America's Sports Pastimes

Many of you know that I am a huge baseball fan, and I will defend the sport until the day I die.  Unfortunately, I am often in the minority when it comes to my passion for baseball.  Apparently, America's pastime has switched to football.  While I am not a football hater, I do not share the same passion and excitement over the sport as others do.  But I believe that there are many others out there who love baseball as much as I do, and I think I know the reasons why football has passed baseball on the pastime-meter.

I do have to applaud football for positioning itself in the minds of Americans as the end all and be all of American sports.  They have done an excellent marketing job.  And football does have one thing going for it that baseball can't compete with.  They only play games once a week, on a day when most people are off work.  Therefore, football is inherently a more social sport.  People get together for parties, bbq's, tailgates, etc., once a week to watch football.  People schedule their plans around football games.  Baseball plays games every day, so if you miss one, you can always watch again tomorrow.  And people are less likely to organize baseball watching parties.  It just doesn't have the same TV appeal.  I hear most people say they can only watch baseball live.  I can appreciate that, and I've seen a lot of packed stadiums that support that claim.  Also, the football season is shorter and the outcome of one game means more than it does in baseball.  Therefore, people hang on the outcomes of game more intensely while watching football than baseball.  Finally, fantasy football has taken on a life of its own.  I play fantasy football, mostly because it helps keep me interested in games.  But for many people, fantasy football is huge time-consuming endeavor.  With the advent of keeper leagues, live drafts, etc., fantasy football has driven the media to attempt to keep up with the craze.  NFL Tonight airs year round, the only sports specific show on ESPN to do so.  Why is that?  Fantasy leagues, of course.  People want to know about their fantasy players.  One bad week, one bad draft in a fantasy football league can destroy your chances at winning.  Whereas, the stakes for fantasy baseball aren't nearly as drastic.  Although, I would like to point out right here that the fantasy sports revolution did begin with a fantasy baseball league. 

So, what does this all mean?  Nothing really, except that football has done a better job marketing itself than baseball.  Football is perceived as being more popular because they get bigger crowds and better TV ratings.  But that's all relative.  Football stadiums are bigger than baseball stadiums, so the per game averages will always be bigger.  Football games are only played once a week so everybody watches on that one day, as opposed to baseball where people can watch on any given day.  So looking at TV ratings is meaningless.  The bottom line is people will like what they like and watch what they watch.  And I will continue to get mad at ESPN for their obsessive amount of football coverage, even though I fully understand why they do it.  They think it's what people want, and most people think it's what they want to see as well.  So I will continue to live in my baseball obsessed world, and be a casual football watcher.  Go Phillies!  And Go Eagles!

We All Want Answers

I know it has been awhile since my last post, but I've been out of town.  I'll try to make up for it.

As I was leaving Barnes and Noble this afternoon, I noticed a book titled The Big Book of Answers.  My immediate response was, "Somebody stole my idea!"  You see back in high school I had the great idea of composing a book full of answers for people to reference.  It would even come in a pocket sized version so people could always keep it with them and never be lacking for an answer.  Now, granted, the answers you choose to give might not always be right, or even relevant, but at least you would always have an answer.  And let's face it, if you say something with enough confidence everybody will believe you.  I still think the book would be a great idea, but it appeared that someone else did as well.  So I fought past my anger, picked up the book at B&N, and looked inside.  And much to my relief, it was not like the book I had envisioned.  This book had specific questions that it attempted to answer, which defeats the purpose of my book entirely.  I want to create a book full of random answers that can be used universally for a wide array of questions.  This book apparently wants to answers questions which the author thinks people are interested in.  So for now, my idea is safe.  I just need to find someone else to buy into it.

Harry Potter vs Star Wars

I've seen many posts this week about Harry Potter and the final movie being released in the theaters.  Understandably, many people are sad because this is it.  No more books, no more movies, nothing.  As a huge Star Wars fan, I can relate.  When Episode III was released and I knew this was the end, I was sad.  There weren't going to be any more Star Wars movies to see in the theaters.  What was I going to do with myself knowing they would never come.  At least before Episode I was announced there was the hope that they might make more.  But now, there was no more hope, just the end.  I can only imagine this must be what Harry Potter fans are going through.  But I can attest, the obsession doesn't stop just because the movies did.  I still watch every time any Star Wars movie is on TV, and I still question every little detail and find new things to appreciate.  In fact, my latest Star Wars kick is watching Chewie for his impeccable comedic timing.  He's hilarious and I never realized that as a kid.  So for all you Harry Potterites out there, don't fret.  Stay obsessed, stay passionate, and know that the movies and books will always be there and you will continue to find new and exciting ways to appreciate them.

Store Layouts

I've gone into multiple stores over the past two weeks only to be faced with the jarring realization that the layout has been changed.  Now, I don't know how other people feel about this, but I have a difficult time when people mess with my comfort zone.  I am a man of routine and when my routine is messed with I get flustered.  It took me 15 minutes to find the chips in Costco!  It took me 10 minutes to find shoelaces in Target!  I felt so lost.  I think stores should be more considerate to those of us with selective OCD and offer store maps when their layouts change.  Of course, I also think all stores should offer free bread to shoppers, so I'm fully aware of how unfeasible many of my suggestions are.  I would just appreciate it if stores kept things in the same place so I could find them easier.  I don't think that's too much to ask.

Avoiding Roadkill

As I made the drive from Tucson to Phoenix twice over the past few days, I noticed quite a bit of roadkill on the road (I guess that's where people normally notice roadkill, but I couldn't find a better phrase).  I also narrowly avoided, or at least I hope I narrowly avoided, creating my own roadkill by swerving to avoid hitting a rabbit.  And it got me thinking of the many stories I've heard from friends and family about their narrow misses, or sometimes hits, of animals on the road.  I get the impression that many people become emotionally distraught when they hit an animal on the road.  Yet, these same people seem to have no issue throwing friends or family under the bus, metaphorically of course, to get ahead in life.  Why is it that killing a small animal while driving is so devastating to us, but destroying another's reputation or lying about one's actions brings about no emotional response whatsoever?  I mean, honestly, there are plenty of rabbits and squirrels and even coyotes to go around, so accidentally killing one shouldn't be that big of a deal.  But each person on this earth is such an individual that we should feel more when we hurt one another.  Yet we don't.  Why?  I think that's something we need to explore within ourselves.  It's time to start treating other people with the same respect that we give animals in the road, and start trying to avoid running them over.

Why is everybody in such a hurry?

I've noticed over the past few years that people seem to be in much more of a hurry to get places.  Where are they going?  Do they know something I don't know?  Is there this awesome store at the mall that is going to explode if they don't get there by a certain time?  I can't figure it out.  Sometimes, as I see people speeding by me or cutting me off, I check to see if maybe I'm zoning off and driving like an old man (no offense to old men), but most often I am driving either at or above the speed limit.  Does the threat of a speeding ticket, especially in a construction zone, not scare these people, because it sure as hell scares me.  I don't want to waste my money on speeding tickets.  Besides, I still can't figure out what I would be speeding to get to.  If I'm running late, then it's my fault.  I should have left earlier instead of racing through the streets.

I can't imagine humans in pre-modern civilizations having such a pre-occupation with time and rushing to get everywhere.  I mean, the sun came up, they hunted and gathered.  The sun went down, they slept.  Seems pretty simple.  I think we need to reflect back to those simpler times and slow down a little.  The world is not going to end if you get to the grocery store five minutes later.  Well, it won't end this year, but ask me again next year.

The Twilight Zone vs Reality TV

So I've watched a few episodes of The Twilight Zone over the past few days and I've gained a new appreciation for how great a TV show it is.  It is so cleverly written and the themes are so thought-provoking and original.  I'm adding Rod Serling to my list of people I would like to have lunch with if I could have lunch with anybody from history.  I even started thinking how cool it would be to bring the show back to television in today's time.

Then, I thought about that more and realized it would never work.  One of the greatest aspects of The Twilight Zone was its subtlety.  There's nothing subtle about TV these days, especially with reality TV.  I'm still not entirely sure what is so real about reality TV anyway.  Is it the fake fights and arguments that are staged by the producers?  Or maybe it's the over the top reactions to every little thing by the actors?  I'm just not buying any of it.  But for some reason I can believe that a traveler from 1847 can go over the top of a ridge and end up in 1961 so he can get medicine for his dying son who will grow up to be a famous doctor.  Now, that's good television.  I can't imagine Snookie getting away with that one.

Movie Theater Etiquette

So, I'm sitting in the movie theater today and the person behind me keeps kicking my chair.  I wondered to myself, "Is it that difficult to keep from kicking the chair in front of you?  Have I been sitting here kicking the chair in front of me repeatedly?"  The answer to both is a resounding NO!  People, seriously, it's not hard to not kick a chair.  And it's just disrespectful to continue to do so. 

But what really gets me is when I gave the frustrated look behind, the person got mad at me as if I was the one doing something wrong.  You can't get mad at me for looking at you angrily after you've been kicking my chair nonstop.  That's like when people stop their carts in the middle of the grocery aisle suddenly and then get mad at you for running into them.  If you don't want to get run into, don't stop randomly in the middle of the aisle.  If you don't want to get an angry look in the movie theater, don't kick the chair in front of you.  C'mon people, it's not hard.

Thank you very much.