Where have you gone, Herm Edwards?
I hate to disappoint those of you expecting my Wednesday Rant about grocery shopping, but something else came up that's been on my mind.
So without further delay, I give you my Wednesday Rant, entitled:
Where have you gone, Herm Edwards, our nation turns its lonely eyes to you?
Monday night, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Orange County, California and Western Hemisphere's Darin Erstad absolutely leveled the Braves' Johnny Estrada at a play at the plate. (This is the part of the story where sportscasters mention Erstad played football at the University of Nebraska (I'm assuming that was back when that meant something) Anyway, they usually fail to mention he was a punter - being a former soccer player, I prefer to think of punters as soccer players who sold out - A PUNTER?!? Calling Erstad a football player is like calling the Kansas City Royals a baseball team. While technically true, a real football player wouldn't admit to punters being a football player.)
Being a misplaced Cubs' fan stuck in the heart of Braves' Country, I've had to listen to bitter Braves' fans bemoan the fact that Erstad played dirty. They've been complaining that he could have slid around Estrada and still scored, but in the immortal words of Herm Edwards, "You play to win the game." If you don't want to get hit, get out of the way.
The problem is many Braves' fans fail to admit that if it were one of their guys who plowed into the catcher, they'd be praising the hustle and talking about what an awesome play it was.
And there lies the problem with sports fans. Seemingly rational adults who are productive members of society lose the ability to be objective when it comes to "their" team. Everything is seen though the lens of "my team" and not from the fair, objective perspective. (You can't see me, but as I'm writing this, I have a Cubs hat and Cubs watch on and just finished following the Cubs game on the Internet here at work).
As a Cubs fan, I don't believe Steve Bartman (may he rot in hell, God rest his soul - obscure "Family Guy" reference) is the reason the Cubs lost the 2003 National League Championship Series (poor defense and the inability for Kerry Wood to hold a lead in Game 7 are the real reasons). That being said, I do believe the Cubs' are cursed and we have to find a way to break the curse before we'll win the World Series (yeah, that's where I lose my objectivity).
Sure, being a fan is fun and arguing about this or that is what makes sports such common factor in our society, but take off the team-colored glasses every now and again and try to be a rational person when it comes to arguing sports. Reasonable people can disagree, but raving, die-hard fans are not reasonable and not worth debating.
Softball Update: In a shocking turn of events, Michigan (the less pretty team) defeated UCLA 4-1 to win their first NCAA Softball Title.
Cubs Update: 2-0 winners over Toronto
On Deck: My thoughts on Landover Baptist plus a George Bush vs. Jesus commercial you won't want to miss.
On the Horizon: My addiction to ESPN
So without further delay, I give you my Wednesday Rant, entitled:
Where have you gone, Herm Edwards, our nation turns its lonely eyes to you?
Monday night, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Orange County, California and Western Hemisphere's Darin Erstad absolutely leveled the Braves' Johnny Estrada at a play at the plate. (This is the part of the story where sportscasters mention Erstad played football at the University of Nebraska (I'm assuming that was back when that meant something) Anyway, they usually fail to mention he was a punter - being a former soccer player, I prefer to think of punters as soccer players who sold out - A PUNTER?!? Calling Erstad a football player is like calling the Kansas City Royals a baseball team. While technically true, a real football player wouldn't admit to punters being a football player.)
Being a misplaced Cubs' fan stuck in the heart of Braves' Country, I've had to listen to bitter Braves' fans bemoan the fact that Erstad played dirty. They've been complaining that he could have slid around Estrada and still scored, but in the immortal words of Herm Edwards, "You play to win the game." If you don't want to get hit, get out of the way.
The problem is many Braves' fans fail to admit that if it were one of their guys who plowed into the catcher, they'd be praising the hustle and talking about what an awesome play it was.
And there lies the problem with sports fans. Seemingly rational adults who are productive members of society lose the ability to be objective when it comes to "their" team. Everything is seen though the lens of "my team" and not from the fair, objective perspective. (You can't see me, but as I'm writing this, I have a Cubs hat and Cubs watch on and just finished following the Cubs game on the Internet here at work).
As a Cubs fan, I don't believe Steve Bartman (may he rot in hell, God rest his soul - obscure "Family Guy" reference) is the reason the Cubs lost the 2003 National League Championship Series (poor defense and the inability for Kerry Wood to hold a lead in Game 7 are the real reasons). That being said, I do believe the Cubs' are cursed and we have to find a way to break the curse before we'll win the World Series (yeah, that's where I lose my objectivity).
Sure, being a fan is fun and arguing about this or that is what makes sports such common factor in our society, but take off the team-colored glasses every now and again and try to be a rational person when it comes to arguing sports. Reasonable people can disagree, but raving, die-hard fans are not reasonable and not worth debating.
Softball Update: In a shocking turn of events, Michigan (the less pretty team) defeated UCLA 4-1 to win their first NCAA Softball Title.
Cubs Update: 2-0 winners over Toronto
On Deck: My thoughts on Landover Baptist plus a George Bush vs. Jesus commercial you won't want to miss.
On the Horizon: My addiction to ESPN
posted by Luke at 10:48 AM
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