Two Sports That I Hold Dear

It usually comes as a surprise to people that I like sports.
Needless to say, I didn't come into liking sports through the tradition of playing little league, pee-wee football, 'Gus-Macker' styled tourneys, or intramural Sports.
In fact, during my adolescence I adamantly shunned sports.
I never felt the desire to play in any of the aforementioned athletics and it was due to neither my physical size and/or lack of coordination and skill. I just didn't "feel it."
Dad and I never really threw the ball around in the backyard, and most of my friends weren't into it either.
Sure, I was a skater, but during my true growth period... that was never a sport... at least that's what the jocks told us.

Honestly, that's what it really came down to -- Jocks.
For the most part, I found them to be mind-numbingly stupid.
All they ever talked about was sports.
Some of them could spout insane amounts of statistics about players and teams. *
They seemingly had no other interests.
Oh wait... they did.... girls.
They got all the girls.
The good looking ones that were cute and had good taste in music, but bad taste in boys. **

There's still a ton of jack-asses that make sports incredibly insane and almost impossible to enjoy.
The guy who dove into the safety net the other night at Yankee's Stadium, the guy who threw a beer on Ron Artest this past season at the Palace... or just go on any internet sports chat room or listen to a call in show.

Somehow I'm beyond that though...

I remember listening to Red Wings games on AM 760 WJR with my father, coming home from Boy Scout Meetings. "Going to bed" and turning my bedside alarm clock down low to catch the third period. The swishing sounds of the skaters on the ice, the hollering between the players, the announcer's voice skyrocketing in octaves as he wails, "He SHOOTS, He SCOOORES!"

Watching as my mom "C'mon!"s and "Oh!"s her way through any sporting event on television.
(Mom, you don't need to emote every time the puck is passed.) [[Although her squeeling with glee as Darren McCarty pummeled Claude Lemieux in retaliation for his check on Kris Draper... that was sweet.]]

I think of the silly characature t-shirts that my brother and I had of Dennis "The Worm" Rodman and John "Spider" Sally during the reign of the Pistons Bad Boy Era.

Anyway.
While the Pistons didn't win the Championship this year.
I'm excited about the new coach and the prospects of an expanded bench, but Hockey is back!
I can't help but be excited.

I once joked about how sports might ruin my marriage some day...
but I don't think that'll happen as Allison gave me permission to order NHL Center Ice for the season.

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* While I'm somehow better for being able to tell you who produced what album and it's year of release, and who did the remixes for that mind-blowing third track.

** How do you explain a girl that gives you the Smiths mix tapes, but dates asshole football players?

Making the Band

I remember trying to convince Brooke Rossi that she had what it took to be the front-person for a band...
I don't think it was quite as hard as it has been trying to convince Allison.
Granted, when we lived in Kalamazoo we had started... twice.
The first time was a short lived project that was pretty much doomed from the get go.
The second was doomed as well, as we knew we were going to end up moving to NYC.

Recently though, I've found that it's best to talk about bands and such, when she's had a few drinks. The only problem is that later she claims to not remember having the conversations. So, I figured I should write this down so I don't have to start from scratch again.

She has agreed that she is musically inclined enough to figure out plenty of songs on piano, guitar, and bass.
She is a little timid about her ability to "jam" and also is not really into writing lyrics -- mainly concerned that she's going to give away dark secrets, be too cheesy, or write about things that she might later regret.
She thinks that stage presence is an issue, but feels like her style would be somewhere between Karen O (Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs) and Gwen Stefani.

I strongly agree that she's musically inclined.
Probably more-so than myself, and I think with enough practice she could be really, really good.
As far as "jamming" goes... I have never considered myself a "jammer."
In the past, it usually worked in the sense that I would figure out a complete song built around a bass line, and then band members would build the rest of the song around that. I'd usually hand them a tape and say... "Figure something out for this later. Let's practice the songs we know." If that makes me a "jammer," then call me a "jammer," but I hate the term.

Lyrics are always hard.
I mean, either your fucking Ted Leo and everything that comes out of your mouth is so thoughtfully provocative and intelligently insightful... or you're Jim Morrison and your lyrics are insipid and pretensions beyond belief.
I mean, do you make everything rhyme? or is that lame?
How personal do you get? How vague can you be?
My thought has always been, it's not what you say but how you say it.
If you say, "La, La, Love you..." you better mean it.
If you say, "Nazi Punks, Fuck Off..." you better be able to back it up.

I think every good band, or songwriter has a song they regret writing.
I think that's why they might refuse to play the song later in their careers.
They've moved on from that sentiment... for maybe, better or worse.
It's the nature of songwriting.

I don't think stage presence is much of an issue. I've seen this girl sing karaoke.
Sure, she isn't going to swing from the rafters or stage-dive, but do I want that anyway?
I mean, the first time you get on the stage and perform... it's petrifying.
If it's like mine... she will face the back of the room and/or stare at what her fingers are doing on the fretboard.

...and I have nothing to worry about with stage looks...
this is my wife we're talking about....
you've seen this girl put together outfits.
It's a no-brainer.

Anyway, I think the convincing has been done.
I've just got to get her a guitar now.