Tag: Sports

  • Personal Reflections: The Super Bowl, Commercials, and Bad Bunny

    Personal Reflections: The Super Bowl, Commercials, and Bad Bunny

    The Super Bowl sucked. Let’s just start right there. Not that it was bad so much as it was boring. Defensive battles, or whatever people are calling it, are dull to everyone except defensive players and defensive coaches.

    In the end, I’m glad that Seattle won, as I do think they were the better team, not just in the game last night, but the best team for the whole season. And it was a rather exciting NFL season, with lots of drama and close games. Which makes this “meh” of a Super Bowl such a letdown.

    But that’s sports for ya!

    This bring us to the commercials, and for the life of me, I cannot remember a single one. Nothing stood out as particularly interesting or creative. Just felt like the same old slop. And there was lots of AI slop on display, too! The impression I was left with is that America is a sickly nation that needs more drugs and screenings, likes to bet on everything, and still thinks crypto isn’t a scam. There might be something to be said that the cost for a fifteen to thirty second commercials is so expensive now, that it has made brands, marketeers, and ad wizards hesitant in trying anything new, as so much money is on the line. This situation has made what used to be entertaining advertising into something that is homogeneous now.

    Which gets us to Bad Bunny who was the real big winner of the evening. (Other than the Seahawks.) I’m not going to go into the controversy, because there was no controversy, because Trump only said the stuff that he said to try and create a distraction from the Epstein Files/Poll Number/ICE, and Turning Point USA was just a little too thirsty to get involved and in the end created a half-assed badly lip-synced train wreck of a dumpster fire that 6 million people watched which isn’t bad if you consider that 12 million tuned in for the Puppy Bowl…

    But I’m not going to get into it.

    What I will say about Bad Bunny’s show was that it was fun, and cool, and was exciting to watch and had guests and Easter Eggs, and what I thought he did was show off how wonderful, and complex Puerto Rico’s culture and people are, AND he did that really great thing that great performers do, which is makes his audience feel connected and vital to the show being performed. It was great.

    But I did make Buffalo Wings, and they were really good.

  • Playing Sports (Unedited)

    My kid is on her school’s soccer team, and she loves it. We love it too, as it is the best way for her to burn off the huge amounts of energy that she has in reserve, and it keeps her off a screen. I don’t know if she will be a life longer soccer player/fan and honestly, I don’t care. I like that she’s playing on a team, and doing something physical.

    If you are not aware, I come from a very competing family. I wasn’t blessed with the athletic gene (though I wasn’t too bad at tennis) but playing and winning at games was a big thing in my family growing up. Lots of board games and wiffleball in the back yard. With two older brother who were nine and seven years older than me, it was difficult to beat them at sports as a kid, but that didn’t stop me from trying. My oldest brother played baseball, and my other brother was all about basketball. I tried my hand at both, but didn’t have the skills. I could through a baseball well, but couldn’t hit to save my life. As for basketball, I don’t ever remember feeling that I was coordinated enough to be good at it.

    My father had a rule in our house, which was we had to play a sport up until we turned sixteen. After I washed out of Little League, and junior high basketball didn’t have a place for me, my father suggested that I take up tennis, which was a sport he played. I took lessons once a week for two years, and I got kind’a good, but not that good. But my father’s point did sink in; you have to stay active and physical, or you will just go pot.

    So, I guess I am keeping the tradition alive. Going to keep her in a sport until sixteen, when she can decide for herself if she wants to continue.

    When I turned sixteen, I stopped the tennis lessons, and committed myself to my high school’s theatre department. Which, in a round about way, is also a team sport.

  • Thoughts While Disc Golfing (Unedited)

    Early this past Saturday morning, I got in the car and I drove north to go disc golf at Beacon Glades, which just so happens to be in Beacon, NY. It’s a free course, volunteer supported, and the place is designed around an abandoned summer camp. There is a slight “Friday the 13th” vibe, especially around the hole that are in the abandoned cabins and bunks. It’s a great place, I’ve shot it twice, and the people out there, players and volunteers, are friendly and supportive. I plan on going back again this Fall if not more often.

    Normally the kid and the wife go with me, but this weekend they wanted to stay in The City, so I went out on my own. I was a little disappointed that I was going alone, as I had looked forward to some company, but I didn’t let that hold me back. Heading out on my own did mean that I was going to be able to listen to my music in the car, and to also play it loud, and to sing off key with it.

    Depending on how you look at it, it was either wonderful late summer morning, or a crisp early Autumn day. WAZE told me it would be best to cross the George Washington Bridge and take a Palisades Parkway up to the Bear Mountain Bridge to cross back over the Hudson. The Palisades is a great drive because, even though you are cutting through northern Jersey and heavily suburban Rockland County, NY, the parkway is lined and covered with trees which makes you believe that you are cutting through the middle of the woods. Everything is still green and bright here, but if you were to look at the tops of the trees, every now and then you could make out the tiniest splash of red, orange and yellow. Autumn isn’t too far away.

    Once I crossed over the Bear Mountain Bridge, I was to take state route 9D north to Beacon. This is one of my favorite drives, as the route runs parallel to the Hudson River, and gives you a clear understanding why the Valley has been an inspiration to people for hundreds of years. It’s a pleasant drive, several curves, a tunnel and lots of hikers. The drive isn’t too long, and on the out skirts of Beacon is the disc golf course.

    Like I said, I had played Beacon Glades before, and it looked exactly the same. I had an arrived at a good time, not many people playing, and I was welcomed by two guys sitting near the first hole. Not sure if they were volunteers, or just nice guys, but they pointed me to the first hole, and let me know that the conditions were good today.

    Even when I do a little warm up, stretching and throwing some practices discs, it does take me three holes to feel like I know what I’m doing. I say that because I do shank everything to the left, and cannot throwing anything straight to save my life. I am aware that there are techniques I could follow, and other tips, but to be honest, I don’t care that much. If I shot even on the course, I’d be happy; a birdy or two would be cool, but I can honestly say that’s not why I am there. Beacon Glades is the type of disc golf course that I love because it is like hiking-lite. After the fourth hole, the course heads into the woods, going up and down the side of a hill. There is a ruggedness to this place, and I’m not implying that it’s unkept, as what I mean is that the holes work with the land, and don’t feel like they were carved out.

    For the record, I shot awful; +22. Though I did par hole 10 with one of the best putts in my life that no one saw.

    It took me a little less than two hours to complete the course, and I discovered that if I am alone throwing, I talk to myself. Not that I was having a conversation with myself, just saying things out loud, like “That was awful,” “Not bad,” and “Where did that go?” I did just enough talking to only seem a little crazy.

    Walking around the woods on that Saturday, I realized that it had been years since I had gone out and done something for myself, by myself. I think it’s been over five years, when I headed out to the beach at Bodega Bay, going to the secret parking lot that a local told me about, and just watched the surf rolling in under the slightly gray sky. Since the Pandemic, I pretty much spend every day with someone. That isn’t a complaint, I love being with my family. But I give my time to them. And when I am alone, there is always something that I need to do that occupies my time.

    Heading home, I went back the way I came. I thought about heading home in a different way – maybe drive through Sleepy Hollow. But I knew the kid would be upset if I did that without her. Maybe next weekend.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Sports Jerseys, Let Me Get to That, and Pre-Autumn

    ODDS and ENDS: Sports Jerseys, Let Me Get to That, and Pre-Autumn

    (Will our ball club win the pennant?)

    Today at school, the kid could wear a sports team jersey if she so desired. Being that she is in middle school, and the school has sports teams, sports are now a bigger part of her academic experience. Funny thing is that the kid doesn’t own any team jerseys. She asked me if I had a jersey that she could borrow for today, and sadly, I also don’t own any team jerseys. What I do own happens to be a Dallas Cowboys (Let me get to that in a bit), and a Tottenham Hotspur t-shirts. I was hesistant to give her the Cowboy shirt because clearly, the Cowboys aren’t a well respected team here in New York City. So that left the Tottenham shirt, which I offered to her. She declined the shirt, stating that the people who know who Tottenham is will only end up making fun of her, and it wasn’t worth it to her. I tried to explain that Frank is taking the team in a new direction, but the kid wouldn’t hear it.

    (Best if you read this part in a very thick Texas accent, which I have after drink several Shiner Bocks and getting all rilled up.) I jus’ wanna say this to Mr. Jerry Jones, which is that I think he is bein’ a damn fool when it comes to Micah Parsons. Now, Mr. Parsons is a franchise super star caliber player, a type of player who can change the momentum of a game, and if the Dallas Cowboys have any intention of reclaimin’ a Super Bow’ – they need Mr Parsons. To that end, Mr. Jones should’a paid Mr. Parsons what he wanted. Now, this whole idea that Mr. Jones is puttin’ out there that, this is all part of some “master plan to win a championship” is what is known in the civilized world as a damn lie! Y’ain’t foolin’ anyone Jerry! You gone and screwed up the team again! What is this, like our 30th rebuilding year?!?! Could you possibly get the cart outta the way of the horse for a change so we might have a chance of just winning the Division? Good lord man! You takin’ years off my life…

    I’m pulling out my sweaters and sweatshirts. Might have to wash my flannel shirts this week. I know it’s 78 degrees today, I don’t care. I want Autumn

  • ODDS and ENDS: End of Summer, Banana Ball, and Monday

    (Nothing really matters, anyone can see…)

    Well, I know the season of Summer isn’t over, but the kid starts school on Monday, so that means that this is the last weekend of Summer Vacation for the kid, and hr family as a whole. It did go by fast, and I do think all of us were ready for it to come to an end. This was the first Summer that we all chaffed at leaving our routine. I think in a large way, we had all come to enjoy the order that the school year brought us. It was like we had too much freedom. That really isn’t fully true, as we did enjoy going to to community pool, and the kid did love going to camp. The short vacation to West Virginia was relaxing, and calm and very enjoyable. It gave the wife and I a chance to recharge, and like all truly good vacations, it was over too soon. And though we still have at least another four weeks of heat and humidity in the City before we will notice a season change, it is time that we say farewell to Summer 2025. Goodbye, Summer… Goodbye, Summer…

    Okay, I get it; Banana Ball is a whole lotta fun. I will also say this; Banana Ball respects its fans, which is way more than I can same for MLB, the NFL, or NHL, and I’ll throw the NBA on that pile, too. Perhaps Banana Balls success is because it leans more in towards entertainment rather than athleticism, which is not to say the players are not athletes, for they are. Or perhaps Banana’s success is because the fan comes first in this equation. No flex priced tickets, no televised games stuck behind paywalls, no paying to reserve the right to buy season tickets, and basically not treating fans like they’re a mark who needs to have as much money squeezed out of them as possible.

    Speaking of the end of Summer, and stuff starting on Monday. I gotta get back into my writing routine…