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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
A Great Weekend
I've always enjoyed Thanksgiving weekend. I loved the night before Thanksgiving seeing old friends again. Then I went out two years ago on Thanksgiving Eve and it was miserable. All I did was stand in line everywhere. I said I was never going out on Thanksgiving Eve again (I lied). I loved idea of football Thursday through Sunday. Football can be ruined when you have performances like the Jets in 2007 or Notre Dame in 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2011. This weekend was the best. It had a little bit of everything, great football, terrible football, people I hadn't seen in ten years, one of my best friends threatening to murder me, you know, usual stuff.
Thursday night I went out very early with Darryl and Molly. We went out early and beat the crowd. Eventually Vin joined us. Darryl disappeared, Molly drove us home, and unlike last year, I didn't have to go back to Huntington after getting dropped off to pick up Darryl. So this was the best Thanksgiving Eve in a while.
The football on Thanksgiving was interesting. We saw terrible coaching from Jim Schwartz, the Cowboys being the Cowboys, and the Jets with the performance that will hopefully mean the end of Mark Sanchez and Rex Ryan. I was dozing off during the first half of the Jets game. I didn't sleep that long. The score was 7-0 and then I opened my eyes again and it was 28-0. The Jets are a disaster. Let's move on.
Friday was my ten year high school reunion. I hadn't seen most of the people there since high school. It was actually more fun than I thought it would be. Darryl and Molly were in Huntington at the same time. Darryl texted me from Molly's phone and said that if I didn't meet up with them, he would murder me. I never met up with them. He didn't remember that threat the next day.
Saturday was the day I've been waiting for. It was the fourth time in my life that Notre Dame went into the last game of the regular season undefeated. In 1988, they beat USC and then went on to win the National Championship. In 1989, they lost to the forces of evil in Miami. In 1993, they lost to Boston College (one of my first memories of college football). And we've been wondering in the desert since then. Now, 19 years later, we had a chance play for a National Championship once again. It was fitting that we had to go through our biggest rival, USC. The 2005 game at Notre Dame was the most exciting sporting event I've ever been to. But USC's cheating cost us the game and a shot at a National Championship. I loathe Pete Carroll and Reggie Bush to this day for what they did. I had been waiting 7 years, 1 month, and 9 days for revenge for what happened that day.
I felt confident all week. Then yesterday came and I felt nervous (this was the exact opposite of how I felt going into the Oklahoma game). My hands were shaking as I texted my friends in the first quarter. Anyway, it was quite a game. Theo Riddick played the best game of his life. Kyle Brindza outscored USC 16-13. And Manti Te'o picked off another pass. He is the best player in college football. HeIsManti. We took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and held on for the whole game. We won it like we've been winning games all season, with the best defense in college football. Marqise Lee is the most dangerous player we've played all season. Our defense did a great job on him. For most of the game, whenever he got the ball, we tackled him right away. We took a few pass interference penalties, but I was fine with that. A 15 yard penalty is better than a 50 yard gain or a touchdown. Finally, in the fourth quarter, he made a big catch to set up a first and goal with USC down 9. Eventually, two straight pass interference penalties gave USC a first and goal at the 1. Then Lane Kiffin decided it would be a good idea to try to run up the middle against Louis Nix and his friends. Of course, we stuffed USC just like we stuffed Stanford. It got to fourth down and for some reason Lane Kiffin decided to go for it. Lane, you needed 10 points to win. Three would have helped you, but thanks for being a moron in addition to being a huge d-bag. The incomplete pass on fourth down just about sealed it for us. At first it looked like it might be complete, but when I saw the ball on the ground, I yelled, "No! Yes!" No as in it's not a touchdown, and yes as in this is awesome. We got a first down, took some knees, and then had to punt with about 20 seconds left. We held on for the 22-13 win. I finally got the revenge I had been waiting for since 2005. We are going to Miami on January 7 to play for the National Championship. My friends and I have already been discussing travel arrangements. It was the best day of my life.
After the game, I got a call from my old friend Tommy. I met up with him and his friends in Huntington. I wore my Rudy jacket and got lots of comments from people congratulating me. Tommy was quite entertaining. The best part was his plan to find a wife. I won't give it away, but let's just say it involves a suit with a microscopic checkerboard pattern. I finished off the day with a couple of Victory Guinnesses. Life is good. One more game to win.
Thursday night I went out very early with Darryl and Molly. We went out early and beat the crowd. Eventually Vin joined us. Darryl disappeared, Molly drove us home, and unlike last year, I didn't have to go back to Huntington after getting dropped off to pick up Darryl. So this was the best Thanksgiving Eve in a while.
The football on Thanksgiving was interesting. We saw terrible coaching from Jim Schwartz, the Cowboys being the Cowboys, and the Jets with the performance that will hopefully mean the end of Mark Sanchez and Rex Ryan. I was dozing off during the first half of the Jets game. I didn't sleep that long. The score was 7-0 and then I opened my eyes again and it was 28-0. The Jets are a disaster. Let's move on.
Friday was my ten year high school reunion. I hadn't seen most of the people there since high school. It was actually more fun than I thought it would be. Darryl and Molly were in Huntington at the same time. Darryl texted me from Molly's phone and said that if I didn't meet up with them, he would murder me. I never met up with them. He didn't remember that threat the next day.
Saturday was the day I've been waiting for. It was the fourth time in my life that Notre Dame went into the last game of the regular season undefeated. In 1988, they beat USC and then went on to win the National Championship. In 1989, they lost to the forces of evil in Miami. In 1993, they lost to Boston College (one of my first memories of college football). And we've been wondering in the desert since then. Now, 19 years later, we had a chance play for a National Championship once again. It was fitting that we had to go through our biggest rival, USC. The 2005 game at Notre Dame was the most exciting sporting event I've ever been to. But USC's cheating cost us the game and a shot at a National Championship. I loathe Pete Carroll and Reggie Bush to this day for what they did. I had been waiting 7 years, 1 month, and 9 days for revenge for what happened that day.
I felt confident all week. Then yesterday came and I felt nervous (this was the exact opposite of how I felt going into the Oklahoma game). My hands were shaking as I texted my friends in the first quarter. Anyway, it was quite a game. Theo Riddick played the best game of his life. Kyle Brindza outscored USC 16-13. And Manti Te'o picked off another pass. He is the best player in college football. HeIsManti. We took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and held on for the whole game. We won it like we've been winning games all season, with the best defense in college football. Marqise Lee is the most dangerous player we've played all season. Our defense did a great job on him. For most of the game, whenever he got the ball, we tackled him right away. We took a few pass interference penalties, but I was fine with that. A 15 yard penalty is better than a 50 yard gain or a touchdown. Finally, in the fourth quarter, he made a big catch to set up a first and goal with USC down 9. Eventually, two straight pass interference penalties gave USC a first and goal at the 1. Then Lane Kiffin decided it would be a good idea to try to run up the middle against Louis Nix and his friends. Of course, we stuffed USC just like we stuffed Stanford. It got to fourth down and for some reason Lane Kiffin decided to go for it. Lane, you needed 10 points to win. Three would have helped you, but thanks for being a moron in addition to being a huge d-bag. The incomplete pass on fourth down just about sealed it for us. At first it looked like it might be complete, but when I saw the ball on the ground, I yelled, "No! Yes!" No as in it's not a touchdown, and yes as in this is awesome. We got a first down, took some knees, and then had to punt with about 20 seconds left. We held on for the 22-13 win. I finally got the revenge I had been waiting for since 2005. We are going to Miami on January 7 to play for the National Championship. My friends and I have already been discussing travel arrangements. It was the best day of my life.
After the game, I got a call from my old friend Tommy. I met up with him and his friends in Huntington. I wore my Rudy jacket and got lots of comments from people congratulating me. Tommy was quite entertaining. The best part was his plan to find a wife. I won't give it away, but let's just say it involves a suit with a microscopic checkerboard pattern. I finished off the day with a couple of Victory Guinnesses. Life is good. One more game to win.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Number 1
This is my drunkest blog post ever so I apologize if it doesn't make much sense. Notre Dame is number 1. This day was definitely one of the ten best in my life. If we beat USC in a week, that will easily be the best day of my life. And it will be bumped down to number 2 if we win the National Championship on January 7.
I am so incredibly happy for the seniors. It was great seeing the first three touchdowns scored by Cierre Wood, Tyler Eifert, and John Goodman. I wanted Theo Riddick and Robby Toma to get into the end zone as well, but I'll get over it. I can't imagine ever liking a player more than I like Manti Te'o. He deserves this. He is an incredible human being. I mentioned on facebook the story of Te'o taking the picture with the two little girls after the Oklahoma win. I've read the posts on NDNation from the father of those two girls. You could tell how much that meant to the whole family. One of my friends from camp is a big Notre Dame fan. Today he posted on facebook that he would buy a Te'o NFL jersey no matter what team drafted him. I commented that I would do the same thing as long as he wasn't drafted by the Patriots, Dolphins, or Raiders. Now I'm reconsidering that. I might buy his jersey no matter what. He will be missed. But he has two games left to win.
I've said before that I wanted Brian Kelly fired. Unlike a lot of Notre Dame fans, it wasn't for his performance, it was for the uniforms we wore against Miami. I hadn't given up on his coaching abilities, but still, I'm an idiot. We haven't been 11-0 since Lou Holtz was the coach. At worse, this is our best season since 1993. And we're doing this with a quarterback who hadn't played a snap before this year. Kelly is clearly our best coach since Lou Holtz (not saying much, but still).
As great as this year has been, you never know if you'll get back there again. Lou Holtz won a National Championship in his third year and then never did again (although he was cheated out of it in 1993). So let's win these next two games and win a championship.
We have two games left to win. USC next week and then if we beat them, the SEC Champion. It feels right that we have to beat USC. In my first year at Notre Dame, the Bush Push cost us a shot at the National Championship. Now we have a chance to get to the Championship Game by getting through them. Let's do it.
Many Notre Dame fans believed this day would never come again. I believed that we could do it, but I never thought it would be this year. My friend Jon is in law school at Notre Dame. He sent me a text saying that he wished I could be there tonight. Me too, but whatever. I just want to be anywhere for a National Championship win. I looked up flights for Los Angeles for next weekend. I probably won't go, because we have one more game to win after that, and I'd rather go to that game. If we beat USC, I will do whatever I can to get to Miami on January 7. I will have no budget. But first, we have to beat the Trojans.
How am I supposed to teach for three days this week? I'm going to wear a Notre Dame tie every day. My kids want a party. Let's win the National Championship and make it happen.
I was very worried when Kansas State threw that interception at their own 1. They were still up by 11 after Kansas State scored (I think), but I didn't feel good. They actually dominated from that point and Stanford took care of business and now Notre Dame is number 1.
Manti Te'o deserves the Heisman Trophy. I don't know if he'll win it, but I'll settle for a National Championship.
Go Irish! Beat Trojans!
I am so incredibly happy for the seniors. It was great seeing the first three touchdowns scored by Cierre Wood, Tyler Eifert, and John Goodman. I wanted Theo Riddick and Robby Toma to get into the end zone as well, but I'll get over it. I can't imagine ever liking a player more than I like Manti Te'o. He deserves this. He is an incredible human being. I mentioned on facebook the story of Te'o taking the picture with the two little girls after the Oklahoma win. I've read the posts on NDNation from the father of those two girls. You could tell how much that meant to the whole family. One of my friends from camp is a big Notre Dame fan. Today he posted on facebook that he would buy a Te'o NFL jersey no matter what team drafted him. I commented that I would do the same thing as long as he wasn't drafted by the Patriots, Dolphins, or Raiders. Now I'm reconsidering that. I might buy his jersey no matter what. He will be missed. But he has two games left to win.
I've said before that I wanted Brian Kelly fired. Unlike a lot of Notre Dame fans, it wasn't for his performance, it was for the uniforms we wore against Miami. I hadn't given up on his coaching abilities, but still, I'm an idiot. We haven't been 11-0 since Lou Holtz was the coach. At worse, this is our best season since 1993. And we're doing this with a quarterback who hadn't played a snap before this year. Kelly is clearly our best coach since Lou Holtz (not saying much, but still).
As great as this year has been, you never know if you'll get back there again. Lou Holtz won a National Championship in his third year and then never did again (although he was cheated out of it in 1993). So let's win these next two games and win a championship.
We have two games left to win. USC next week and then if we beat them, the SEC Champion. It feels right that we have to beat USC. In my first year at Notre Dame, the Bush Push cost us a shot at the National Championship. Now we have a chance to get to the Championship Game by getting through them. Let's do it.
Many Notre Dame fans believed this day would never come again. I believed that we could do it, but I never thought it would be this year. My friend Jon is in law school at Notre Dame. He sent me a text saying that he wished I could be there tonight. Me too, but whatever. I just want to be anywhere for a National Championship win. I looked up flights for Los Angeles for next weekend. I probably won't go, because we have one more game to win after that, and I'd rather go to that game. If we beat USC, I will do whatever I can to get to Miami on January 7. I will have no budget. But first, we have to beat the Trojans.
How am I supposed to teach for three days this week? I'm going to wear a Notre Dame tie every day. My kids want a party. Let's win the National Championship and make it happen.
I was very worried when Kansas State threw that interception at their own 1. They were still up by 11 after Kansas State scored (I think), but I didn't feel good. They actually dominated from that point and Stanford took care of business and now Notre Dame is number 1.
Manti Te'o deserves the Heisman Trophy. I don't know if he'll win it, but I'll settle for a National Championship.
Go Irish! Beat Trojans!
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Basketball in Brooklyn
It's Senior Day at Notre Dame today. I thought about making the trip for Manti Te'o's last home game, but decided not to. Hopefully I'll go to our bowl game. Instead of travelling to Notre Dame last night, I was watching the basketball team in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center. I was also there the night before for Celtics-Nets.
My roots are in Brooklyn. My dad was born there. I'm a Dodger fan because my dad was a Brooklyn Dodger fan. And I've spent just about no time there. I've driven through it a few times when I was going to or from school in my Georgetown days. And I think I was in Brooklyn on a field trip during seventh or eighth grade, but there's a good chance that I'm just thinking of being on the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge. The only part of New York City that I've possibly spent less time in is Staten Island. But I spent the last two nights there for basketball.
First, it's nice to have an alternative to Madison Square Garden for basketball. Especially with the Knicks being good (for now at least), tickets for the Nets are going to be a lot cheaper. Also, it's almost as easy to get to as Madison Square Garden with the Long Island Railroad going to the Atlantic Terminal (although getting home can be trickier). I would love it if the ACC tournament came to the Barclays Center. The worst thing about Notre Dame joining the ACC is not being in the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden (still, definitely the right move).
The Barclays Center was built where Walter O'Malley wanted to build his new stadium for the Dodgers. As much as I would have loved having the Dodgers in New York, everything really worked out for the Dodgers. O'Malley wanted a dome. That stadium would have been like Shea Stadium, but worse. Dodger Stadium is a million times better than the stadium O'Malley wanted to build in Brooklyn. But Brooklyn is a good home for the Nets.
The Nets really screwed up with their name/uniforms. Either change the name and change everything, or keep the name and come up with good uniforms. The Nets had red, white, and blue (you know, the greatest color combination in world history) and they couldn't come up with good uniforms. These new black and white uniforms are incredibly bland for no reason. You could say that the Celtics have bland uniforms (still not as bland as the Nets, green isn't as bland as black), but there's good reason for it: their incredible history and tradition.
Anyway, my dad and I were sitting almost exactly at mid-court way up high. The Barclays Center is built very differently from Madison Square Garden. The slopes in the area are much steeper than Madison Square Garden. I felt very high up, but also closer to the court than I would be in comparable seats in the Garden. As for the atmosphere, it's no Madison Square Garden. I would say it's like everything Notre Dame fans fear about putting a jumbotron in the stadium. Very loud and the PA guy was pretty annoying. I guess most NBA arenas are going to be like that. The one thing that really stood out to me was how the fans chanted the word Brooklyn in the same tone that Red Sox fans derisively changed "Roger" when Roger Clemens would pitch in Fenway Park as a Yankee. I didn't get that.
I've seen the Celtics play the Nets one other time in person. It was February 2010 in Boston with my friend John. I was supposed to take a bus on a Friday night for a Saturday afternoon game. Unfortunately, a snow storm cancelled all the buses that Friday. So I had to get there on Saturday and I had to get there early since the game was at 1:00 or something like that. So I took a 6:30 bus on Saturday morning. The only train that got me to the city on time got in around 5:00 in the morning. Let me tell you, there are few places as depressing as Penn Station at 5:00 on a Saturday morning. Anyway, the Nets were really bad that year and the Celtics played like crap and lost to them. I thought the Celtics were going nowhere that year, but they ended up making it to the Finals. So I assume seeing them lose to the Nets on Thursday night is a sign that they're going to the Finals this year. Rondo didn't play, which was disappointing since he's definitely their most exciting player, but it also made me less upset about the loss.
Last night I went for the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. We sat in the same section as the night before, but this time we were in row two of that section (row 19 the night before). The first game was Florida State and BYU. I will always root for Mormons over Florida State, but more than anything else, I was rooting for a quick game. I was disappointed. There were a ton of fouls called in the first half and Florida State won. They pulled away in the second half and I was starting to nod off due to the lack of sleep the night before (it was after 1 when I got home and I got up for work at 5:25). But I got a second wind when the second game started. It was Notre Dame and St. Joe's. I was really surprised by the lack of Notre Dame fans at the game. There are always a lot of Notre Dame fans when we play at Madison Square Garden, but there weren't a lot of any fans at these games. Tons of empty seats. But St. Joe's fans probably outnumbered us 10 to 1 (they had a lot of students make the trip). I guess we're still worried about football and aren't concerned about basket ball yet. Anyway, we shot the ball pretty well, but our problem was giving up easy second chance points to St. Joe's. I had to leave early to catch a train (not enough train options after a late game, which was why I wanted a quick first game). I left with about five minutes left and we were leading by about 6 points. St. Joe's came back and won in overtime, but I'm going on the theory that it doesn't count if I didn't see it.
Disappointing result, but I think our basketball team will be fine. I can't get upset about it when it's November and our football team is undefeated. Go Irish!
My roots are in Brooklyn. My dad was born there. I'm a Dodger fan because my dad was a Brooklyn Dodger fan. And I've spent just about no time there. I've driven through it a few times when I was going to or from school in my Georgetown days. And I think I was in Brooklyn on a field trip during seventh or eighth grade, but there's a good chance that I'm just thinking of being on the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge. The only part of New York City that I've possibly spent less time in is Staten Island. But I spent the last two nights there for basketball.
First, it's nice to have an alternative to Madison Square Garden for basketball. Especially with the Knicks being good (for now at least), tickets for the Nets are going to be a lot cheaper. Also, it's almost as easy to get to as Madison Square Garden with the Long Island Railroad going to the Atlantic Terminal (although getting home can be trickier). I would love it if the ACC tournament came to the Barclays Center. The worst thing about Notre Dame joining the ACC is not being in the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden (still, definitely the right move).
The Barclays Center was built where Walter O'Malley wanted to build his new stadium for the Dodgers. As much as I would have loved having the Dodgers in New York, everything really worked out for the Dodgers. O'Malley wanted a dome. That stadium would have been like Shea Stadium, but worse. Dodger Stadium is a million times better than the stadium O'Malley wanted to build in Brooklyn. But Brooklyn is a good home for the Nets.
 |
| Outside the Barclays Center |
The Nets really screwed up with their name/uniforms. Either change the name and change everything, or keep the name and come up with good uniforms. The Nets had red, white, and blue (you know, the greatest color combination in world history) and they couldn't come up with good uniforms. These new black and white uniforms are incredibly bland for no reason. You could say that the Celtics have bland uniforms (still not as bland as the Nets, green isn't as bland as black), but there's good reason for it: their incredible history and tradition.
Anyway, my dad and I were sitting almost exactly at mid-court way up high. The Barclays Center is built very differently from Madison Square Garden. The slopes in the area are much steeper than Madison Square Garden. I felt very high up, but also closer to the court than I would be in comparable seats in the Garden. As for the atmosphere, it's no Madison Square Garden. I would say it's like everything Notre Dame fans fear about putting a jumbotron in the stadium. Very loud and the PA guy was pretty annoying. I guess most NBA arenas are going to be like that. The one thing that really stood out to me was how the fans chanted the word Brooklyn in the same tone that Red Sox fans derisively changed "Roger" when Roger Clemens would pitch in Fenway Park as a Yankee. I didn't get that.
 |
| Our view for Celtics-Nets. |
I've seen the Celtics play the Nets one other time in person. It was February 2010 in Boston with my friend John. I was supposed to take a bus on a Friday night for a Saturday afternoon game. Unfortunately, a snow storm cancelled all the buses that Friday. So I had to get there on Saturday and I had to get there early since the game was at 1:00 or something like that. So I took a 6:30 bus on Saturday morning. The only train that got me to the city on time got in around 5:00 in the morning. Let me tell you, there are few places as depressing as Penn Station at 5:00 on a Saturday morning. Anyway, the Nets were really bad that year and the Celtics played like crap and lost to them. I thought the Celtics were going nowhere that year, but they ended up making it to the Finals. So I assume seeing them lose to the Nets on Thursday night is a sign that they're going to the Finals this year. Rondo didn't play, which was disappointing since he's definitely their most exciting player, but it also made me less upset about the loss.
 |
| I love the American flag, but this bothered me. Isn't this flag way too long? |
Last night I went for the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. We sat in the same section as the night before, but this time we were in row two of that section (row 19 the night before). The first game was Florida State and BYU. I will always root for Mormons over Florida State, but more than anything else, I was rooting for a quick game. I was disappointed. There were a ton of fouls called in the first half and Florida State won. They pulled away in the second half and I was starting to nod off due to the lack of sleep the night before (it was after 1 when I got home and I got up for work at 5:25). But I got a second wind when the second game started. It was Notre Dame and St. Joe's. I was really surprised by the lack of Notre Dame fans at the game. There are always a lot of Notre Dame fans when we play at Madison Square Garden, but there weren't a lot of any fans at these games. Tons of empty seats. But St. Joe's fans probably outnumbered us 10 to 1 (they had a lot of students make the trip). I guess we're still worried about football and aren't concerned about basket ball yet. Anyway, we shot the ball pretty well, but our problem was giving up easy second chance points to St. Joe's. I had to leave early to catch a train (not enough train options after a late game, which was why I wanted a quick first game). I left with about five minutes left and we were leading by about 6 points. St. Joe's came back and won in overtime, but I'm going on the theory that it doesn't count if I didn't see it.
 |
| Lots of fans came dressed as empty seats last night. |
Disappointing result, but I think our basketball team will be fine. I can't get upset about it when it's November and our football team is undefeated. Go Irish!
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Some Probably Incoherent Thoughts After Our Biggest Win in 19 Years
I don't know why, but I had a good feeling all day today. I kept thinking of the Knute Rockne speech that I put on facebook: "Today is the day we're gonna win." It was our biggest game since 1993. And I believed.
I wanted Bob Stoops after Charlie Weis was fired. He could have been a king, but he decided to stay in Oklahoma. When he turned down the job, I wanted Brian Kelly. I feared that if we didn't hire him, he'd go to Michigan and be great (they probably would have hired him a year later). It's working out pretty well for us. Kelly outcoached Stoops tonight. Oklahoma started the game playing a fast-paced no huddle offense. They were getting good yardage against us whenever they went with that. Whenever they slowed it down, we had the advantage. Why slow it down, Bob? You may have lost tonight, Bob, but least almost one out of every two of your players will graduate.
As for Kelly, I wanted him fired. Not for Navy and Tulsa in 2010. Not for South Florida, Michigan, and USC in 2011. When we unveiled the uniforms for the Miami game back in August, I posted on facebook that I wanted him and Jack Swarbrick fired. I wasn't joking. I still hate those uniforms with ever fiber of my being, but I can live with truly awful uniforms for one game a year if Kelly wins like this.
Then there's Manti Te'o. I remember finding out on signing day during my first year as a teacher that he was coming to Notre Dame. I gave all my kids high fives when I found out. I've always liked him as a person, but he didn't live up to the hype in his first three years. He was really good, but not great. This year he's been more than great. He's the best player in college football. He might not win the Heisman Trophy, but he should. More important than being a great football player is that he's a great human being. He is my favorite player on the team (which is saying something considering Louis Nix is on the team) and my favorite player of all time. He has five more games as a college football player and he deserves to win them all. Whatever happens for the rest of the season, nothing will change how I feel about him. I just hope he doesn't end up on the Patriots, Dolphins, Raiders, or Cowboys next year.
My students know that I love sports. They've also figured out that I dress by mood (just like George Costanza). One of my students that isn't a baseball fan figured out that the Giants won Game 7 of the NLCS by the way I was dressed the following day. She told me she would go easy on me for the rest of the week. I also have to start reading the Hunger Games because I made a deal with her that I would start reading the books if she started watching Notre Dame football. She can thank me later. I told one of my students that I could live with the Giants winning the World Series if Notre Dame won the National Championship in football. That's saying something because they're my second least favorite professional sports team. I don't know if I would say the same thing about the Lakers (I guess I would have to make that deal, but I would be really really conflicted about it). I also told my students that we'd have a party if Notre Dame won the National Championship. I think this was after the Michigan State game. I didn't think it was a realistic possibility at the time, but it might be now. I'll gladly live up to that if it happens.
Tonight was our biggest win since Florida State in 1993. We were cheated out of the National Championship that year, but I hope Brian Kelly teaches the team a lesson about what happened the following week. There really is no excuse for not being 11-0 headed into the Los Angeles Coliseum the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Tonight was an amazing night. Keep winning. Go Irish! Beat Panthers!
I wanted Bob Stoops after Charlie Weis was fired. He could have been a king, but he decided to stay in Oklahoma. When he turned down the job, I wanted Brian Kelly. I feared that if we didn't hire him, he'd go to Michigan and be great (they probably would have hired him a year later). It's working out pretty well for us. Kelly outcoached Stoops tonight. Oklahoma started the game playing a fast-paced no huddle offense. They were getting good yardage against us whenever they went with that. Whenever they slowed it down, we had the advantage. Why slow it down, Bob? You may have lost tonight, Bob, but least almost one out of every two of your players will graduate.
As for Kelly, I wanted him fired. Not for Navy and Tulsa in 2010. Not for South Florida, Michigan, and USC in 2011. When we unveiled the uniforms for the Miami game back in August, I posted on facebook that I wanted him and Jack Swarbrick fired. I wasn't joking. I still hate those uniforms with ever fiber of my being, but I can live with truly awful uniforms for one game a year if Kelly wins like this.
Then there's Manti Te'o. I remember finding out on signing day during my first year as a teacher that he was coming to Notre Dame. I gave all my kids high fives when I found out. I've always liked him as a person, but he didn't live up to the hype in his first three years. He was really good, but not great. This year he's been more than great. He's the best player in college football. He might not win the Heisman Trophy, but he should. More important than being a great football player is that he's a great human being. He is my favorite player on the team (which is saying something considering Louis Nix is on the team) and my favorite player of all time. He has five more games as a college football player and he deserves to win them all. Whatever happens for the rest of the season, nothing will change how I feel about him. I just hope he doesn't end up on the Patriots, Dolphins, Raiders, or Cowboys next year.
My students know that I love sports. They've also figured out that I dress by mood (just like George Costanza). One of my students that isn't a baseball fan figured out that the Giants won Game 7 of the NLCS by the way I was dressed the following day. She told me she would go easy on me for the rest of the week. I also have to start reading the Hunger Games because I made a deal with her that I would start reading the books if she started watching Notre Dame football. She can thank me later. I told one of my students that I could live with the Giants winning the World Series if Notre Dame won the National Championship in football. That's saying something because they're my second least favorite professional sports team. I don't know if I would say the same thing about the Lakers (I guess I would have to make that deal, but I would be really really conflicted about it). I also told my students that we'd have a party if Notre Dame won the National Championship. I think this was after the Michigan State game. I didn't think it was a realistic possibility at the time, but it might be now. I'll gladly live up to that if it happens.
Tonight was our biggest win since Florida State in 1993. We were cheated out of the National Championship that year, but I hope Brian Kelly teaches the team a lesson about what happened the following week. There really is no excuse for not being 11-0 headed into the Los Angeles Coliseum the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Tonight was an amazing night. Keep winning. Go Irish! Beat Panthers!
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