Tag: Super Bowl

  • 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

  • The Super Bowl Happened

    For me, the biggest thing that happened on Sunday was that my daughter wanted to watch the game with me. I know part of it was to see Taylor Swift (she’s a huge fan of her) and part of it was the commercials, but I will take away that the kid wanted to hang out with me on the couch.

    The older I get, the less and less I enjoy the Super Bowl. The game, most of the time, is enjoyable to watch, mainly because it’s two very good teams competing, which inherently is a compelling dramatic spectacle to watch. But everything else, just reminds me that I and the rest of America, are nothing but consumers and marks for corporations. Which I guess does make it truly an American Holiday.

    That all having been said, I had my money on Kansas City winning. My public reason was that you cannot count out Mahomes, as I do think his is one of the best to play quarterback. My private reason was that I despise the Philadelphia Eagles. Yes, I am a Cowboys fan, and for that reason, I can never support the Eagles. Little did I know that no one on the Chiefs showed up to play. Mahomes wasn’t a factor – no one was a factor on KC – which made the game dull, boring, and my worst nightmare.

    Even the commercials, the last respite of a useless Super Bowl, were also dull and boring. The best thing I saw was the Nike women’s athlete ad, which had a good message, my daughter loved it, but I didn’t feel like it was breaking new ground so much as having to remind everyone that women’s sports are a force now and shouldn’t be underestimated. Yet, seriously, are there still people (men) out there who don’t know that?

    And that leaves Kendrick Lamar. I dug it, thought it was cool, and will also admit that I am very late to the Kendrick Lamar party. Thought it had a message, a point you know, he did the song everyone was expecting, and the American Flag chorography was spot on perfect. Can’t go wrong with Sam Jackson either.

    All in all, kind’a a letdown. But I got to experience it with my kid.

  • Were We Not Entertained?

    I know that I am not the first person who thought about Hunter S. Thompson yesterday while watching the Super Bowl being played in Las Vegas. I’ll let those better-informed people speak on how American has descended into what Thompson envisioned. Me, I was just a viewer showing up to a “happening” to see what would happen.

    And things happened. It started slow, and then it picked up. The thing that everyone thought would happen happened; KC winning that is. (Not the Swift/CIA Psy-operation.) I can admit that I am cynical about everything outside of the game that was played. As football games go, I was entertained, and I felt like both teams were evenly matched.

    As for everything else…

    At some point this bubble of sports and entertainment excess has to burst, right? The extravagance and glutenous abandonment can’t continuously one up itself, year after year? Doesn’t everything have a tipping point? When what was good and fun, shifts and starts to be evil and detrimental?

    I am old enough to know that some people will try to push their cynical and contrarian views as innovative and creative thinking. I full well know that I have nothing new, innovative or creative to say about the events in Las Vegas and the Super Bowl. But it all did feel like a WWE spectacular, which one of my friends told me he was fine with.

    What I am reminded of is a statement an even more cynical friend of mine said about Super Bowls in general; “I don’t understand what is fun about cheering on millionaire players, and billionaire team owners who are fighting over a glorified piece of silver. No matter the outcome of the game, they’re still going home rich, and all we get is three and a half hours to forget about how we don’t have affordable healthcare, or whatever your big issue is. Our time makes them richer, and we get nothing for it other than a collective reality amnesia. Doesn’t feel like a fair exchange.”

    But Usher was cool.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Anyone Remember This, Super Bowl, and Sketchbooks

    (Guidelines are for losers)

    Does anyone remember Faces of Death? I’ve never seen it, nor do I want to. But the other day the movie popped in my head. I had a flashback of a memory from high school of finding out that it would be playing at a local dollar theatre at midnight, and how we all had to go. Through a combination of curfews and chickening-out, most of us didn’t go and see it. The handful of guys who did go just ended up arguing about how much of the movie was real or faked. (Turns out most of it was faked.) It’s funny thinking back on how controversial Faces of Death was back in the early 90’s, but also it’s not surprising how we couldn’t keep away from it. And don’t get me started on Banned from TV.

    I pick KC. I will also buy frozen hot wings from Trader Joe’s along with those frozen Mac ‘n Cheese balls this weekend for the game. Don’t give two craps about Usher; not that I have anything against him, he’s a talented man, just never been a fan. So… yeah; super bowl, yeah…

    I haven’t been drawing in my sketchbook lately. I have in my bio that I am a “sketchbook enthusiast,” but with my lack of production lately, I’m not sure if I can call myself that anymore. (It also begs the question; does anyone read bio’s let alone mine?) My daughter got a couple of sketchbooks for Christmas after having been inspired by her art teacher. She tries to draw something every day, and most of what she draws are cartoon characters, which is great. I hope that she establishes this as a habit that she keeps up with. Not that I am expecting her to become some “artist.” I just would like for her to have a creative outlet – a way to express herself and her feelings. Nothing bad comes from that.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Super Bowl, Minimalist Cities, and Gig Work

    Hey, the Super Bowl is here… whoopie… I really don’t care that much this year. I’ll watch, but it will be a “hate-watch” as I despise the Philadelphia Eagles. Besides being the Dallas Cowboys arch rival, their fans threw snowballs at Santa Claus. Yes, that’s real, and I can’t respect a fan base that hates on Santa. Which means, I guess I want to see Kansas City win. Either way, it’s just a “happening” kind of event for me. We’ll make queso and watch the commercials. The kid and the wife want to see Rihanna, so the marketing plan for that aspect was successful.

    Turns out the second worst city in America to be a minimalist in is my hometown of Arlington, TX. From what I read, air pollution, reliance on cars, and the lack of bike paths make it awful for minimalists, which sadly, I can attest to when it comes to Arlington. But in the City’s defense, it is still the largest city in America without a form of mass transit. Oh, and Salt Lake City is the best place for minimalists. Go figure…

    I started looking for a job this month. Not sure what to expect and there is no pressure, but I need to find something in the next couple of months. The wife suggested that I look into gig work. I’m open to this idea, but is there gig work that doesn’t involve delivering things; such as people, food or packages? Just wondering.