It has been an up-and-down year for sports here in the J-Borhood. My favorite teams have run the gamut from atrocious (Chicago Bulls) to staggeringly amazing (Hawaii Warriors). In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I wanted to momentarily forget the disappointments (*cough*, Rex Grossman) and share all the things in sports, for which I’m thankful this year.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
In 2007 I am thankful for…Beer
Whether watching Sunday Morning football with a Sam Adams for breakfast (oh, don’t act like I’m the only one!) or enjoying an Coors Light in the stadium parking lot before the game, nothing pairs as eloquently with watching sport as ice cold beer. Celebrating a win? Victory beer! Wallowing in defeat? Drown your sorrows. Regardless of the situation, beer provides the perfect complement to sports viewing of all kinds.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Beer may be the perfect sidekick to watching sports, but what does beer get out of the relationship? Is beer the Robin to sports’ Batman?
Never fear, J-Bors. Beer and sports form a perfectly symbiotic relationship. Beer adds an elegant accessory to any sporting event, but sports provides the single best excuse (with boating coming in at a close second) to be lazy and drink a six-pack. What other activities provide you an opportunity to sit around, do nothing for a few hours, drink beer and still call it a productive day?
(With that in mind, I plan on having a very “productive” Thanksgiving!)
(Side note: I wish I did not have to add this follow-up, but I would like to state, for the record, that the J-Borhood does not condone out of control drinking behavior. Drunken behavior, like the kind that occurred at Aloha Stadium during the Fresno State game is wildly inappropriate. So, by all means, drink up and have a good time. Just don’t act like an asshole.)
In 2007, I am thankful for…My wife’s commitment to sports
Five years ago, the Editor-in-Chief didn’t know the difference between a Tight End and timeout. Last week, I came home and she told me about Barry Bonds recent indictment, which she learned from watching Sportscenter. She still has trouble counting balls and strikes (probably because she has problems counting…) and she can’t explain the difference between a Cover-2 and a Cover-3 defense (who am I kidding? I can’t tell the difference between a Cover-2 and a Cover-3), but she can follow a game, knows when to cheer and has taken to the drinking beer aspect of sports like Elvis to a peanut butter and banana sandwich.
In 2007, I am thankful for…Dan Kelly
Before the season started, if you asked me for a list of the pivotal players on the Hawaii Warriors football team, Dan Kelly wouldn’t have made the Top 10. Hell, he wouldn’t have made the top 25. Yet, through the ten games of the season, he has been arguably the most important not named Colt Brennan. So far this year, Dan Kelly has nailed two 45+ yard field goals, with the game on the line. Three, if you want to count the first field goal in the Nevada game that was negated by a timeout. Hopefully, the Warriors won’t need any more late game heroics, but if they do, I’ll be thankful to have Kelly lining up to take the kick.
In 2007, I am thankful for…Devin Hester
Without Devin Hester, the 2007 Chicago Bears would be virtually unwatchable. The offensive line can’t block, the running backs can’t run, the wide receivers can’t catch and the defense looks sadly mediocre. At least with Hester in the game, I know that every time opponent scores I’ll be treated to another look at history in the making.
In 2007, I am thankful for…watching sports with my Dad
When I was born, my father bestowed my sacred birth right upon me: the right to suffer the yearly pain of following Chicago sports. Not only do I get to watch the bungle the Bears continue to insist is football, I get to suffer through the continual agony of the Cubs discovering inventive new ways to lose. (I would appreciate it if you gloss over the fact that this is all karmic justice for the six titles in eight years during the stretch run of the Michael Jordan era.) Yet, even though I’m forced to suffer this annual agony, I get to share it all with my Dad, whom I can always count on to add brevity to any loss, no matter how painful. Whether it’s his love of wild African names – he just about popped a bottle of Dom when the Bears signed Adawale Ogunleye, insistence of hilarious nicknames – like referring to Jeremy Burnitz as “Mr. Baggy Pants”, throughout his Cubs tenure), or his inability to shake off a painful loss, even after a few weeks, helps dull the nagging ache of Chicago sports fandom and allow me to love it for what it is: the best ongoing tragicomedy in the northern hemisphere.
Thanks, Dad!
In 2007, I am thankful for…Colt Brennan
Colt Brennan has provided more than a 10-0 record; More than an opportunity to watch a potential Heisman winner rewrite the NCAA records books; More than a sense of relevance to the University of Hawaii football team; More than an undefeated road schedule for the first time in the programs history; More than the opportunity to beat Boise State, win an outright share of the WAC title and go to a BCS game. Colt Brennan has provided a sense of unity to both the football team and the community, the likes of which, this town has never seen. It started with his tearful press conference when he announced that he would stay for his senior season in part because “he liked the person he was becoming in Hawaii,” and continued with his humble, team centric comments after each successive victory. He has handled success and the adversity of the college football schedule with poise, humility, and grace; and created an unprecedented following of the UH football program.
It’s no longer the UH Football team. It’s our UH Football team and he’s our quarterback.
In 2007, I am thankful for…the Cubs making the playoffs
After the Cubs fell five outs short of the World Series in 2003, I consoled myself in the fact that they’d be back next year. But next year, turned into the year after that, which turned into the year after that, at which point I fully regressed into the “wait until next year” Cubs fan mentality. It got so bad that I refused to have any faith in the team, even when they surged back into the division lead with the best record in baseball the month after the All-Star game. In fact, me and my Dad collectively gave up on the Cubs no fewer then 10 separate times this season. We expected them to blow every close game and just about threw in the towel when they got swept by the Marlins at the end of the season. But, miraculously, this team bucked with tradition, won close games, came from behind to win and refused to give up their small division lead late in the season. Sure, it was painful to watch them play typical Cubs baseball in a brutal sweep at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks, a team with an average age that prevents them from buying alcohol, but I’ll take that kind of pain any day. So bring on the Bartmans, bring on the Billy Goat and, most importantly, bring on the playoffs baby. Next year is HERE!
(Note: Expect to hear from me next year proclaiming that I’m thankful that basketball season is here to wash away the pain of another year without the Cubs in the playoffs.)
In 2007 I am thankful for…cable TV
Prior to my last birthday, I did not have television. I had a television, but only so I could watch DVDs and play video games; I did not receive any television stations. No tivo. No HD. No digital cable. Nothing. And I liked it that way. I recorded the programs I wanted to watch on my in-laws DVR, watched all the sports I wanted with my Dad and never fell victim to midweek MAC football games or re-runs of Dog the Bounty Hunter on A&E.
That all changed when my in-laws, taking pity on me, or perhaps just in an attempt to reduce the amount of time I spent sprawled on their couch watching Saturday morning football, bought me basic cable for my birthday. The cable package consists of the network stations, TBS, TNT, A&E, Comedy Central, VS, Spike, ESPN News and a blurry, pirated version of ESPN. Yet, through this smattering of misfit channels, I’m able to catch up on all the college football, college basketball, Major League baseball and, most importantly, NBA games that I’d sorely missed.
You see, it’s easy to follow baseball through box scores and recaps. In fact, I almost prefer listening to baseball on the radio to watching it on TV. Football doesn’t translate quite as well, but it only happens once a week, so it’s easy to catch up. But basketball, with an 82 game season, games every day and a frenetic, fluid, high-paced intensity is IMPOSSIBLE to follow without actually watching games. I realized this when I tried to write an NBA preview article and found out that I only knew the following things about the NBA:
- The Spurs won the NBA title and have Tim Duncan
- The Suns lost to the Spurs due to controversial ejections
- A referee bet on basketball games
- LeBron James is really, really good
- The Bulls have a decent young team, but lack a superstar, athletic guards and low-post scoring
In 2007, I am thankful for…Kevin McHale
For trading one of the top 30 greatest NBA players ever (Kevin Garnett) for a slightly above average player (Al Jefferson), decent role player (Ryan Gomes, I mean, who? no seriously, who is this?) and a future draft pick, thereby reminding me that I’m overqualified to be an NBA general manager.
In 2007, I am thankful for…Steve Phillips
For suggesting that all the Dodgers need to do in the offseason was sign the best free agent outfielder available (Torii Hunter) and the best player of our generation (Alex Rodriguez) in addition to trading for the best pitcher in baseball (Johan Santan), thereby reminding me that, not only am I overqualified to serve as a NBA general manager, but I’m overqualified to be a baseball commentator for ESPN.
In 2007, I am thankful for…Joe Buck
For saying that the Detroit Lions think they can use wide receiver Calvin Johnson, a 6’ 5” freak of nature who runs the 40 yard dash in under 4.3 seconds wearing someone else’s shoes, to “exploit some matchups”, thereby reminding me that, not only am I overqualified to serve as a NBA general manager and ESPN baseball commentator, but I’m overqualified to be a color commentator for NFL games.
In 2007, I am thankful for…the J-Borhood faithful
I love the comments, love the emails and appreciate all the feedback. Right now, we’re at 30-50 page views a week, with two email subscribers and counting. Thanks for sticking with me.
Have a happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
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