I do not like the phrase 'bucket list'. I feel that it is a term made up by some travel agency somewhere to get aging people to spend money on exotic vacations. With that said, here's my baseball bucket list. A few things I would like to do in my lifetime.
Go to Opening Day. Yes, it deserves to be capitalized. Yes, it deserves to be taken in by a fan of the game. I know that it is a game just like the other one hundred and sixty one, but this one is different. There is more pomp and circumstance to it. And it doesn't matter if you are the reigning World Series champions or if you lost one hundred games the previous year, there is still a ton of excitement in the air. It is coming from the fans and from the players. It's the fresh cut grass and the chalk on the base paths. It's waiting to see the rookie that made the team out of training camp or the veteran your team signed during the way too long off season. It's what the game is all about. And it's the beginning of the longest journey for the fans of the game.
Catch a double header. This is more of the hardcore part of this list. Going to one game can take a lot out of you. Sitting there, sometimes in the sun and heat or the cold and rain, for three hours or more to watch a game takes up your day. And it is glorious. Want to make it even better? Watch that same team just a few hours later! The good thing about catching a double header is that you can do stuff other than go to the games. Take some time in the city you are in and find a new restaurant or a new bar.
Getting to see the World Series in person is at the top of this list. All the excitement you get on Opening Day at the end of the season. After watching the Tigers struggle the last two times they have made it to the World Series, I have decided that I still would have wanted to see any of the games. As depressing as they would have been, it would be so cool. If there is a highlight reel play, you could say 'I was there. And I have to ticket to prove it.'
With all these things I want to see, I would want to see them if the Tigers are playing. That would be the first priority. However, if there was ever a chance to do any of these things and the Tigers weren't playing, I would still go. Who would turn down a ticket to a World Series game? Or an Opening Day game. It is true that it wouldn't be as engrossing because your team wouldn't be out on the field, but going to the game because it is the sport that you love is just as important.
21 February 2013
17 February 2013
How Best to Spend Your Birthday
Yesterday was my birthday. Thirty one years old. Not exactly a milestone year. The next big one is THE big one. Forty. Not as scary as it once was when I was about ten years old. I'm past the big celebrations for birthdays. For me anyways. If my wife wants a huge party or I go to a party for a friend, that's fine by me. I just don't want all the hoopla, not my style.
What was on the docket was absolutely nothing. We didn't make any plans, we didn't think about going out, we didn't do much of anything. We watched a movie in the afternoon. And it was all that I could have asked for. The big plan was dinner. My wife made pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans, corn, and french fries. A mid summer's day meal in the midst of winter. It. Was. Awesome! Followed up by the one tradition I will always hold dear to my heart: chocolate chip cheesecake. The best birthday dessert of all time. A dessert Kayne West would interrupt for if another dessert would win 'best birthday dessert of the year' award.
This kind of birthday isn't for everyone. Some people want to have a big party every year, others want to just go out and have drinks. Or maybe going out for a nice dinner at a restaurant you wouldn't go to any other day of the year. I think that having these low key birthdays are great for me because I'm not always one that wants to be in the spotlight. I don't like being the center of attention. I enjoy going to parties, just as long as it isn't about me. Unless I do something great like coming up with a plan to end the zombie war. Then maybe I would like to have a party thrown for me.
What was on the docket was absolutely nothing. We didn't make any plans, we didn't think about going out, we didn't do much of anything. We watched a movie in the afternoon. And it was all that I could have asked for. The big plan was dinner. My wife made pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans, corn, and french fries. A mid summer's day meal in the midst of winter. It. Was. Awesome! Followed up by the one tradition I will always hold dear to my heart: chocolate chip cheesecake. The best birthday dessert of all time. A dessert Kayne West would interrupt for if another dessert would win 'best birthday dessert of the year' award.
This kind of birthday isn't for everyone. Some people want to have a big party every year, others want to just go out and have drinks. Or maybe going out for a nice dinner at a restaurant you wouldn't go to any other day of the year. I think that having these low key birthdays are great for me because I'm not always one that wants to be in the spotlight. I don't like being the center of attention. I enjoy going to parties, just as long as it isn't about me. Unless I do something great like coming up with a plan to end the zombie war. Then maybe I would like to have a party thrown for me.
06 February 2013
Nerdgasm
While I putz around on the internet in the mornings, I have a tendency to play music. Just for background, plus it keeps the tv off, which to me is a nice change of pace. So I put the music on shuffle and just let it go. Unless there is a song that comes up that makes me want to listen to more of the same music. That happened today. When a song from the 'Star Wars' soundtrack came on. The sci-fi nerd in me did a happy (if not awkward) dance.
A few seconds after it started playing, I decided to play the soundtrack, beginning to end. It made my morning. I have always loved the original trilogy, the prequels were okay but were a money grab. When the music started playing I had a thought back to my teens. I owned the cassette of the soundtrack. I bought it when I was in sixth grade maybe. I played the shit out of it. Morning, noon, and night. When everyone else was up on the latest music, I was hanging with John Williams. The connection with the movies made the music that much better. When the music was playing, I could picture what part of the movie it goes with. That is the true power of the soundtrack.
I was on the edge of grunge music era, just a little too young to understand the angst when it came out. I lived in a town that consisted of a top forty station, adult contemporary, classic rock, and country radio stations. Not exactly the perfect place to hear the latest Alice in Chains or Pearl Jam. Whenever I would have to mow the grass, this was the cassette in my Walkman. And mowing the grass wasn't a half hour job, it took long enough to play the tape once through and then some. When CDs became prevalent, this cassette went by the wayside. On occasion, I would bust it out because I enjoyed it.
I have always embraced my nerdy side. Even when it comes to music. Other than having a strong connection with the movies, one reason I enjoy the soundtrack was because I was in band for eight years. Not 'A band', band. As in high school band. As in band geek. Again, I embrace my nerdness. Playing music was fun. The people I was in band with were great. Looking back, I could have put a ton more effort into it, but who wanted to do that? In high school it isn't as cool as playing football or hockey, but that is what I wanted to do.
A few seconds after it started playing, I decided to play the soundtrack, beginning to end. It made my morning. I have always loved the original trilogy, the prequels were okay but were a money grab. When the music started playing I had a thought back to my teens. I owned the cassette of the soundtrack. I bought it when I was in sixth grade maybe. I played the shit out of it. Morning, noon, and night. When everyone else was up on the latest music, I was hanging with John Williams. The connection with the movies made the music that much better. When the music was playing, I could picture what part of the movie it goes with. That is the true power of the soundtrack.
I was on the edge of grunge music era, just a little too young to understand the angst when it came out. I lived in a town that consisted of a top forty station, adult contemporary, classic rock, and country radio stations. Not exactly the perfect place to hear the latest Alice in Chains or Pearl Jam. Whenever I would have to mow the grass, this was the cassette in my Walkman. And mowing the grass wasn't a half hour job, it took long enough to play the tape once through and then some. When CDs became prevalent, this cassette went by the wayside. On occasion, I would bust it out because I enjoyed it.
I have always embraced my nerdy side. Even when it comes to music. Other than having a strong connection with the movies, one reason I enjoy the soundtrack was because I was in band for eight years. Not 'A band', band. As in high school band. As in band geek. Again, I embrace my nerdness. Playing music was fun. The people I was in band with were great. Looking back, I could have put a ton more effort into it, but who wanted to do that? In high school it isn't as cool as playing football or hockey, but that is what I wanted to do.
02 February 2013
Over Exposure
There is way too much coverage of the Super Bowl. There, I said it, now lets move on. I'm not the first person to point this out nor will I be the last. The excitement about this game that the country has is unbelievable. Is it because the entire season hinges on one game as opposed to a seven game series like the other major sports? Or is it because our society just thinks that it is that important?
With the lack of football, sports channels really need to stretch for stories. One of the big stories this year is that two brothers are coaching against each other. Jim and John Harbaugh are the head coaches of the two teams. Yeah, it's kinda neat that it is happening. No, it won't drive some huge wedge into the family where you are on Team Jim or Team John. No, it does not deserve any extra coverage. Unless you need a story. I'm talking desperation time. They did a joint news conference yesterday, which is cool. What's not cool is that it got broken down by ESPN. I'm talking about a break down in time talking, length of answer, how many times one interrupted the other one, how many times each of them smiled. I'm not joking about that last one.
Not only is the week leading up to the Super Bowl a stretch for coverage, but so is the day of the Super Bowl. Coverage is starting at around 11:00 in the morning. The game starts at 6:30 in the evening. What could possibly be covered in that time span that cannot be covered in about half that time, or even a third of the time? Once again, over exposure and over coverage. I want to know who would sit through all that bullshit. I want to know who would want to. I would slap them.
It all has to do with the obsession we have as a country about the sport. And it is driven by the sports channels. ESPN, CBS, NBC, all of them put such importance on knowing every single detail about every single player that they have driven the time of pregame shows to longer lengths. It has gone from one hour to two hours to even three hours on ESPN on Sunday mornings. I know that there are always plenty of games each week, but do we need ten minutes on a Kansas City/Cleveland game that no one wants to watch?
The game starts at 5:30 local time, and I plan on start watching it about fifteen minutes after it begins because even the start of the game is delayed by pomp and circumstance. Whenever the Super Bowl comes around, I just hope for a close game. Because my team may never get there, this is all I want to see. An entertaining game. Everyone always likes to throw out their predictions for the game, and I have not done well with predictions of the Super Bowl in the past, but that doesn't stop me and it won't again this year.
Ravens: 19
49ers: 27
With the lack of football, sports channels really need to stretch for stories. One of the big stories this year is that two brothers are coaching against each other. Jim and John Harbaugh are the head coaches of the two teams. Yeah, it's kinda neat that it is happening. No, it won't drive some huge wedge into the family where you are on Team Jim or Team John. No, it does not deserve any extra coverage. Unless you need a story. I'm talking desperation time. They did a joint news conference yesterday, which is cool. What's not cool is that it got broken down by ESPN. I'm talking about a break down in time talking, length of answer, how many times one interrupted the other one, how many times each of them smiled. I'm not joking about that last one.
Not only is the week leading up to the Super Bowl a stretch for coverage, but so is the day of the Super Bowl. Coverage is starting at around 11:00 in the morning. The game starts at 6:30 in the evening. What could possibly be covered in that time span that cannot be covered in about half that time, or even a third of the time? Once again, over exposure and over coverage. I want to know who would sit through all that bullshit. I want to know who would want to. I would slap them.
It all has to do with the obsession we have as a country about the sport. And it is driven by the sports channels. ESPN, CBS, NBC, all of them put such importance on knowing every single detail about every single player that they have driven the time of pregame shows to longer lengths. It has gone from one hour to two hours to even three hours on ESPN on Sunday mornings. I know that there are always plenty of games each week, but do we need ten minutes on a Kansas City/Cleveland game that no one wants to watch?
The game starts at 5:30 local time, and I plan on start watching it about fifteen minutes after it begins because even the start of the game is delayed by pomp and circumstance. Whenever the Super Bowl comes around, I just hope for a close game. Because my team may never get there, this is all I want to see. An entertaining game. Everyone always likes to throw out their predictions for the game, and I have not done well with predictions of the Super Bowl in the past, but that doesn't stop me and it won't again this year.
Ravens: 19
49ers: 27
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