My favorite sport has changed many times in my life. My first love was baseball. That lasted until I was about 8 or 9. Then my favorite sport was basketball. It was the sport I played more than any other and it's my dad's favorite sport. Football became my favorite sport in high school. Bill Parcells was the coach of the Jets when I was 13-15. That and the Madden video games got me really into the Jets and the NFL. I stayed a huge NFL fan after the Parcells years. As soon as I went to Notre Dame, the Notre Dame football team became my favorite of all the teams I rooted for, but I still liked the NFL better than college. Over the last five years or so, I rediscovered my love for baseball. Baseball is once again my favorite sport. And the NFL has now dropped behind baseball and college football.
So how did that happen? It really has nothing to do with Notre Dame's success this year. It's because of the Jets. Here's a conversation I actually had with somebody (I don't remember who I was talking to, but I remember the conversation):
Me: I hate the Jets.
Other Person: Which football team do you like?
Me: The Jets.
My anger with the Jets started in 2008 when they traded for Brett Favre. I admit it was worth a shot. It almost got the Vikings to the Super Bowl. But Brett Favre was one of the most dislikeable players in the NFL. He was one of my favorite players when I was younger, but once he started with the whole I might retire, I'm retiring, I might not retire, I'm not retiring routine, there was no way to like him anymore. Late in his season with the Jets, he did all sorts of dumb Favre things and I was happy to be done with him. But then the Jets drafted Mark Sanchez. I just could not embrace a player from USC, Notre Dame's biggest rival. I put up with him for two years when he got the Jets to the AFC Championship Game in back to back years, but these last two years have been a disaster. I just want him gone, but I'm worried that they'll keep him for salary cap reasons (which would be really dumb).
And the other reason that I can't stand the Jets is Rex Ryan. The Jets are clowns. And their general clownery (I just made that word up) starts with Rex Ryan. I don't know how many times he predicted they'd win the Super Bowl. He didn't this year, but he said this was the most talented team he's ever had. Just shut up and win. Then talk all you want. He's motivated other teams to beat the Jets. The Giants made fun of the Jets after winning the Super Bowl (and the Jets totally deserved it). The Jets are all about getting headlines (Favre, Rex Ryan saying ridiculous things, Tebow). Some franchises are all about winning (Giants, Patriots, Steelers, Packers, Colts). You can't be surprised when Santonio Holmes and other guys like morons when the head coach acts like a moron.
Mark Sanchez and Rex Ryan have made it very difficult to root for my favorite NFL team. Today I was just happy that their season is over. I want the two of them gone, along with Mike Tannenbaum. Tannenbaum will probably be gone, but I think at least one of Sanchez and Ryan will be back, and I wouldn't be shocked if both were back. Also, all that matters in the NFL is making the playoffs. As the Giants have shown, just get into the playoffs and anything can happen. I still have my issues with college football, but it has the best regular season of any sport because every game is so important.
I have never had trouble rooting for Notre Dame. Sometimes I knew we were in terrible shape, but nothing could make me stop loving Notre Dame. I have actually given thought to just rooting for whatever team drafts Manti Te'o. I won't abandon the Jets, but I'll be a lot more excited about rooting for them in 2013 if Mark Sanchez and Rex Ryan are gone.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
12 Bars of Christmas
There was a dream that was 12 Bars of Christmas. I first thought of this idea six years ago. I'm pretty sure I was in the computer lab at the library at Notre Dame and I was IMing Vin. He put one of my IMs as his away message with the comment "Probably why he goes to Notre Dame." I wanted to do this for a long time, but I could never get everybody together for it. Last year, I tried with Pete and Darryl. We got to six bars, but we made three stops at Christopher's (all Darryl's fault). So it was like eight stops all together. Respectable, but well short of the goal.
This year, my friends and I finally made it happen. It was a Sunday night. I was a little worried about the bars closing early. It was the night before Christmas Eve, so the fact that people didn't have to work the next day was in our favor, but still, it was a Sunday night. I had a strategy. First, I drank lots of water during the day to pre-hydrate. Once we got to the bars, my plan was to start with mostly Guinness (only 4.2% alcohol and not a ton of calories), maybe mix in a Sam Adams or two, and then switch to Bud Light for the second half. Let's go through the 12 bars:
1. Canterbury Ales. My brother Sean dropped Pete and I off in Huntington. I hadn't seen Pete in almost a year. We had a good talk. I expected to be joined by Darryl and Molly. Molly also brought Vin and John (I expected Vin to join us at some point, but I was not expecting John, that was a pleasant surprise). Later John's friend Sean joined us. I had a Guinness.
2. Christopher's. Thankfully, this was our only stop at Christopher's. I think I ordered a Sam Adams, but they were out, so I think I had another Guinness.
3. Finnegan's. Pete's favorite bar, but he wasn't happy about the country music playing. I had another Guinness. John and Sean smoked cigars outside. Vin, Pete, and I also went outside. At this point, time was becoming a concern. We were moving too slowly. I figured we were going to slow down as the night went on, so I wanted to move fast early in the night. We actually probably moved faster later in the night.
4. Sapsuckers. The beers on tap are too exotic for me, so I just had a Miller Lite. I drank fast because I wanted to speed up the process. I think this is where we started talking about the possibility of halftime at Little Vincent's, which was a great idea, but it didn't fit in with our route.
5. Mary Carroll's. They had Sam Adams Octoberfest on tap. I was pretty excited about that.
6. Rookies. Now the memory starts to get fuzzy. I think I had a Guinness. I think this was a quick stop.
7. Finley's. For some reason, there was a $5 cover. My friend Pat was bartending. This picture is the only reason I know I had a Guinness at Finley's:
8. Katie Mc's. This bar is severely underrated. I think the last time I was there was an Easter Eve with John. He was asking the bartender about what you could float Guinness on top of. The bartender said Bud Light would not work. I was probably drinking Bud Light for the rest of the night at this point.
9. Nag's Head. I don't remember much about this stop. We checked F.H. Riley's after leaving Nag's Head, but it was closed. We were getting close, but the bars closing was becoming a concern.
10. Tavern. We ran into Vinny 2 and Odie. I'm sure the story of how Vin and I were cheated out of the beer pong championship at V2's house came up. I think V2 was unbuttoning my shirt.
11. Meehan's. It was closing right as we got there. The bartender was really cool and kept it open for us. Vin told him some story (I think it was about one of biggest/smallest fears Vin's fears) and then asked what the most messed up story he ever heard as a bartender was and his response was something like, "The one you just told me." The last bar I had on my list was Honu, but it was closed, so for the final bar we went to...
12. J.T. Carrington's. I had never been there. John once told me that if I ever walked in there, it would be like one of those scenes in a movie where the music comes to a screeching stop and everybody would look at me. It was well worth going in there to complete the 12 Bars of Christmas.
After that, we got Little Vincent's. I had been drinking too long to appreciate it. I would have really appreciated it if we had done halftime there, but whatever. Vin got a pie and we got down to one slice and we talked about how many bites it would take for Vin, John, and I to finish it. John said five and Vin said three. Vin and John took huge bites and then I dropped the ball. Vin finished it with the fourth bite.
Big thanks to Pete, Molly, Darryl, Vin, John, and Sean coming out. This is one of my proudest drinking accomplishments. Molly was really a trooper and put up with us all night even though she wasn't drinking. She drove us all home. I don't remember much about the ride home other than Pete falling asleep. He fought the jet lag admirably, though. I hope everybody had a good Christmas Eve. I was not hungover amazingly, but I slept for a lot of the day. I also watched The Dark Knight Rises and enjoyed Anne Hathaway's performance (so hot). If anybody else remembers anything good from the night, leave a comment.
Merry Christmas!
This year, my friends and I finally made it happen. It was a Sunday night. I was a little worried about the bars closing early. It was the night before Christmas Eve, so the fact that people didn't have to work the next day was in our favor, but still, it was a Sunday night. I had a strategy. First, I drank lots of water during the day to pre-hydrate. Once we got to the bars, my plan was to start with mostly Guinness (only 4.2% alcohol and not a ton of calories), maybe mix in a Sam Adams or two, and then switch to Bud Light for the second half. Let's go through the 12 bars:
1. Canterbury Ales. My brother Sean dropped Pete and I off in Huntington. I hadn't seen Pete in almost a year. We had a good talk. I expected to be joined by Darryl and Molly. Molly also brought Vin and John (I expected Vin to join us at some point, but I was not expecting John, that was a pleasant surprise). Later John's friend Sean joined us. I had a Guinness.
 |
| First bar of the night. The pictures get much crazier as the night goes on. |
2. Christopher's. Thankfully, this was our only stop at Christopher's. I think I ordered a Sam Adams, but they were out, so I think I had another Guinness.
3. Finnegan's. Pete's favorite bar, but he wasn't happy about the country music playing. I had another Guinness. John and Sean smoked cigars outside. Vin, Pete, and I also went outside. At this point, time was becoming a concern. We were moving too slowly. I figured we were going to slow down as the night went on, so I wanted to move fast early in the night. We actually probably moved faster later in the night.
 |
| I didn't realize Pete was in this picture. It looks like he's throwing up. Fortunately, that did not happen. |
4. Sapsuckers. The beers on tap are too exotic for me, so I just had a Miller Lite. I drank fast because I wanted to speed up the process. I think this is where we started talking about the possibility of halftime at Little Vincent's, which was a great idea, but it didn't fit in with our route.
5. Mary Carroll's. They had Sam Adams Octoberfest on tap. I was pretty excited about that.
6. Rookies. Now the memory starts to get fuzzy. I think I had a Guinness. I think this was a quick stop.
7. Finley's. For some reason, there was a $5 cover. My friend Pat was bartending. This picture is the only reason I know I had a Guinness at Finley's:
8. Katie Mc's. This bar is severely underrated. I think the last time I was there was an Easter Eve with John. He was asking the bartender about what you could float Guinness on top of. The bartender said Bud Light would not work. I was probably drinking Bud Light for the rest of the night at this point.
 |
| This might be my favorite picture from the night. |
9. Nag's Head. I don't remember much about this stop. We checked F.H. Riley's after leaving Nag's Head, but it was closed. We were getting close, but the bars closing was becoming a concern.
10. Tavern. We ran into Vinny 2 and Odie. I'm sure the story of how Vin and I were cheated out of the beer pong championship at V2's house came up. I think V2 was unbuttoning my shirt.
 |
| It had been a long time since I had seen Vinny 2. It was good to see him and Odie. |
11. Meehan's. It was closing right as we got there. The bartender was really cool and kept it open for us. Vin told him some story (I think it was about one of biggest/smallest fears Vin's fears) and then asked what the most messed up story he ever heard as a bartender was and his response was something like, "The one you just told me." The last bar I had on my list was Honu, but it was closed, so for the final bar we went to...
12. J.T. Carrington's. I had never been there. John once told me that if I ever walked in there, it would be like one of those scenes in a movie where the music comes to a screeching stop and everybody would look at me. It was well worth going in there to complete the 12 Bars of Christmas.
 |
| Last stop. We did it. Great night. |
After that, we got Little Vincent's. I had been drinking too long to appreciate it. I would have really appreciated it if we had done halftime there, but whatever. Vin got a pie and we got down to one slice and we talked about how many bites it would take for Vin, John, and I to finish it. John said five and Vin said three. Vin and John took huge bites and then I dropped the ball. Vin finished it with the fourth bite.
Big thanks to Pete, Molly, Darryl, Vin, John, and Sean coming out. This is one of my proudest drinking accomplishments. Molly was really a trooper and put up with us all night even though she wasn't drinking. She drove us all home. I don't remember much about the ride home other than Pete falling asleep. He fought the jet lag admirably, though. I hope everybody had a good Christmas Eve. I was not hungover amazingly, but I slept for a lot of the day. I also watched The Dark Knight Rises and enjoyed Anne Hathaway's performance (so hot). If anybody else remembers anything good from the night, leave a comment.
Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 13, 2012
The Death of the Big East
I was not much of a college sports fan growing up. When it came to college sports, there were two things that I paid a little attention to (emphasis on little): Notre Dame football and Big East basketball. One of those things came back to life this year and the other one died today. The Big East is dead.
The Big East was St. John's, Georgetown, Syracuse, UConn, etc. Now that the Catholic schools are leaving, this is what the Big East is going to be if it continues to exist: UConn, South Florida, Cincinnati, Temple, Houston, SMU, Memphis, Central Florida, Tulane. Yikes. Throwing in Boise State, San Diego State, East Carolina, and Navy for football doesn't help much. The Catholic schools have the power to dissolve the conference. I hope that's what they do. It's over for the conference that I grew up with. It makes me really sad. Madison Square Garden said this week that it could get out of it's deal with the Big East. It's hard to see them not wanting to get out of it now. The only fans that will show up are UConn fans. So yeah, I really want the Catholic schools to dissolve the conference because the Big East shouldn't exist without St. John's and Georgetown (anything can exist without Syracuse and Jim Boeheim and I'm fine with that).
I really think this year will be the last year of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden. It's about as great as a meaningless event could be (it only matters for seeding and for teams that aren't going to make the real tournament as an at large team). But it's Madison Square Garden, classic basketball teams, and four games in a day. You can't beat that. Last year I went for the first time in a while. I went one night with my friend Vin and the other night with my dad. It was great. I would have gone the next night also to see Notre Dame in the semifinals, but I was flying to Las Vegas. I was planning to go to every session this year if I didn't get a job. Of course, that's out. But I will go to every night session that I can. I think I might have to stay late at work one of those nights, but I still might be able to go that night, just a little late. So I hope to get there for at least two nights again this year, even if Notre Dame isn't playing at night.
I'm curious to see what the future holds for Madison Square Garden. I would love to see them get the ACC tournament for obvious reasons. As we can see, Jack Swarbrick made a great move by leaving the Big East and going to the ACC. While I knew it was a good move at the time, I was sad that Notre Dame wouldn't be playing in Madison Square Garden anymore. The ACC has moved their tournament around, but 48 of their 59 tournaments have been in the state of North Carolina. I think they should move into the Garden, but I don't see that happening. I'd be happy with them going to the Barclays Center every so often too (although I'd prefer Madison Square Garden because it's easier to get home from there).
I'm also interested to see what the Catholic schools will do. They could form their own conference and add Xavier and St. Joe's and some other schools possibly. It would be interesting and maybe they could have their tournament in the Garden. That would be cool, but it won't be the same.
RIP Big East.
The Big East was St. John's, Georgetown, Syracuse, UConn, etc. Now that the Catholic schools are leaving, this is what the Big East is going to be if it continues to exist: UConn, South Florida, Cincinnati, Temple, Houston, SMU, Memphis, Central Florida, Tulane. Yikes. Throwing in Boise State, San Diego State, East Carolina, and Navy for football doesn't help much. The Catholic schools have the power to dissolve the conference. I hope that's what they do. It's over for the conference that I grew up with. It makes me really sad. Madison Square Garden said this week that it could get out of it's deal with the Big East. It's hard to see them not wanting to get out of it now. The only fans that will show up are UConn fans. So yeah, I really want the Catholic schools to dissolve the conference because the Big East shouldn't exist without St. John's and Georgetown (anything can exist without Syracuse and Jim Boeheim and I'm fine with that).
I really think this year will be the last year of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden. It's about as great as a meaningless event could be (it only matters for seeding and for teams that aren't going to make the real tournament as an at large team). But it's Madison Square Garden, classic basketball teams, and four games in a day. You can't beat that. Last year I went for the first time in a while. I went one night with my friend Vin and the other night with my dad. It was great. I would have gone the next night also to see Notre Dame in the semifinals, but I was flying to Las Vegas. I was planning to go to every session this year if I didn't get a job. Of course, that's out. But I will go to every night session that I can. I think I might have to stay late at work one of those nights, but I still might be able to go that night, just a little late. So I hope to get there for at least two nights again this year, even if Notre Dame isn't playing at night.
I'm curious to see what the future holds for Madison Square Garden. I would love to see them get the ACC tournament for obvious reasons. As we can see, Jack Swarbrick made a great move by leaving the Big East and going to the ACC. While I knew it was a good move at the time, I was sad that Notre Dame wouldn't be playing in Madison Square Garden anymore. The ACC has moved their tournament around, but 48 of their 59 tournaments have been in the state of North Carolina. I think they should move into the Garden, but I don't see that happening. I'd be happy with them going to the Barclays Center every so often too (although I'd prefer Madison Square Garden because it's easier to get home from there).
I'm also interested to see what the Catholic schools will do. They could form their own conference and add Xavier and St. Joe's and some other schools possibly. It would be interesting and maybe they could have their tournament in the Garden. That would be cool, but it won't be the same.
RIP Big East.
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