It may not be much, but I feel as though I am maturing into an adult. Whether that be getting married, keeping down a steady job, or paying bills, I am essentially an adult. But I had a realization this past week that may show the lengths of that maturation. My first realization was when I was discussing with the wife and we stumbled upon sports. I was once told that the only reason people have pets, is so that the pet can bring a little extra joy into the owners lives. That's essentially what sports is. People identify with a player or team and then revel in the success of said players and team. And I have come to the conclusion that people who are centered around their pets are less weird and creepy than people who define themselves with sports. At least a pet is a tangible thing. You can come home and pet the dog or brush the cat. They will respond and show affection towards you and you get that good feeling. sports teams can't do that. Sure, teams can supply that feeling but it is very rare. Every year 4 of the 120 major sports franchises will win a championship. That means 3% of people who follow sports end the season on a good note. Not good odds my friends.
So now on to my grumblings about Bears/Packers. I was consigned to the fact before the game that no matter the outcome I would be happy. Sure my happiness would have been about 100 points higher had Chicago pulled it out, but happy non-the-less. The game actually played out like I expected. I expected the teams to play poorly and have multiple mistakes each, and ultimately being decided by the latest mistake in terms of time left in the game. (That would be your BJ Raji house run for 6) All in all, I can cheer for the Packers in the Super Bowl. Will I enjoy that? Not particularly, but I follow conference lines and will always root for the NFC representative. I don't think the Packers should be favored as they are right now, but then again, what do I truly know.
I do have huge issues with people questioning Jay Cutler's heart and toughness. He went out with a knee injury and did not return, and people have labeled him a quitter. Not quite understanding that logic. Guy played all year behind a sieve, took nearly 200 shots, and suffered a concussion. Played all but one game in a league where only 12 qb's started all games for their team. So seriously people, stop questioning his toughness.
If there is one thing I learned from playing and then covering sports, it is the notion that you do not question a player when he is injured. People are different. Every body is different. They are built to handle things differently, in different doses, and different impacts. So questioning him is ridiculous
The part that really bugs me, is the fact that since Cutler is not the "Alpha Male" personality, he gets ripped. People just expect quarterbacks to talk to the media, give thoughtful answers, and focus on only football. He doesn't do those things, so he gets killed and thrown under the bus. I assure you, had he stayed in the game thrown 3 picks, and then after the game we heard about the injury, he would get killed. People would ask why he kept himself in the game and being reckless. So the dude can't win.
I just hope we as a people can realize that people are different. They are not robots. There is not always a black/white, cut and dry way to do things. All things said, he got his team to an NFC Championship in a year when they should have won a max of 6 games. I appreciate the toughness and heart it takes for a team to over-achieve. I can only hope people realize how foolish they have been in this situation. Will Cutler get people to apologize to him? Probably not. And that's the worst part. Blind assumptions being thrown around. And when it comes down to it, it is just football.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Very Sad...
This was my feeling over the weekend as I was watching news footage from Arizona over the shooting and killing of 6 people at a grocery store. It seems as though things like this always happen far away, but still hits you in the heart. I watched the coverage and was dumbfounded. It was not a campaign rally. It was a mock meeting at a grocery store. As it stands six are dead including a nine year old girl. She was born on September 11th, 2011, and then died like this 9 years later. And her grand father was a World series winning manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. Bizarre coincidences that make the story even more chilling.
The part I find particularly unnerving is America's search to place blame. When something terrible happens we as a people need some justification to make us feel better. It must be violent movies, or heavy metal music, or the Grand Theft Auto game, they will say. Those that fall far to each political side will blame each other. And yes, I realize that finding blame brings some sort of closure. But in instances like this, finger pointing and blaming is the worst possible thing you can do. Trying to find blame only gives, those deranged enough to commit an act like this, an out. I have no idea what strikes someone to commit such acts. Whether that be the shootings at Columbine or people who try to smuggle things on planes. It is impossible to pinpoint their motivation or so-called breaking point. But to place blame on a particular item is ridiculous and counter productive. Why don't we take a look at how we do things, and figure out how we can do good in the community? If we focused on that, at that elementary level, maybe we could nip things like this in the bud.
Right before posting this I finished reading a story about the Westboro Baptist Church of Kansas and their plans of picketing the funeral. You have probably heard of them doing things like this in the past. They picket funerals of soldiers from over seas, and funerals of open homosexuals who have died. And they essentially blame their deaths on America's loss of God in their life and this being his way to respond to us as a people. Well, come to find out the Arizona legislature has swung into action and actually made it a misdemeanor for anyone to picket within 300 feet of the funeral. Now I am all for freedom of assembly and freedom of speech, but a big thumbs up to the legislature for passing this. We as a country are grieving a senseless act of violence against over 30 individuals that have either died or are injured. Those 30 could have done great good for their community, and now we will never know for some. And it would have been an absolute atrocity for an outside group, regardless of belief, to hijack this remembrance.
Finally, both sides of the political spectrum have come together to create something good and actually useful. Hopefully, we can re-examine the way we do things in this country and put our best foot forward. Because trying to find blame just runs us in circles. And leaves us open to this kind of thing happening again.
The part I find particularly unnerving is America's search to place blame. When something terrible happens we as a people need some justification to make us feel better. It must be violent movies, or heavy metal music, or the Grand Theft Auto game, they will say. Those that fall far to each political side will blame each other. And yes, I realize that finding blame brings some sort of closure. But in instances like this, finger pointing and blaming is the worst possible thing you can do. Trying to find blame only gives, those deranged enough to commit an act like this, an out. I have no idea what strikes someone to commit such acts. Whether that be the shootings at Columbine or people who try to smuggle things on planes. It is impossible to pinpoint their motivation or so-called breaking point. But to place blame on a particular item is ridiculous and counter productive. Why don't we take a look at how we do things, and figure out how we can do good in the community? If we focused on that, at that elementary level, maybe we could nip things like this in the bud.
Right before posting this I finished reading a story about the Westboro Baptist Church of Kansas and their plans of picketing the funeral. You have probably heard of them doing things like this in the past. They picket funerals of soldiers from over seas, and funerals of open homosexuals who have died. And they essentially blame their deaths on America's loss of God in their life and this being his way to respond to us as a people. Well, come to find out the Arizona legislature has swung into action and actually made it a misdemeanor for anyone to picket within 300 feet of the funeral. Now I am all for freedom of assembly and freedom of speech, but a big thumbs up to the legislature for passing this. We as a country are grieving a senseless act of violence against over 30 individuals that have either died or are injured. Those 30 could have done great good for their community, and now we will never know for some. And it would have been an absolute atrocity for an outside group, regardless of belief, to hijack this remembrance.
Finally, both sides of the political spectrum have come together to create something good and actually useful. Hopefully, we can re-examine the way we do things in this country and put our best foot forward. Because trying to find blame just runs us in circles. And leaves us open to this kind of thing happening again.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Ring Ding Dong.....
What's going on kids? That's right no posts in two months is turning me into Lane Kimble. Hell, who are we kidding, I would need to go 9 months between posts to be that guy. Well I am back, and certainly not better than ever. For post number 100 I decided to just say I plan on posting more. I truly enjoy writing, even if the things I talk about are the same. So with that I give my resolution to post a little more often for 2011. Or at least January.
Main reason the posting fell off in November and December is that my life was swept up with the seasonality. There was Thanksgiving, my birthday, Christmas, and then new years. And, oh yeah, I decided to get married in the middle of all those things. So I basically got my first feeling of what every year from here on out will be. All out chaos for about a 45 day period. I figure it won't be as stressful because the wedding is done, and though that leaves an anniversary, there will not be nearly as much work that needs to be done.
I want to say thank you to everyone who helped with the wedding and made it possible. We hit our bumps and problems, but all in all, it was still better than I had expected it to be. We had a great ceremony, fun picture time, and if I must say a pretty BA reception. I've never been to another wedding where there was a choreographed version of Bye, Bye, Bye by the wedding party. That in itself makes ours number 1.
Special thanks go out to my groomsmen because they were awesome. And they get special thanks because I know from time to time they peruse the blog and do a little reading. They were fantastic and helped keep me in check all day long. It was a great time and hope they enjoyed it as much as I did.
Well, that's about it for the wedding talk. I will be posting more, though I'm sure it will revolve around sports, movies, TV shows, and penis jokes. Hey, stick with what you know. That's what I always say....
Main reason the posting fell off in November and December is that my life was swept up with the seasonality. There was Thanksgiving, my birthday, Christmas, and then new years. And, oh yeah, I decided to get married in the middle of all those things. So I basically got my first feeling of what every year from here on out will be. All out chaos for about a 45 day period. I figure it won't be as stressful because the wedding is done, and though that leaves an anniversary, there will not be nearly as much work that needs to be done.
I want to say thank you to everyone who helped with the wedding and made it possible. We hit our bumps and problems, but all in all, it was still better than I had expected it to be. We had a great ceremony, fun picture time, and if I must say a pretty BA reception. I've never been to another wedding where there was a choreographed version of Bye, Bye, Bye by the wedding party. That in itself makes ours number 1.
Special thanks go out to my groomsmen because they were awesome. And they get special thanks because I know from time to time they peruse the blog and do a little reading. They were fantastic and helped keep me in check all day long. It was a great time and hope they enjoyed it as much as I did.
Well, that's about it for the wedding talk. I will be posting more, though I'm sure it will revolve around sports, movies, TV shows, and penis jokes. Hey, stick with what you know. That's what I always say....
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