So I was in the Dallas/Fort Worth area this weekend visiting my boy, and friend of the blog, RJ, who’s lived there for a few years. He’s a Cowboys fan and I’m a Giants fan, so it seemed like the perfect weekend to visit. Our buddy Hermo, who's a Giants fan like me, was supposed to come to, but he bailed a few weeks ago.
Here are some of the highlights of the trip.
1.) Real Texas BBQ- After RJ picked me up from the airport we went directly to a place called Railhead BBQ.
I didn’t know what I was in for, so I just went with the sampler platter. The platter contained delicious, moist ribs (the meat was literally falling off the bone), pulled pork, baked beans that I didn’t touch, coleslaw, barbecue sauce, two slices of white bread that seemed out of place even when I made a half sandwich with the pulled pork, and a gigantic goblet of beer that was pre-frozen (the goblet, not the beer) so much so that chunks of ice formed in the beer almost instantly. It was as if I were drinking a chemist’s concoction and not a beer, but it was phenomenal.
2.) Lockheed Factory Tour- RJ works for Lockheed Martin, which is a defense/technology based company that makes fighter jets, weapons, etc. for the U.S. government. The Fort Worth location manufactures three different types of fighter jets, so I got my American pride on as I toured the facility.
The place is enormous, which I guess makes sense because they build planes there. I wish I had a pedometer on during my visit because I’m pretty sure that I walked for over 2 miles just checking things out. My favorite part was the stealth paint color that reflects radars because it’s apparently such a high valued technology that if a drop gets in an employee’s hair the company will cut it all off before you can leave the premises.
3.) In & Out Burger- People on the West Coast crank it to In & Out Burger, so when I saw one in Dallas I made sure that we went there. I ordered a double double with fries and chocolate milkshake. The burger was amazing, but the fries were horrible…and I was hammered. Usually everything tastes great when I’m drunk, but these fries were brutal. The hype around In & Out Burger may be through the roof, but I’d much rather have Five Guys or Whataburger.
4.) Dealey Plaza- In case you don’t know, I was a politics minor in college and I’m a bit of a history buff, so when I decided to go to Dallas the first thing I wanted to do was go to Dealey Plaza. I’m sure most of you are asking yourself, “What’s Dealey Plaza?” Dealey Plaza is where JFK was assassinated on November 22nd, 1963. Don’t worry if you didn’t know that. I went to check it out with someone (RJ’s girlfriend) who thought JFK was assassinated in Washington DC and she lived in Texas for over a year. I think it’s safe to say that it’s the most famous murder in American history (most famous murder in history is probably Caesar, right?), especially because of the conspiracy theories about who may have played a role in its execution.
View from the Grassy Knoll
We were able to tour the 6th floor of the Texas School Book depository (where Lee Harvey Oswald fired at JFK), take pictures from the Grassy Knoll (where many believe a second shooter was located), and stand on the two X’s in the street which indicate where the presidential motorcade was when JFK was first hit and where he was when his head was blown off. It was a very cool feeling to take in such a historical site.
5.) Gun range- For the first time in my life I unloaded a gun that wasn’t attached to my body. I figured that if I was in Texas I had to shoot a gun, so it was probably #2 on my to do list. I was dumping my pants on the way to the range because of all the safety concerns, but it was more of a nervous anxiety. I was nervous about doing something wrong or against protocol, but also anxious to feel what it was like to pull the trigger on an actual fire arm.
The feeling of shooting a gun is unlike any feeling I’ve ever experienced. It is absolutely exhilarating to wield so much power. The avalanche of adrenaline adds to this feeling of invincibility, but there is also something calming and liberating about it.
6.) Authentic Dr. Pepper- People drink Dr. Pepper like it’s water down in Texas. In fact, it was invented in the 1880’s by a man named Charles Alderton in Waco. The first bottling plant was established in the nearby town of Dublin and it’s still in operation. It’s also the only plant that still uses the original formula because in the 1970’s all of the other bottling plants began to use cheaper corn sweeteners (high fructose corn syrup) instead of the original sugar. The Dublin plant only ships their Dr. Pepper to stores within a 44 mile radius, so I assumed that I wouldn’t be able to taste the original product while in Texas because Dallas is about 100 miles northeast of Waco. Apparently some of the stores in the 44 mile radius sell the original sugar variety to retail chains (Walmart) in Dallas, so I had the opportunity to try to the real formula. My expectations were naturally high and the original sugar variety didn’t exactly meet them. The difference, to my admittedly weak palate, was negligible.
7.) Honky Tonk Bar- We went to a bar on Friday night and if I didn’t know any better I would have thought I was in NYC or Boston. Looking around no one looked like they were from Texas. So on Saturday RJ took me to the area of Forth Worth known as The Stockyards.
We went to a bar called Cadillac’s that was as honky tonk as honky tonk gets. They were playing country songs that avid country fans from the Northeast have most likely never heard of and everyone in the bar knew all of the words. I saw about 4 Texas Rangers baseball hats and about 50 cowboy hats. 75% of the guys were dressed like they just came from the rodeo. In fact, all of the TVs in the bar were showing the rodeo. People were doing the Texas Two Step in a small area designated for dancing like it was going out of style. The age range of the clientele was about 20-60 and there was a nice mix. I swear, I felt more out of place than the lone black guy in the bar dressed in Cowboy garb. That all said, I thought it was awesome.
8.) Cowboy Stadium- Although there were plenty of reasons for me to go to Dallas, the main reason was to see Cowboy Stadium. Back in 2009 it made my Top 10 list of sports venues that every fan needs to experience and I’m glad that I got to check it off my list. First and foremost, the video screen is as advertised…enormous.
I spent about 66% of the game looking at it. That might have something to do with the fact that we didn’t get actual tickets to the game. We got party passes and had to stand on the concourse for the entirety of the game, but I snuck up to watch the game with my own eyes a few times and even walked down a level and stood in the last row for the last 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter and first 7 minutes of the 4th quarter.
The fact that the Giants came back from a 12 point deficit in the final 3:14 made my experience in the stadium that much sweeter.
Now that we are in full on Super Bowl detox mode I figured I'd chime in while I still could. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm sure I will in the coming days, but the tradition every year is for the Super Bowl winning quarterback to answer the question, "Now that you've won the Super Bowl, what are you going to do next?" by saying, "I'm going to go to Disney World." Disney then turns that post game response into a commercial. Here is my man Eli Manning after the Giants beat the Patriots in 2008.
While that is the tradition, here are the Top Ten Things that Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers should have said on Sunday night when asked what he was going to do next...
10.) "Teach Christina Aguilera the words to our national anthem."
9.) "Make sure my wide receivers wash the butter off of their fingers."
8.) "I'm going to Disney World"- Even I can't knock tradition. Plus, I work for Disney.
7.) "Head to the piano bar with a few of my teammates to celebrate."
6.) "Ask you all not to refer to me as A-Rod because I don't want to be confused for that purple-lipped loser."
5.) "Defend my title on Monday Night Raw"
4.) "Take Fergie into a bathroom stall because her body is ridiculous,"
3.) "And then punch her in the face for effectively ruining "Sweet Child o' Mine"
2.)"Put my red cardigan on and return to my neighborhood."
As many of you already know, the NFL Draft took place this past Thursday-Saturday. It was the first time ever that the event was put in prime time and I think it was an overwhelming success. Somehow, someway the draft was packed with drama at almost every turn. Now, sure, I can understand if some of you were bored with the overanalysis of players that you've never heard of, but I couldn't get enough.
I watched intently for a handful of reasons.
1.) To see who my beloved New York Football Giants would select 2.) To see where Jimmy Clausen/Golden Tate would end up 3.) To see where former Syracuse standouts Mike Williams and Arthur Jones would get drafted 4.) Because I was working on our radio coverage of Day 2 of the Draft 5.) To see which team would blow their load on Tim Tebow
Now I won't bore you with my analysis of the draft because no one can really evaluate the picks for at least 3 years, but I will say this.
-I felt like I was having flashbacks to '07 as Jimmy Clausen slipped mightily; however I think he will be a very good quarterback in the National Football League (all the analysts do it, why can't I?) and that he ended up in a very good situation in Carolina.
-On a related note, how do the Bills not draft Clausen or McCoy? Don't tell me that Brian Brohm, or as my buddy Browny likes to call him "The Buffalo Brohmer", is the long term answer there. I mean, I thought Brohm was awesome at Louisville and I just heard that he was trying to take advantage of second semester senior girls who are in desperation mode at Colgate over the weekend, but I don't think he's the next Jim Kelly.
-Lastly, and most importantly, a word about the Giants first round pick Jason Pierre-Paul. I've heard he's a freak of nature (and backflip extraordinairre), but I usually don't trust French people (because they surrender) and the "Pierre" portion of his last name has me a little worried. The only way I'll get over it is if he was hammmmered on draft night, because that's how we like our defensive players in New York.
This week we look at the greatest sports moments of the decade. For this list I tried to think of some of the moments of the past decade that captured the human element of sports. What moments, or games, went beyond the field/arena?
I should also point out that because I am very passionate about sports my own personal leanings weighed heavily in the ranking process. Before we begin, here again is the criteria that was used to compile this list.
- Did I enjoy it? Did the movie/song/moment/etc. resonate with me personally? - Did the people who's opinions really matter like it? Was the movie/song/moment nominated for an Oscar/Grammy/ESPY? - How much does it typify the decade? In 20-30 years will people think of it when they think of the 00's?
Bonus Write Up- Central Washington Softball Players carry opponent around the bases
Say what you will, but this was a really nice moment. This was a playoff game and that was the game winning run. The Central Washington Players could easily have said, “Rules are rules,” and not done a thing. A pinch runner would have been put at first base with the game tied and their season would have continued. Instead they realized that they had been beaten fair and square and that this was the right thing to do.
10.) Byron Leftwich carried by his offensive lineman at Marshall (2002)
Continuing right along with the carrying trend, Marshall QB Byron Leftwich broke his shin in a game against Akron (Fuck the Zips), but played through the pain and tried to spark a comeback with a little help from his friends.
The Thundering Herd came up short that day, but Leftwich earned national recognition for his gutsy performance. The image of his linemen carrying him downfield remains an indellible image in college football’s storied past.
9.) Derrick Fisher returns to Utah after his 11 month old daughter has successful eye surgery (2007)
In the 2007 Western Conference Semifinals the Utah Jazz faced the Golden State Warriors. Utah’s starting point guard Derrick Fisher missed Game 1 of the series because his 11-month old daughter had a rare form of eye cancer and was undergoing an emergency surgery and chemotherapy in New York City. It looked like he was going to miss Game 2 as well, but with the doctor’s permission he and his family flew back to Salt Lake City and arrived at the arena with the game already in progress. The Jazz, although they were playing at home, trailed much of the game, but got a huge emotional lift when Fisher entered the game with 3 minutes to play in the 3rd quarter.
After the season Fisher asked the Jazz to release him from his contract so that he could play in Los Angeles where his daughter would have access to the right kind of specialists for her condition. The Jazz, in a classy move, obliged.
8.) The Tiger Slam (I guess this term now has a new connotation) (2001)
In 2000-2001 Tiger Woods became the first golfer in the modern era of the Grand Slam (whatever that means) to be the holder of all four championship titles at the same time.
In the 2000 U.S. Open, Tiger won by an astounding 15 strokes, which broke the record for the largest margin of victory in a major championship. The previous record had stood since 1862. Sports Illustrated called it the greatest performance in golf history.
Tiger then went on to win the 2000 Open Championship at St. Andrews (the British Open) by 8 strokes. He finished at -19, which set a record for the lowest score under par at a major.
Up next was the 2000 PGA Championship which Tiger won in a 3 hole playoff against Bob May. Tiger was 7 under par on his last 12 holes of regulation.
Tiger completed the Slam with a two stroke victory over David Duval in the 2001 Masters. He was 16 under par for the tournament.
Admittedly this moment did not capture the human element of sports at all. In fact, it showed how dominant and almost unhumanlike Tiger was. That being said, this moment will probably be the most memorable from a historic perspective because of the dominance.
7.) Maurice Cheeks helps girl sing the national anthem (2003)
In a 2003 game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Portland Trail Blazers, Blazers head coach Maurice Cheeks came to the rescue as 13-year-old Natalie Gilbert forgot the words to the Star Spangled Banner.
Mo Cheeks may not have been that great of a coach, but he sure was a great guy.
6.) The Saints beat the Falcons in their first game in the Superdome since Hurricane Katrina (2006)
On Monday September 25th, 2006 the New Orleans Saints returned to the building that provided shelter for many of their fans after the unthinkable damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. There was, and probably still is, plenty of recovery work still to be done, but the Monday Night Football game brought a sense of normalcy that the city had been missing for quite some time. As you might imagine, it was a very emotional game influenced heavily by the home crowd. Looking back, the Falcons really didn’t stand much of a chance. On the fourth play from scrimmage the Saints blocked a Falcons punt and returned it for a touchdown. The final score was Saints 23, Falcons 3. After the game Falcons head coach Jim Mora Jr. said, “As hard as it is to lose this game, I'd be lying if I didn't say there was a little, little piece of me that really appreciated what this game meant to this city."
5.) The 2008 Olympic 4x100M Relay
Michael Phelps might have been the story of the 2008 Olympics for the United States (although I think the Redeem Team deserves some love), but without Jason Lezak he doesn’t break Mark Spitz’s record.
In case you forgot, when asked about the American team a few days before the race Frenchman Alain Bernard said, “The Americans? We’re going to smash them. That’s what we came here for.”
Suck it France.
4.) Red Sox come back from a 3-0 deficit and beat the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS
Down 3-0 in the series, The Red Sox trailed the Yankees 4-3 going into the bottom of the 9th in Game 4 and had to face Mariano Rivera, the best closer in the history of baseball. If you’re one for details, Mo had already pitched a scoreless 8th inning that night. Kevin Millar led off the inning with a walk. Immediately every Red Sox fan (and Yankee hater) knew that Dave Roberts was coming in to pinch run. After a few pick off attempts, Roberts stole second on a verrrrry close play. Bill Meuller then singled him home to tie the game and the Red Sox had new life. That stolen base was perhaps the single biggest momentum shift of the decade. The Red Sox went on to win Game 4 on a David Ortiz 2-run home run in the bottom of the 12th inning.
The Red Sox then did the unthinkable and won Games 5, 6 and 7 to become the first team in MLB history to win a series that they trailed 3-0 (2 NHL teams have done it, but no NBA teams have ever pulled it off). The winning didn’t stop there. The Sox then cruised to their first World Series Championship since 1918 by sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in 4 games.
This comeback fulfilled the lifelong dreams of many diehard Irish Catholic drunks in Beantown that had grown accustomed to losing. The fact that it came against their bitter rivals made it that much sweeter. Although I forgot about it when I first compiled this list, this moment speaks volumes about hope, belief, and triumph. I think the reason that I blocked this moment out (even though at the time I was in full Yankee hater mode, so I was rooting for the Red Sox) is because it was a part of a Boston run on championships in the 3 major sports.
3.) Syracuse wins the 2006 Big East Tournament
After losing 3 straight games to close the regular season Syracuse was squarely on the bubble at 19-10 heading into the Big East Tournament. Most people thought that they needed to win at least 2 games to even have a chance at making it into the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team. We pick it up on the first day of the tournament.
Wednesday March 8th- Down 73-71 to Cincinnati with 6.2 seconds left, Gerry McNamara hits a running 3-pointer to win it.
Thursday March 9th- Down 74-71 to #1 ranked Connecticut with 11.2 seconds left, McNamara hits a 3-pointer from about 27 feet away to send the game into overtime. The Orange win it in the extra frame by a score of 86-84.
Friday March 10th- Syracuse trails #23 ranked Georgetown by 15 at the half. McNamara leads a spirited comeback effort and hits a 3-pointer to bring the Orange to within 1 at 57-56 with 48 seconds to go in the game. After a Demetris Nichols steal, McNamara leads a 2 on 1 fastbreak and assists Eric Devendorf on the game winning layup with under 10 seconds to play. No team that had won a game in overtime in Big East Tournament history had gone on to win the next day.
Saturday March 11th- McNamara scores 14 points and dishes out 6 assists in Syracuse’s 65-61 win over #16 ranked Pittsburgh. No team had ever won the Big East Tournament by winning 4 straight games in 4 straight days. McNamara’s three 3-pointers give him a Big East Tournament record 16. He is the runaway choice for Tournament MVP.
2.) Syracuse wins the NCAA National Championship (2003)
Led by freshmen forward Carmelo Anthony and freshman guard Gerry McNamara, Syracuse beat Kansas 81-78 on April 7th, 2003 to claim the school’s first ever NCAA National Championship. Carmelo scored 20 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and had 7 assists in the championship game and was named as the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. McNamara hit six 3-pointers to spark the Orange in the first half, but it should be noted that he was held scoreless the rest of the way.
Sophomore forward Hakim Warrick sealed the win with this iconic block of Michael Lee’s 3-point attempt with 1.5 seconds to play.
In case you missed it, both of Warrick’s feet are in the lane when Lee catches the play. Also, during my illustrious 4-year career as a co-ed intramural volleyball player, I had my team warm up to each game by recreating this block. I would pretend to be Michael Lee in the corner and each of my teammates took their turn practicing their spikes by channeling their inner Warrick.
One of my favorite items of sports trivia to know is the starting lineup of NCAA Championship teams, so in case you were wondering, here was who the Orange put on the floor to start the game.
PG- Gerry McNamara SG- Kueth Duany SF- Carmelo Anthony PF- Hakim Warrick C- Craig Forth
Syracuse went 30-5 that year with losses at Pittsburgh, at UCONN, at Rutgers (everyone knows how tough it is to win at the RAC), and in the garden to Memphis to start the year and to UCONN in the Big East Tournament. That, of course, is the long way of saying that the ‘Cuse went undefeated in the Carrier Dome that season. Haven’t I told you that nobody, and I mean nobody comes into the Loud House and pushes us around?
1.) The Giants win Superbowl XLII (42 for those of you that don’t know your Roman Numerals) (2008)
Superbowl XLII was one for the ages. It pit the undefeated New England Patriots against a gritty New York Giants team that was seeking revenge. The two teams met in Week 17 of the regular season at Giants Stadium (a game that I attended in person). The Patriots were trying to become the first team in NFL history to go 16-0 in the regular season and because the Giants were already locked into the 5 seed of the NFC playoffs, it appeared like they wouldn’t provide much of a challenge. Giants head coach Tom Coughlin even said that he would most likely only play his starters for the first half. With the Giants leading the game 21-16 at the half their starters decided in the locker room that they wanted to keep playing. The game seesawed back and forth in the second half and the Patriots ultimately came out on top 38-35. Many credit this game, although it was a loss, as a huge momentum builder for the Giants.
The Giants went on to win 3 straight road games (@ Tampa Bay, @ Dallas, and @ Green Bay- Brett Favre’s last game as a Packer) to earn their shot at revenge against the Patriots in the Superbowl. The Patriots were so dominant that year that many prognosticators thought that they would steam roll the Giants in the big game. They argued that Patriots head coach Bill Bellichick would devise a plan to out scheme the Giants with two weeks to prepare for them.
As it turned out there was no schematic advantage. The Giants went toe to toe with the mighty Patriots and got the ball back trailing by 4 with 2:39 to play in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Eli Manning then engineered a 12 play 83 yard drive that culminated in a Plaxico Burress 13 yard TD reception.
The drive featured a 4th and 1 conversion in their own territory and perhaps the greatest play in Superbowl history on a 3rd and 5 from their own 44 yard line.
David Tyree…..From? Syracuse
The Patriots got the ball back with 29 seconds to play, but Tom Brady threw an incomplete pass on first down, was sacked by Jay Alford (the 5th NYG sack of the game) on second down, threw another incomplete pass on 3rd down, and turned the ball back over to the Giants on downs with an incomplete pass on 4th down.
The Giants lined up in victory formation with 1 second left and after Eli Manning took a knee they were Super Bowl Champions.
For the record, earlier in the week Plaxico Burress predicted that the G-Men would win the game 23-17. When told of this prediction Patriots QB Tom Brady scoffed and said, “"We're only going to score 17 points? Is Plax playing defense? I wish he had said 45-42 and gave us a little credit for scoring more points." The final score? Giants 17, Patriots 14.
Best of the rest
'00- Mike Jones tackles Kevin Dyson on the 1 yard as time expires in Superbowl XXXIV '01- Diamondbacks beat Yankees in Game 7 of the World Series '02- Brett Favre throws for 399 yards and 4 TDs a on MNF a day after his father dies '05- Cancer survivor Lance Armstrong wins his 7th consecutive Tour de France '06- Kobe Bryant scores 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, Vince Young leads Texas past USC in the BCS title game, 11 seed George Mason goes to the Final Four '07- Boise State beats Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, Joey Chestnut sets a new world record and brings the Mustard Belt back to America by eating 67 hot dogs and buns in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest '08- Jon Lester throws a no-hitter 21 months after being diagnosed with cancer '09- Syracuse beats UCONN in 6 overtimes in the Big East Tournament, 59-year-old Tom Watson nearly wins the British Open
My twin sisters turn 22 today, so in honor of them, I present an extended version of Double Take. Noticing full fledged look-a-likes, or seeing a resemblance to someone in another is a skill that almost everyone thinks they possess. Now, yes, anyone with the sense of sight should be able to recognize a look-a-like more often than not, but as with anything some people's perceptions are much more accurate than others.
From what I can tell, there are three different ways to identify a look-a-like. The first way is to say that Person A looks like Person B. Pretty straight forward and pretty standard. The second way is to say that Person A will look like Person B in x amount of years. This one involves a bit of intuition, but when it's done accurately it can be quite impressive. The third and final way to identify a look-a-like is to say that Person A looks like a cross between Person B and Person C. This is perhaps my favorite variety of look-a-likes, but it's also the hardest to notice and to get others to see.
Now the 3 look-a-likes that follow are all of the first kind. Person A looks like Person B. All three look-a-likes feature someone from the world of sports and someone from Hollywood.
1.) St. Louis Rams Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo and Actor Edward Norton
They better hurry up and make a movie about the New York Giants 2008 Super Bowl victory over the previously ubeaten New England Patriots so Norton can play then Defensive Coordinator Spagnuolo. In all seriousness, I bet that they turn that playoff run into a movie at some point (10-20 years), but by the time they get around to making it Norton will be too old to play Spagnuolo.
2.) Actor Keanu Reeves and New York Knicks forward Danillo Galinari
I guess based on his role as former Ohio State quarterback turned Federal Agent Johnny Utah in Point Break (1991) we've always thought that Keanu had the athletic look about him. Now, all these years later we finally have someone that looks exactly like him participating in professional sports. From Point Break to Speed (1994) to The Matrix (1999) we've seen Keanu exhibit the ability to handle many guns, yet I still think Gallinari is the better shooter.
3.) Actor/Comedian Tom Green and Denver Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton
First off all, I must admit that I heard this one on the radio this morning as I was waking up. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, what do you think Tom Green is up to these days? The former MTV talk show host turned musician turned actor disappeared from our lives just about as quickly as he came into them. His run of fame was so short that I don't even think he'll get a mention on VH1's I Love the 90's/00's Part 2,3, or 4. I honestly don't think I had heard his name for a solid 4 years until this morning. Speaking of which, is there any doubt that Kyle Orton will be equally irrelevant in 10 years?
2008, like every other year in recent memory, isn't going quietly. Everywhere I look I see lists, countdowns, top 10s, montages, etc. This makes sense because what better time than the end of the year to construct such a compilation? Despite their pervasiveness, I don't mind them at all. I'm under the impression that the majority of Americans thoroughly enjoys these kind of things. You'd be lying if you said you haven't been sucked into watching VH1's Top Songs of the '90s (60-41). I'm not above this phenomenon; however I naturally have to add my own little flair to it. Therefore, I present to you, the best things that happened to me in 2008, by month.
January
The New York Football Giants Superbowl run
First and foremost, I'm well aware that the Giants won the Superbowl in February. As emotionally satisfying as beating the undefeated Patriots was in the Superbowl, would it have been as great without the three road wins in the NFC playoffs that got them there? Well, yeah probably, but for the sake of argument, it would be like fast forwarding right to the 3:19 mark of "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins. The Giants went to Tampa and won on January 6th, then went to Dallas and won on January 14, and then went to Green Bay and won on January 21st. The unimaginable ride then continued into February where the Giants took down the PATS in Arizona.
In the week leading up the big game, Giants wide reciever Plaxico Burress predicted that the Giants would win the game 23-17. Upon hearing this, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady scoffed at the notion of his team scoring only 17 points. Well, they only scored 14 (Final score was 17-14). To make things even better, the unsung hero of the game was none other than Syracuse University grad David Tyree. Tyree, who most people forget caught the first touchdown pass, was on the tail end of what is, without question (at least there shouldn't be any), the greatest play in Superbowl history.
February
Watching the Knicks blow a game in the world's most famous arena
In early February of 2008, I went to a Knicks game with my unnamed cousin, his girlfriend, and her roommate. The roommate of my unnamed cousin's girlfriend got us the tickets through her dad. On the way down to the city for the game she called and asked if she could use his credit card for food, drinks, etc and he gave her the go ahead. If that wasn't enough, we walked into Madison Square Garden and they handed us free Knicks t-shirts. Yahtzee.
Now as you should know, the Knicks were having another terrible season under Isiah Thomas and we did not expect them to even hang around with the much more talented Spurs. Much to our surprise, the Knickerbockers played pretty well and were leading by 9 late in the 4th quarter. At this point, it was suggested that we leave in order to make a train back to school, otherwise we'd have to wait an additional hour. Now being a Knick fan, I knew that no lead was safe, but agreed to start heading towards the exits because I did not pay for a thing all night. By the time we got to the walkway (a span of no more than 30 seconds) the Spurs had made two 3-pointers and had cut the lead to only three. With the game tightening, we decided to hang on a little while longer. With 8 seconds to play the Knicks still led by three, but sure enough Michael Finley made a 3-pointer as time expired to send the game into overtime. The Spurs then scored the first seven points of overtime and won the game easily.
A few days later, my unnamed cousin sent an email to the father of his girlfriend's roommate to thank him for the Knicks tickets. He was very formal in his thank you thanks to some wonderful suggestions of rhetoric by yours truly. Hours later he got an email back that said, "STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER"
March
My 22nd birthday
this picture is not from my birthday, nor is it from March
I had a lot of options to choose from in March. Spring Break, St. Patrick's day, and March Madness all would have been worthy choices, but I chose my birthday because a lot of things that happened on Spring Break I am sworn to secrecy never to repeat, I'm only half Irish where as I am 100 percent me, and Syracuse was once again left out of the big dance.
My 22nd birthday was on a Friday and one of my closest friends from home was there to aid in the celebration so we started off at a local bar for happy hour. This was the beginning of a little tradition as we went to the same bar for happy hour most Fridays for the rest of the school year. After happy hour I went to a friend's house and did not get low. On our way back to my house for somewhat of a Spring Break reunion of sorts, we stopped at a liquor store to get a bottle of Level, which was our drink of choice on Spring Break. My buddy searched the store while I stood in the center like a stone(d) statue trying not to break anything. He couldn't find any Level so he asked the store's owner if he had any in stock. He had only one huge bottle that was in a box also containing 4 glasses and he had been trying to get rid of it for a while. It was originally $54 dollars, but he sold it to us for $46. Considering our state of minds and our insistence on getting Level, we probably would have bought it for $146. The only problem was that it was on top of a refrigerator in the corner of the store that I was closest to. Somehow, someway I was able to get the box off of the fridge and onto the counter without breaking anything. I then carried the box into my house like it was the Stanley Cup and we proceeded to polish it off before going out.
April
Winning the Men's A and Co-Ed A Intramural Softball Championships
Intramural softball was the most fun of all the intramurals offered in college. Our men's and co-ed teams ran through the regular seasons and earned the top seed in each of the tournaments. Now of course both teams were stacked with former college baseball and softball players. The men's team survived a first round scare before rolling to the finals. The co-ed team just rolled. On a Sunday late in April, both the co-ed championship and games 1 and 2 of the men's finals (best of three series) were held. The day before the games, Glancy had the presence of mind to suggest that we buy champagne to celebrate our impending victories. Liquor laws in the state of Connecticut prevented us from purchasing those 12 bottles before the games on Sunday.
Despite a desperate ploy by the opposing team to nullify our co-ed offense (they intentionally walked our two best hitters every time they came to the plate), our team, named The Shampoo Effect by the way, cruised to victory. We all shared a bottle of champagne (all of the guys still had to play in the men's games which followed right after) and were awarded with our championship t-shirts.
The men's team, clad in matching uniforms and personalized entrance music, also had no problems. Before each game I would make a CD that including each player's selection of an entrance song as well as songs to play during warmups and inbetween innings. Our female friends would then play the appropriate song for each batter as the game progressed. In case you were wondering, and I know you were, my entrance song was "The Heat is On" by Glenn Frey (think from the 15 to the 25 sec mark). We swept the series and celebrated on the field, each with a bottle of champagne in our hands. In the parking lot afterwards, I took one last swig of my bottle and was promptly written up by a public safety officer (have no fear, I got off without having to pay a fine).
May
My college graduation
All throughout second semester, we were calling this day (May 18th) 'doomsday' because it meant the end of our run as college undergrads. Our lives, as we knew them, would never be the same. We were about to be ripped away from the place that we had called home for the past four years. It never really dawned on me how big of an occasion graduating from college is until I donned the cap and gown myself.
The day itself sucked. We all went out the night before (collllegge) and had to wake up at the crack of dawn to be on campus for 8 a.m. Then we were forced to sit and listen to people we hardly, if ever, came across during our time in college give us advice about 'the real world'. Our speaker was our own university president, who would have given a speech even if we shelled out the big bucks to get someone noteworthy.
Then we all had parties with our friends and family before going out one last time as a class. Lots of people had to move out of their houses the next day so we partied hard. It was fun, but also sad because of everyone leaving the next day.
June
St. Vincent's Golf Tournament
This was the second year in a row that my brothers and I played in our church's golf tournament together. I use the word 'church' loosely because I can't tell you the last time that any of us went there without our parents (Christmas/Easter). Our dad has played in this tournament for years and took it upon himself to sign us up back in '07 because all of us were going to be home for the first time in a while. Like most golf tournaments, it's an excuse for us to knock the little white ball around and throw back some suds. Back in '07 my brothers almost didn't let me shoot anymore because I was so inebriated that my shots were seemingly going backwards. Somehow we still shot -7. We were also yelled at by the club pro because we brought our own beer, which was in violation of the first rule of the course. This year we figured we would do better because we had all gotten better over the year, but we were all miserable and shot only -1.
July
Sandy Island
Let me just first say that July 4th is a very close second. Nothing like drinking PBR's and playing horseshoes on my front lawn with my brothers. It literally looks like we are from Alabama. That being said, every year of my life I have gone to a place called Sandy Island on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire for a week late in July. I wear a wristband on my left wrist as a constant reminder of this beautiful place. It allows me to think about vacation every day of the year. While on my vacation from nothing, I drank brew dads overlooking a lake, played a round of golf, played in a softball game, and spent some time with my extended family.
August
And the Oscar goes to...
August was somewhat of a slow month for me so I took it upon myself to start 'training' for the World Series of Pop Culture, which apparently doesn't take place anymore. At the time I was working for a minor league baseball team, which meant that I worked from about 5-10 every night the team was in town. This left my days open and I tried to make the most of them. I decided to watch every movie that has been nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars in my lifetime. I had seen a bunch, had been meaning to see a lot, and had never heard of some of the others.
An excursion like this forced (not really) me to watch a lot of movies that I would otherwise never have thought to see. I can't call them bad movies because The Academy obviously thought they were one of the five best movies of the year in which they came out. I can't tell you how many Hugh Grant movies I ended up watching. Here are some titles of the kind of movies that I'm talking about. Sense and Sensibility, The Piano, Ghost, Out of Africa, Erin Brokovich, etc. There were movies on the list that I kept putting off because I didn't want to put myself through them. Brokeback Mountain, for example, and Titanic (which actually wasn't terrible).
With the bad also came the good. Of the movies on the list (yes I wrote them all down) that I hadn't seen, these were some of my favorites. Finding Neverland, As Good as It Gets, Four Wedding and a Funeral (a very good Hugh Grant film), Scent of a Woman, etc.
To date I have seen 95 of the 115 movies that have been nominated in my lifetime. Of the 20 that I have not seen, one is from the 00's, nine are from the 90's, and 10 are from the 80's.
September was the first month of my life that I was working 9-5 in the "real world" and it gave me a better appreciation for the weekends. My memories are naturally a bit vague, but I remember a lot of tailgating, going out, and waking up only to start drinking again (the shampoo effect). September was also the beginning of the football season, which also meant the start of the fantasy football season. As we all know, football is now America's pastime. Baseball has passed the torch because, quite simply, it's past its time.
October
The Shampoo Effect
A few weeks after my friend Mike suggested it, I finally caved and started this blog. This blog has both been a blessing and a curse. For starters, it has given me an outlet to express my strong opinions. Also, I recognize that I am the type of person that needs occasional reassurement from my friends and this blog provides that from time to time. The downside is maintenance. Sometimes I just don't have the time or creative intuition to post anything new and I feel like I am, in some way, letting people down.
November
Powder's Party
Well since I just ruled in favor of my blog over Alumni Weekend at the U, I think it's only fair that I choose a party filled with college friends that happened two weeks later. My buddy Pete had a party at his house in Larchmont, which is right outside NYC, for his 22nd birthday on a Friday. Now Larchmont is a good four hours from my house in Syracuse and as I said earlier, I was working from 9-5. I literally made the decision to go the night before, took off from work 15 minutes early, and I was on my way.
Now Pete is one of a handful of people in the world that I would drive four hours to see if they were hosting a party. I mean somebody's gotta kill the kegs, right? No in all seriousness, it was a good time partying with my college friends that I had seen two weeks prior. The next morning I got back in the car, drove four hours home and partied with my friends from home. All in all, it was a great weekend.
December
Starting my career
After waiting for months, I was finally brought on board by the worldwide leader. It was an awkward time to get officially hired with the holidays and all, but it has been good so far. I was able to go home for Christmas, which was good, but now I am slowly going through Syracuse withdrawl. What makes it tougher is that Syracuse University's men's basketball team is awesome and I wish I could watch them take on the brunt of the Big East live in the Loud House.
