A few "weekends" ago (Tuesday-Wednesday for those keeping track at home) I made my way back to the city of hopes and dreams. As always, my time there went by too quick, but it was very comforting. I don't get to spend enough time in the city where I grew up, but I know that my experiences there are always with me. That might seem a little too sappy for the first paragraph, but bear with me. In fact, I partially stole that line from a recent Mad Men episode. If you don't watch the show, you should start, because you get lines like, "When a man walks into a room he brings his whole life with him," on a regular basis.
Anyway, whenever I'm home I find myself reading a poem that my sister Maura wrote because it's posted on a cabinet in the kitchen. I'm not sure if she wrote it as part of a class or just of her own volition or if she followed some sort of structure or just wrote free verse, but it speaks to me everytime I read it.
I am from the side hall bench
Pass down cleats two sizes too big
I am from three stolen bikes and sidewalk chalk
Pine cone wars and the three-legged dog that could run faster than my brothers
I am from cops and robbers with the neighborhood kids
Salem Hyde Park and Sedgwick Farm
I am from watermelon and magic markers
From GI Joes and hairless Barbies
I am from Clifton Place and Brattle Road
I call On The Rocks my home too
Cook Ave block parties is where I grew
I am from lost glasses and blame it on Kackie
One of the three dudettes and young Uncle Tim
Marie and Irene and all in-between
From, “Stop it Danny!” to “Say CHEESE!”
To “That’s a dollar” and “Find me my keys!”
I am from the love of high school sweethearts
And four big brothers who give me pillars of support
From the girl that looks exactly like me
To the immeasurable connection
That makes me complete
I am from the dome
Sunnycrest and hot cocoa
From high school parking lots and football fields
Blue minivans and snow mounds
I am forever Syracuse bound
I am from Autumn stew and pigs in the blanket
Pudding snacks and freeze pops
Memories filled in a turtle sandbox
Ticket stubs and old mixed tapes
I am from photographs and newspaper scraps
Family videos capturing the “good old times”
For all of time.
In case you didn't pick up on it, the poem is essentially about how she was shaped by her childhood experiences. Also, in case you didn't know she has an identical twin and the two of them used to play in a sandbox that was a large plastic turtle. Obviously this poem speaks to me because I shared many of her experiences, but that aside I like her use of personification and love the lines "I am forever Syracuse bound" and "For all of time."
Now I haven't written a poem since my senior year of highschool. FYI- I was big into rhyming couplets. In fact, about 80% of the speeches I gave in my CAPS (Current Affairs/Public Speaking) class rhymed. So as I read Maura's poem this time around I thought about the things, places, etc. that I would include in a poem about my childhood. So a few days ago I began jotting down a few of those images, phrases, places, etc. and shortly thereafter I realized that I could probably also write a poem about my time in college. I planned on putting both poems together tonight, but I got an idea for a third such poem earlier today (I'll put the other two together in the near future).
I was at work, talking to my cousin who will not be named on gchat and he asked me when I'll be going back home next because he claims that he wants to come with, saying, "I need some dome (that's what she said) and Suds in my life." As he mentioned the dome, all sorts of thoughts and images rushed back to me. Syracuse University athletics have played an important role in my life. How important? Well, you decide...
I am from The Loud House
A Real Men Wear Orange t-shirt that’s ripped and faded
I am from storming the court 3 times against Pitt
6 OT’s against UCONN and Big Sh#@!
I am from standing and clapping until the first made field goal
Thirddddd down and “it’s good if it goes!”
I am from dome dogs and SUper 44oz soft drinks
Varsity Pizza and pitchers at Chuck’s
I am from 311 Heaven and the 2-3 zone
From “The ‘Cuse is in the house. Oh my God! Oh my God!”
To “We wouldn’t have won 10 fucking games!”
I am from Warrick’s block and the Brominski catch
Pace’s floater and Freeney’s sacks
From Coach P and Jimmy B
To Melo’s headband and Moten’s socks
Jonny’s smile and Spotwood’s returns
I am the dome ranger
Mr. Excitement and Otto the Orange
The Pride of Scranton and 6 first half three’s
From “Wal-ter Rey-es!” and “WE ARE S U!”
To Kevin Abrams picks and Donovan Darius hits
I am from G-Mac’s run in the Big East Tourney
Our One Shining Moment and big men coached by Bernie
From beating Georgia in ’96 on John Wallace’s three
And going deep to Johnnie Morant and David Tyree
I am from retired jerseys and championship banners
Along with 34,616 (or 49,249) of my closest friends
For all of time
Showing posts with label Syracuse Suds Factory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Syracuse Suds Factory. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Weekend Rewind
It was quite the weekend for your (third or fourth?) favorite blogger. I worked all day Saturday and all night Sunday, but the weekend that was is still worthy of a quick recap. Here are the top 6 things that went down (some literally) this weekend.
1.) What team do you play for?
My cousin on the left, Tyler on the right, and yes, that was our team uniform
I played in a golf tournament on Friday with Kyle Korver, my unnamed cousin, and my buddy Tyler. The day was filled with plenty of American brews, a few icings, cigars, and a solid round of golf.
In fact, we birdied 3 of the first 5 holes that we played and had visions of winning, but then the booze set in. We gave one back on our 7th hole. Played even par for the next ten and then ended with a birdie for a very respectable 3 under par.
2.) Leaving my mark
After the tournament we mosied on over to the bar that we used to frequent in college. Within seconds of entering I scurried to the men's room and, believe it or not, dropped heat in there for the first time. Now I'd previously been a patron at this bar anywhere from 50-100 times and never once considered depositing some crude oil in the Pacific rim. The thought never crossed my mind because the place was usually packed when I was there, but no more than 15 people were there on Saturday afternoon. I went in with low expectations, because it's a bathroom in a crummy little college bar, but I was pleasantly surprised with the confines. I took my time, did some work, and then went right back to crushing bevs.
With time to reflect upon my actions, I am now proud to say that after four years of frequenting the Seagrape Cafe, I have officially left my mark.
Go figure that this marks the second time in as many months that I have delivered the goods for the first time in a place that I have been to over 50 times. In mid May I flushed my feces for the first time in the Syracuse Suds Factory.
3.) Tying the knot
Speaking of college, Lyle and Tristen officially became man and wife on Saturday. I was not invited, but plenty of my friends from college were there to celebrate the momentous occasion. Now I could use this platform (which I gave myself) to rant about the exhorbitant amount of Facebook (self) promotion that said wedding received, but all I'll say is congratulations to the happy couple.
4.) America....Fuck Yeah!
The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa kicked off on Friday and the much anticipated opening round match between England and the United States of America took place on Saturday. As you should already know, England scored quickly, but Clint Dempsey's double bouncer was too hot for English goalie Robert Green's oven mitts to handle and the match ended in a draw.
Bring on Slovenia (Friday at 10 AM). USA! USA! USA!
5.) The Lake Show may be sinking....
The Los Angeles Lakers, my adopted post season team (because the Knicks haven't even sniffed the playoffs since 2001), lost Game 5 of the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics on Sunday night. They now trail in the series 3-2 (the first time they've trailed in a playoff series all year) and now have to win Game 6 and Game 7 at home to repeat as champions.
The Game 5 loss was especially painful for me because I talked a lot of shit to all of my friends from Boston leading up to the pivotal game. To my credit, I did predict that Kobe Bryant would have a monster game and go for about 40 (he finished with 38), but it was all for naught.
Not only did I talk a lot of shit before Game 5, but before the series began I made a bet with my buddy Mark. The bet stipulated that if the Celtics win, I have to go to Boston and pay for all of Mark's drinks for a night, and if the Lakers win, he has to come to West Hartford/Fairfield/NYC (my choice) and pay for all of my drinks for a night. My favorite part about the bet is that the winner has to pay for the loser's brunch the next day.
My pre-series prediction was Lakers in 7, so let's hope that that holds true.
6.) Eat your heart out Tony Romo
On Sunday I found out that my buddy from high school will be playing in this weekend's U.S. Open. Naturally, I was floored when I saw the good news. Playing in the U.S. Open, especially at such a famous course like Pebble Beach, is the pinnacle for almost every golfer out there.
I actually bumped into my buddy in downtown Syracuse about a month ago when I was home for my sisters' college graduation (the night after I dumped in Suds). He was home that weekend (he spends most of his time in Florida nowadays) for a local qualifying tournament, in which he finished tied for first. We talked for about half an hour and he told me how he now had to go down to New Jersey for a regional qualifying tournament. He said that if he finished in the top 2 in that tournament then he would qualify for the Open. I wished him well, but didn't expect him to pull it off because of the high degree of difficulty.
In case you didn't read the link, and I assume that most of you don't, my buddy's name is Dan McCarthy. He's a professional golfer who plays on the Hooters and Canadian tours. The Open will be his first PGA sanctioned tournament and obviously also his first major.
1.) What team do you play for?
My cousin on the left, Tyler on the right, and yes, that was our team uniform
I played in a golf tournament on Friday with Kyle Korver, my unnamed cousin, and my buddy Tyler. The day was filled with plenty of American brews, a few icings, cigars, and a solid round of golf.
In fact, we birdied 3 of the first 5 holes that we played and had visions of winning, but then the booze set in. We gave one back on our 7th hole. Played even par for the next ten and then ended with a birdie for a very respectable 3 under par.
2.) Leaving my mark
After the tournament we mosied on over to the bar that we used to frequent in college. Within seconds of entering I scurried to the men's room and, believe it or not, dropped heat in there for the first time. Now I'd previously been a patron at this bar anywhere from 50-100 times and never once considered depositing some crude oil in the Pacific rim. The thought never crossed my mind because the place was usually packed when I was there, but no more than 15 people were there on Saturday afternoon. I went in with low expectations, because it's a bathroom in a crummy little college bar, but I was pleasantly surprised with the confines. I took my time, did some work, and then went right back to crushing bevs.
With time to reflect upon my actions, I am now proud to say that after four years of frequenting the Seagrape Cafe, I have officially left my mark.
Go figure that this marks the second time in as many months that I have delivered the goods for the first time in a place that I have been to over 50 times. In mid May I flushed my feces for the first time in the Syracuse Suds Factory.
3.) Tying the knot
Speaking of college, Lyle and Tristen officially became man and wife on Saturday. I was not invited, but plenty of my friends from college were there to celebrate the momentous occasion. Now I could use this platform (which I gave myself) to rant about the exhorbitant amount of Facebook (self) promotion that said wedding received, but all I'll say is congratulations to the happy couple.
4.) America....Fuck Yeah!
The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa kicked off on Friday and the much anticipated opening round match between England and the United States of America took place on Saturday. As you should already know, England scored quickly, but Clint Dempsey's double bouncer was too hot for English goalie Robert Green's oven mitts to handle and the match ended in a draw.
Bring on Slovenia (Friday at 10 AM). USA! USA! USA!
5.) The Lake Show may be sinking....
The Los Angeles Lakers, my adopted post season team (because the Knicks haven't even sniffed the playoffs since 2001), lost Game 5 of the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics on Sunday night. They now trail in the series 3-2 (the first time they've trailed in a playoff series all year) and now have to win Game 6 and Game 7 at home to repeat as champions.
The Game 5 loss was especially painful for me because I talked a lot of shit to all of my friends from Boston leading up to the pivotal game. To my credit, I did predict that Kobe Bryant would have a monster game and go for about 40 (he finished with 38), but it was all for naught.
Not only did I talk a lot of shit before Game 5, but before the series began I made a bet with my buddy Mark. The bet stipulated that if the Celtics win, I have to go to Boston and pay for all of Mark's drinks for a night, and if the Lakers win, he has to come to West Hartford/Fairfield/NYC (my choice) and pay for all of my drinks for a night. My favorite part about the bet is that the winner has to pay for the loser's brunch the next day.
My pre-series prediction was Lakers in 7, so let's hope that that holds true.
6.) Eat your heart out Tony Romo
On Sunday I found out that my buddy from high school will be playing in this weekend's U.S. Open. Naturally, I was floored when I saw the good news. Playing in the U.S. Open, especially at such a famous course like Pebble Beach, is the pinnacle for almost every golfer out there.
I actually bumped into my buddy in downtown Syracuse about a month ago when I was home for my sisters' college graduation (the night after I dumped in Suds). He was home that weekend (he spends most of his time in Florida nowadays) for a local qualifying tournament, in which he finished tied for first. We talked for about half an hour and he told me how he now had to go down to New Jersey for a regional qualifying tournament. He said that if he finished in the top 2 in that tournament then he would qualify for the Open. I wished him well, but didn't expect him to pull it off because of the high degree of difficulty.
In case you didn't read the link, and I assume that most of you don't, my buddy's name is Dan McCarthy. He's a professional golfer who plays on the Hooters and Canadian tours. The Open will be his first PGA sanctioned tournament and obviously also his first major.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Hockey
Hockey has long been the red-headed stepchild of the four major professional sports, at least as far as Americans are concerned. Now maybe I'm a little biased because I can't skate well and all of my hockey knowledge is based on NHL 2002 for PlayStation2, but logically, this makes perfect sense. For starters, the South isn't exactly receptive to the sport for obvious climatic reasons. With year round pleasant temperatures, outdoor sports like baseball and football are king. So right off the bat, half the country is genuinely disinterested with the sport.
As for those of us north of the Mason-Dixon line (I honestly couldn't even tell you where that is), hockey is relatively hit or miss. Much of this has to do with the fact that hockey is a sport dominated by the affluent. Simply put, hockey is an expensive sport to get involved in. Helmets, pads, sticks, skates, etc. are not cheap. This economic barrier prevents many from developing an affection for the sport. The easy, cheap alternative (probably not the right word anymore) is basketball. Basketball's rise in popularity as a winter sport has decimated the potential for hockey to grow in America.
Despite the abundance of logical data that suggests that Hockey will continue to be the laughing stock of the four professional sports, I'm shocked that it doesn't have more of a following...and here's why.
We'll do it live
Now I can't speak from personal experience, but from everything that I hear, hockey is undoubtedly the best sport to watch live. Again, this makes perfect sense. Hockey is an action packed, high paced game. Professionals have both incredible speed and skill and I'm sure that both are only accentuated in person. The game is also very physical. In your average NHL game you'd be sure to see a handful of bone crushing hits, hipchecks into the boards, and perhaps even a fight.
I imagine that another great aspect of seeing a hockey game live is the atmosphere. I've been a part of many a crowd that has gone nuts after touchdowns, dunks, three-pointers, home runs, etc., but I'd have to think that the wildest eruption would be for a goal. They don't come around very often, but there are a whole bunch of chances that must make the payoff for a goal that much better.
Another intriguing part of the live hockey experience is the potential to see a shootout.
Playoffs? Are you kidding me?
The playoff beard is the single coolest thing going in professional sports. Watching grown men bond over a commitment to not shave their facial hair (it's only their facial hair, right?) until they are eliminated from competition is just plain awesome. Job permitting, I think it's also very cool if fans of a team grow a playoff beard as well.
Lord Stanley's Cup
Yes, the fact that pre-dyke haircut Hayden Penettiere licked The Cup makes it that much more tantalizing
The Stanley Cup is the coolest and most revered trophy in all of sports. No other trophy is even in the same ballpark. Yeah that's right Heisman trophy. Eric Crouch and Jason White really hurt your street cred.
What makes Lord Stanley's Cup so great?
1.) If you're on a team that wins The Cup, they carve your name into it. As cool as that is, if you win The Cup multiple times, your name is carved into The Cup multiple times.
2.) The Cup is presented first to the captain of the winning team, who seemingly always hands it off to a cagey, old veteran who has never won it.
3.) Since 1995, every member of the winning team has gotten to spend a day with The Cup. Which raises one of the best sports related questions out there. What would you do on your day with The Cup? I'm not sure that I have a complete answer for that, but if I was fortunate enough to be in that position The Cup would certainly come with me to the city of hopes and dreams and it would most likely make an appearance at the Syracuse Suds Factory.
So hockey almost unequivocally has the best product to see live, the best thing going in all of team sports (at least in terms of camraderie), and the coolest and most revered trophy in all of sports, yet somehow it's popularity is minimal in America. What else could Gary Bettman and the NHL do to increase the sports popularity?
Well here's an idea, the basis of which that I first heard mentioned by ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd, that would surely do the trick. Using pre-interleague play in MLB as our example, we would re-align the two NHL Conferences. No more Eastern and Western Conference. 15 teams would be placed in what would be known as the American League and 15 would be placed in the Canadian League. The two leagues would not play each other at all in the regular season, but every Stanley Cup Finals would be between an American team and a Canadian team.
All of the American teams would be in the northern half of our great nation because I don't think that teams like the Phoenix Coyotes are really all that practical. The 15 teams that would make up the American League would be:
New York Rangers
New Jersey Devils
Philadelphia Flyers
Boston Bruins
Hartford Whalers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Buffalo Sabres
Washington Capitals
St. Louis Blues
Columbus Bluejackets
Chicago Blackhawks
Detroit Red Wings
Minnesota Wild
Colorado Avalanche
San Jose Sharks
And the 15 teams that would make up the Canadian League would be:
Toronto Maple Leafs
Montreal Canadians
Ottawa Senators
Quebec Nordiques
Halifax Mooseheads
Winnipeg Jets
Thunder Bay Lightning
Regina Knights
Saskatoon Sasquatches
Sudbury Wolves
Vancouver Canucks
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
Karmloops Blazers
Victoria Grizzlies
PS- Congrats to the Blackhawks for winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in nearly 50 years.
As for those of us north of the Mason-Dixon line (I honestly couldn't even tell you where that is), hockey is relatively hit or miss. Much of this has to do with the fact that hockey is a sport dominated by the affluent. Simply put, hockey is an expensive sport to get involved in. Helmets, pads, sticks, skates, etc. are not cheap. This economic barrier prevents many from developing an affection for the sport. The easy, cheap alternative (probably not the right word anymore) is basketball. Basketball's rise in popularity as a winter sport has decimated the potential for hockey to grow in America.
Despite the abundance of logical data that suggests that Hockey will continue to be the laughing stock of the four professional sports, I'm shocked that it doesn't have more of a following...and here's why.
We'll do it live
Now I can't speak from personal experience, but from everything that I hear, hockey is undoubtedly the best sport to watch live. Again, this makes perfect sense. Hockey is an action packed, high paced game. Professionals have both incredible speed and skill and I'm sure that both are only accentuated in person. The game is also very physical. In your average NHL game you'd be sure to see a handful of bone crushing hits, hipchecks into the boards, and perhaps even a fight.
I imagine that another great aspect of seeing a hockey game live is the atmosphere. I've been a part of many a crowd that has gone nuts after touchdowns, dunks, three-pointers, home runs, etc., but I'd have to think that the wildest eruption would be for a goal. They don't come around very often, but there are a whole bunch of chances that must make the payoff for a goal that much better.
Another intriguing part of the live hockey experience is the potential to see a shootout.
Playoffs? Are you kidding me?
The playoff beard is the single coolest thing going in professional sports. Watching grown men bond over a commitment to not shave their facial hair (it's only their facial hair, right?) until they are eliminated from competition is just plain awesome. Job permitting, I think it's also very cool if fans of a team grow a playoff beard as well.
Lord Stanley's Cup
Yes, the fact that pre-dyke haircut Hayden Penettiere licked The Cup makes it that much more tantalizing
The Stanley Cup is the coolest and most revered trophy in all of sports. No other trophy is even in the same ballpark. Yeah that's right Heisman trophy. Eric Crouch and Jason White really hurt your street cred.
What makes Lord Stanley's Cup so great?
1.) If you're on a team that wins The Cup, they carve your name into it. As cool as that is, if you win The Cup multiple times, your name is carved into The Cup multiple times.
2.) The Cup is presented first to the captain of the winning team, who seemingly always hands it off to a cagey, old veteran who has never won it.
3.) Since 1995, every member of the winning team has gotten to spend a day with The Cup. Which raises one of the best sports related questions out there. What would you do on your day with The Cup? I'm not sure that I have a complete answer for that, but if I was fortunate enough to be in that position The Cup would certainly come with me to the city of hopes and dreams and it would most likely make an appearance at the Syracuse Suds Factory.
So hockey almost unequivocally has the best product to see live, the best thing going in all of team sports (at least in terms of camraderie), and the coolest and most revered trophy in all of sports, yet somehow it's popularity is minimal in America. What else could Gary Bettman and the NHL do to increase the sports popularity?
Well here's an idea, the basis of which that I first heard mentioned by ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd, that would surely do the trick. Using pre-interleague play in MLB as our example, we would re-align the two NHL Conferences. No more Eastern and Western Conference. 15 teams would be placed in what would be known as the American League and 15 would be placed in the Canadian League. The two leagues would not play each other at all in the regular season, but every Stanley Cup Finals would be between an American team and a Canadian team.
All of the American teams would be in the northern half of our great nation because I don't think that teams like the Phoenix Coyotes are really all that practical. The 15 teams that would make up the American League would be:
New York Rangers
New Jersey Devils
Philadelphia Flyers
Boston Bruins
Hartford Whalers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Buffalo Sabres
Washington Capitals
St. Louis Blues
Columbus Bluejackets
Chicago Blackhawks
Detroit Red Wings
Minnesota Wild
Colorado Avalanche
San Jose Sharks
And the 15 teams that would make up the Canadian League would be:
Toronto Maple Leafs
Montreal Canadians
Ottawa Senators
Quebec Nordiques
Halifax Mooseheads
Winnipeg Jets
Thunder Bay Lightning
Regina Knights
Saskatoon Sasquatches
Sudbury Wolves
Vancouver Canucks
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
Karmloops Blazers
Victoria Grizzlies
PS- Congrats to the Blackhawks for winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in nearly 50 years.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Year in Review
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
These are my people
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.
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
These are my people
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.
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