Tuesday, January 30, 2007
A Little Life Lesson
Part of me is still amazed every time I hear someone express their amazement at my negative experiences up north or in other parts of the country. As you know by now, I have many theories on many of life's circumstances and goings-on, and so it is with this.
To fully understand where I am going with this, let me explain where I have been. I was born in Metairie, La. -- a sububurb of New Orleans -- and have spent most of my life in Baton Rouge. After high school, I spent a year in South Bend, Ind., at Holy Cross College. If you are geographically challenged, South Bend is located on the southeast side of Lake Michigan about an hour east of Chicago. My experiences there were haunting: bland food, rude people, ugly women, painfully cold weather. Basically, the antithesis of what I had experienced growing up. In fact, when my roommate Rory (who is from upstate New York) came to Louisiana to visit, he was amazed when we passed someone walking up the steps at Middleton Library at LSU and they smiled and said "Hello." Rory asked if I knew that person. When I said I did not, his jaw hit the floor. Common courtesy does not exist in the north.
Also, after my sophomore year at LSU, I spent a summer selling books in Minnesota. I was literally selling door-to-door to poor Midwestern farmers. Now, there is nothing wrong with being a farmer. They are the backbone of the American agricultural landscape, but by the nature of what I was doing I met more than 2,000 families that summer. My experiences were eerily similar to those in South Bend.
My point in telling you all of this is that I received an e-mail from a good friend of mine who is in Med School in the Caribbean. When he read my last blog entry detailing my trip to Chicago, he was as horrified as I was regarding the treatment we received by Bears fans; specifically the taunts related to Hurricane Katrina. Ski's exact words to me:
"so i have been reading your not-so-daily blog and i was horrified at the chicago experience. I complained to the 2 friends i have here. One is from new orleans so he was as shocked as i was. I understand that some people can get caught up in the atmosphere and lose track of things but that was ridiculous! It has always been a joke when people from the north ask us if we still ride in pirogue or wrestle alligators but I am starting to think that this is their actual opinion of LA and MS. Why don't they care? I cant figure it out. Why don't people get the point that Katrina was a major event in American history? Is it apathy from the middle class. Does george bush really not care about black people!? I hate to think that I will have an automatic staple on me when I go to the north for my rotations next year."
Allow me to address these points. Yes, that is the opinion of the overwhelming majority of people in the north. Don't believe me? We were even heckled about Katrina by a homeless man as we left Soldier Field! A man who smelled like shit was taunting me, a college educated goal-oriented man. Even homeless people think they have it better than we do.
The next obvious question is why do they think this way? Here is where my theory comes into place. For an answer, you truly have to go back more than 100 years to the Civil War era and the industrial revolution (Don't worry, I will not bore you with this). To a large degree, there is a certain degree of separatism in the US that lingers because of the Civil War. Why do you think LSU fans cheered so hard when Florida beat Ohio State in the National Championship Game? The South is better! Why is it that if a candidate from you state (ie Bill Clinton) runs for a national office, you will vote for him even if you hate his politics (Arkansas is a historically conservative state)? It's about pride. It's about unfinished business. Why do you constantly hear people on the West coast talk about an East coast bias in the news? Because there is one! The West coast was an unsettled wasteland that belonged to Mexico and God-knows-who-else during our nation's largest crisis--the event that threatened to tear apart what we have and hold dear. As the North and South have continued their bitter rivalry, the West coast has been settled and like the youngest child in a family, keeps screaming "Hey! I'm here too!" but no one ever pays it any attention.
And it's not just the North bashing the South for being uneducated, racist goons. how many times on this blog have I written about the bland food, rude people, ugly women and painfully cold weather? Oh wait, that is several paragraphs up. See my point. It is a constant back-and-forth like a sibling rivalry and there is no end in sight.
To a small degree, that is my theory on why we hate eachother. As to why Northern people and Southerners are so different in our cultures, I believe we would have to go back to the Industrial Revolution. Think about this: if you woke up before dawn, spent 10 hour a day in a dark factory inhaling God awful fumes all day, walked home in sub-freezing temperatures to eat a bland meal, make love to your ugly wife, got six hours of sleep and then got up and did it all over again, how would you feel? You would be pissed! And children saw their parents pissed all the time!
On the other hand, if you woke up with the sun, worked off the land, never dealt with a demanding boss and made love to a gorgeous wife who could turn something called a "crawfish" into a gourmet meal, wouldn't you be happy too? Wouldn't you have a nicer disposition? Wouldn't you stop and enjoy life and maybe open a door for a neighbor? Yes! And children saw their parents do it, and grew up nicer as well.
Consequently, with industry growing in the north and farming remaining the major source of revenue in the south, northerners became more educated to get out of the factory life and move into a corporate setting, while southerners did not stress education as much. The attitude of "My daddy was a farmer, so I'll be a farmer" or whatever the trade might be, was pervasive. So, as the north became more and more educated, the south fell further and further behind in that area. Why do you think the oldest colleges in the country are in the north while LSU had a mere 45 students in 1873 after the state legislature cut funding? Priorities.
And so it has continued. Generation after generation of beautiful southern women continue to bear HOTT daughters while generation after generation of ugly northerners cram their heads into books trying to continue their legacy. I could actually go into far more detail, but this is long enough. Hope it makes sense. Thoughts? Suggestions? Comments?
To fully understand where I am going with this, let me explain where I have been. I was born in Metairie, La. -- a sububurb of New Orleans -- and have spent most of my life in Baton Rouge. After high school, I spent a year in South Bend, Ind., at Holy Cross College. If you are geographically challenged, South Bend is located on the southeast side of Lake Michigan about an hour east of Chicago. My experiences there were haunting: bland food, rude people, ugly women, painfully cold weather. Basically, the antithesis of what I had experienced growing up. In fact, when my roommate Rory (who is from upstate New York) came to Louisiana to visit, he was amazed when we passed someone walking up the steps at Middleton Library at LSU and they smiled and said "Hello." Rory asked if I knew that person. When I said I did not, his jaw hit the floor. Common courtesy does not exist in the north.
Also, after my sophomore year at LSU, I spent a summer selling books in Minnesota. I was literally selling door-to-door to poor Midwestern farmers. Now, there is nothing wrong with being a farmer. They are the backbone of the American agricultural landscape, but by the nature of what I was doing I met more than 2,000 families that summer. My experiences were eerily similar to those in South Bend.
My point in telling you all of this is that I received an e-mail from a good friend of mine who is in Med School in the Caribbean. When he read my last blog entry detailing my trip to Chicago, he was as horrified as I was regarding the treatment we received by Bears fans; specifically the taunts related to Hurricane Katrina. Ski's exact words to me:
"so i have been reading your not-so-daily blog and i was horrified at the chicago experience. I complained to the 2 friends i have here. One is from new orleans so he was as shocked as i was. I understand that some people can get caught up in the atmosphere and lose track of things but that was ridiculous! It has always been a joke when people from the north ask us if we still ride in pirogue or wrestle alligators but I am starting to think that this is their actual opinion of LA and MS. Why don't they care? I cant figure it out. Why don't people get the point that Katrina was a major event in American history? Is it apathy from the middle class. Does george bush really not care about black people!? I hate to think that I will have an automatic staple on me when I go to the north for my rotations next year."
Allow me to address these points. Yes, that is the opinion of the overwhelming majority of people in the north. Don't believe me? We were even heckled about Katrina by a homeless man as we left Soldier Field! A man who smelled like shit was taunting me, a college educated goal-oriented man. Even homeless people think they have it better than we do.
The next obvious question is why do they think this way? Here is where my theory comes into place. For an answer, you truly have to go back more than 100 years to the Civil War era and the industrial revolution (Don't worry, I will not bore you with this). To a large degree, there is a certain degree of separatism in the US that lingers because of the Civil War. Why do you think LSU fans cheered so hard when Florida beat Ohio State in the National Championship Game? The South is better! Why is it that if a candidate from you state (ie Bill Clinton) runs for a national office, you will vote for him even if you hate his politics (Arkansas is a historically conservative state)? It's about pride. It's about unfinished business. Why do you constantly hear people on the West coast talk about an East coast bias in the news? Because there is one! The West coast was an unsettled wasteland that belonged to Mexico and God-knows-who-else during our nation's largest crisis--the event that threatened to tear apart what we have and hold dear. As the North and South have continued their bitter rivalry, the West coast has been settled and like the youngest child in a family, keeps screaming "Hey! I'm here too!" but no one ever pays it any attention.
And it's not just the North bashing the South for being uneducated, racist goons. how many times on this blog have I written about the bland food, rude people, ugly women and painfully cold weather? Oh wait, that is several paragraphs up. See my point. It is a constant back-and-forth like a sibling rivalry and there is no end in sight.
To a small degree, that is my theory on why we hate eachother. As to why Northern people and Southerners are so different in our cultures, I believe we would have to go back to the Industrial Revolution. Think about this: if you woke up before dawn, spent 10 hour a day in a dark factory inhaling God awful fumes all day, walked home in sub-freezing temperatures to eat a bland meal, make love to your ugly wife, got six hours of sleep and then got up and did it all over again, how would you feel? You would be pissed! And children saw their parents pissed all the time!
On the other hand, if you woke up with the sun, worked off the land, never dealt with a demanding boss and made love to a gorgeous wife who could turn something called a "crawfish" into a gourmet meal, wouldn't you be happy too? Wouldn't you have a nicer disposition? Wouldn't you stop and enjoy life and maybe open a door for a neighbor? Yes! And children saw their parents do it, and grew up nicer as well.
Consequently, with industry growing in the north and farming remaining the major source of revenue in the south, northerners became more educated to get out of the factory life and move into a corporate setting, while southerners did not stress education as much. The attitude of "My daddy was a farmer, so I'll be a farmer" or whatever the trade might be, was pervasive. So, as the north became more and more educated, the south fell further and further behind in that area. Why do you think the oldest colleges in the country are in the north while LSU had a mere 45 students in 1873 after the state legislature cut funding? Priorities.
And so it has continued. Generation after generation of beautiful southern women continue to bear HOTT daughters while generation after generation of ugly northerners cram their heads into books trying to continue their legacy. I could actually go into far more detail, but this is long enough. Hope it makes sense. Thoughts? Suggestions? Comments?
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Disappointment In Chi-town
I was disappointed in my trip to Chicago in more ways than just the Saints getting shellacked 39-14 in teh NFC Championship Game. Honestly, I am still sick about it. So much so, that I wrote a letter to the editor at the "Chicago Sun Times" which has not run as of yet. Because I fear it may never run, I will use this post to run my own letter to the editor that I submitted to the CST easrlier this week:
Dear Editor,
Any well-traveled sports fan knows that in every venue in every city there are a small group of classless fans who will embarrass themselves, their team and their city through their words and actions. For the most part, home fans are courteous and appreciative of opposing fans making the effort to visit their city. I was hoping that my negative experience during the Saints-Bears game Sunday was isolated. It wasn’t.
In talking with Saints fans at Grant Park, the airport and throughout the city Monday, it became clear that kind-hearted Bear fans were in the minority while the majority, in fact, were hate-spewing jackasses. Here is some of what I heard:
“Go back to your flooded home!”
“Go home to your eight feet of water!”
“How did you get here? Did you swim?”
“Your team blows like Katrina!”
And, perhaps the most horrifying, a sing that read, “We Finish What Katrina Started!”
Anyone who is as ignorant and vile as to hold up a derogatory sign referring to the nation’s worst natural disaster certainly has no clue what Katrina started. Allow me to refresh your memory:
-1,836 people confirmed dead
-705 people missing
- $81.2 billion dollars in damage
-900,000 homes without power
-Hundreds of thousands of evacuees
Imagine a New York Giants fans coming to Soldier Field and seeing a sign reading, “We Finish What Osama Started!” Absolutely horrifying! Yet, that is what Saints fans constantly had thrown in our faces.
You may be sick of hearing about Hurricane Katrina, but we are sick of living it. While Bear fans continue living a fantasy and planning trips to Miami for the Super Bowl, Saints fans return to a reality which includes FEMA trailers on front lawns, closed businesses and schools, and brave people working to bring a city back from hell on earth.
Ignorant Bear fans may have been the norm in Chicago, but my prayer for New Orleans is that it is not a pervasive attitude throughout this country. If that is the case, New Orleans may never return.
Sincerely,
Matthew Moscona
Dear Editor,
Any well-traveled sports fan knows that in every venue in every city there are a small group of classless fans who will embarrass themselves, their team and their city through their words and actions. For the most part, home fans are courteous and appreciative of opposing fans making the effort to visit their city. I was hoping that my negative experience during the Saints-Bears game Sunday was isolated. It wasn’t.
In talking with Saints fans at Grant Park, the airport and throughout the city Monday, it became clear that kind-hearted Bear fans were in the minority while the majority, in fact, were hate-spewing jackasses. Here is some of what I heard:
“Go back to your flooded home!”
“Go home to your eight feet of water!”
“How did you get here? Did you swim?”
“Your team blows like Katrina!”
And, perhaps the most horrifying, a sing that read, “We Finish What Katrina Started!”
Anyone who is as ignorant and vile as to hold up a derogatory sign referring to the nation’s worst natural disaster certainly has no clue what Katrina started. Allow me to refresh your memory:
-1,836 people confirmed dead
-705 people missing
- $81.2 billion dollars in damage
-900,000 homes without power
-Hundreds of thousands of evacuees
Imagine a New York Giants fans coming to Soldier Field and seeing a sign reading, “We Finish What Osama Started!” Absolutely horrifying! Yet, that is what Saints fans constantly had thrown in our faces.
You may be sick of hearing about Hurricane Katrina, but we are sick of living it. While Bear fans continue living a fantasy and planning trips to Miami for the Super Bowl, Saints fans return to a reality which includes FEMA trailers on front lawns, closed businesses and schools, and brave people working to bring a city back from hell on earth.
Ignorant Bear fans may have been the norm in Chicago, but my prayer for New Orleans is that it is not a pervasive attitude throughout this country. If that is the case, New Orleans may never return.
Sincerely,
Matthew Moscona
Friday, January 19, 2007
Going Dark
I am giddy! Remember how you felt on Christmas Eve as a 5-year-old when all you wanted to do was go to sleep because you knew that when you woke up Santa would have come and there would be presents to open and toys to play with, but no matter how hard you tried, you just couldn't keep your eyes closed and kept listening for reindeer on the roof? Well, amplify that by 50,000,000 and that is how I feel right now!
My flight is out of Baton Rouge tomorrow morning at 5:45am. We will land in Chicago around 11 a.m., thus beginning a weekend I have waited for my entire life. The Saints and Bears play Sunday for a chance to go to the Super Bowl. Yes, you read that correctly. I actually used the words "Saints" and "Super Bowl" in the same sentence and nobody thinks it's a joke! Amazing!
The game time forecast is around 30 degrees with the wind chill in the 20s with a 60% chance of snow showers! There has been a lot of talk about the weather this week and how it might affect the Saints. I will admit that I was concerned about it earlier in the week despite my efforts to attempt to calm put others at ease about it. Notice I said "was" concerned. I heard comments by Drew Brees and Deuce McAllister that really cemented what this means.
Brees: "We also had some practices at Purdue where it was zero degrees."
McAllister: "Do you think we are going to let the cold stop us from going to the Super Bowl?"
That really put it in perspective for me. I mean seriously! Friggin cold weather stopping this team from the Super Bowl? Nah! A colossal collapse by Drew Brees? Okay. Reggie Bush coughs it up more times that an aging smoker? Possibly. Sean Payton leaves his menu-sized play card in the hotel room? Might be trouble. The weather? NO WAY! Winners win when it matters most and refuse to be denied and refuse to make excuses. I think the Saints are winners and will leave Chicago with the NFC Championship! Saints 27 Bears 10
Being that I will be in Chicago all weekend and will not be back until 11 p.m. Monday night, I will not write again until Tuesday. But, regardless of how the game goes, I will be sure to take notes and fill you in on the entire trip when I get home.
GO SAINTS!
My flight is out of Baton Rouge tomorrow morning at 5:45am. We will land in Chicago around 11 a.m., thus beginning a weekend I have waited for my entire life. The Saints and Bears play Sunday for a chance to go to the Super Bowl. Yes, you read that correctly. I actually used the words "Saints" and "Super Bowl" in the same sentence and nobody thinks it's a joke! Amazing!
The game time forecast is around 30 degrees with the wind chill in the 20s with a 60% chance of snow showers! There has been a lot of talk about the weather this week and how it might affect the Saints. I will admit that I was concerned about it earlier in the week despite my efforts to attempt to calm put others at ease about it. Notice I said "was" concerned. I heard comments by Drew Brees and Deuce McAllister that really cemented what this means.
Brees: "We also had some practices at Purdue where it was zero degrees."
McAllister: "Do you think we are going to let the cold stop us from going to the Super Bowl?"
That really put it in perspective for me. I mean seriously! Friggin cold weather stopping this team from the Super Bowl? Nah! A colossal collapse by Drew Brees? Okay. Reggie Bush coughs it up more times that an aging smoker? Possibly. Sean Payton leaves his menu-sized play card in the hotel room? Might be trouble. The weather? NO WAY! Winners win when it matters most and refuse to be denied and refuse to make excuses. I think the Saints are winners and will leave Chicago with the NFC Championship! Saints 27 Bears 10
Being that I will be in Chicago all weekend and will not be back until 11 p.m. Monday night, I will not write again until Tuesday. But, regardless of how the game goes, I will be sure to take notes and fill you in on the entire trip when I get home.
GO SAINTS!
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Schedule
It's sad. I agree. But, it is reality for many people's lives this time of year. When the New Year rolls around, that means three things for me: Bowl Games, NFL Playoffs and the new season of my favorite TV shows. Before you even start rolling your eyes and characterizing my choice of entertainment as a waste of time, just hear me out.
In my previous post, I professed my undying devotion to the Single Greatest Show Ever, "24". That is Monday. As of yesterday, the rest of my week has fallen into line. Observe:
Monday - 24
Tuesday - American Idol
Wednesday - American Idol
Thursday - The Office (funniest show on TV), Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs -- THANK GOD FOR MY DVR
Friday - ???
Saturday - ???
Sunday - ???
Needless to say, there is a spiritual and existential funk in my life after Thursday. What do I do? Seriously, I'm open for suggestions.
Part of me wonders why I commit so much time of my life to these shows when I could be partaking in literally dozens of other, far more productive, activities. Yet I watch. And I am not alone! 40 million people watched the premier of "Idol" last night. 33 million tuned in for the opener of "24". That is roughly 1/7 of the entire population of this country!! And we wonder why public schools are failing, teen pregnancy is up, drug and murder rates are up, school violence is up etc... No, not because Simon Cowell drives people to bring guns to school and smoke hooch. It's because our priorities are out of whack. I'm not condemning anyone because I am part of this phenomenon myself. I just wonder how we got to this point where people care more about a 300-pound nobody from Minnesota singing like the Cowardly Lion from the "Wizard of Oz" (I laughed 'til I cried) than they do about Geometry and Physics.
As for football, the NFL is the single worst-run business in all of sports, yet it is the most popular. Amazing. A group of crack-selling midgets could take over the NFL headquarters and turn it into their own personal meth lab and people would still be addicted to the NFL. Think about this: Shawn Merriman of the San Diego Chargers tested positive for steroids this year (duh!). He is given a four game suspension and yet is still considered for Defensive Player of the Year honors and is hyped as the greatest defensive player since Lawrence Taylor. HELLO! He is a cheater! He used steroids and got caught! Yet, no one cares. Meanwhile, some sports writers THINK Mark McGwire MIGHT HAVE used performance enhancers and they jump on their high horse and refuse to elect him to the baseball Hall of Fame. Double standard? What? No way! Puhh-lease!
To further prove the incompetence of the NFL higher-ups, Saints defensive lineman Hollis Thomas (who is roughly the size of Puerto Rico) was suspended for four games for testing positive for steroids. Big deal, right? Sure. Except that the steroid was a substance in Thomas' PRESCRIBED ASTHMA MEDICINE. The guy weighs 400 pounds! Do you honestly think he is on anabolic steroids to develop muscles on his toenails?! Stupid!
Message To All NFL Players: Whether you are using an illegal substance to grow hair where the sun doesn't shine and cause veins to pop out of your eyeballs or using it to SAVE YOUR LIFE, even if prescribed by your doctor, the NFL will not let you off the hook! We have got our kids to think about!
I'm telling you -- crack-selling midgets!
In my previous post, I professed my undying devotion to the Single Greatest Show Ever, "24". That is Monday. As of yesterday, the rest of my week has fallen into line. Observe:
Monday - 24
Tuesday - American Idol
Wednesday - American Idol
Thursday - The Office (funniest show on TV), Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs -- THANK GOD FOR MY DVR
Friday - ???
Saturday - ???
Sunday - ???
Needless to say, there is a spiritual and existential funk in my life after Thursday. What do I do? Seriously, I'm open for suggestions.
Part of me wonders why I commit so much time of my life to these shows when I could be partaking in literally dozens of other, far more productive, activities. Yet I watch. And I am not alone! 40 million people watched the premier of "Idol" last night. 33 million tuned in for the opener of "24". That is roughly 1/7 of the entire population of this country!! And we wonder why public schools are failing, teen pregnancy is up, drug and murder rates are up, school violence is up etc... No, not because Simon Cowell drives people to bring guns to school and smoke hooch. It's because our priorities are out of whack. I'm not condemning anyone because I am part of this phenomenon myself. I just wonder how we got to this point where people care more about a 300-pound nobody from Minnesota singing like the Cowardly Lion from the "Wizard of Oz" (I laughed 'til I cried) than they do about Geometry and Physics.
As for football, the NFL is the single worst-run business in all of sports, yet it is the most popular. Amazing. A group of crack-selling midgets could take over the NFL headquarters and turn it into their own personal meth lab and people would still be addicted to the NFL. Think about this: Shawn Merriman of the San Diego Chargers tested positive for steroids this year (duh!). He is given a four game suspension and yet is still considered for Defensive Player of the Year honors and is hyped as the greatest defensive player since Lawrence Taylor. HELLO! He is a cheater! He used steroids and got caught! Yet, no one cares. Meanwhile, some sports writers THINK Mark McGwire MIGHT HAVE used performance enhancers and they jump on their high horse and refuse to elect him to the baseball Hall of Fame. Double standard? What? No way! Puhh-lease!
To further prove the incompetence of the NFL higher-ups, Saints defensive lineman Hollis Thomas (who is roughly the size of Puerto Rico) was suspended for four games for testing positive for steroids. Big deal, right? Sure. Except that the steroid was a substance in Thomas' PRESCRIBED ASTHMA MEDICINE. The guy weighs 400 pounds! Do you honestly think he is on anabolic steroids to develop muscles on his toenails?! Stupid!
Message To All NFL Players: Whether you are using an illegal substance to grow hair where the sun doesn't shine and cause veins to pop out of your eyeballs or using it to SAVE YOUR LIFE, even if prescribed by your doctor, the NFL will not let you off the hook! We have got our kids to think about!
I'm telling you -- crack-selling midgets!
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Jack Is Back!
Simply put, it is the greatest show on TV. If you are not a fan of "24" then you have never seen it. Period. Season 6 of the Fox action/drama kicked off Sunday with a two-hour premier followed by another two hours Monday night. If you are unfamiliar with how the show works, basically the entire season is one day and each episode is one hour real time of that day. During the course of the day, the Los Angeles Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) led by Agent Jack Bauer learn of a terror plot unfolding and they must use their resources to stop it.
I know what many of you are probably thinking, because I probably thought it at first too: we have seen crime dramas like this before. Trust me, you haven't. The writers never write an entire season before filming -- instead, they change as they go to allow the plot to continue unfolding and to allow for twists and turns that are mind-boggling. There has never been a show with such a propensity to kill off main characters, either. The first scene of Season 5 was a former President and main character being shot in the neck while looking out of his hotel room window. I could literally write a book about this (and maybe I will) but for now, just do yourself a favor and start watching. It truly is must-see-TV.
Next Monday, I will have to set my DVR to record "24" because I will be in the air on my way home from Chicago. That's right! I booked my trip yesterday to the Windy City to watch the New Orleans Saints earn their first ever trip to the Super Bowl. I will be travelling with longtime Baton Rouge radio personality Richard Condon and his son Ryan, who are both very good friends of mine. Although I have been to Chicago dozens of times, I have never been to Soldier Field. So, I am greatly anticipating seeing a game in one of the true cathedrals of professional sport, especially a game with so much on the line. It should be cold, too, so I am going to go shopping for some thermals.
(Random Note: If you needed further proof that the Saints are a team of destiny, just look at the weather. Not 36 hours ago, it was in the 70s in south Louisiana. Now, it is near freezing, with the wind chill in the upper-20s. What does this mean? It means the Saints can practice all this week in conditions that will mirror the gametime forecast in Chicago. Also, Saints QB Drew Brees player college ball at Purdue, so he will certainly be used to throwing in cold conditions. EVEN GLOBAL WARMING TOOK A BREAK TO HELP THE SAINTS!)
I will keep you up to date on my trip this week as more details unfold, and be sure to look for my update one week from today when I return home from Chicago.
I know what many of you are probably thinking, because I probably thought it at first too: we have seen crime dramas like this before. Trust me, you haven't. The writers never write an entire season before filming -- instead, they change as they go to allow the plot to continue unfolding and to allow for twists and turns that are mind-boggling. There has never been a show with such a propensity to kill off main characters, either. The first scene of Season 5 was a former President and main character being shot in the neck while looking out of his hotel room window. I could literally write a book about this (and maybe I will) but for now, just do yourself a favor and start watching. It truly is must-see-TV.
Next Monday, I will have to set my DVR to record "24" because I will be in the air on my way home from Chicago. That's right! I booked my trip yesterday to the Windy City to watch the New Orleans Saints earn their first ever trip to the Super Bowl. I will be travelling with longtime Baton Rouge radio personality Richard Condon and his son Ryan, who are both very good friends of mine. Although I have been to Chicago dozens of times, I have never been to Soldier Field. So, I am greatly anticipating seeing a game in one of the true cathedrals of professional sport, especially a game with so much on the line. It should be cold, too, so I am going to go shopping for some thermals.
(Random Note: If you needed further proof that the Saints are a team of destiny, just look at the weather. Not 36 hours ago, it was in the 70s in south Louisiana. Now, it is near freezing, with the wind chill in the upper-20s. What does this mean? It means the Saints can practice all this week in conditions that will mirror the gametime forecast in Chicago. Also, Saints QB Drew Brees player college ball at Purdue, so he will certainly be used to throwing in cold conditions. EVEN GLOBAL WARMING TOOK A BREAK TO HELP THE SAINTS!)
I will keep you up to date on my trip this week as more details unfold, and be sure to look for my update one week from today when I return home from Chicago.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Warning! Bandwagon Nearing Maximum Occupancy!
Check your pulse. Pigs are on the runway. Hell is approaching 32 degrees. And the New Orleans Saints are one win away from the Super Bowl. Yes, I was in the Louisiana Superdome along with 70,001 raucous Saints fans Saturday night witnessing history, but the evening was a bit bittersweet for me. I will explain, but first the elation!
I have been attending Saints games in the Dome for a long time. I mean a looong time. And the fact that they have been so putrid for so long makes long seem like watching "A Thin Red Line" eight times in succession (worst movie EVER). So, when Deuce McAllister plunged for five yards on a third-and-1 icing the game and a trip to the NFC title game, it's hard to find the words to describe the feeling in that moment. All I really remember is bearhugging my dad and almost falling on the cement floor. But, no one cared. The Saints had just become the first team in NFL history to make the conference title game after losing 13 games the previous season. And what a trying season it was even for the most diehard Saints fans. "Home" games in San Antonio, Baton Rouge and New York were all a joke, which makes this season even more spectacular. I'm not a crier, but I cried Saturday night because a city still hurting needed that win. Because long-suffering Saints fans needed that win. Because I needed that win.
I mentioned that the win was bittersweet. Let me explain. I was not in Tulane Stadium when John Gilliam ran back the opening kickoff in Saints history for a touchdown in 1967. I didn't see Dempsey's kick in '70. I didn't even come around until 1982. But, that doesn't make me any less of a fan. I was born in New Orleans. My dad's parents have had season tickets since '67. My mom's parents have had them since '79. My earliest football recollections were going to the Dome on Sunday mornings with my dad and brother after eating breakfast at Shoney's. Names like Brett Maxie, Stan Brock, Reuben Mayes and Dalton Hilliard all mean something to me. I remember "Dome Patrol". I remember the late Sam Mills stuffing rookie Rams running back Jerome Bettis at the line, ripping the ball out of his hands and running 20 years the other way for the score. I remember Steve Walsh and Jim Everett, Morten Andersen and Pat Swilling. Hell, I even remember arguing with my dad over John Fourcade and Bobby Hebert (I liked Fourcade, even though he was an Ole Miss guy).
Even more, I remember the losses. And there were plenty of them. Too many. There was a man who sat in front of us for years in Section 113, Row 22 who was the biggest pessimist I have ever known. He would chant phrases like, "I'm never renewing my tickets!" and "Same old sorry ass Saints!" and, more recently, "FIRE HASLETT!". But, he came. Year after year. Game after game. Quarter after miserable quarter. And when the Saints did happen to pull out a victory, it was like God had granted the city another Mardi Gras.
You see, like it or not, the Saints have been the lifeblood of New Orleans for a long time. People who never lived in New Orleans or were never Saints fans don't understand that. You can't. The point I promised to make at the beginning of this rant is that it was somewhat bittersweet because when the game ended, Tom F---ing Benson's nasty mug popped up on the brand new JumboTron in the Dome doing his "Benson Boogie" celebrating the win as a hero for "bringing the Saints home."
Well, need I remind you that this is the same asshole who 15 months ago, when the city I love was still under water, was negotiating with the mayor of San Antonio to move the team forever? This is the same money-grubbing jackass who shoved a cameraman and got in a fight with a fan after a game in Tiger Stadium last year. This is the same egotistical dollar whore who tried to hold the state hostage before Katrina in a effort to get more money or move to LA. If Benson had his way then Saturday would have never happened.
Mr. Benson, the Saints aren't your team. You may sign the paychecks. You may sit in the luxury owner's suite in the Dome, but the Saints are most certainly not your team. The Saints are my team. The Saints belong to my grandparents who have scrapped and saved to afford season tickets for 40 years to watch crappy football just because they felt the Saints were theirs. And you tried to take them away. Damn you, Tom Benson! The Saints belong to New Orleans. And this is our victory.
And it's not only Tom Benson. To every single radio host or caller-in, or anyone who mumbled under your breath two years ago to "let the Saints go" (even though you wouldn't dare admit it now) this win was not for you either. It is despite people like you, not because of you, that the Saints are a game away from the Super Bowl. And you may call talk radio shows this week and use words like "we" and "us" and "our" when referring to the Black and Gold, but know this: if Katrina had never happened and this rebirth and magical season never was, you would still be wishing the Saints would just go away.
As long as there have been sports, there have been bandwagon fans -- that I understand. Now, maybe with this win, you might understand why people like me fought so hard to change public opinion to keep the Saints where they belong: at home in the Dome.
I have been attending Saints games in the Dome for a long time. I mean a looong time. And the fact that they have been so putrid for so long makes long seem like watching "A Thin Red Line" eight times in succession (worst movie EVER). So, when Deuce McAllister plunged for five yards on a third-and-1 icing the game and a trip to the NFC title game, it's hard to find the words to describe the feeling in that moment. All I really remember is bearhugging my dad and almost falling on the cement floor. But, no one cared. The Saints had just become the first team in NFL history to make the conference title game after losing 13 games the previous season. And what a trying season it was even for the most diehard Saints fans. "Home" games in San Antonio, Baton Rouge and New York were all a joke, which makes this season even more spectacular. I'm not a crier, but I cried Saturday night because a city still hurting needed that win. Because long-suffering Saints fans needed that win. Because I needed that win.
I mentioned that the win was bittersweet. Let me explain. I was not in Tulane Stadium when John Gilliam ran back the opening kickoff in Saints history for a touchdown in 1967. I didn't see Dempsey's kick in '70. I didn't even come around until 1982. But, that doesn't make me any less of a fan. I was born in New Orleans. My dad's parents have had season tickets since '67. My mom's parents have had them since '79. My earliest football recollections were going to the Dome on Sunday mornings with my dad and brother after eating breakfast at Shoney's. Names like Brett Maxie, Stan Brock, Reuben Mayes and Dalton Hilliard all mean something to me. I remember "Dome Patrol". I remember the late Sam Mills stuffing rookie Rams running back Jerome Bettis at the line, ripping the ball out of his hands and running 20 years the other way for the score. I remember Steve Walsh and Jim Everett, Morten Andersen and Pat Swilling. Hell, I even remember arguing with my dad over John Fourcade and Bobby Hebert (I liked Fourcade, even though he was an Ole Miss guy).
Even more, I remember the losses. And there were plenty of them. Too many. There was a man who sat in front of us for years in Section 113, Row 22 who was the biggest pessimist I have ever known. He would chant phrases like, "I'm never renewing my tickets!" and "Same old sorry ass Saints!" and, more recently, "FIRE HASLETT!". But, he came. Year after year. Game after game. Quarter after miserable quarter. And when the Saints did happen to pull out a victory, it was like God had granted the city another Mardi Gras.
You see, like it or not, the Saints have been the lifeblood of New Orleans for a long time. People who never lived in New Orleans or were never Saints fans don't understand that. You can't. The point I promised to make at the beginning of this rant is that it was somewhat bittersweet because when the game ended, Tom F---ing Benson's nasty mug popped up on the brand new JumboTron in the Dome doing his "Benson Boogie" celebrating the win as a hero for "bringing the Saints home."
Well, need I remind you that this is the same asshole who 15 months ago, when the city I love was still under water, was negotiating with the mayor of San Antonio to move the team forever? This is the same money-grubbing jackass who shoved a cameraman and got in a fight with a fan after a game in Tiger Stadium last year. This is the same egotistical dollar whore who tried to hold the state hostage before Katrina in a effort to get more money or move to LA. If Benson had his way then Saturday would have never happened.
Mr. Benson, the Saints aren't your team. You may sign the paychecks. You may sit in the luxury owner's suite in the Dome, but the Saints are most certainly not your team. The Saints are my team. The Saints belong to my grandparents who have scrapped and saved to afford season tickets for 40 years to watch crappy football just because they felt the Saints were theirs. And you tried to take them away. Damn you, Tom Benson! The Saints belong to New Orleans. And this is our victory.
And it's not only Tom Benson. To every single radio host or caller-in, or anyone who mumbled under your breath two years ago to "let the Saints go" (even though you wouldn't dare admit it now) this win was not for you either. It is despite people like you, not because of you, that the Saints are a game away from the Super Bowl. And you may call talk radio shows this week and use words like "we" and "us" and "our" when referring to the Black and Gold, but know this: if Katrina had never happened and this rebirth and magical season never was, you would still be wishing the Saints would just go away.
As long as there have been sports, there have been bandwagon fans -- that I understand. Now, maybe with this win, you might understand why people like me fought so hard to change public opinion to keep the Saints where they belong: at home in the Dome.
Friday, January 12, 2007
The Saints Are Coming!
Let me give you a brief catch-up, since my last post was seemingly in 1997. I am still writing and anchoring news for Sunny 103.3 in the mornings in Baton Rouge. You can hear me every half hour between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Also, from time to time, I stick my head in Ed's studio during the morning show to "shoot the bull", fill time or fill in for Boozilla, who apparently likes to sleep in and is frequently running late.
Anyhoo, I'm not sure that I could be more fired-up that I am today. We are just over 24 hours from kickoff of the Saints-Eagles Divisional Playoff game in the Superdome. For the record, let it be known that the two teams I despise more than any other are, in order: Atlanta Falcons, and Philadelphia Eagles (if we're talking all sports, then Boston Red Sox easily top my list of pro teams). If you have been back inside the Superdome this season, you know the atmosphere is unlike it has ever been for a Saints game, at least in my memory and I have been attending games since the early '80s. Whereas fans used to boo incessantly and chant phrases like "Same Old Saints" and "Why do I keep renewing my season tickets!?", this year that skepticism that has plagued this organization's teams and fans has been replaced with optimism. Winning truly is an attitude and this Saints team and its fans expect to win when it takes the field. It will be no different tomorrow night. The crowd (yours truly, included) will be good and liquored-up and at our South-Louisiana-Crazy-Cajun finest. I don't bet, but I am considering it for this game. I told Ed on the radio this week, there is no sure thing in sports, but the Saints winning tomorrow is about as close as it gets. Trust me, this will be a victory to remember forever.
Also, my beloved alma mater, the LSU Tigers, dismantled the team I loathe above all teams in all sports on all levels, the Notre Dame Fightin' Irish. Let me explain: My brother has not one, but two degrees from Notre Dame. Out of high school, that was my number one choice for school. I got into 5 of the 6 school I applied to. Guess which one rejected me? Well, my never-say-die attitude led me to Holy Cross College--a small feeder school for ND--in South Bend where I earned a 3.95 GPA over two semesters and re-applied to ND. Rejected again. Screw them forever. And not just because I didn't get into school there, but because of the pompous attitude the students have (which I witnessed first hand for a year) and the holier-than-thou pricks that run the place. Seriously, if you have any delusions that Notre Dame is the most magical place on earth, wake up, Pinnochio! It's a Bubble, filled with arrogant A-Holes who think they are better than you and that you should cheer for them just because they are Notre Dame. If you attended Notre Shame or have a child who did/does, do not waste your time commenting, because you are biased.
Needless to say, taunting the hell out of the student section (which amazingly was one section over from my seats) as we bombed touchdown after touchdown on them was one of the greatest feelings in the world. 41-14 are numbers that I will remember forever.
Go Saints! GEAUX TIGERS! GO enjoy your weekend!
Anyhoo, I'm not sure that I could be more fired-up that I am today. We are just over 24 hours from kickoff of the Saints-Eagles Divisional Playoff game in the Superdome. For the record, let it be known that the two teams I despise more than any other are, in order: Atlanta Falcons, and Philadelphia Eagles (if we're talking all sports, then Boston Red Sox easily top my list of pro teams). If you have been back inside the Superdome this season, you know the atmosphere is unlike it has ever been for a Saints game, at least in my memory and I have been attending games since the early '80s. Whereas fans used to boo incessantly and chant phrases like "Same Old Saints" and "Why do I keep renewing my season tickets!?", this year that skepticism that has plagued this organization's teams and fans has been replaced with optimism. Winning truly is an attitude and this Saints team and its fans expect to win when it takes the field. It will be no different tomorrow night. The crowd (yours truly, included) will be good and liquored-up and at our South-Louisiana-Crazy-Cajun finest. I don't bet, but I am considering it for this game. I told Ed on the radio this week, there is no sure thing in sports, but the Saints winning tomorrow is about as close as it gets. Trust me, this will be a victory to remember forever.
Also, my beloved alma mater, the LSU Tigers, dismantled the team I loathe above all teams in all sports on all levels, the Notre Dame Fightin' Irish. Let me explain: My brother has not one, but two degrees from Notre Dame. Out of high school, that was my number one choice for school. I got into 5 of the 6 school I applied to. Guess which one rejected me? Well, my never-say-die attitude led me to Holy Cross College--a small feeder school for ND--in South Bend where I earned a 3.95 GPA over two semesters and re-applied to ND. Rejected again. Screw them forever. And not just because I didn't get into school there, but because of the pompous attitude the students have (which I witnessed first hand for a year) and the holier-than-thou pricks that run the place. Seriously, if you have any delusions that Notre Dame is the most magical place on earth, wake up, Pinnochio! It's a Bubble, filled with arrogant A-Holes who think they are better than you and that you should cheer for them just because they are Notre Dame. If you attended Notre Shame or have a child who did/does, do not waste your time commenting, because you are biased.
Needless to say, taunting the hell out of the student section (which amazingly was one section over from my seats) as we bombed touchdown after touchdown on them was one of the greatest feelings in the world. 41-14 are numbers that I will remember forever.
Go Saints! GEAUX TIGERS! GO enjoy your weekend!
