I'm not sure what to think of this. A buddy stopped by and coerced me into playing guitar. I had to adjust my playing into a R&B, blues mode which is very far removed from my normal playing, but this guy can sing. I mean he can seriously sing. He thought the stuff I was playing was great, but I knew it was crap...I was just running scales, bending notes and running a 12 bar riff. I need to re-educate myself in blues and learn some R&B to keep up with the dude. At least it sparked my interest in guitar again. Country and heavy metal have bored the hell out of me for years. I spent ages learning how to play fast, now I have to learn to play slow again and actually say something with my notes. It should be interesting.
As background, I went to Michigan State for 4 years and I went to every home basketball game during that time sitting in the front row for every game. I also went to a bunch of football games which I don't remember much of, except one where it was sleeting and I was drunk with my shirt off, anywho, I believe it's our competitive spirits as Americans and that College sports epitomize the heart and determination of the players careers that sets us apart from y'all. I hate bandwagon fans with a passion especially those fans who didn't even go to the school in the first place. Nothing pisses me off more than seeing a family of dirty ass white trash pos people in University of Michigan gear talking up a school they couldn't dream of getting into. My bro and sis-in-law went to UofM and I respect their views, just not those people who like the school because others do. As a sum-up, we're competitive as Americans and we love our sports. College basketball, imo is the greatest sport on the planet and March madness is fucking amazing. Lots of people become fans because it's the cool thing to do, fuck them.
I have the same questions, but I actually live in and go to university in the States. I live in Michigan so for the past 3 weeks I have had the joy of seeing constant MSU basketball status. I don't understand the excitement or anger for a team that you do not play for nor do you even go to the university. Then you get angry, legitimately angry that "your" team lost. It's a fucking basketball game.
Well I know that a lot of the big school fan bases / rivalries (i.e. Ohio) exist because they're the only major sports teams in town. But the thing is, NCAA sports are sometimes as big as, if not bigger than, professional sports depending on the time of year. The only time that junior sports even approaches the same level of attention in Canada is for the World Junior Hockey Champsionships. I mean, my student council is actually having an NCAA betting pool, but I doubt anyone could be paid to show up for a varsity football or basketball game here (although the culture varies by school, and my school's football team has won only 2 games in the last decade or so). Canada definitely is big on hockey, but by comparison, we're not very big about university hockey. Major-junior league teams (i.e. the OHL or the AHL) have reasonably sized local fan bases but not much press coverage or live TV broadcasts, and the World Junior Hockey Championships are a pretty big dea. I actually watch the WJHC more closely than NHL hockey because it's more exciting and the players put more heart into a handful of games that determine the rest of their careers than most NHLers put into a long 82 game season's slog. NCAA hockey probably isn't at the same level of competition but if it had the same coverage as basketball or football, I'd probably watch the games just for a chance to watch some high quality hockey. I think it'd be nice if university sports here were played at a higher level of competition and got more press coverage, though. It'd improve the student experience and boost school morale, not to mention, provide universities with a source of revenue less annoying that jacking up my tuition fees by $500 every year. Then again, I'd also be annoyed if universities started giving out full scholarships and spending millions on athletics just because DeShawn so-and-so can throw a ball or run fast while at the same time dropping academic standards just to keep the athletes playing.
I edited your post a bit; re-read it, only with professional sports in mind instead of college. Still feel the same way? What connection do I have to the Broncos, or Chater to the Saints, or shegirl to the Packers? It's no more of a polished process than choosing college teams, yet only the latter is constantly scrutinized. In other news, Zoubek is a fucking beast on the boards. When was the last time Dook had such a dominant post player? Shelden Williams? I don't remember him being this disruptive on the defensive end. Replace WJHC with NCAA basketball and NHL with NBA and you have a very similar explanation for why college basketball has a rabid following. This recent article on SBNation sort of addresses that point.
I live in Connecticut and graduated from UConn. I had season tickets to basketball for every season but one (Fuck you lottery system). I love to watch them play and I am more into these games because I went to the school. I kind of think it is a little like high school, didn't you want your teams to win? I can understand someone liking a local team even if they didn't go there, but not someone who likes Duke for example who lives in Maine. OH, and Fuck Duke. Edit: And I was at UConn when they won their first national championship. WE (yes, I am one of those assholes) beat the heavily favored Duke and I can't even describe how it was to have thousands of students storming the quads with couches, beds, etc to build the biggest bonfire I have ever seen. God what a night.
Well for me, I go to a smaller school, but I go there for the education and not the athletic programs. I root for the athletic programs at the larger schools in my state though because I have been a fan of them all my life. I also root for the underdogs in big games because, well, who doesnt love an undergod upsetting a powerhouse?
And then knocking off Duke again en route to their second. Okafor's first and second halves were as different as night and day in that game. And even for impartial audiences, it was a hell of a game. The championship game against Georgia Tech...not so much. My parents (and both sides of my family) are from Connecticut, so I've been a quasi-Huskies fan over the years.
I don't know if I'll ever get the whole R&B, blues thing down, but I found some common ground for me and my buddy to play...Chuck Berry. I don't care how many time's this song has been redone, it can be done better and I intend to do so, and no it isn't Johnny B. Goode. The original: And the best version I've heard: I can do much better. Hell, I already have playing in bars. I always dug playing that song and it thrills me to death to play it again and rework it so it's a little harder. Fuck playing R&B., I wanna play some Chuck Berry.
Random thought: watching one of my new favorite movies, "Young People Fucking," again. I heard of it on here from one of our friendly neighbors to the north, and it's goddamned hilarious. I present to you exhibit A why you should watch this movie:
I was in a Huskies bar during that game. Okafor got a bullshit call for his second foul early in the first half and it is a Calhoun rule that you have to sit for the rest of the half so you don't get a third. What was funny was there was a female Duke fan at the bar who would scream at the top of her Fucking lungs that high pitched girl scream all during the game as Duke was doing well. When UConn won, everyone in the bar (It was packed) turned at her and screamed at her at the top of their lungs. She looked around shocked. What the fuck did she expect in a place lined with UConn jerseys.
Surprisingly, Heineken Darks are actually pretty decent. And I really want to watch Young People Fucking now.
What the hell does she say at the end? "Buzzed?" "Yeah." "Ready for this?" "yeah." "lhasljdhfljkhasdjfhalsdjhfasdf" "oh yeah" I mean, I'm a native speaker of Canadian English and normally speak at a pace so fast as to become incomprehensible to most people I know and even I don't know what the hell that was.
There was basketball on today? I'll be damned. That not withstanding, I'mma use this hrread to glow just because I'm drnk and I need that. I hit a milestone in my workouts. Let me be frank- I got fat when I stopped playing ball. I ballooned up to somewhere around 280 at 6'6. I was arond 230 when I was playing. I finally got tired of being a fat disgusting piece of shit, so I started getting after it on New Years. I didn't weigh before or after, but I now look and feel healthier than I did when I was playing ball. don't have any current pics, but I am now skinnier than this: That being said, the reason I am so excited is this: I just fit into my little brother's jeans. Here is my little brother, who is around 205: Yeah, he is a wide receiver- I was a tightend. I out weighed him anyway by 30-40 pounds when I was in good shape. But yeah, I just went from a 40+ waist to a 34-36 or so and I' just had to put that somehwhere. My bad yall. so yay but forgive me fro digressing! Sorry I got kinda serios there for a second in this thread of all threads. Let me make up for that: NSFW
I think it was something about keeping it trimmed. I think. I'm really drunk right now and can only assume certain things. But what I'm not assuming is that Easter Break fucking sucks because there's nobody here sucking my dick. What an awful time for everyone to go home when it is BEAUTIFUL out now and I'm ripe for fucking.
Ohio State has to be the epitome of your point that I have bolded. I think you'd have a hard time finding more annoying and more dedicated fans that didn't attend OSU or even live within 100 miles of Columbus. With the depth of bullshit that is Ohio professional sports, it's hard not to understand why so many people will try and associate themselves with a quote unqoute "winning franchise."
"You trim that shit up like we talked about?" "Oh, yeah." "Okay. High five." Yeah, I had trouble with it, too.
I dont get what that guys problem is through the whole damn movie. Sure, they've been friends for 20 years or whatever it is, but that chick is hot as fuck. I would be alllll over that.