Two phenomena about attending professional sporting events fascinate me (and not in a good way): how excited adults become when team personnel give away t-shirts and how excited adults become when there is a possibility that they may be appearing on TV in the crowd. I can see why kids and teenagers would become overjoyed by both prospects, for they don’t know any better. But, adults? Honestly, is a lousy $5 t-shirt – a t-shirt that likely won’t fit you and that likely wouldn’t be worn more than twice even if it does somehow fit you – really worth jumping up and down like a fool when the t-shirt cannon or t-shirt sling shot comes out? Is it really worth fighting another adult over that t-shirt?
It blows my mind even more what some young and inebriated college –aged women will do for a t-shirt as well (NSFW), but that’s a far different discussion.
With t-shirts, at least there’s a tangible benefit (though it’s a quite lame one), but I have no idea what is so enthralling about appearing on TV as a face in the crowd. Is there some secret memo that I missed detailing how a grand prize will be eventually awarded to one lucky fan that has appeared on TV in the background of a ball game? I don’t know whom I find more annoying and pathetic: the people who are on their cell phones and start going ballistic when their friends on the other end tell them they are on screen or the 100 fans who start waving and looking for the camera whenever the action in the game come nears them. Someone needs to let these fans know a little secret: the only people who get excited about seeing you on TV are people who see you all the time in real life: your friends and family. No one else cares one bit that you were one of ten fans waving for the camera when your team’s first baseman caught a pop-up in foul territory right near where you were sitting. Not a single other person.
I have a little more respect for the people who make signs with the purpose of appearing on TV. First off, if you’re appearing on TV due to a sign, you actually get some significant time on screen, usually in the range of five to ten seconds and often with a close-up. In contrast, foul ball waivers get a second or two on the screen and they are just one fan among many others. But more importantly, TV producers generally don’t show the banal signs, so it requires some creativity to make it onto a telecast due to a sign, and in many cases, the signs are actually funny or witty. Except, of course, when the sign is ridiculing an admitted or widely-suspected steroid users for steroid use, and then even the lamest sign makes it on the telecast. But, as with college-aged girls going wild, that is a story for a different day.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
George W. Bush's Views on Nation Building, circa October 2000
I started to write a post two weeks ago about these comments from then Gov. Bush from one of the 2000 Presidential debates, but I couldn't get my thoughts organized. But I just came across the clip on You Tube while trying to find instances of Bush speaking idiotically during the 2000 campaign for my post on Obama earlier tonight.
One thing that has irked me about this quote and what has happened in Iraq is that the media has not asked Bush about this. Particularly after his Administration's rhetoric about the purpose of the Iraq War shifted from finding and destroying Iraq's WMDs to creating a beacon of democracy in the Mid-East, the press should have hounded him about his comments from that debate.
The other thing about those comments is that I think they show how little Bush in 2000 understood the world. It boggles my mind that he couldn't envision a scenario in 2000 under which he would think it'd be in the best interest of our country for the United States to engage in "nation building". And, unfortunately, the events of the last seven plus years have proven that Bush's understanding of the world has not improved sufficiently since 2000.
One thing that has irked me about this quote and what has happened in Iraq is that the media has not asked Bush about this. Particularly after his Administration's rhetoric about the purpose of the Iraq War shifted from finding and destroying Iraq's WMDs to creating a beacon of democracy in the Mid-East, the press should have hounded him about his comments from that debate.
The other thing about those comments is that I think they show how little Bush in 2000 understood the world. It boggles my mind that he couldn't envision a scenario in 2000 under which he would think it'd be in the best interest of our country for the United States to engage in "nation building". And, unfortunately, the events of the last seven plus years have proven that Bush's understanding of the world has not improved sufficiently since 2000.
If You'd have Told Me that 2008 would be the Year. . .
If even as recently as two years ago, you would have told me that a major political party in our country would nominate a black man to be President in 2008, I wouldn't have believed you. But, tonight, that effectively happened, and I'm absolutely thrilled.
For about a year and a half, I've believed that Obama would make the best President among all the candidates. While I also believe that Hillary Clinton would make a good President, I think that Obama will be better able to build consensus for and gain passage of key parts of the Democratic Party's agenda, including enacting universal health care and getting our troops out of the disaster that is the Iraq War.
Aside from my partisan predilections, I believe this election is Obama's for the taking. There are eight key factors that favor him and make him the favorite for November in my estimation:
1. Unlike for Republicans, it's crucial for Democratic Presidential candidates to be effective communicators (see Bush vs. Dukakis, 1988; Bush vs. Clinton, 1992; Bush vs. Gore, 2000; Bush vs. Kerry, 2004). The core beliefs and tenets of the Democratic Party are more difficult to express and convey to voters than those of the Republican Party. Just think of how Democrats think about taxes versus how Republicans do. It doesn't take an imaginative or effective communicator to say, "I'm going to cut your taxes." But it does take an effective speaker to explain well why you don't advocating cutting taxes unequivocally. Barack Obama is by far the best communicator among national political figures. I think he's even better than Bill Clinton mainly because Obama doesn't start off with 25-40 percent of the audience predisposed not to believe a word he's saying as is the case for President Clinton.
2. The country is sick of George W. Bush. I think Obama and my fellow Democrats can make an effective case that a McCain Presidency would be Bush part 3.
3. The country is eager to get out of Iraq. As you may be aware, John McCain is not eager to leave Iraq.
4. The country isn't particularly excited about John McCain. Yes, most people in the country respect and like him, but most people don't feel passionately about his candidacy.
5. The Republican party isn't excited at all about John McCain. The base will not be energized by him nor will they be energized by the opportunity to campaign against Hillary and Bill Clinton.
6. The country is genuinely excited about Barack Obama (aside from rednecks and bigots, that is).
7. Most members of my party are extremely excited about Barack Obama. I'm not too worried about bitter Hillary supporters. I just can't imagine that too many people who are ardent supporters of Hillary Clinton would somehow choose John McCain over Barack Obama. When push comes to shove, the views of the hard core Hillary supporters are not all that different from those of Senator Obama, while they are dramatically different from those of Senator McCain.
8. The media is in love with Barack Obama. Despite what happened with the Rev. Wright incident, the mainstream media is rooting for an Obama Presidency.
I don't see anyway that any of these eight factors will change between now and November.
The only X factor is Obama's race (and related issues, such as lingering suspicions among the ignorant that Obama is Muslim). I am hopeful and optimistic that the majority of white working-class and middle-class voters in swing states will examine the candidates on their merits, on their positions and policies, and on their visions for our country. I think that enough will ultimately decide to vote for Obama, and they will help elect him as the 44th President in the history of our nation and the first non-white man ever to lead our country.
For about a year and a half, I've believed that Obama would make the best President among all the candidates. While I also believe that Hillary Clinton would make a good President, I think that Obama will be better able to build consensus for and gain passage of key parts of the Democratic Party's agenda, including enacting universal health care and getting our troops out of the disaster that is the Iraq War.
Aside from my partisan predilections, I believe this election is Obama's for the taking. There are eight key factors that favor him and make him the favorite for November in my estimation:
1. Unlike for Republicans, it's crucial for Democratic Presidential candidates to be effective communicators (see Bush vs. Dukakis, 1988; Bush vs. Clinton, 1992; Bush vs. Gore, 2000; Bush vs. Kerry, 2004). The core beliefs and tenets of the Democratic Party are more difficult to express and convey to voters than those of the Republican Party. Just think of how Democrats think about taxes versus how Republicans do. It doesn't take an imaginative or effective communicator to say, "I'm going to cut your taxes." But it does take an effective speaker to explain well why you don't advocating cutting taxes unequivocally. Barack Obama is by far the best communicator among national political figures. I think he's even better than Bill Clinton mainly because Obama doesn't start off with 25-40 percent of the audience predisposed not to believe a word he's saying as is the case for President Clinton.
2. The country is sick of George W. Bush. I think Obama and my fellow Democrats can make an effective case that a McCain Presidency would be Bush part 3.
3. The country is eager to get out of Iraq. As you may be aware, John McCain is not eager to leave Iraq.
4. The country isn't particularly excited about John McCain. Yes, most people in the country respect and like him, but most people don't feel passionately about his candidacy.
5. The Republican party isn't excited at all about John McCain. The base will not be energized by him nor will they be energized by the opportunity to campaign against Hillary and Bill Clinton.
6. The country is genuinely excited about Barack Obama (aside from rednecks and bigots, that is).
7. Most members of my party are extremely excited about Barack Obama. I'm not too worried about bitter Hillary supporters. I just can't imagine that too many people who are ardent supporters of Hillary Clinton would somehow choose John McCain over Barack Obama. When push comes to shove, the views of the hard core Hillary supporters are not all that different from those of Senator Obama, while they are dramatically different from those of Senator McCain.
8. The media is in love with Barack Obama. Despite what happened with the Rev. Wright incident, the mainstream media is rooting for an Obama Presidency.
I don't see anyway that any of these eight factors will change between now and November.
The only X factor is Obama's race (and related issues, such as lingering suspicions among the ignorant that Obama is Muslim). I am hopeful and optimistic that the majority of white working-class and middle-class voters in swing states will examine the candidates on their merits, on their positions and policies, and on their visions for our country. I think that enough will ultimately decide to vote for Obama, and they will help elect him as the 44th President in the history of our nation and the first non-white man ever to lead our country.
Notes from a Grateful Boston Sports Fan (Part 1)
On the eve of the first NBA finals in 21 years to feature my favorite basketball team, I figured that it'd be a good occasion to express how lucky I feel to be a Boston sports fan. The past few years of being a Boston sports fan have been incredible.
We experienced riches almost this good in the mid-80s, when all four major professional sports teams played in at least one final championship series or game (yes, even the Bruins were in the Stanley Cup finals in 1988), but it was nowhere near as successful as this era has been, with three Super Bowl and two World Series championships for Boston sports teams. Moreover, as 11- or 12-year old kid, I couldn't fully appreciate how special it was to witness the Celtics compete in four straight NBA finals, the Red Sox make it to the World Series, and the Patriots make it to the Super Bowl. Although, I should add, that I understood at the time and for the next 18 years how awful it was for that ball to go through Buckner's legs.
Since the current era of Red Sox popularity began in the late 1990s, I as a Boston sports fan have experienced remarkable joys. I witnessed the most dominant pitcher in the history of baseball in his prime, with Pedro's utter brilliance in 1999 and 2000. Take a look at Pedro's stats from 2000, and then remember that he was doing this amid a dramatic offensive explosion across baseball that was partially caused by steroids, which, by the way, were not against the rules of Major League Baseball at that time, no matter what the mainstream sports media, your local sports radio talk show host, or your old friend from high school who loves Phil Mushnick tries to tell you.
This included seeing in person perhaps one of his top two or three pitching performances ever when I ventured to Camden Yards for a Red Sox-Orioles game on a beautiful spring night in May 2000. This experience also made me aware of the growing national popularity of the Red Sox, as more than half the crowd that night were fellow Red Sox fans. Numerous "Let's Go Red Sox" and, my personal favorite, "Yankees Suck" cheers erupted throughout the upper deck in left field. Bill Simmons even pointed out in his Red Sox book that this was the night that the Boston sports media started to understand that something major was going on with the popularity of the Red Sox, as it was the first road game where Red Sox fans drowned out the home town fans and took over a visiting stadium.
Among the other legendary Pedro performances that I had the good fortune of watching (unfortunately only on TV) were his six-inning, no hit, no runs allowed relief appearance in game 5 of the 1999 ALDS versus the Indians, his domination of the vile New York Yankees in game 3 of the 1999 ALCS, and his striking out of the first four straight batters he faced in the 1999 All-Star game, three of whom in my opinion belong in the Hall of Fame (Barry Larkin, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire). I will also remember with fondness the way he never backed down from a hitter and pitched with a mean streak equal to that of Bob Gibson. This in turn led to one of the most amusing scenes on a baseball field in the last few decades, with Pedro tossing a charging Don Zimmer to the ground by his bald head during a brawl in the 2003 ALCS caused in part by Pedro's penchant for hitting Yankee batters.
We experienced riches almost this good in the mid-80s, when all four major professional sports teams played in at least one final championship series or game (yes, even the Bruins were in the Stanley Cup finals in 1988), but it was nowhere near as successful as this era has been, with three Super Bowl and two World Series championships for Boston sports teams. Moreover, as 11- or 12-year old kid, I couldn't fully appreciate how special it was to witness the Celtics compete in four straight NBA finals, the Red Sox make it to the World Series, and the Patriots make it to the Super Bowl. Although, I should add, that I understood at the time and for the next 18 years how awful it was for that ball to go through Buckner's legs.
Since the current era of Red Sox popularity began in the late 1990s, I as a Boston sports fan have experienced remarkable joys. I witnessed the most dominant pitcher in the history of baseball in his prime, with Pedro's utter brilliance in 1999 and 2000. Take a look at Pedro's stats from 2000, and then remember that he was doing this amid a dramatic offensive explosion across baseball that was partially caused by steroids, which, by the way, were not against the rules of Major League Baseball at that time, no matter what the mainstream sports media, your local sports radio talk show host, or your old friend from high school who loves Phil Mushnick tries to tell you.
This included seeing in person perhaps one of his top two or three pitching performances ever when I ventured to Camden Yards for a Red Sox-Orioles game on a beautiful spring night in May 2000. This experience also made me aware of the growing national popularity of the Red Sox, as more than half the crowd that night were fellow Red Sox fans. Numerous "Let's Go Red Sox" and, my personal favorite, "Yankees Suck" cheers erupted throughout the upper deck in left field. Bill Simmons even pointed out in his Red Sox book that this was the night that the Boston sports media started to understand that something major was going on with the popularity of the Red Sox, as it was the first road game where Red Sox fans drowned out the home town fans and took over a visiting stadium.
Among the other legendary Pedro performances that I had the good fortune of watching (unfortunately only on TV) were his six-inning, no hit, no runs allowed relief appearance in game 5 of the 1999 ALDS versus the Indians, his domination of the vile New York Yankees in game 3 of the 1999 ALCS, and his striking out of the first four straight batters he faced in the 1999 All-Star game, three of whom in my opinion belong in the Hall of Fame (Barry Larkin, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire). I will also remember with fondness the way he never backed down from a hitter and pitched with a mean streak equal to that of Bob Gibson. This in turn led to one of the most amusing scenes on a baseball field in the last few decades, with Pedro tossing a charging Don Zimmer to the ground by his bald head during a brawl in the 2003 ALCS caused in part by Pedro's penchant for hitting Yankee batters.
However, a Pedro memory that I will not think of fondly is his 8th inning of game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. Most of you will remember this as the Grady Little game, where Red Sox manager Grady Little let Pedro start the 8th inning when he was clearly fatiguing (this was despite the fact that the Red Sox front office instructed Little to take out Martinez after he threw 100 pitches because they had statistical evidence that Pedro's effectiveness deteriorated dramatically after he threw 100 pitches) and let him continue to pitch in the 8th inning after he gave up two hits. This poor decision led to the Red Sox giving up a 5-2 lead, with the ultimate heartbreak coming in the bottom of the 11th inning off the bat of Aaron Boone. I have little doubt that the Sox would have won that game had Grady Little put in Mike Timlin at the start of the 8th inning.
The heartbreak nearly continued the following fall, with the Red Sox falling behind to the Yankees 3 games to none in the 2004 ALCS, including suffering an embarrassing, seemingly demoralizing rout in game 3. What happened over games 4 through 7 in the ALCS is the stuff of legend and needs not bear repeating here. But needless to say, demons were exorcised, curses were upended, jinxes were crushed, and the natural order in the baseball world was turned upside down over those ensuing four games. And I couldn't have been any happier with that result. The dream became even sweeter a week later when the Red Sox captured their first World Series victory in 86 years. I'm not exaggerating when I say that one of the five best moments of my life was when Edgar Renteria grounded out to Keith Foulke to end game 4 of the 2004 World Series. It was a moment of pure joy and elation, and one that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I smile every time I think about it. Every time.
Celebrating that World Series victory was particularly special as well. That night I went out to a Red Sox bar in Georgetown to celebrate with my buddy Wertman. The bar was filled with several hundred Red Sox fans. It was a common sight to see someone giving high fives and hugs to random people throughout the bar. In a "it's a small world" moment, I gave a victory cigar to a fellow Red Sox fan not knowing who he was. Later on I ran into the younger brother of one of my friends from high school. The next thing I knew, my friend's brother and the guy whom I gave the cigar came up to me to tell me that the cigar recipient was my sister's 9th grade boyfriend.
The celebration continued a few days later when I flew home for the Red Sox's victory parade, where I joined an estimated one million fellow Red Sox fans along the streets of Boston to yell, scream, and cheer as the World Champs rode by in duck boats. I remember fondly waiting with anticipation for the parade to come near and finally hearing the crowd about a half mile away erupting when the Sox reached them. I remember seeing the first duck boat up close with Johnny Damon leaning out the front waiving. I remember seeing Manny, Papi, Pedro, and Schilling pointing into the crowd. And I remember trying to yell my hardest and loudest when I saw Theo Epstein roll by.
I know that the emotions I felt were also felt by millions of Red Sox fans across the world. Many fellow fans also used the moment to connect with loved ones who had passed away, with thousands throughout New England putting balloons, victory flowers, and other World Series memorabilia on the graves of the recently and long-lost siblings, parents, and grand parents who never had the opportunity to experience a Red Sox World Series Championship.
To top it all off, just three years later, the Red Sox emerged as the best team in baseball in April, held that position throughout the season, staved off elimination by winning three straight must-win games against the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS, and swept the Colorado Rockies to win their second World Series Championship of the decade. To Red Sox fans used to perpetual agony, it was almost an embarassment of riches.
What makes this all so great as a Red Sox fan is that the Red Sox are well positioned to contend for the World Series for the foreseeable future. They have the resources (financial and organizational) to acquire and develop elite talent that are unmatched by all but one team in the sport (the vile New York Yankees). This should allow them to be one of the five best teams for at least the next two or three seasons, and be one of the five best teams five to eight out of the next ten seasons. I wouldn't be surprised if in ten years, I will be able to write about another one or two World Series Championships.
On that uplifting note, I'll end this post. More to follow on this theme tomorrow.
Go Sox. Yankees Suck. Long Live Theo.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Not Okie Dokie
Count me officially worried about Hideki Okajima. Even last year in the post season, he didn't look nearly as good as he did during the regular season. He almost cost the Red Sox Game 4 of the World Series by giving up a crucial two-run home run in the 8th inning that made it a one run game.
After tonight, he truly scares me (he gave up 4 runs, giving the Orioles the lead). Let's hope he turns things around pronto.
After tonight, he truly scares me (he gave up 4 runs, giving the Orioles the lead). Let's hope he turns things around pronto.
What Year is This?
On Friday morning, on my way to work, I spotted a sight that I have not seen in more than two decades: someone wearing bleached jeans.
A mere 14 hours later, I spotted another sight that I haven't seen since 1987: the Boston Celtics making it to the NBA Finals.
This got me thinking: Am I in a time warp?
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