Double Take

My twin sisters turn 21 today and in honor of them I present to you the very first installment of Double Take, in which we examine the striking resemblances in the world of popular culture.

Our inaugural Double Take features Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen and Sum 41 lead singer Deryck Whibley.





First we have Clausen, the Prince of the yah dudes,who was born into a football factory of a family in Thousand Oaks, California. His two older brothers, Casey and Rick, each started at quarterback for the University of Tennessee, but neither was nearly as touted as Jimmy. Clausen, who was featured on a Sportscenter special as a Sophomore, was perhaps the most hyped high school football player of all time (Although it can be argued that the #1 player each year surpasses the previous years #1 in hype. Ex- Terrelle Pryor). Clausen was expected to return the Fighting Irish to national prominence and before he even stepped onto campus, he was being heralded as their savior. The golden domers were quick to point out his initials JC as evidence of his pending immortality, at least in Irish folk lore.

Since his arrival in South Bend, the Irish have floundered through a year and a half of mediocre football. It appears that Clausen spends more time at the beach ripping shredders on his surf board, participating in drinking competitions, and gelling his hair than he does in the film room, in the weight room, and on the practice field.

Clausen's long lost twin Whibley is perhaps most known for marrying fellow Canadian rocker Avril Lavigne (apparently their first song as bride and groom was Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls- why that's relevant I don't know), but he also had a brief pop career of his own as the lead guitarist/vocalist of the band Sum 41. Sum 41's most popular song was titled Fat Lip off of their 2001 album All Killer No Filler.

That song particularly resonates with me because it was featured in the EA Sports video game NHL 2002. That game and that game alone is the basis of all of my limited hockey knowledge (Most of you know that I'm not exactly the best ice skater out there). The best part of the game was the breakaway cam. Whenever you had a long one on one with the goalie, your controller started vibrating, a heart beat noise began pumping out of the speakers, and the screen blacked out almost everything but you and your path to the goalie. Needless to say that I nearly pissed myself every time that camera feature came on and shot the puck about 80 rows up in the stands.



Now I am a Notre Dame football fan, but I find it a little troubling that I can absolutely picture Clausen doing exactly what Whibley does in that video. All I'm saying is don't be surprised to see Jimmy whip out his surf board the next time the Notre Dame faithful start doing the wave.



Thanks to RJ in Liverpool, NY for making the observation.