Every year around this time, ESPN runs it's "My Wish" series, which features stories of terminally ill children who have a sports wish granted - like hanging out with Shaq or managing the Minnesota Twins for a day. ESPN and The Make a Wish Foundation do an incredible job both helping children and creating compelling TV.
I look forward to it every year because no matter what, the stories always touch my heart in ways that very few things can. Why does sports have that ability? What is so powerful about sports that it becomes a tool to help alleviate the pain of sickness and provide hope and motivation?
I really think it's the simplicity of the thing. Sports is something that brings people back to their innocence, back to their youth. It's pure (in theory, at least) - the sheer emotion from a game winning hit, a comeback, a buzzer beater - those thing elicit such pure emotion and joy (or heartbreak). I also think it has to do with the nostalgia. If you grew up a sports fan, chances are someone took you to games when you were little. For me it was my grandfather and my uncle. To the day that I die, I will associate Seattle Mariner games and University of Washington Football games with Dr. Harry J. Kraft and Richard Kraft. They were the ones who took me to The Kingdome, they were the ones who bundled me up and drug me up to section 48 in Husky Stadium on all those brisk November Saturday's.
Maybe I'm way off as to what makes sports so special and powerful. But regardless of WHY it happens, it happens. Movies are made about it, stories are written about it, and friendships blossom over it. I don't care why sports are so rad, I'm just glad that they are.
Best. Dog. Ever
Even if you hate what I write, you love this dog.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Are You Ready For Some Football? Meh....I guess....
Breaking news - the lockout is over. I mean, it's good news. It really is. Football is fun, the NFL is fun to watch, and Fantasy Football is one of the most entertaining games ever created. But really...If the NFL didn't come back, if the owners and players were stupid enough to dig in their heels and cost each other billions of dollars (seriously, it would be in the billions), I wouldn't have lost sleep.
I am over Terrell Owens, I am over Chad Ochojohnsoncinco, I am over Jerry Jones and Roger Goodell and Ben Roethlisbearwneaiouwbaslmbkjabaiobesgayger. I just don't care about professional football. For me, it doesn't hold a candle to the college game. There's nothing...NOTHING like college football. I don't even know if I can explain it. The game day experience, the passion, the emotion, the high's and low's, the trash talking....the history, my god, this history! College teams have been playing organized football for more than 100 years.
I don't know if I can even put my finger on it...maybe it's because you are so invested in a team because you went to school there, or your entire family went to school there. It doesn't matter if your team goes 0-12, you still live and die with them. You still have faith that next week is the week.
Here's the thing. I know that college football is big business. I know that schools and teams and coaches and players cheat, and it sucks. I went through it with my team, with my beloved Huskies. Doesn't matter though. I still rooted just as hard, cared just as much, and went up and down with them. Just like all Ohio State fans will, just like all the USC fans have done, and just like all the Oregon fans will once that other shoe drops. And by the way, Oregon, it's coming...you guys are going to take it right up the tail pipe. Don't think that Mark Emmert, former University of Washington President Mark Emmert, won't jump at a chance to absolutely BURY you if it presents itself.
Yeah - the resemblance is quite striking.
There's nothing like waking up on Saturday, packing up Daniel Baker's truck and heading down to Montlake. There's nothing like getting that tent set up, getting that grill fired up, cracking open that first Busch Light and settling in with all of your best friends for an entire day of food, drinks and football.
So NFL, welcome back. I'm glad that there will be fantasy football this year. I'll see you on that first Saturday in September at Husky Stadium. Or Martin Stadium. Or The Horseshoe, or The Big House, or any other iconic stadium throughout the country. So yeah, I'm ready for some football.
I am over Terrell Owens, I am over Chad Ochojohnsoncinco, I am over Jerry Jones and Roger Goodell and Ben Roethlisbearwneaiouwbaslmbkjabaiobesgayger. I just don't care about professional football. For me, it doesn't hold a candle to the college game. There's nothing...NOTHING like college football. I don't even know if I can explain it. The game day experience, the passion, the emotion, the high's and low's, the trash talking....the history, my god, this history! College teams have been playing organized football for more than 100 years.
I don't know if I can even put my finger on it...maybe it's because you are so invested in a team because you went to school there, or your entire family went to school there. It doesn't matter if your team goes 0-12, you still live and die with them. You still have faith that next week is the week.
Here's the thing. I know that college football is big business. I know that schools and teams and coaches and players cheat, and it sucks. I went through it with my team, with my beloved Huskies. Doesn't matter though. I still rooted just as hard, cared just as much, and went up and down with them. Just like all Ohio State fans will, just like all the USC fans have done, and just like all the Oregon fans will once that other shoe drops. And by the way, Oregon, it's coming...you guys are going to take it right up the tail pipe. Don't think that Mark Emmert, former University of Washington President Mark Emmert, won't jump at a chance to absolutely BURY you if it presents itself.
Yeah - the resemblance is quite striking.
There's nothing like waking up on Saturday, packing up Daniel Baker's truck and heading down to Montlake. There's nothing like getting that tent set up, getting that grill fired up, cracking open that first Busch Light and settling in with all of your best friends for an entire day of food, drinks and football.
So NFL, welcome back. I'm glad that there will be fantasy football this year. I'll see you on that first Saturday in September at Husky Stadium. Or Martin Stadium. Or The Horseshoe, or The Big House, or any other iconic stadium throughout the country. So yeah, I'm ready for some football.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Back in the Bloggosphere - The sad state of the Seattle Mariners
I don't know if it's a good thing or bad thing, but I'm back to blogging. A colleague of mine just started a "30 day Challenge," where she would do one thing everyday for 30 days, and it inspired me to start writing again. So, here we go. Hopefully, 30 days will turn into 60, 90 and so on and so fourth. It may very well be that the only people that will care are my wife, mother and dog, but they are the ones that matter, right? But I digress...
Much has happened in the near eight months since I last made any kind of post on this thing - the UW men's team went to the NCAA Tournament, Venoy Overton did his best Godfather (WWF, not Marlon Brando) impression, the Seahawks made the playoffs with a losing record, and the US Women's National Team stole defeat from the jaws of victory. That's all well and good, but the thing that has had the most profound effect on me is the Mariners 2011 season. All of their struggles have been well documented. They can't hit. They can't score runs. Their ownership group only cares about turning a profit. That's not the worst part for me, not by a long shot. The worst part is...this team is boring.
In the 80's, during the heyday of the Kingdome, when 2500 fans would come watch a game and them M's were regulars in the old AL West's cellar (uh, not they are anything different in the new AL West, but go with me here), there were still players you were excited to watch. It started in 1981 with Julio Cruz. He was exciting, he stole bases and played great defense. Then there was Cuffs, Bill Caudill. He was a closer, and he was eccentric. He was the first Mariner to record back to back 20 save seasons. Gaylor Perry got his 300th win in a Mariner uniform. In 1984, two future all stars debuted, Mark Langston and Mr. Mariner himself, Alvin Davis. AD won the Rookie of the Year award, and Langston won 17 games led the league in strikeouts. Those guys were exciting. Sure, the M's only won 74 games and finished 5th, but it was fun. The Reagan era Mariners gave way to 1989 and the arrival of Lou (who actually showed up in 1993) Griffey, Randy Johnson, Buhner, Edgar and the core group that would lead to 1995 and the arrival/revival of basebal in Seattle. No need to document that here, everybody knows what happened. What many people forget is that despite those great teams and players, the Mariners STILL have only made four playoff appearances in their history. So why was that period looked on so fondly? BECAUSE THERE WERE PLAYERS THAT WERE EXCITING TO WATCH. Even after 1995, when the M's had three losing seasons in four years, attendance skyrocketed. You had a chance to watch two of the greatest players in a generation on the same team (say what you will about A-Rod, he is one of the all time greats.
You never knew what you may see from those two. In 1996, Griffey hit .300 and 49 bombs while all a 21 year old A-Rod did was win a batting title and hit 36 homers. In 1998, Griff hit 56 homers and A-Rod went 40-40. No playoffs in either year, but my God were they fun to watch. Throw in Randy Johnson every five days, the pure brilliance of Edgar's swing and the potential Bobby Ayala meltdown each night, and those teams were ridiculously entertainig.
As entertaining and enthralling as the late 90's teams were, their destrcution was equally compelling. First Randy threw a fit on his way out of town. Then Jr. decided he couldn't hit homers in Safeco and held the club ransom for a trade. Then A-Rod swore "it wasn't about money, I just want to win," and went to a last place team for $252 million. No shortage of drama there. All the while, the M's went to the playoffs in 2000 and 2001 by adding the right peices to what was already in place. A-Rod led the team in 2000 with Olreud and Mike Cameron, and in 2001 Ichiro came to town and won the MVP and Rookie of the Year award all while playing a style of baseball that we've never seen. Every night was exciting, every night something amazing happened. The farm system was rich with talent, and we all had faith in the front office.
Fast forward a decade. Lou didn't get the support he wanted from the front office. We've seen the rapid aging of Edgar, Olerud, Boone and Cameron. We saw the putrid Bill Bavasi era that included bringing in overpriced and overmatched free agents and mortgaging the farm system for a broken down lefty who has in four years made less than 50 starts. Only now are the M's showing signs of pulling out of the Bavasi doldrums. But barely. And here's the problem. The product that the Mariners have put on the field isn't just bad, it's a boring team. It's not fun to watch. It's depressing. I don't enjoy watching Chone Figgins look overmatched by a 87 mph fastball. I don't like seeing our "superstar" right fielder grounding out the 2nd baseman four times a night. I don't like seeing our Gold Glove center fielder hitting .180 on July 21st.
Baseball is a very special game. It's a game where a 2-1 pitchers dual can be edge of your seat excitement. But that's not what we're facing. We're looking at a team that if Felix gives up two runs in the 2nd inning, he knows he's getting hung with a loss, because the offense isn't going to score two runs to get you back in the game. And if they do, you're very surprised and excited. This team doesn't have, and hasn't had anybody worth watching in nearly a decade. Not to say that there isn't talent on the roster. Felix and Michael Pineda are top of the rotation pitchers. But it's tough to watch them pitch every five days when you know they're going to lose 2-1 or 1-0. Imagine if the M's could put up four or five runs on a regular basis for those guys? Yeah....it would be nice. Dustin Ackley looks like a legit star in the making, and Carlos Peguero can absolutely mash - if he only got thrown fastballs. Maybe he should ask JoBu to come...offer him rum, and cigars....
The point is...there is a flicker of hope, even if it's faint. But it's at least two years away. And for a fanbase that has already seriously erroded, this is hard to watch. The Kingdome was a fun place to watch baseball, and that fun brand of baseball gave birth to Safeco Field, SoDo Mojo and a ton of other crappy slogans. When I was growing up, the Mariners were awful, and I didn't like them...the Oakland A's were my favorite team and Jose Canseco was my favorite player. Despite that, my grandfather took me to games, and to this day I can say that I watched Ken Griffey Jr. play when he was 19 years old. Who are today's kids going to say they watched? "Back in 2011, I saw Jack Wilson play 2nd base. Man, did he have an odd looking face." Yeah, doesn't quite have the same ring to it.
Much has happened in the near eight months since I last made any kind of post on this thing - the UW men's team went to the NCAA Tournament, Venoy Overton did his best Godfather (WWF, not Marlon Brando) impression, the Seahawks made the playoffs with a losing record, and the US Women's National Team stole defeat from the jaws of victory. That's all well and good, but the thing that has had the most profound effect on me is the Mariners 2011 season. All of their struggles have been well documented. They can't hit. They can't score runs. Their ownership group only cares about turning a profit. That's not the worst part for me, not by a long shot. The worst part is...this team is boring.
In the 80's, during the heyday of the Kingdome, when 2500 fans would come watch a game and them M's were regulars in the old AL West's cellar (uh, not they are anything different in the new AL West, but go with me here), there were still players you were excited to watch. It started in 1981 with Julio Cruz. He was exciting, he stole bases and played great defense. Then there was Cuffs, Bill Caudill. He was a closer, and he was eccentric. He was the first Mariner to record back to back 20 save seasons. Gaylor Perry got his 300th win in a Mariner uniform. In 1984, two future all stars debuted, Mark Langston and Mr. Mariner himself, Alvin Davis. AD won the Rookie of the Year award, and Langston won 17 games led the league in strikeouts. Those guys were exciting. Sure, the M's only won 74 games and finished 5th, but it was fun. The Reagan era Mariners gave way to 1989 and the arrival of Lou (who actually showed up in 1993) Griffey, Randy Johnson, Buhner, Edgar and the core group that would lead to 1995 and the arrival/revival of basebal in Seattle. No need to document that here, everybody knows what happened. What many people forget is that despite those great teams and players, the Mariners STILL have only made four playoff appearances in their history. So why was that period looked on so fondly? BECAUSE THERE WERE PLAYERS THAT WERE EXCITING TO WATCH. Even after 1995, when the M's had three losing seasons in four years, attendance skyrocketed. You had a chance to watch two of the greatest players in a generation on the same team (say what you will about A-Rod, he is one of the all time greats.
As entertaining and enthralling as the late 90's teams were, their destrcution was equally compelling. First Randy threw a fit on his way out of town. Then Jr. decided he couldn't hit homers in Safeco and held the club ransom for a trade. Then A-Rod swore "it wasn't about money, I just want to win," and went to a last place team for $252 million. No shortage of drama there. All the while, the M's went to the playoffs in 2000 and 2001 by adding the right peices to what was already in place. A-Rod led the team in 2000 with Olreud and Mike Cameron, and in 2001 Ichiro came to town and won the MVP and Rookie of the Year award all while playing a style of baseball that we've never seen. Every night was exciting, every night something amazing happened. The farm system was rich with talent, and we all had faith in the front office.
Fast forward a decade. Lou didn't get the support he wanted from the front office. We've seen the rapid aging of Edgar, Olerud, Boone and Cameron. We saw the putrid Bill Bavasi era that included bringing in overpriced and overmatched free agents and mortgaging the farm system for a broken down lefty who has in four years made less than 50 starts. Only now are the M's showing signs of pulling out of the Bavasi doldrums. But barely. And here's the problem. The product that the Mariners have put on the field isn't just bad, it's a boring team. It's not fun to watch. It's depressing. I don't enjoy watching Chone Figgins look overmatched by a 87 mph fastball. I don't like seeing our "superstar" right fielder grounding out the 2nd baseman four times a night. I don't like seeing our Gold Glove center fielder hitting .180 on July 21st.
Baseball is a very special game. It's a game where a 2-1 pitchers dual can be edge of your seat excitement. But that's not what we're facing. We're looking at a team that if Felix gives up two runs in the 2nd inning, he knows he's getting hung with a loss, because the offense isn't going to score two runs to get you back in the game. And if they do, you're very surprised and excited. This team doesn't have, and hasn't had anybody worth watching in nearly a decade. Not to say that there isn't talent on the roster. Felix and Michael Pineda are top of the rotation pitchers. But it's tough to watch them pitch every five days when you know they're going to lose 2-1 or 1-0. Imagine if the M's could put up four or five runs on a regular basis for those guys? Yeah....it would be nice. Dustin Ackley looks like a legit star in the making, and Carlos Peguero can absolutely mash - if he only got thrown fastballs. Maybe he should ask JoBu to come...offer him rum, and cigars....
The point is...there is a flicker of hope, even if it's faint. But it's at least two years away. And for a fanbase that has already seriously erroded, this is hard to watch. The Kingdome was a fun place to watch baseball, and that fun brand of baseball gave birth to Safeco Field, SoDo Mojo and a ton of other crappy slogans. When I was growing up, the Mariners were awful, and I didn't like them...the Oakland A's were my favorite team and Jose Canseco was my favorite player. Despite that, my grandfather took me to games, and to this day I can say that I watched Ken Griffey Jr. play when he was 19 years old. Who are today's kids going to say they watched? "Back in 2011, I saw Jack Wilson play 2nd base. Man, did he have an odd looking face." Yeah, doesn't quite have the same ring to it.
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