cannot be broken down and destroyed by fans as they stampede onto the field after a game.  Granted, most of this happens with a generous amount of alcohol, but surely there has to be some underlying reason why, when a game is won, something has to be destroyed.  In a much more benign example, New York City has long had Ticker Tape parades whenever something major happens (from the Yankees winning the World Series, or the Astronauts coming back from the moon).  The symbolic throwing of paper from the windows is one of destroying records and useless files, and throwing them down upon the heads of heroes.  The same metaphoric idea takes place at Texas A&M with the lighting of the giant Bonfire prior to the Texas game. 

What is the motivation behind the riots in Los Angeles? I've been trying to figure this out. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the idea of Entropy, or "Unmaking," as an opposite force to Creation.  Do an image search for Los Angeles Laker riots, and you'll see many images of people happily acknowledging the act of destruction and mayhem throughout the city.  With their beer bottles and their cigarette lighters in one hand, and a cell phone in the other, they proudly take pictures of themselves in front of a burning car, and then post it on the Internet for the world to see (or at least, they are posing for reporters instead of hiding their faces since they did something illegal).  Is this simply a case of jealousy, a sarcastic message that says, "Wow, you made millions of dollars putting a ball into a hoop while I sit inside a miserable apartment with two kids and no money and a terrible job, and so I'll go out and make myself known to the world?"  Is it a barbaric need to pillage and burn, even your own city, after your "tribe" had conquered the neighboring one?  A misguided instinct brought on by materialism and the violence that wells up from the subconscious.  Honestly, I have no idea. 

I do know that if you look at news reports from June 2009, you'll see the exact same riots going on, since the Lakers won the NBA Championship last year, too.  You would think (and this is sidebar) that the LAPD would have expected such a thing to happen again, and brought out all of their forces to keep such a thing from happening.  If a riot is expected, at least try to stop it.  Unless it's more beneficial to have a riot take place in order to unwind pent up emotions from daily life.  Again, I don't know the answer. 

I do know that there are forces in this world that Create and Uncreate.  Orson Scott Card, in his Alvin the Maker series, has many discussions about the nature of the Unmaker.  He personifies the Unmaker as that of Satan, or as Diane Duane calls it, Death.  That most of us live our whole lives trying to promote building, creation, growth, there are some that would rather propagate destruction, decay, death.  (I looked at this before, October 22, 2007, in this post.) They not only want to destroy all that we have built, the glory of the moment, but they want us to watch them do it.  They want the attention that those who have Created something magnificent have.  They want the power that destroying something brings with it.  The terrorists of 9/11 thrive on it.  And if we forget, they will not hesitate but to send out another taped message, or send a suicide bomber to a busy marketplace in Baghdad.  And always there will be cameras to capture the carnage, and always the Unmakers will proudly claim responsibility.  "Look at us! We have Unmade what you have created!"

Next time, I want to take a look at the Unmakers more closely, at the ways that they "Unmake" a creation, from fame and fortune, to the physical manifestations of mankind.  Lets look more closely at the wind howling around the monument of Ozymandias, and see whether it was Entropy, or mankind's own desire for destruction, that made the desert swallow it whole.

Ozymandias, George Steinbrenner, and King Tut

So what happens after you die? No, I don't mean that. God can work that one out. What I mean is what happens physically and mentally after you die? To other people. You're dead, it doesn't matter about your toenails growing. I mean memories and memorials and whatnot. (There's a point to this, just go with it).

Most people have one of those grave thingees, with a marker, and a copper vase that'll get stolen and sold for drug money, and birth and death dates. (As for mine, I want a big gravestone that says, "He died as he lived with his mouth wide open." JK) Some people are famous enough to have bigger markers, or statues even. (Some people are even famous enough to have statues made of them while they are still alive...go fig.)

What I want to look at are the truly great monuments to former living people. The Indian royalty that so missed his wife that he built a palace to honor her. Most people know it as the Taj Mahal. Or the Pharoahs of Egypt, who for most of their incest-ridden lives, had slaves build giant pyramids to house their divine bodies after their souls had gone off with Osirus. So too were the temples in Palenque and Tikal in the Mayan civilization. And there are others. These kings had the wealth of the country or empire to do with whatever they wanted, and so they built giant tombs for themselves, as a monument that would stand forever after they were gone. A sign of immortality, especially during the days when life was so short.

What about modern times, though. Surely the need to be immortal didn't die out just because Christianity came along and now the saved will go to Heaven? We're just too materialistic for that. What makes us immortal here in the United States? Some timeless piece of entertainment, a song ("Imagine" by John Lennon comes to mind), a book, a movie. In a sense, those things that outlast the sands of time make those who were involved immortal in the minds of the people that live afterwards. Now, I'm not saying that people hundreds of years from now are going to be playing "Imagine," but you get the idea.

It's much like the conversation that Data had with Dr. Noonian Sung (sp?) in his lab. People cherish the past, the antiquity of their surroundings, because those people that are represented in those buildings, in those works of art and literature, have since become immortal, in a sense. This is a comfort to those of us that live today, in the thought that something of our lives would be kept to pass on to those who come after us. A book published, or a named highway, or an airport (ask kids today why it's called O'hare Airport in Chicago, or Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta. Bet you they don't know.)

I'm bringing this up because my mom was talking about how she was upset that they were tearing down Texas Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys since the early 1970's, and building a new facility in nearby Arlington, TX. She didn't understand why, if the building was still useable and popular, why people still didn't use it. After all, Wrigley field has been used for decades. It comes down, I think, to perception. When people look at Texas Stadium, they think of the Cowboys under Tom Landry. So enter Jerry Jones, present manager of the 'Boys and TO and Romo and all the others, and while the glory of the Cowboys under Aikman and Smith and Sanders was great, it's sorta lost its luster now. And Jerry's gettin' old (although he's lost weight, and looks better now than he did a couple years ago), so now it's come down to building a new stadium to attract the Super Bowl in a year or two. It worked, and Jones has said himself that when people look at the new stadium, he wants them to think of Jerry Jones. It's a monument to himself that will stand long after he's gone (or at least until another owner comes along that wants to outdo him.)

There's something about sports stadiums that makes them the Pyramids of America. George Steinbrenner just built a new "Yankee Stadium," at the time when the Yankees are losing their luster, and the once grand empire has now dwindled to jokes on late night talk shows. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if, far below the new Yankee stadium, there's a place where the coffin of George Steinbrenner will be laid to rest, someplace under the pitcher's mound, with all his trophies and awards. Just like King Tut.

I wonder, is it just the massively rich that can create monuments for themselves? At Georgia College in Milledgeville, after the new President got settled in (I don't remember her name, o the irony), she redid Saga (the lunchroom) with a new clock tower, and also made a tower with reflecting pool outside the dorms (getting rid of a parking lot to do it). Could these be but vain attempts to build something of herself on the campus? And what of the vanity of creating something, only to have been forgotten so little time afterward. A person truly worth remembering needs no monument, it is built within, in the hearts and minds of those who knew him or her.

Shelly's poem "Ozymandias" comes to mind, finally. That after generations have gone by, the monuments will fall to dust, and the people forgotten. They will say, "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings, Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" and yet the name will be as foreign and forgettable. So let us not build monuments to ourselves, but strive to build memories and love within the people that are around us, so that we will be remembered for the love that we gave, and not the stuff that we made.

The Fickle Finger of Farve

Last year, the NFL was in the throws of a Brett Farve Love-fest. He could do no wrong, he could play as long as he wanted to, his semi-god status had been well confirmed (and mostly deserved... he's done more than any other Football Quarterback has done, including Marino (who never won a Super Bowl) and most everyone else because he's never missed a game. NEVER. Think about it, he's been in the league for years and years, and it would be like going to school from K-12 and never missing a day. Absolutely amazing!)

So he retired, then un-retired, tried to force his way back on the Packers line-up, was rejected, then ultimately traded to the New York Jets where he is now doing his best Dan Marino impression...namely, playing like Farve of old for a game, then throwing three interceptions a game. What drives me nuts is the sportscasters who originally worshiped Farve now are saying he should have retired, and stayed there, because he's no good. But let's face it, Farve is as good as 90% of the quarterbacks in the league that are healthy, and injured quarterbacks like Tom Brady are now out. It's a perfect atmoshpere for Farve to do what Montana did in Kansas City, namely, to get the Jets back to the playoffs. Will he win a Superbowl again... probably not, but at least he achieves the most important thing in football, more important than winning...he entertains. I wouldn't watch the Jets for anything before, but now I'd rather watch the Jets than the Patriots or, I hate to say it, the Colts (since Payton Manning is injured and not doing as well). All because of the amazing plays (and possible blunders) that Farve does each and every game.

Because Football is all about the entertainment value of the game. Does it capture your attention enough to keep you from flipping channels through endless beer and Geico.com commercials. Farve keeps the game going. And the Titans, and the Falcons (with rookie of the year Matt Ryan from BC). But none of the other teams will make me say, I'll watch this whole game without playing Bejeweled 2 the whole time. Make me regret I have to miss most NFL games cause I have to work, but alas, most teams are humdrum and banal. Farve adds a Spark, and that's cool.

And don't defend him one week and dismiss him the next. Joe Paterno and Farve are on the same road, with the media flip-flopping more than Kerry did in the 2004 elections. Make up your mind. And realize that what Farve does is make football worth watching. He makes every game feel like a backyard rumble-tumble where everyone has a good time.

Like Pigeons on a Statue (Falcons, Raiders game 11/02)

I had to work on Sunday, and so I probably missed the most unusual, most abyssmal NFL game ever played. The numbers for the game boggle my mind, as they reflect how truly awful the team is. The game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Oakland Raiders will probably go down as the lowest point in Raiders history, where the players finally decided not to play anymore (at least, the offensive players), and where the absurdity of firing the latest head coach is made plain. It wasn't the coach that was bad, it was the players.

At half-time, the score was Atlanta 24, Raiders 0. To give the Raiders credit, Atlanta didn't score the last half of the game, so the defense played well. Keep in mind that I'm not saying that Atlanta is the best team either (although much better than what the media believed in the pre-season, where it was predicted they would only win one game.) Atlanta's QB, Matt Ryan, has quickly become a leader in the lineup, and will probably be rookie of the year, for the simple reason that no really good rookie went to a team that has won many games (Lions, Raiders...etc.).

But back to Half-time. As of that point, the Raiders had racked up -2 total yards. Negative 2!! The same result could be achieved by snapping the ball, spiking it, and doing the same thing throughout the half. They basically stayed in one place and let the Falcons run around them. They got 3 first downs the whole game! All in the second half. The time of possession, for the whole game, was Atlanta 45 min, Raiders 15 min. Which is unheard of in most professional sports games. Maybe a high school game would be that lop-sided.

I dare say that Al Davis could go out, find 50 people working in the Oakland area, assemble a team, and in a short time, play a game with better results than that. And we're talking about a team with Darius McFadden (RB from Arkansas) on it, as well as the top pick in last years draft as well. It is a shame that one of the best teams in past years could have fallen this low. I think the NFL needs to consider a bailout for a team in jeopardy for humililating the game more than Pacman Jones or Mike Vick ever did.

Shorts, 80’s Style: OJ, Tiger, Lego Star Wars, Soaking Rains

Some little things that have been bouncing around in my head for the past few days, snowballs that haven't rolled downhill far enough to become blogs in themselves.

***

So O.J. Simpson finally goes to jail. Ironically enough, this is one of our generation's "do you remember when" moments. When OJ was declared innocent from (allegedly) murdering his Ex-wife and her boyfriend. The Sports Reporters on ESPN made an amazing statement, that OJ's celebrity status carried him through the trial of the century, a trial that made the careers of a ton of people, and like many stars in LA, was given a pass (for murder, no less, but tons of money will do that). And now, he's found guilty of armed robbery, for attempting to get back objects that prove how great a sports star, how big of a celebrity he won. His celeb. status dried up, his 9 lives died, game over. I talk about this mainly because OJ Simpson fits all the requirements for a classic tragedy. Shakespeare could have written it no better. No celebrity or other figure in my lifetime (save one) has fallen so far, from the height of fame and stardom to nothing, solely on his own actions. He is Hamlet or King Lear or Willie Lowman all rolled into one. The only other person I could think of that fits this pattern would be Michael Jackson.

***

The US Men's golf team won this year's Ryder cup, and did so for the first time since..... wait for it.... since Tiger Woods joined the team. Tiger should have stayed off the Ryder cup team and let someone else go in his place, because, and I firmly believe this, Tiger was too good to compete in a team event like this. With Tiger there, the other players didn't have to play as well, because Tiger would have pulled them all through (and never did). But now with TW injured, the US team had to pull together and play harder, and therefore, they won without Tiger Woods being there. And this is nothing conscious, it's something that sports team members do instinctively. Why play your best when you have someone like Kobe or Adrian Petersen (OU) or Brett Farve to pull you through? Tiger Woods is amazing, but he should stick to competing with himself, in solo contests, and forget team events, because it makes everyone else better because of it. With Tiger injured, he's not being pulled down to the level of everyone else...it's giving everyone else the chance to catch up to greatness.

***

Lego Star Wars II was a good game. It told the story as best it could, with the financial restrictions they put on it (they couldn't use the voices of the stars that played in the movies, else it would be mula to those people), and it had a magnificent score playing behind it ($$$ to John Williams). I do think they did a better job with the latter movies, with hiding the mini-kits a lot better. I very rarely had to use any walkthrough with this one. An enjoyable game, but not worth a separate blog. :)

***

Rained yesterday... a nice soaking rain... it was good for the area. Clean out the air, wash away past living for a little while. Nothing like a day long rain to make things better outside. Maybe it will clear people's heads somewhat, too. A fresh look on life is what is needed, especially in today's world. When God needed to start anew, he sent the rain. Perhaps there is a message in the rain as there was in the rainbow. :)

College Football...finally!!!; Celebration in Sports.

Football season, 2008, has finally gotten underway, thank all that is righteous and holy, and I no longer have to search through the myriads of infomercials, reality TV shows, and reruns of Home Improvement just to find something to watch. Nor, if in need of background noise, do I need to resort to having Headline News or (gulp) CNN on to try and brainwash me on how bad things are. Now all I have to do is turn on ESPN and there will be a college football game on of some variety or quality for me to watch (or not watch.) Back a few years ago, football was only on the weekends (and occasionally Thursdays). Now it's on almost every night, and all weekend long (including the NFL games.) You could actually get the ESPN U service and have football games on 24/7, all week long, if you wanted. Ah, the shear bliss of it all. Would that the Romans could see Christians being eaten all week long (but then, there'd be no Christianity to keep things half way stable around here.)

This first week, it was the nearly endless parade of powerhouses inviting Po-dunk U to their houses for endless amounts of cash, just to beat up on them for practice before the actual games begin. It's always been done, but now it's done more. And the great thing is that, while usually it's a sure thing, occassionally... It's all because of parity. With the sole purpose of most guys' dreams to become an NFL player, there are myriads of really good players out there (that could be for good or ill, but that's another blog). And the main teams can only have so many players on their teams, so the trickle down effect makes even the bad teams not so bad. I call to attention the historic upset of then (5) Michigan to 1-AA Appalachian State. So it was with baited breath I waited for something like that to happen the first week of this year. It almost did, and it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Arkansas, with new coach Bobby Patrino, fresh from his dumping of the ailing Atlanta Falcons (and who had also dumped a great Louisville team just so he could coach Mike Vick and the Falcons, a dream that went to the dogs), were trailing Western Illinois until the very last second, when a field goal kept them from the depths of disaster. Oh well, it would have been just delicious to see W. Illinois beat up on the Razorbacks.

Another aspect in the news was the supposed crackdown of celebration of NCAA players after plays or touchdowns. I mean, anything gets flagged for 15 yards. I agree completely with the sports broadcasters, who saw this move by the NCAA as a feeble attempt at controlling their players, who can't be controlled off campus (often getting in trouble), but are under strict control on the field. The players can't have any fun, and the audience is kept from sharing in the joy of a play, a celebration of an athlete's culmination of a lifetime of training for a few minutes in the limelight. Knowing that most won't get to the NFL, it is natural for the players to celebrate their achievements. In every competition, there are winners and losers. Let the winners cheer and dance, and let the losers work harder, so they will be able to dance later. If there's no difference between winning and losing, then what does it matter. The day the players are forced to score points and walk calmly off the field and sit down like programmable drones is the day I stop watching football. And if they are going to be that strict, I see no reason why the best athletes shouldn't go to the NFL without finishing their degrees, where they can have fun doing the thing they most want to do in life. The NCAA, with this ruling, is making players forfeit the back-up careers just because they can't express themselves on the field. To me, it's a violation of their first amendment rights, to express themselves. As long as it's not harming the other players (taunting), then let them have their fun, and let us have ours.

And yes, I am ready for some Football. :)

Replacements

Headline News was gushing about JT, and they were saying that it was a shame that Jay Leno had already given (forcibly) the Tonight Show job to Conan O'brien. Which got me to thinking... there are a number of TV shows that deserve to have the correct replacements (and most have been filled by the wrong people.)

Late Night Talk Shows: Okay, so Jay is leaving. And frankly, I'm counting the days for that to happen with as great anticipation as the Democrats are waiting for GWB to leave. It hasn't always been that way, however. Jay Leno used to be a very entertaining and worthwhile replacement for Johnny Carson. He maneuvered the rivers of post 9/11 American airwaves with skill (mostly with the help of Arsenio Hall, who was amazing), and it was a time when my mom and I actually looked forward to watching the monologue each night before I went to bed, especially during my teaching years, which was a nightmare. It was good to laugh those days. But sometime afterward, the executives at NBC decided that Leno needed to abandon his Conservative leanings (he only half-heartedly picked on GWB, and focused more on the Democrats in the news) and his writers started making jokes that put down the Republicans. Either it was a change in writers, or Leno just didn't care anymore, but now there are few good jokes, a whole lot of filler, and fewer laughs from the households. We turn on Leno only because we can be doing other things while waiting for Conan to come ..wards.

So Conan is going to take over June 1st, 2009. Can't wait. I wonder what they're going to do with the set, with Kevin (who deserves special note, because without him, Leno would be barely watchable), with Max Weinburg (sp) (who deserves to go with Conan, since he is as much of Conan's act as Kevin is for Leno.), and more importantly, who they're going to use as Conan's replacement. They've announced that SNL alumni Jimmy Fallon is going to take over there, which is good. It leaves Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on the Comedy Central channel, making tons of money to stay where they are, I'm sure. The only other person I'd like to see there would be Justin Timberlake, and maybe he'll do that, in 10 years or so after his sex symbol status wears off (see prior blog).

TPIR: But the choice was wrong. Bob Barker made The Price is Right. And when he retired, it was the same as Johnny Carson leaving his show. So it was up to CBS to find a replacement, and the field was wide open. You know who they picked, and it was a bad choice. Drew Carey should have stayed on Whose Line.. and done what he's definitely good at. My choice would have been either Marc Summers (sp), of Nickelodeon's Double Dare fame, and more recently of Food Network's Unwrapped, or John O'Hurley, who is an animal lover himself and has hosted Family Feud for a few years. His personality was perfect, his mannerisms almost exactly like Barker. The old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." was so blatantly ignored here. Now I don't even watch TPIR anymore, and I watched it religiously before that. (I did a prior blog on this some time ago...)

Brett Farve...has lost his mind. He was a legend up in Green Bay, and now he's nothing more than a nuisance. And yes he'll be in the Hall of Fame some day, but right now the Packers are trying to pay him not to play. He's the joke line of the Espys, of Sportscenter every night, and it used to be that Farve was looked up to as a legend. Now he's ridiculed, and it shouldn't be that way. Aaron Rodgers (his replacement) deserves better than the treatment he's getting.

And speaking of football...legend John Madden, now making millions off his cursed EA sports game (poor Farve, the curse strikes again), will at some point leave MNF (now SNF) and leave NBC looking for a replacement. It either has to be a coach, or a player. In the coach ranks, rivals Barry Switzer and Jimmy Johnson come to mind (although Fox will probably not let Johnson go.), and for players, how about Farve? Naahh... but there is one person who would be perfect, if he doesn't decide to become an actor afterward. Put Payton in after he retires, and his mind could dissect plays just a easily as John Madden could in his prime, before he went senile.

I'm sure there are a lot more "Replacement" issues I could bring up, but I'll leave it at that for now. It's all fluff anyway. :)

Perfection

There is such a stupendous feeling when you witness an act of perfection. It's an emotional response that is unique amongst other reactions, recorded in the memory much like the witnessing of a tragedy, and perhaps, thankfully, a little more common. But you can't tell the exact date or where you were, but you certainly know the feeling. It especially comes into play when watching sports (especially when it's something that you personally cannot do.) It is witnessing Tiger Woods dismantle everyone else on the course, until it is more a competition with himself and the gods of golf than anything else. It is holding your breath and sitting on the edge of your seat or whatever cliche you want to use. It's better when the act is someone you root for, but you have to acknowledge it when the act is done against you.

Since tonight the New England Patriots have gone 16-0, in a game that was, in itself, an act of perfection, I thought I'd look back at other events I've witnessed that were absolutely perfect:

The only perfect game I've ever seen personally, was, unfortunately, the 2005 Orange Bowl, where USC took apart OU 55-19 (the score might not be right, but it's close) Leinhart and Bush and Lyndale were playing catch out there against an Oklahoma team that, except for the Big 12 championship, looked like the best team ever to play college Football. Thank goodness for Texas and Vince Young the next year.

Brett Farve raised himself to the status of demi-god on the Monday night after his father died a few years back. Threw for 5 touchdowns and had a perfect passer rating.

Mary Lou Retton's perfect 10.0 on the jump to earn the girl gymnastics team a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics (mind you, these are events I've actually watched, which is why I'm not putting in Lance Armstrong's 7 strait Tour De France wins, cause I didn't see that, it didn't effect me at all.)

Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa's breaking the....oh, wait, nevermind....

Randy Johnson pitching a perfect game against the Atlanta Braves, which was amazing, even if it was the Braves that lost.

The Oklahoma defense during the 2000 Orange Bowl (BCS Championship Game) against Florida State. It didn't matter if OU turned over the ball or if they had to punt, FSU could do nothing with the ball, and the only points they made were the 2 points OU gave them as a safety as a measure of clock management.

I would almost put Ken Jennings Jeopardy run on here, but that's not sports perfection, and it wasn't perfect, by any means.

I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones that come immediately to mind when I ask myself about Perfection. Now all the Patriots have to do is win the playoffs and the Superbowl, without making it seem anti-climatic. If I know the teams still in the playoffs, those will be good games!

Happy Birthday!, Reprise, Gorillaz, Michael Vick Redux.

First off, Happy Birthday to my Yurble, who turns 1 year old today. I joined Neopets one year ago (although I could have joined it much earlier, like in 2000), and I can tell you that it's an addictive, wonderful way to waste time on the World Wide Web. The TNT has done a great job of making the virtual world one that makes you feel like you're at home with it, and, despite their recent attempts at the "Neomall," the site is totally free. The Altador Cup was amazing (although we didn't win, Mystery Island came in 5th place), and the plots recently have been engaging and fun. I look forward to getting 1 million NPs, leveling up my Yurble, and being able to beat the bosses at the end of the plots. And if you want to join Neopets, just let me know, and I'll send you a referral card.

****

In Borders a few days ago, I rang up a customer, a mother, with her daughter (about 5 or 6) and her grandmother. All throughout the transaction, which was kids books for the child, she begged for candy, interrupting her mother, which told her no firmly. Which was all good, until her grandmother stepped in and bought her the candy she was whining for. All that did was reinforce the idea that her grandmother loved her more than her mother did, because Materialism, in today's society, is Love. I've already written blogs about this, November of 2006, so I won't re-hash that, but it was worth noting that sometimes, if the parents say no, the grandparents say yes, and that's not always a good thing.

****

i've been listening to the Gorillaz CD Demon Days, which is not something I would usually listen to, but it caught my attention when it was being played over the radio at work. It's what I call a concept album, because it's not one that you listen to for individual songs (although "Feel Good Inc" was a single hit), but rather it is a work of art, a masterpiece where images are painted through sounds. And I've looked at the Lyrics, and found that, for the most part, they don't really make all that much sense, but that, in this rare case, it doesn't matter. The words themselves make a landscape of sound (the word "soundscape" was used for Paul Simon's latest flop, Surprise and so I don't use that term). And this makes sense, because, according to the Gorillaz unofficial fansite, that was what the band creators were attempting. It was a sojourn through night, through the terrors and dreams and sounds and issues of the night time, with social commentary thrown in. Very well done, and although I do skip the tracks where a lot of rapping is done, I appreciate this work much more than other hip-hop/rap music. The last three tracks make up a theatrical story that, along with the video of Feel Good Inc., produces a world that is at once mesmerizing, foreboding, and nostalgic, all at the same time.

***

Okay, since I said something about Vick in my earliest blogs, I'll say something about the recent events as well. I think that we can all agree that Vick has talent athletically, and that he could have been a really good Quarterback (see my earlier post, October of 2006). However, that has now all been flushed down the toilet because of his own choices. There is nothing to be done for him now except prayer. We all have the urges to do things violent or wrong, and we have to abide by the laws that society and our culture sets down for us. Moreover, we have to understand that the choices we make that effect other people (or animals) must be made with their best interests. Obviously Vick has made the wrong choices, and the sad thing is, that he might not learn from the bad choices, even if he does wind up in prison. We can only pray that he does. If football (organized violence) isn't violent enough, then go find a good video game to beat people up on, and not taking things out on wives, friends, strangers, or animals. I think that's one reason violent video games can be a good thing, although there are many arguments to oppose that theory.

And why, oh why did they trade Matt Schabb to the Texans?????? Well, hopefully Joey Harrington can thrive under Patrino, and he can return to the excellence he had at the University of Oregon.

Next time I'll post my review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows without spoilers (I think) and the appropriate links to OSC's reviews and arguments. I'm sorta waiting until he does his review to post mine, so I can link to it.

Leaving Early, Pacman Jones, and Hip Hop

Should we, at a restaurant, leave before desert? When the sweetest part of the dinner is about to take place, when the talking comes to a climax, would we just get up, pay the bill, and leave? I find that most people would do just that, when it comes to other things. We went to the Bill Gaither Homecoming concert last night, and I was astonished to see people who had paid good money for their tickets get up and leave with a good thirty minutes left in the concert. They missed some wonderful singing, sweet laughter, fellowship, desert, as I would call it. But they had the overwhelming urge to leave, sensing some need to get out of the Gwinnett arena before everyone else. This type of behavior has never made sense to me. You bought your tickets, knowing where you were to go-in this case being an arena in Gwinnett county-and by buying those tickets, you had acknowledged the traffic problem and should have stayed until the end of the program. The same thing should have be said for sports games. Some of the most exciting plays in sports history have been missed by the people who, sensing the need to beat the traffic, left before the game was over. But even if the game is well in hand by one team or the other, that is no excuse to leave a game you have paid good money to witness. The exception for this is weather or other emergencies, since it is not worth becoming ill to satisfy what I consider a business contract made in good faith between you and the teams (or singers) you go to witness. Of course, my family did leave the OU-USC Orange Bowl in 2005, since we were losing 55-19. But it wasn't supposed to be that cold in Miami, be that physical or psychological.

******

Today on Outside the Lines, they brought up the issues of racial discrimination in sports. It brought up a very interesting point, connecting together a lot of the current issues that have happened recently (the Imus remarks, the lifting of charges from the Duke Lacrosse team, the suspending of Pacman Jones from the Tenn. Titans.) with an overall argument dealing with underlying issues that have surrounded African-Americans for at least a hundred years. Let me back up and set some background. After the Civil War, there was a debate between two African-American scholars, WEB Dubois and Booker T. Washington. There was a sociological argument in how former slaves should be brought up to the social level of the rest of society. One (and I must apologize, I don't remember which one said what, it's been a long time) said that since the slaves had been brought here against their will, and oppressed by their white owners, that it was up to the rest of society to help them rise financially and otherwise to a position equal to that of the rest of America. The other (and I think it was Washington that said this, I think) said that it was up to the African Americans to educate themselves and earn their way up to the level of their white counterparts. I am greatly generalizing this, but the argument survives today in the platforms of the political parties. I won't go into this right now, but it's obvious what who believes.

Anyway, I thought the points that OTL was making today were very good points, not only from the area of sports, but of all areas of society where the perception of the African American lifestyle is an issue. They brought up Pacman Jones in that the NFL was trying to change the perception that people have on the African American players that make up that percentage of the rosters. It was amazing, an article showing the lineup of NFL players that had been arrested in the past year. 41 players all together, 2 white, 39 black. The image of this made for a remarkable picture in the article Newsweek put together. Why has the NFL and society failed these players? Or more specifically, what makes the players think that they can do whatever they have been charged with (which goes from DUI to drugs to domestic abuse), and do it without any inkling that they are doing something that is morally wrong? It is a shame that two gifted quarterbacks, Payton Manning and Michael Vick (or his brother Marcus) have gone in two totally different directions when it comes to the ethical behavior of the individual players. It could also be argued that African American music, or more specifically, current hip-hop music, would also condone the behaviors that those 41 players have been arrested for. The answer to this came from a newspaper editor on OTL, who said that in music, they are writing about things they are familiar with. This is a common and often helpful way of creating an artistic work. If you write or paint or compose something that is totally unfamiliar to you, it is more of a chance that it will be unsatisfactory to the people who have some more common link to the subject that you are writing about. But why should we except the condoning of behaviors outlined in hip-hop music? Doesn't this make it all the more important to try to stamp out the behaviors and attitudes that make the songs relevant in the first place? The shooting of police officers or the abuse of females are ethical issues (murder and abuse) that need to be rectified. It is this point that either the government should step in and regulate the actions of its people (an option that would be totally undemocratic and would result in major upheaval), or the people who are singing about these things would need to correct the attitudes themselves. If the songs were meant as a corrective measure, like many folk songs were in the 60's, this would not be an issue. However, it's clear that most songs that contain mature elements are almost in celebration of the culture. How can a culture be celebrated if, in the vast majority of instances, that culture is in violation of ethical standards that have been universally accepted?

Further, it is this argument that justifies the suspensions brought on by the NFL to Pacman Jones and others, but that it is only a band-aid to what really needs to happen. In this instance, the NFL office is the government that is trying to regulate the behavior of its denizens. It should be up to the individual players to govern their own individual behaviors. To this end, the ideas I've brought up in past blogs seem to fit in here. The behaviors often seen in people such as Pacman Jones and artists like Bobby Brown only further denigrate the African American race to the whole of America. Which is most unfortunate, for the freeing of the slaves in the 1860's, and the civil rights movement a century later, should have resulted in the uplifting of a society of people up to the standards by which we all deem to live. Martin Luther King Jr. would be appalled at the way some African Americans see their society today. And of course, applying that to the rest of society, Imus thought it perfectly acceptable to talk about the African American society in the way that some of them refer to themselves as. I don't agree with all this, but it happened. I agree with Washington that members of all races and cultures should endevor to follow the ethical values ingrained in every one of us, and individually, follow "the greater good" and make the world not such a cynical place. Such is the path we take through the world of Experience (Blake).