The non-fan

This is a post for all my sports fans out there. We have all been through the wins and losses.. the ups and downs. We've experienced the sore loser and the sore winner. Both, equally uncomfortable.. but I think there is actually something worse than all the worst of a bad loss and a fan of the other team giving it to ya like there is no tomorrow.. and that is the person who has no dog in the fight but decides to gouge at you anyway.. just to pile on.

I can take a ribbing from a fan who obviously bleeds with their team a lot easier than that of a once in a while fan who happens to be on board the win wagon. But nothing chaps my hide worse than someone who just wants to get a shot in.. to.. I don't know.. make themselves feel better? You've seen them.. sometimes they are hard to detect... but I would wager most of them are women. Sorry girls...but the fact is more men enjoy sport than do ladies and I know first hand some of those that I speak of.. they couldn't tell who starts on the O-line or QB, hell they probably wouldn't know when game time is if not for their man following so closely. You know who you are...you would rather be shopping or going to a fall festival and if 'your team' loses.. you could care less... but should they win, you are the first to thump your chest. Now this is not to say all ladies observe this moniker... but to those who do.. shame on you... and to the men who do contribute to this sort of behavior... catch fire!

Americans... Nobody panics better than we do!

So with Hurricane Ike looming off the coast of Texas, reports went out across the southeast of potential problems with distribution of gasoline as well as an increase in cost. Reports said the price could go as high as five dollars a gallon. Naturally we as a public chose to conserve, carpool, cancel non-essential trips, etc. right? NO.. we are Americans! People actually left work to go get gas. There were so many people at the pumps.. it looked like it was 1979 all over again. The cars were 4 and 5 deep in some places. Many stations ran out of gas in a matter of hours.

Since it is a supply and demand industry, as supply decreased.. price increased. in a matter of minutes the price jumped 30 cents. Panic is not good! It helped push the Great Depression when there was the run on the banks. What about Y2K. I know people who went into serious debt preparing shelters and stocking up food for the end of the world. Speaking of stocking up.. when there is a threat of inclement winter weather in the south, you can count on a run on bread and milk at your local grocer. Simply put... calm down people. I quote Tommy Lee Jones, as Agent K in 'Men in Back' when I say.. "a person is smart... but people are stupid"

Why we can say we

In the sports arena fans will often attach themselves to a team, so much so, that they include themselves in the success or plight of that team. When speaking of this team , the fan will often say 'we'. For some reason a fair number of athletes and sports personalities find this offensive. It as though the feel it is their right, their entitlement. Well, I am here to argue on behalf of Joe Fan everywhere... and I intend to use some logic to back up my argument.

First of all we know that fan is short for fanatic.. and when it comes to fanaticism, logic usually flies right out the window along with the paraphernalia of a rival team when in reach. However consider this when debating the 'we' argument... what is the true driving force behind sports? The answer is money. It is not athletes, or owners, or sportsmanship.. it is money. The all mighty dollar. All sports are where they are now because of revenue...

Which brings me to my second point, where does all this money come from? Now you could say something smart like.. the owner writes the checks, or big companies pay ad revenue to these leagues... in both cases you would be right, but why do they do this? Just because? No, it is to lure the fan. The owners put forth a product to lure the fan so we will spend money. Advertisers spend their money so when we watch we will spend our money.

So, in truth we are a silent.. or sometimes, very vocal partner in this operation. That is why we can say 'we' when referring to our favorite team(s). The fan ultimately pays the bills. We fund these endeavors and as such belong to that team(s) just as much as any owner, manager, coach or player. We give not only of our wallets, but also our hearts through our passionate screams and chants for defense, when appropriate... and when WE win, we the fan don't ask for a championship ring to put on our finger... just the right to be a part of the organization that we... yes we all put together.

First

Well here I am trying my hand at this blogging thing. I did one on MySpace once.. but I was not motivated to do another. Mainly because I have grown to despise MySpace. Not for the concept of social networking.. but because everyone is always changing their names from meaningless nonsense to even more meaningless nonsense. One day someone's name will be.. oh I don't know... "Bluebird" and the next they are **<3HuGgYbEaR<;D**. That is so annoying to try and read... plus, how the hell am I supposed to know who you are? Especially when you change your photo to a picture of some guy, that isn't you, wiping out on his skateboard...

Then the layout customisation just got to be too much for me to handle.. there is just way too much clutter on some of those pages. Plus someones songs blaring out at me when I switch to thier page... thankfully that one has a remedy. I know I sound like I must be a 95 year old man pining for simpler times, but I think it is more that I am bored with the anxt that is so frequently on display on MySpace.

The bilboard is what really sent me over the edge. So many people posting random thoughts that I, god knows why, would find myself reading. Everything from a post about Nachos being too hot and burning the roof of someones mouth leaving that little flap of bruned skin hanging down, to an attempt at deep meaning full poetry about the boy that just broke up with this 12 year old who has no true concept of a committed relationship. Somtimes something so inane as, I'm getting in the shower now. WTF?!? Who needs to know this? Do you always narrate your life?

Long and the short, I made the move to FaceBook and am much happier. So if you are an avid MySpace user... nevermind, you're not going to relate to this anyway...