Ok, so this week I went with two movies that I had heard good reviews about, one online (Napoleon) and one recommended by a friend (Garden State).
Napoleon Dynamite
I think with this movie I fell victim to the hype, how the movie was marketed and what my perceived notion as to what the movie was going to be, and the movie didn’t live up to my expectations.
Now with that being said I always try to like a movie, I don’t make a decision until after it’s over on whether or not I like it. I let it play out and then decide, and that is what I did with this movie.
The movie is a little bizarre and different. It follows the story of Napoleon (yes his last name is Dynamite), a strange odd kid who’s the outcast of his school. He’s picked on by bullies and has no friends. He then befriends the new kid in school, Pedro, who his also somewhat of an outcast and also hangs out with another freak, Deb who wears a ponytail on the side of her head. The interactions between these are sometimes humorous, but never hilarious.
Napoleon also has a strange home life, he and his brother (Kip who is 32, dates online, and talks with a lisp) live with his grandmother (who in the first 5 minutes of the film leaves on a trip). When the Dynamite boys’ grandmother gets hurt riding her 4-wheeler off a sand dune the boys Uncle Rico is sent to stay with them and take care of them.
One of the things that must happen to make a movie worth watching is the viewer wanting to spend time knowing what will happen next to the characters and being interested in them. In this movie you never feel like you want to know what is going to happen to Napoleon. He isn’t a character that you either root for or root against. You find him goofy and sometimes funny, but not interesting.
It is a small independent film and I wouldn’t say not to watch and to stay away from it, but on the other hand I would go out looking for it and saying “I must watch Napoleon Dynamite.”
Final Verdict: Rent only if Desperate. 2 out of 5.
Garden State
This movie is about Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff), and actor who returns home for his mother’s funeral. Andrew has been away for about 9 years and on his trip home rekindles friendships with old high school friends and meets a girl Sam (Natalie Portman).
The movie was also written and directed by Zach Braff, from Scrubs fame.
There are definitely some more subtle funny moments in this movie than in Dynamite and I laughed out loud a few times. The movie moves at a slow pace and never really picks up, it’s hard to see where it is all finally going.
Andrew is a lot like Napoleon in terms of being a character that you neither root for or against as he works his way through his mother’s death. Actually the most interesting character is Sam and you would almost rather the movie be about her than Andrew. She is the character you root for and want to succeed. She is the more interesting character and you would like to see how her life continues after the movie ends.
There is some good dialogue, very good music, and the story is interesting enough to keep my attention, and as I said Sam (Portman’s character) is the one character that I would want to see more of on screen. Would I watch it again? No, but I think if you wanted to check out an interesting small independent film and you like Natalie Portman you should rent it.
Final Verdict: Not a must see, but an average decent movie, neither great nor awful. 3 out of 5
Next Movies: Harold and Kumar go to White Castle, I Robot, Collateral.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Perspective
Ok, so the Steelers lost. Despite some of my strongest beliefs about a team and game, I was wrong, dead wrong, about as wrong as a person can be. New England is the better team, bar none. They don’t make mistakes, they are consistent and they play as a team. Do they have more talent than other teams? I would say no, they just seem to get the most out of what they have.
Just when I thought I was depressed and upset about the loss I see Hines Ward on TV talking about how much it hurt and you could see the pain in his eyes, and no matter how much the loss bothered me, it can’t even compare to how the players, coaches and the organization as a whole feels about the loss. Kinda puts how I feel about the whole thing in perspective. It’s just a game and an entertainment outlet for me, I was looking forward to ordering my “Sports Illustrated Gift Set” with the special hardbound edition of SI with my free Super Bowl champion gift of a fleece blanket with the logo and “Super Bowl” champs” embroidered on it, but these guys were shooting for what every male that ever played a sport wants, a championship ring. Pales in comparison to my limited-edition leather-bound SI.
Just when I thought I was depressed and upset about the loss I see Hines Ward on TV talking about how much it hurt and you could see the pain in his eyes, and no matter how much the loss bothered me, it can’t even compare to how the players, coaches and the organization as a whole feels about the loss. Kinda puts how I feel about the whole thing in perspective. It’s just a game and an entertainment outlet for me, I was looking forward to ordering my “Sports Illustrated Gift Set” with the special hardbound edition of SI with my free Super Bowl champion gift of a fleece blanket with the logo and “Super Bowl” champs” embroidered on it, but these guys were shooting for what every male that ever played a sport wants, a championship ring. Pales in comparison to my limited-edition leather-bound SI.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
That large thud . . .
you just heard was the entire sporting community jumping off of the Pittsburgh Steelers bandwagon and onto the “Bill Belichek Genius of the Football World Space Rocket.”
I listened to some ESPN radio yesterday and some sports talks shows from Pittsburgh over the internet and all I have heard is how the Steelers (16-1 Steelers by-the-way) are no good and lucky to win and that the Patriots will just play with them and toss them around like a cat who plays with a dead mouse.
“Oh there is no way the Steelers will be able to compete with the Patriots. Belichek is just too smart, he’s the smartest man in all of football, oh hell he is the smartest man in the universe. Bill, we noticed that you were able to shut down Payton Manning, can you now please help us with the physics involved with time travel?”
Did the Steelers catch a break (actually 2 breaks)? Yes, of course they did. Did they get lucky? Yes, but that is what sometimes happens to good teams. Sometimes they get lucky. Sometimes they win the games they shouldn’t, but in actuality all but 1 game this season came down to “luck,” the Steelers won, outright, all other 15 games.
I have watched every Steelers game this season. By far this Jets game was the worst they looked since losing to the Ravens in week 2. They looked bad, tight, like a team carrying all of the hopes and dreams of an entire city on their shoulders. Do I think they will repeat this? No. They are too good.
The one thing about this team that can’t be said about Steeler teams of recent memory is the consistency of their play. The bad has never been that horrible and the good hasn’t been unbeatable. They always played in a certain range where even their worst was better than most teams (i.e. the Buffalo game which they used all third-stringers, and even the guy that carries the headset cable to beat the Bills).
Flat-out, the Steelers are a better “team” than the Patriots. Oh no! Look out; I will be struck by lightening soon. To speak such words is blasphemy. New England is considered the best “team” because they were announced as a “team” in the Super Bowl against the Rams. Awe, how cute and sweet and so freaking old. Yes, you cannot deny that they have 2 of the last 3 Super Bowls rings and they have played well in the clutch, but we are talking about THIS SEASON, and THIS SEASON it was the Steelers that went 15-1 and beat the Patriots in Pittsburgh.
Maybe I am being a homer; of course I am being a homer. Do I think the Patriots can beat the Steelers? Yes of course. They are good; there is no denying that. Are they better than the Steelers? I have my doubts. I might have officially lost my mind, but I feel better about the Steelers chances this week than I did last week. There was something about the Jets that scared me (probably how close the game was in December which drew my cause of concern, or the fact that minus good receivers, and any kind of offensive game plan the Jets are the Steelers).
The numbers are against the Steelers this week, 3 point underdogs, no rookie QB has ever won 2 playoff games, no team/QB has beaten the Patriots a second time in the same season the past 4 years, both home teams haven’t made it to the Super Bowl since 1996 (and just a few crazy people are picking the Falcons to beat the Eagles on Sunday) so that leaves the “team” of the world to beat the Steelers on Sunday.
The Steelers might as well just stand on the field with a confused look on their face because Bill “the Brain” Belichek will have something that will leave the uneducated, stupid and brainless Steelers confused.
“Well Phil, it looks like instead of playing defense Belichek has decided to have his defense perform Phantom of the Opera to confuse Big Ben and the Steelers. What a brilliant strategy by Belichek. He is the smartest man in the world! I love him.”
It looks like the Steelers have no chance on Sunday, and that’s just how I like it.
I listened to some ESPN radio yesterday and some sports talks shows from Pittsburgh over the internet and all I have heard is how the Steelers (16-1 Steelers by-the-way) are no good and lucky to win and that the Patriots will just play with them and toss them around like a cat who plays with a dead mouse.
“Oh there is no way the Steelers will be able to compete with the Patriots. Belichek is just too smart, he’s the smartest man in all of football, oh hell he is the smartest man in the universe. Bill, we noticed that you were able to shut down Payton Manning, can you now please help us with the physics involved with time travel?”
Did the Steelers catch a break (actually 2 breaks)? Yes, of course they did. Did they get lucky? Yes, but that is what sometimes happens to good teams. Sometimes they get lucky. Sometimes they win the games they shouldn’t, but in actuality all but 1 game this season came down to “luck,” the Steelers won, outright, all other 15 games.
I have watched every Steelers game this season. By far this Jets game was the worst they looked since losing to the Ravens in week 2. They looked bad, tight, like a team carrying all of the hopes and dreams of an entire city on their shoulders. Do I think they will repeat this? No. They are too good.
The one thing about this team that can’t be said about Steeler teams of recent memory is the consistency of their play. The bad has never been that horrible and the good hasn’t been unbeatable. They always played in a certain range where even their worst was better than most teams (i.e. the Buffalo game which they used all third-stringers, and even the guy that carries the headset cable to beat the Bills).
Flat-out, the Steelers are a better “team” than the Patriots. Oh no! Look out; I will be struck by lightening soon. To speak such words is blasphemy. New England is considered the best “team” because they were announced as a “team” in the Super Bowl against the Rams. Awe, how cute and sweet and so freaking old. Yes, you cannot deny that they have 2 of the last 3 Super Bowls rings and they have played well in the clutch, but we are talking about THIS SEASON, and THIS SEASON it was the Steelers that went 15-1 and beat the Patriots in Pittsburgh.
Maybe I am being a homer; of course I am being a homer. Do I think the Patriots can beat the Steelers? Yes of course. They are good; there is no denying that. Are they better than the Steelers? I have my doubts. I might have officially lost my mind, but I feel better about the Steelers chances this week than I did last week. There was something about the Jets that scared me (probably how close the game was in December which drew my cause of concern, or the fact that minus good receivers, and any kind of offensive game plan the Jets are the Steelers).
The numbers are against the Steelers this week, 3 point underdogs, no rookie QB has ever won 2 playoff games, no team/QB has beaten the Patriots a second time in the same season the past 4 years, both home teams haven’t made it to the Super Bowl since 1996 (and just a few crazy people are picking the Falcons to beat the Eagles on Sunday) so that leaves the “team” of the world to beat the Steelers on Sunday.
The Steelers might as well just stand on the field with a confused look on their face because Bill “the Brain” Belichek will have something that will leave the uneducated, stupid and brainless Steelers confused.
“Well Phil, it looks like instead of playing defense Belichek has decided to have his defense perform Phantom of the Opera to confuse Big Ben and the Steelers. What a brilliant strategy by Belichek. He is the smartest man in the world! I love him.”
It looks like the Steelers have no chance on Sunday, and that’s just how I like it.
Friday, January 14, 2005
Nerves
Ok, so tomorrow is the biggest game of the year for the beloved Steelers. At 4:30 p.m. they take on the Jets, and I have been waiting all week for this.
At the first part of the week I didn’t read to much about the game, just did my usual sports updating and checked ESPN.com every so often like I normally do. I got onto ebay and even looked at prices of tickets, all way too expensive for someone in my tax bracket.
Then as the week moved along I started to read more about the game, and the more I read the more nervous I started to get. PostGazette.com story about the marketing of Big Ben, ESPN article about Ellis running his mouth, New York Post had a Pennington article about him missing practice, a few things here and there, but compared to the other games of this weekend the Steelers/Jets game is getting the least amount of play, which is fine with me. The less I hear the better I feel, until today.
Now the game is less than 24 hours away, and I am not sure what is going on with me. I get to the point where I start to get a little nervous but I am able to talk my way back down. One person that makes me be this way is my buddy Bruce. Bruce treats every game of the season like a playoff game, and I have become his voice of reason. Early in the season when we played the Browns in week 9 and I remember him calling and being nervous about that game and I had to talk him down to a comfort level. Actually me and Joey Porter getting into a fight helped calm his nervous about that one. Early this week Bruce and I talked again and me reasoning to him why he shouldn’t be nervous actually made me feel less nervous about this game. That combined with the relative lack of attention by the media as a whole has made me feel more comfortable about this game.
That doesn’t mean that at about 4:30 tomorrow that I won’t be wanting to jump out of my own skin, but at least I will be able to make it until.
Here we go Steelers, Here we go!
At the first part of the week I didn’t read to much about the game, just did my usual sports updating and checked ESPN.com every so often like I normally do. I got onto ebay and even looked at prices of tickets, all way too expensive for someone in my tax bracket.
Then as the week moved along I started to read more about the game, and the more I read the more nervous I started to get. PostGazette.com story about the marketing of Big Ben, ESPN article about Ellis running his mouth, New York Post had a Pennington article about him missing practice, a few things here and there, but compared to the other games of this weekend the Steelers/Jets game is getting the least amount of play, which is fine with me. The less I hear the better I feel, until today.
Now the game is less than 24 hours away, and I am not sure what is going on with me. I get to the point where I start to get a little nervous but I am able to talk my way back down. One person that makes me be this way is my buddy Bruce. Bruce treats every game of the season like a playoff game, and I have become his voice of reason. Early in the season when we played the Browns in week 9 and I remember him calling and being nervous about that game and I had to talk him down to a comfort level. Actually me and Joey Porter getting into a fight helped calm his nervous about that one. Early this week Bruce and I talked again and me reasoning to him why he shouldn’t be nervous actually made me feel less nervous about this game. That combined with the relative lack of attention by the media as a whole has made me feel more comfortable about this game.
That doesn’t mean that at about 4:30 tomorrow that I won’t be wanting to jump out of my own skin, but at least I will be able to make it until.
Here we go Steelers, Here we go!
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Movie Reviews #1 Dodge Ball and The Bourne Supremacy
After testing many online movie rental services for free (Netflix, Wal-Mart and Blockbuster) I finally decided upon Blockbuster and I think I will stay on for a few months. Hence I thought I would write reviews of some of the movies of course the movies all came out over 6 months ago at your local theatre, but I am seeing them for the first time on DVD. So here we go.
Dodge Ball
This movie was not nearly as funny as I thought it was going to be. After seeing previews and all of the hype I expected more hilarity and it just didn’t happen. Ben Stiller seemed to be trying too hard to be his character and I really didn’t empathize that much with the Vince Vaughn character. The best character was the guy who played Warren on Ed the TV show. He was funny with his physical comedy, and I did laugh in a few spots. There was one time I laughed hard, but that was about it. The cast was too good to come up with a product that seemed to be put together by a student doing his final film project so that he can graduate on time.
2 out of 5
The Bourne Supremacy
This is a good action movie with a lot of fast-paced scenes and you have to pay close attention to the action to see what is happening. You can figure out the reasoning behind what is happening and the person responsible for it all fairly quickly. The thing that makes the movie is the very well done action sequences, besides that there’s not that much more. I have seen better writing for an episode of Alias or 24. There will be a third installment of this series as the ending left that WIDE open. For a non thinking action movie it’s a decent watch.
3 out of 5
Next reviews: Napoleon Dynamite and Garden State
Dodge Ball
This movie was not nearly as funny as I thought it was going to be. After seeing previews and all of the hype I expected more hilarity and it just didn’t happen. Ben Stiller seemed to be trying too hard to be his character and I really didn’t empathize that much with the Vince Vaughn character. The best character was the guy who played Warren on Ed the TV show. He was funny with his physical comedy, and I did laugh in a few spots. There was one time I laughed hard, but that was about it. The cast was too good to come up with a product that seemed to be put together by a student doing his final film project so that he can graduate on time.
2 out of 5
The Bourne Supremacy
This is a good action movie with a lot of fast-paced scenes and you have to pay close attention to the action to see what is happening. You can figure out the reasoning behind what is happening and the person responsible for it all fairly quickly. The thing that makes the movie is the very well done action sequences, besides that there’s not that much more. I have seen better writing for an episode of Alias or 24. There will be a third installment of this series as the ending left that WIDE open. For a non thinking action movie it’s a decent watch.
3 out of 5
Next reviews: Napoleon Dynamite and Garden State
Monday, January 10, 2005
A Dog with a Bone
I don’t spend a great amount of time in my car on a daily basis. Probably all in all it may average about 20 minutes in the car a day (to and from work, to and from lunch). I listen to ESPN Radio usually during those times, I listen to music mostly at work so I like to get caught up on the daily sporting events and hear what people are talking about.
I never really realized how ESPN specifically gets on a topic, beats the topic to death, takes the dead topic and drags it through the streets, then throws it off a 30 story building, then takes the topic and runs over it 400 times with a car, then burns the topic, then comes back on Tuesday and repeats for about a week, until we were traveling last week and we heard Dan Patrick for the better part of 2 hours talk about whether or not Michael Vick was worth his new contract. Renea was the one to point this out, I saw her get aggravated about a topic she neither cared about nor wanted to listen to:
After the first 15 minutes . . . “What is the big deal!” she said.
After the first 30 minutes . . . “I am sick of hearing about Vick and Manning.”
After 60 minutes . . . “You have got to be kidding me.”
After an hour and half . . . “God! Just shut up about the contract!”
After 2 hours . . . “Please, for the love of God, cut my ears off. PLEASE!!!”
New topic today is the Randy Moss fake mooning.
Now Renea and I had watched the GB vs. Minnesota game yesterday and saw what Randy Moss did and we both kind of chuckled when we saw it, then we heard Joe Buck scold Randy and it was like seeing someone do something funny then have their parents scold them and you try not to laugh. That was us, we both looked at each other like “Whoops, maybe we shouldn’t have laughed.”
Today was much the same on the radio with this topic. On my drive into work I hear Mike and Mike discuss the Randy Moss “mooning incident”. Then coming home for lunch it’s Colin Cowherd’s chance to talk about the Randy Moss incident.
Now at lunch today Renea was going with me as we went to buy our new carpet during my lunch break, so I warned her before we even got into the car. “Now remember how mad you got last week when they talked about Vick’s contract?” She nodded. “Well I am telling you now all you are going to hear about is stuff about Randy Moss and him mooning.”
We drove down to order our new carpet and on the way down and the way back we heard Dan Patrick again talk for about 40 minutes total about this Randy Moss thing, and I guarantee that on my home there will be more of the same.
Just let it go people! The more people talk about it the more he enjoys it. Randy Moss has the whole sports world basically talking about a fake “mooning”. I mean if he had actually pulled his pants down I could justify the coverage, but come on! I have seen worse. Don’t show it and don’t talk about how outraged you are. That is what he wants. Do you think for a moment that if it didn’t get this type of response he would be doing it still? Do you think he cares that you are “outraged”? Randy only cares about Randy, so let it go. Just for once I would like one of these sports outlets to say, “We have decided that the Moss issue is a non-issue and we aren’t going to talk about it. Instead we are going to talk about how Brett Favre threw his teams hope of winning away with 4 interceptions, and how Payton Manning destroyed the Broncos defense in the first half.”
Those are topics I wish they would tackle, then drive a bulldozer over, then bury, then pour cement over, then . . .
I never really realized how ESPN specifically gets on a topic, beats the topic to death, takes the dead topic and drags it through the streets, then throws it off a 30 story building, then takes the topic and runs over it 400 times with a car, then burns the topic, then comes back on Tuesday and repeats for about a week, until we were traveling last week and we heard Dan Patrick for the better part of 2 hours talk about whether or not Michael Vick was worth his new contract. Renea was the one to point this out, I saw her get aggravated about a topic she neither cared about nor wanted to listen to:
After the first 15 minutes . . . “What is the big deal!” she said.
After the first 30 minutes . . . “I am sick of hearing about Vick and Manning.”
After 60 minutes . . . “You have got to be kidding me.”
After an hour and half . . . “God! Just shut up about the contract!”
After 2 hours . . . “Please, for the love of God, cut my ears off. PLEASE!!!”
New topic today is the Randy Moss fake mooning.
Now Renea and I had watched the GB vs. Minnesota game yesterday and saw what Randy Moss did and we both kind of chuckled when we saw it, then we heard Joe Buck scold Randy and it was like seeing someone do something funny then have their parents scold them and you try not to laugh. That was us, we both looked at each other like “Whoops, maybe we shouldn’t have laughed.”
Today was much the same on the radio with this topic. On my drive into work I hear Mike and Mike discuss the Randy Moss “mooning incident”. Then coming home for lunch it’s Colin Cowherd’s chance to talk about the Randy Moss incident.
Now at lunch today Renea was going with me as we went to buy our new carpet during my lunch break, so I warned her before we even got into the car. “Now remember how mad you got last week when they talked about Vick’s contract?” She nodded. “Well I am telling you now all you are going to hear about is stuff about Randy Moss and him mooning.”
We drove down to order our new carpet and on the way down and the way back we heard Dan Patrick again talk for about 40 minutes total about this Randy Moss thing, and I guarantee that on my home there will be more of the same.
Just let it go people! The more people talk about it the more he enjoys it. Randy Moss has the whole sports world basically talking about a fake “mooning”. I mean if he had actually pulled his pants down I could justify the coverage, but come on! I have seen worse. Don’t show it and don’t talk about how outraged you are. That is what he wants. Do you think for a moment that if it didn’t get this type of response he would be doing it still? Do you think he cares that you are “outraged”? Randy only cares about Randy, so let it go. Just for once I would like one of these sports outlets to say, “We have decided that the Moss issue is a non-issue and we aren’t going to talk about it. Instead we are going to talk about how Brett Favre threw his teams hope of winning away with 4 interceptions, and how Payton Manning destroyed the Broncos defense in the first half.”
Those are topics I wish they would tackle, then drive a bulldozer over, then bury, then pour cement over, then . . .
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Sucked In
Sucked in—To be drawn into believing there is a chance for success by West Virginia University athletic teams (specifically football and basketball) right at the moment when you are ready to give up hope of success, only to have those hopes dashed by a poor performance.
To a less severe degree I experienced this last night with the WVU basketball team. 10-0 so far, winning this past week over 2 ranked opponents, being ranked themselves, being Dickie V’s team of the week, and having a huge story in USA TODAY, I knew the floor would drop out soon, and it did last night with them losing, but not only losing, but being crushed by Villanova 84-46. I can deal with that loss. Was I excited they were 10-0? Of course, but I never thought they would go 14-0 or 18-0. So that loss tempered my enthusiasm a little, but I am still looking forward to watching the rest of the season.
The other occurrence happened on Saturday with WVU playing Florida St. in the Gator Bowl. I had planned on going to Buffalo Wild Wings and watching the game with wings and beer in hand to soften the blow of the sure to be destruction of the Mountaineers in the Gator Bowl. The team has underachieved all season. Undisciplined, penalty-laden, and bad performances at times when they needed to step up were the mark of this team all season, what would change that now? Heck, if Maryland did it last year there was no reason to believe that the same wouldn’t happen this year. I walked into the Wing joint with my only goal being for us not to embarrass ourselves. I knew I was walking into a WVU-friendly atmosphere where when things got bad we could console ourselves (misery does love company). No expectation, just wings and beer.
I will never forget the moment that FSU scored on the second play from scrimmage. I was eating a wing and my buddy Tom was putting one down too. As the running back broke through the line I would normally stop eating and yell “Stop him! Hit him! Catch him!” but as the FSU running back was racing 60+ yards for the touchdown I just kept gnawing at my wing and out of the corner of my eye I could see Tom doing the same. We have been here before. As he ran down the sidelines and into the end zone I swallowed my wing and reached for my beer. The only words exchanged between Tom and I were “Man that guy is fast,” as we sipped our beers. We knew this was coming and weren’t even shocked by how fast it happened.
On the ensuing kickoff WVU fumbled and FSU recovered and I knew this was the beginning of the end. My only goal was to not be embarrassed on national TV and it had taken a whole 5 minutes for that goal to be shattered. I quickly called my mom who the day before showed such innocent confidence by saying, “We are going to win this game.” I left her a voice mail on her cell that went something like this: “Mom. Ryan. I am sitting here at BW3 and I just watched FSU score on their second play from scrimmage and recover our fumble on the kick off, do you still think we are going to win this game?”
We hold them to a field goal. 10-0 and I have eaten only 2 wings, but the majority of my 20 oz draft beer is gone.
All expectations are gone at this point. Now all I want is that it doesn’t get out of control and turn into a 103-7 game or anything like that. If they can keep them to only 45 points I will be happy. It’s like getting take-out food from a place you know always screws up your order. You know something is going to be missing, you expect it, just let it be a sauce or something, not the chime ole.
WVU did something I never expected on the next drive. Couple nice passes, nice running plays and a throw and run into the end zone. What, no penalties? We scored? Disbelief. Confusion. A missed extra point. Ahh there it is. 10-6 FSU.
Back and forth for a few possessions, then the strange happens again. We drive down the field again in impressive fashion and score a second TD? Huh? What’s happening? Another missed extra point. Ahh there it is again. 12-10 WVU.
At this moment, here is where the “sucking in” takes place. Just when my hopes are at it’s lowest. Just when all is lost and there is nothing more to believe in, that’s when they get you. That is when they make you suspend reality and let yourself believe “We could actually win this game.”
It’s hard to resist at a place full of WVU fans. People start to cheer and get excited and suddenly you are cheering. What? Cheering? Getting excited over plays? Fist pumping? No this can’t be happening. All I wanted was to keep the score under 45 a few wings ago and now we are winning. Why oh cruel sports god would you do this to me? Why?
I call Trent to get him to talk me down off of this ledge of believement.
No answer, voicemail, “Trent, I am getting sucked in. Tell me we aren’t going to win. Tell me we are going to lose, make me not believe.” Knowing Trent he is getting as sucked in as I am. Many a time we have made runs like this at Mountaineer field and in the midst of my excitement I have high-fived Trent and we share the same look, the same feelings, we are both victims.
I need professional help. I call Adam, the eternal pessimist. I know he’s not sucked in yet.
“Adam, I am getting sucked in, tell me we are going to lose, let me know that I shouldn’t believe we are going to win this game.”
After a brief discussion about strategy (because you can’t just call and not talk about missed extra points and how the defense looks) he talks me off of my ledge.
“Well I imagine it will come down to a field goal, and we will miss it and lose.” Ahh the reasoning I was looking for. I feel a weight off my shoulders. I feel happy and relaxed. “Thanks Adam, you are right, what was I thinking.”
My second 20 oz beer is brought to the table. I was drinking before to ease the pain, now I am drinking to calm my nerves.
Halftime is 13-12 FSU. I field a call from my Mom now chastising me about my earlier wing/beer/early score induced voice mail.
A call from Trent on a beer run, obviously feeling the same way I am at this moment. We talk strategy. I share with him Adam’s pearl of wisdom, but poor kid, I think he is just as gone as I am.
They kick a field goal, we kick a field goal. 16-15 now in the 3rd quarter. And as much as Adam helped I am feeling drawn back in. The table of guys next to us are standing. Cheering with every good play I can’t help but to let out a “YEAA!” on a sack. Tom and I know we are officially sucked in and there is nothing we can do now.
Beginning of the 4th quarter, there is still a chance FSU is only up 23-18 now after we kick another FG. This could go down to the end. I receive a call from my old college roommate Giz. “They are sucking me in.” Giz, not nearly as close to all of the WVU action in Houston, TX is still feeling the vortex over 1,000 miles away and is calling me for help as my 3rd Killians is being brought to the table. I share with him what Adam told me and it seems to easy his anxiety.
FSU takes over on the kickoff and drives 80 yards in 7 plays and as my buddy Tim Brunicardi would say, “Ballgame.” It’s all over but the last 10 minutes. We haven’t put the ball in the endzone the whole second half and it’s not looking good. The last swallow of the 3rd beer is gone.
With about 6:00 left in the game, FSU up 30-18 and driving, Tom and I decide to leave and catch the last few minutes on the radio.
We hear WVU driving, Rasheed is hurt and Charles Hales comes in. The MSN broadcaster Dwight Wallace mentions that if we can go down and score and recover the onside kick we have a chance. Poor dope, he is sucked in more than anyone I know.
To a less severe degree I experienced this last night with the WVU basketball team. 10-0 so far, winning this past week over 2 ranked opponents, being ranked themselves, being Dickie V’s team of the week, and having a huge story in USA TODAY, I knew the floor would drop out soon, and it did last night with them losing, but not only losing, but being crushed by Villanova 84-46. I can deal with that loss. Was I excited they were 10-0? Of course, but I never thought they would go 14-0 or 18-0. So that loss tempered my enthusiasm a little, but I am still looking forward to watching the rest of the season.
The other occurrence happened on Saturday with WVU playing Florida St. in the Gator Bowl. I had planned on going to Buffalo Wild Wings and watching the game with wings and beer in hand to soften the blow of the sure to be destruction of the Mountaineers in the Gator Bowl. The team has underachieved all season. Undisciplined, penalty-laden, and bad performances at times when they needed to step up were the mark of this team all season, what would change that now? Heck, if Maryland did it last year there was no reason to believe that the same wouldn’t happen this year. I walked into the Wing joint with my only goal being for us not to embarrass ourselves. I knew I was walking into a WVU-friendly atmosphere where when things got bad we could console ourselves (misery does love company). No expectation, just wings and beer.
I will never forget the moment that FSU scored on the second play from scrimmage. I was eating a wing and my buddy Tom was putting one down too. As the running back broke through the line I would normally stop eating and yell “Stop him! Hit him! Catch him!” but as the FSU running back was racing 60+ yards for the touchdown I just kept gnawing at my wing and out of the corner of my eye I could see Tom doing the same. We have been here before. As he ran down the sidelines and into the end zone I swallowed my wing and reached for my beer. The only words exchanged between Tom and I were “Man that guy is fast,” as we sipped our beers. We knew this was coming and weren’t even shocked by how fast it happened.
On the ensuing kickoff WVU fumbled and FSU recovered and I knew this was the beginning of the end. My only goal was to not be embarrassed on national TV and it had taken a whole 5 minutes for that goal to be shattered. I quickly called my mom who the day before showed such innocent confidence by saying, “We are going to win this game.” I left her a voice mail on her cell that went something like this: “Mom. Ryan. I am sitting here at BW3 and I just watched FSU score on their second play from scrimmage and recover our fumble on the kick off, do you still think we are going to win this game?”
We hold them to a field goal. 10-0 and I have eaten only 2 wings, but the majority of my 20 oz draft beer is gone.
All expectations are gone at this point. Now all I want is that it doesn’t get out of control and turn into a 103-7 game or anything like that. If they can keep them to only 45 points I will be happy. It’s like getting take-out food from a place you know always screws up your order. You know something is going to be missing, you expect it, just let it be a sauce or something, not the chime ole.
WVU did something I never expected on the next drive. Couple nice passes, nice running plays and a throw and run into the end zone. What, no penalties? We scored? Disbelief. Confusion. A missed extra point. Ahh there it is. 10-6 FSU.
Back and forth for a few possessions, then the strange happens again. We drive down the field again in impressive fashion and score a second TD? Huh? What’s happening? Another missed extra point. Ahh there it is again. 12-10 WVU.
At this moment, here is where the “sucking in” takes place. Just when my hopes are at it’s lowest. Just when all is lost and there is nothing more to believe in, that’s when they get you. That is when they make you suspend reality and let yourself believe “We could actually win this game.”
It’s hard to resist at a place full of WVU fans. People start to cheer and get excited and suddenly you are cheering. What? Cheering? Getting excited over plays? Fist pumping? No this can’t be happening. All I wanted was to keep the score under 45 a few wings ago and now we are winning. Why oh cruel sports god would you do this to me? Why?
I call Trent to get him to talk me down off of this ledge of believement.
No answer, voicemail, “Trent, I am getting sucked in. Tell me we aren’t going to win. Tell me we are going to lose, make me not believe.” Knowing Trent he is getting as sucked in as I am. Many a time we have made runs like this at Mountaineer field and in the midst of my excitement I have high-fived Trent and we share the same look, the same feelings, we are both victims.
I need professional help. I call Adam, the eternal pessimist. I know he’s not sucked in yet.
“Adam, I am getting sucked in, tell me we are going to lose, let me know that I shouldn’t believe we are going to win this game.”
After a brief discussion about strategy (because you can’t just call and not talk about missed extra points and how the defense looks) he talks me off of my ledge.
“Well I imagine it will come down to a field goal, and we will miss it and lose.” Ahh the reasoning I was looking for. I feel a weight off my shoulders. I feel happy and relaxed. “Thanks Adam, you are right, what was I thinking.”
My second 20 oz beer is brought to the table. I was drinking before to ease the pain, now I am drinking to calm my nerves.
Halftime is 13-12 FSU. I field a call from my Mom now chastising me about my earlier wing/beer/early score induced voice mail.
A call from Trent on a beer run, obviously feeling the same way I am at this moment. We talk strategy. I share with him Adam’s pearl of wisdom, but poor kid, I think he is just as gone as I am.
They kick a field goal, we kick a field goal. 16-15 now in the 3rd quarter. And as much as Adam helped I am feeling drawn back in. The table of guys next to us are standing. Cheering with every good play I can’t help but to let out a “YEAA!” on a sack. Tom and I know we are officially sucked in and there is nothing we can do now.
Beginning of the 4th quarter, there is still a chance FSU is only up 23-18 now after we kick another FG. This could go down to the end. I receive a call from my old college roommate Giz. “They are sucking me in.” Giz, not nearly as close to all of the WVU action in Houston, TX is still feeling the vortex over 1,000 miles away and is calling me for help as my 3rd Killians is being brought to the table. I share with him what Adam told me and it seems to easy his anxiety.
FSU takes over on the kickoff and drives 80 yards in 7 plays and as my buddy Tim Brunicardi would say, “Ballgame.” It’s all over but the last 10 minutes. We haven’t put the ball in the endzone the whole second half and it’s not looking good. The last swallow of the 3rd beer is gone.
With about 6:00 left in the game, FSU up 30-18 and driving, Tom and I decide to leave and catch the last few minutes on the radio.
We hear WVU driving, Rasheed is hurt and Charles Hales comes in. The MSN broadcaster Dwight Wallace mentions that if we can go down and score and recover the onside kick we have a chance. Poor dope, he is sucked in more than anyone I know.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
