This actually happened to me during the write-on competition, but I was busy enough that I didn’t want to waste time putting it down on “paper.” Now that I’ve got some time (original composition of this post happened on a bus from DC to NY), I feel like I should get this out there.
So, it’s Thursday, and I’m relaxing by the Mass Court pool, finishing up my write-on reading, when a group of the other residents sit down near me, and start talking. The conversation wasn’t the most interesting thing ever, and it was pretty clear that they weren’t the type to be friendly to people they didn’t know, so I tried my best to just tune it out. However, my interest was piqued when they moved to the subject of gamers. As usual, these “popular” kids couldn’t possibly understand why anyone would want to play video games for fun, surmising that it must be because “they can’t go to a bar and pick up a girl.” Now this kinda annoyed me; who’s to say that going to a bar to get hammered and pick up some floozy for meaningless sex is the end-all/be-all of existence? But what really got me was the last comment they made on the topic, which came from one of the women in this conversation:
“So I was at a bar last weekend, in the ladies room, and I hear this girl talking to her friend. The friend asks, ‘Where’s your boyfriend?’ The girl is like, “He’s at home, with his friends, playing WoW. I think I’ll go over later and play WoW with him.” And this is a HOT girl. What’s the world coming to?”
This just pissed me off. Ok, we get it, it’s “cooler” by some arbitrary standard to get wasted and act like a moron than it is to stay at home and play Warcraft. But who are you to say that acceptance others is not a good thing? I agree, the stereotype of the gamer is some overweight, pimply kid who never showers and lives in his parents’ basement watching internet porn and is entirely incapable of normal human contact. But we’re not all like that. Along with those who I’m sure would fit your stereotype, the gamer community includes students, people with jobs, and parents who game alongside their kids. Just because we don’t fit some ideal of what one should be doing with their Saturday night doesn’t mean that what we choose to do is not just as valuable to us as your drunken weekend escapades are to you. To belittle anyone for not fitting themselves into whatever small social compartment that you believe their outward appearance would force them into is wrong, and more than a bit pathetic.
To quote the classic Revenge of the Nerds (which has been on G4 pretty much constantly), “none of us can be free until nerd persecution ends.”
May all your hits be crits,
B
Friday, May 29, 2009
Music of the 90s
The 1990s might be my favorite musical decade of all time. This is probably attributable to the fact that I lived through it, and have memories of when the songs came out. However, even I'm aware that the 90s were a very uneven decade when it came to music. There was really no common thread, and there were as many misses for me as there were hits. As a thought experiment, I decided to put on the "90's" station (brought to you by Comcast) to get a quick survey of the decade in music. Here's the list, with a few comments.
1. Losing My Religion (REM)- "Oh...life is bigger/It's bigger than you/and you are not me." Quite possibly the most ridiculous set of lyrics I've ever heard. The song itself might be one of the best of the decade though.
2. Good Vibrations (Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch)- Who would have thought that Marky Mark would have had a career after this song came out? Beautiful thing about this country; old celebrities never die, they just find new ways to resurrect.
3. Bitch (Meredith Brooks)- Maybe it's because I'm a dude, and couldn't possibly relate to this song. However, I don't know a woman who doesn't like this song. I guess its the "I Will Survive" of the 90s.
4. Achy Breaky Heart (Billy Ray Cyrus)- I rue the day this man was born. Not only is this up in the top 5 worst songs of the decade (listen to the Weird Al parody at some point, so good), and NOT ONLY did he have the world's dumbest mullet, but he brought forth the plague that is Hannah Montana. Yuck.
5. Hold My Hand (Hootie and the Blowfish)- I was watching Jerry MacGuire, and it never fails to crack me up when the kid goes up to Cuba Gooding Jr., and asks "Are you Hootie?" I'm sure Darius Rucker has been asked that question a billion times, and I'm pretty sure that it used to piss him off somethign righteous. Too bad they only had one good album...
6. Braking all the Rules (She Moves)- Now I'd never heard of this band before, but I'm sure the brains behind this song had a thought pattern that went something like this: "You know that 'Tearin Up My Heart' song is doing pretty well. Why don't we make another song that sounds just like it in every way, but have women singing it? It can't miss..." But it did.
7. I Could Fall in Love (Selena)- I can't tell if the movie was a good thing for her memory. The movie wasn't bad, but I'm pretty sure that most people just remember J.Lo.
8. No Rain (Blind Melon)- Everyone knows the song, and most remember the video. Too bad they didn't put anything else out; I guess that's the downside of a heroin addiction.
9. The Way You Do the Things You Do (UB-40)- I know this was a cover, but I can't for the life of me remember who they were covering. Also, did they ever do a song that was not a cover?
10. Baby, One More Time (Britney Spears)- Oh Britney, Britney, how were we supposed to know? Pop stars have a short shelflife, until they start doing ridiculous, embarassing shit (See, Jackson, Michael) but nobody could have predicted that you would flame out so spectacularly.
11. You Mean the World To Me (Toni Braxton)- Almost forgot this song existed. I guess that's the effect of making possibly the most melodramatic song of all time.
12. Give Me One Reason (Tracy Chapman)- I wonder what ever happened to her. I loved her voice, just perfect and bluesy. But two major hits and we never heard from her again. Pity.
13. Graduate (Third Eye Blind)- This song got lost in the uproar over Semi-Charmed Life and Jumper, but it was a legitimate hit in its own right. These guys are possibly the best example of the scourge of 90s bands- the inability to follow up an amazing debut (Hootie and the Blowfish, Alanis Morrisette, etc...). At least they put out one amazing album.
14. Mo Money, Mo Problems (Too many artists for me to remember)- Honestly, why in hell does Diddy (or at the time the song came out, still Puff Daddy) feel the need to ruin perfectly good songs by putting himself in the song? He's just not very good at rapping, and should leave it to the professionals.
15. Unbelievable (EMF)- A perfect example of the mid-90s one-hit wonder. An extremely catchy song with a hook people remember, and nobody knows any words outside of the chorus.
16. As Long As You Love Me (Backstreet Boys)- I hate bubblegum pop. Its just brutal on the brain. I mean, at least Disney has not achieved total cultural saturation with its current infection of this schlock. I'm proud to say that I have not heard one single song put out by any of these Disney pseudo-bands.
17. U Can't Touch This (MC Hammer)- What a fantastic sample, possibly the best of all time. Also, the male orc dance in WoW is the MC Hammer dance, which is awesome.
18. Walking on Broken Glass (The Eurythmics)- A forgotten song, mostly because of how unbelivably good Sweet Dreams was. The Eurythmics are undeniably cool, and I think I should listen to more of them at some point.
19. What Is Love (Haddaway)- Maybe I'm the only person who liked Night at the Roxbury (while realizing that the movie wasn't very good), but this song is pretty much the only thing people remember about it. The Diet Pepsi commercial last year using it was pretty excellent.
20. Everything I Do, I Do It For You (Bryan Adams)- It might be unmanly to say, but I like this song. I guess it came out early enough that I don't remember the incredible overplay that I'm sure accompanied its release. The movie disappointed, especially given how incredible the cast was, but it led to one hell of a parody. At least the song endured.
In summation, the 90s was a weird music decade. Some amazing stuff at the beginning, nothing good at the end, and a bunch of bright gems popping up throughout. Fortunately, the good stuff was good enough to save the decade, and make it awesome.
May all your hits be crits,
B
1. Losing My Religion (REM)- "Oh...life is bigger/It's bigger than you/and you are not me." Quite possibly the most ridiculous set of lyrics I've ever heard. The song itself might be one of the best of the decade though.
2. Good Vibrations (Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch)- Who would have thought that Marky Mark would have had a career after this song came out? Beautiful thing about this country; old celebrities never die, they just find new ways to resurrect.
3. Bitch (Meredith Brooks)- Maybe it's because I'm a dude, and couldn't possibly relate to this song. However, I don't know a woman who doesn't like this song. I guess its the "I Will Survive" of the 90s.
4. Achy Breaky Heart (Billy Ray Cyrus)- I rue the day this man was born. Not only is this up in the top 5 worst songs of the decade (listen to the Weird Al parody at some point, so good), and NOT ONLY did he have the world's dumbest mullet, but he brought forth the plague that is Hannah Montana. Yuck.
5. Hold My Hand (Hootie and the Blowfish)- I was watching Jerry MacGuire, and it never fails to crack me up when the kid goes up to Cuba Gooding Jr., and asks "Are you Hootie?" I'm sure Darius Rucker has been asked that question a billion times, and I'm pretty sure that it used to piss him off somethign righteous. Too bad they only had one good album...
6. Braking all the Rules (She Moves)- Now I'd never heard of this band before, but I'm sure the brains behind this song had a thought pattern that went something like this: "You know that 'Tearin Up My Heart' song is doing pretty well. Why don't we make another song that sounds just like it in every way, but have women singing it? It can't miss..." But it did.
7. I Could Fall in Love (Selena)- I can't tell if the movie was a good thing for her memory. The movie wasn't bad, but I'm pretty sure that most people just remember J.Lo.
8. No Rain (Blind Melon)- Everyone knows the song, and most remember the video. Too bad they didn't put anything else out; I guess that's the downside of a heroin addiction.
9. The Way You Do the Things You Do (UB-40)- I know this was a cover, but I can't for the life of me remember who they were covering. Also, did they ever do a song that was not a cover?
10. Baby, One More Time (Britney Spears)- Oh Britney, Britney, how were we supposed to know? Pop stars have a short shelflife, until they start doing ridiculous, embarassing shit (See, Jackson, Michael) but nobody could have predicted that you would flame out so spectacularly.
11. You Mean the World To Me (Toni Braxton)- Almost forgot this song existed. I guess that's the effect of making possibly the most melodramatic song of all time.
12. Give Me One Reason (Tracy Chapman)- I wonder what ever happened to her. I loved her voice, just perfect and bluesy. But two major hits and we never heard from her again. Pity.
13. Graduate (Third Eye Blind)- This song got lost in the uproar over Semi-Charmed Life and Jumper, but it was a legitimate hit in its own right. These guys are possibly the best example of the scourge of 90s bands- the inability to follow up an amazing debut (Hootie and the Blowfish, Alanis Morrisette, etc...). At least they put out one amazing album.
14. Mo Money, Mo Problems (Too many artists for me to remember)- Honestly, why in hell does Diddy (or at the time the song came out, still Puff Daddy) feel the need to ruin perfectly good songs by putting himself in the song? He's just not very good at rapping, and should leave it to the professionals.
15. Unbelievable (EMF)- A perfect example of the mid-90s one-hit wonder. An extremely catchy song with a hook people remember, and nobody knows any words outside of the chorus.
16. As Long As You Love Me (Backstreet Boys)- I hate bubblegum pop. Its just brutal on the brain. I mean, at least Disney has not achieved total cultural saturation with its current infection of this schlock. I'm proud to say that I have not heard one single song put out by any of these Disney pseudo-bands.
17. U Can't Touch This (MC Hammer)- What a fantastic sample, possibly the best of all time. Also, the male orc dance in WoW is the MC Hammer dance, which is awesome.
18. Walking on Broken Glass (The Eurythmics)- A forgotten song, mostly because of how unbelivably good Sweet Dreams was. The Eurythmics are undeniably cool, and I think I should listen to more of them at some point.
19. What Is Love (Haddaway)- Maybe I'm the only person who liked Night at the Roxbury (while realizing that the movie wasn't very good), but this song is pretty much the only thing people remember about it. The Diet Pepsi commercial last year using it was pretty excellent.
20. Everything I Do, I Do It For You (Bryan Adams)- It might be unmanly to say, but I like this song. I guess it came out early enough that I don't remember the incredible overplay that I'm sure accompanied its release. The movie disappointed, especially given how incredible the cast was, but it led to one hell of a parody. At least the song endured.
In summation, the 90s was a weird music decade. Some amazing stuff at the beginning, nothing good at the end, and a bunch of bright gems popping up throughout. Fortunately, the good stuff was good enough to save the decade, and make it awesome.
May all your hits be crits,
B
Monday, May 25, 2009
How I got KEA-d
Well, I'm in my new apartment, which is pretty awesome, especially since you can tell that it's really coming together. We've got a couch, bed, TV's, dining room set, etc, already set. The only thing left for me to put together was this red kitchen storage unit. Now, I'm usually really good with IKEA stuff. I mean, how much talent does it take to follow the pictures? However, this one really got me. First, the shelves of the unit are various quadrilaterals: one rectangle, two things that could probably be considered trapezoida, and one thing that might well be a parallelogram. Normally, I just follow the pictures and can deal with this sort of thing, but this time there were two pictures: beginning and end. This must be how the crew of the Enterprise feels; the instructions were, in effect, "make it so." So, I blindly embarked on my task, and soon learned that this would have been a hell of a lot easier with two people than one, as someone needed to hold the initial structure in place, while the other screwed in the shelves. Needless to say, the legs kept falling out, occasionally landing on my head. Eventually I prevailed, and the shelving unit now sits proudly in the corner of my kitchen. Less than three weeks till Marie moves in. I can't wait.
May all your hits be crits,
B
May all your hits be crits,
B
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Another Missed Opportunity
Now, this is dating myself a bit, as it happened in Civil Procedure, but I figured it was worth putting up. Now, Abernathy always used to tell us that juries feel more sympathetic towards people than big businesses. You would have this small plaintiff against Big Pharmaceuticals, Big Oil, Big Auto, and the jury would inevitably find a way to rule in favor of the plaintiff. However, in the case of Owen Equipment and Erection Co v. Kroeger, how would the jury feel about Big Erection?
Food for thought I guess, and with all the jokes about that case (the widow versus the erection, for one), I don't know how i missed this. Oh well.
May all your hits be crits,
B
Food for thought I guess, and with all the jokes about that case (the widow versus the erection, for one), I don't know how i missed this. Oh well.
May all your hits be crits,
B
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Draft Tweets
I'm just gonna put my opinions in Twitter form, as the first thing I'm thinking at the time:
1. DET: Stafford- He's under contract, no surprise here.
2. STL: J Smith- Bulger might survive the year.
3. KC: Jackson- Wait, who?
4. SEA: Curry- Great value at 4.
5. NYJ: Sanchez- Wonder if Drama and Turtle will come with...(shakes head).
6. CIN: A Smith- Like they said in Fight Club: Bob. Had. Bitch-tits. Bad choice.
7. OAK: Heyward-Bey- Least. Surprising. Pick. Ever. Crabtree should be righteously pissed.
8. JAX: Monroe- Went WAY too low. Doesn't anyone remember Brandon Albert?
9. GB: Raji- Lovin the ONE white dude at his draft-day party.
10. SF: Crabtree- Incredible plysical talent, and he's gonna have an ENORMOUS chip on his shoulder next year.
11. BUF: Maybin- Why is he spending so much time /facepalm-ing. Must be getting prepared for next year...
12. DEN: Moreno- To paraphrase Jim Mora: "DEFENSE? Don't talk about DEFENSE! You kiddin me- DEFENSE?" Another long year in Denver...
13. WSH: Orakpo- I don't think they COULD have gotten that pick in any faster, and I don't blame them a bit.
14. NO: Jenkins- As they haven't been able to cover anyone this decade, I think CB is the way to go.
15. HOU: Cushing- When the "glowing" praise about your team is that you could be "above-average" you should be sad. This should help.
16. SD: English- Mostly, I just like the name.
17. TB: Freeman- Loving Cleveland's draft strategy (2nd tradedown so far); Freeman's a project, but with increidble upside.
18. DEN: Ayers- Josh McDaniels pals around with terrorists. (Paid for by Citizens for Jay Cutler).
19. PHI: Maclin- (Cleveland Trade count: 3) Maclin and Jackson. If nothing else, they'll be fast next year.
20. DET: Pettigrew- Good News: Stafford might be good down the line. Bad News: He might not survive that long.
21. CLE: Mack- You heard right folks, the Browns have drafted Alex Mack. Not very strong, but can turn into liquid and sneak around the defense.
22. MIN: Harvin- This reeks of Troy Williamson, Take 2. Oh well, the QB's won't get it to him anyway.
Dinner Break...
23. BAL: Oher- And the last guy is out of the green room...
24. ATL: Jerry- Peria Jerry. Peria Jerry. Such a great name.
25. MIA: Davis- Vontae. Can I buy a vowel?
This is where I stopped. Damn Finals.
May all your hits be crits,
B
1. DET: Stafford- He's under contract, no surprise here.
2. STL: J Smith- Bulger might survive the year.
3. KC: Jackson- Wait, who?
4. SEA: Curry- Great value at 4.
5. NYJ: Sanchez- Wonder if Drama and Turtle will come with...(shakes head).
6. CIN: A Smith- Like they said in Fight Club: Bob. Had. Bitch-tits. Bad choice.
7. OAK: Heyward-Bey- Least. Surprising. Pick. Ever. Crabtree should be righteously pissed.
8. JAX: Monroe- Went WAY too low. Doesn't anyone remember Brandon Albert?
9. GB: Raji- Lovin the ONE white dude at his draft-day party.
10. SF: Crabtree- Incredible plysical talent, and he's gonna have an ENORMOUS chip on his shoulder next year.
11. BUF: Maybin- Why is he spending so much time /facepalm-ing. Must be getting prepared for next year...
12. DEN: Moreno- To paraphrase Jim Mora: "DEFENSE? Don't talk about DEFENSE! You kiddin me- DEFENSE?" Another long year in Denver...
13. WSH: Orakpo- I don't think they COULD have gotten that pick in any faster, and I don't blame them a bit.
14. NO: Jenkins- As they haven't been able to cover anyone this decade, I think CB is the way to go.
15. HOU: Cushing- When the "glowing" praise about your team is that you could be "above-average" you should be sad. This should help.
16. SD: English- Mostly, I just like the name.
17. TB: Freeman- Loving Cleveland's draft strategy (2nd tradedown so far); Freeman's a project, but with increidble upside.
18. DEN: Ayers- Josh McDaniels pals around with terrorists. (Paid for by Citizens for Jay Cutler).
19. PHI: Maclin- (Cleveland Trade count: 3) Maclin and Jackson. If nothing else, they'll be fast next year.
20. DET: Pettigrew- Good News: Stafford might be good down the line. Bad News: He might not survive that long.
21. CLE: Mack- You heard right folks, the Browns have drafted Alex Mack. Not very strong, but can turn into liquid and sneak around the defense.
22. MIN: Harvin- This reeks of Troy Williamson, Take 2. Oh well, the QB's won't get it to him anyway.
Dinner Break...
23. BAL: Oher- And the last guy is out of the green room...
24. ATL: Jerry- Peria Jerry. Peria Jerry. Such a great name.
25. MIA: Davis- Vontae. Can I buy a vowel?
This is where I stopped. Damn Finals.
May all your hits be crits,
B
Monday, April 20, 2009
Recharging in Chi-Town
After the insanity of last finals week, and the incredible unhappiness of the whole situation, I vowed not to stay around here and go nuts this finals week. So on Thursday afternoon, I packed my bags and headed out to Dulles, destined for Chicago. Fortunately, Southwest didn't give me the royal screwjob that JetBlue tends to, so I took off on time and landed early at Midway. After an hours worth of catching up on my work, I was met by Marie, and headed off to Costco.
Now, I love Costco, and I have been on some epic Costco trips (both with JTT, and with Mike and Caxton) but I think I may have met my match in Marie (in yet another way...). However, while my problem is attacking everything on a sample stand like I haven't eaten in weeks, Marie's weakness is planning. She'll see something (in this case, a wine opener and Tupperware for muffins) and decide that she REALLY needs this. My job is to be the Jewish angel on her shoulder and remind her that we already have a wine opener (though we did need muffin Tupperware). However, I was overmatched when it came to $4.99 DVDs, especially seeing as I saw them first. On the plus side, I now own 2 more Mel Brooks movies and Walk the Line.
The rest of Thursday night was spent in the company of two of Marie's best friends, who brought over pasta, and hung out with me while Marie was engaged in an impromptu phone interview. Impressively, I managed to stay relatively quiet throughout. Also, I learned that sugarcane liquor, bar syrup, grapefruit juice, and ice makes quite the combination. This would be my second drink to name (First one: Vanilla Rum with Cranberry-Raspberry juice= a White Stripe), but I have no thoughts. Anyone?
Friday, I got up nice and late, which is something I haven't been accustomed to around here. Made Cajun-style Catfish with Red Beans and Rice for lunch. I'd like to point out that the packaging on the RB&R described their product as "saucy." Now THAT just sounds naughty. Marie was recruited to play IM soccer for her MA program team, and I've become their unofficial ringer. So we faced off against the IM Indoor Champions, and were doing fine, at least till the lights on the field all went off. This led to a 15 minute blackout break, in which we mostly just stood around and chilled out until Athletic Services got around to turning the lights back on. Unfortunately, our momentum had been sapped, and we went on to lose by a solid amount. This was soon forgotten after a trip to the pub and to Goose Island.
Saturday was a day of lessons for both of us. The primary lesson was that forgetting that you Pam-ed a pan and left it on the burner will leave you with an entire apartment full of smoke. Marie also learned of my penchant for talking to the TV during hockey games, though its possible that she already knew that. Cafe Iberico for dinner, which needs to open a satellite restaurant here in DC, stat.
Needless to say (and especially with this kinda hindsight), this was exactly what I needed. What I probably didn't need to do was wait a month to post this, but at least it went up...
May all your hits be crits,
B
Now, I love Costco, and I have been on some epic Costco trips (both with JTT, and with Mike and Caxton) but I think I may have met my match in Marie (in yet another way...). However, while my problem is attacking everything on a sample stand like I haven't eaten in weeks, Marie's weakness is planning. She'll see something (in this case, a wine opener and Tupperware for muffins) and decide that she REALLY needs this. My job is to be the Jewish angel on her shoulder and remind her that we already have a wine opener (though we did need muffin Tupperware). However, I was overmatched when it came to $4.99 DVDs, especially seeing as I saw them first. On the plus side, I now own 2 more Mel Brooks movies and Walk the Line.
The rest of Thursday night was spent in the company of two of Marie's best friends, who brought over pasta, and hung out with me while Marie was engaged in an impromptu phone interview. Impressively, I managed to stay relatively quiet throughout. Also, I learned that sugarcane liquor, bar syrup, grapefruit juice, and ice makes quite the combination. This would be my second drink to name (First one: Vanilla Rum with Cranberry-Raspberry juice= a White Stripe), but I have no thoughts. Anyone?
Friday, I got up nice and late, which is something I haven't been accustomed to around here. Made Cajun-style Catfish with Red Beans and Rice for lunch. I'd like to point out that the packaging on the RB&R described their product as "saucy." Now THAT just sounds naughty. Marie was recruited to play IM soccer for her MA program team, and I've become their unofficial ringer. So we faced off against the IM Indoor Champions, and were doing fine, at least till the lights on the field all went off. This led to a 15 minute blackout break, in which we mostly just stood around and chilled out until Athletic Services got around to turning the lights back on. Unfortunately, our momentum had been sapped, and we went on to lose by a solid amount. This was soon forgotten after a trip to the pub and to Goose Island.
Saturday was a day of lessons for both of us. The primary lesson was that forgetting that you Pam-ed a pan and left it on the burner will leave you with an entire apartment full of smoke. Marie also learned of my penchant for talking to the TV during hockey games, though its possible that she already knew that. Cafe Iberico for dinner, which needs to open a satellite restaurant here in DC, stat.
Needless to say (and especially with this kinda hindsight), this was exactly what I needed. What I probably didn't need to do was wait a month to post this, but at least it went up...
May all your hits be crits,
B
Sunday, April 19, 2009
How the Rangers Rocked the Red
So, on Wednesday morning, it hit me that the Rangers were going to be in town for the playoffs. Now, I had A LOT to do: Clean my room, do laundry, read for three classes, study for finals, and pack to go to Chicago. There was no way in HELL I was missing this game. So I put my Georgetown sweater over my Rangers jersey (Caps fans aren't big on selling to the other team), and walked through the rain till I got to Verizon Center, where I secured an upper-deck seat for $35.
As I got there about 30 minutes before gametime, I was allowed to mill about in the bottom tier and take pictures during warmups (which will be posted on Facebook at some point). Mark Staal (Ranger defenseman) had some fun shooting slapshots toward the glass right in front of me and another kid in a Ranger jersey. Damn. Those things come in fast, and I'm glad I never tried hockey goalie.
I have to commend the Caps for a pretty sweet pre-game introduction session. First off, it's easy to get the fans psyched for a game with rock; Bush's Machinehead is a popular choice (both the Pirates and Nationals have used this at games I've been to), but the Caps use the intro to DMB's "Warehouse" to great effect. It's just Dave playing, and when he stops, the crowd all goes "Woo!" Very effective. I was able to stay in the lower bowl for half of the first period, until the person whose seat I was in showed up, at which point I was sent to the upper deck. Now, when I say I was in the upper deck, I am not kidding. I was in the penultimate row of the stadium. The Caps fans were less than overjoyed to see me, but soon settled back into watching the game.
The first period ended 0-0, and I went for a walk around the outside of the stadium to check the food options and sample a little bit of the local evironment. While the people in my row had been relative friendly and sober, the people who were milling about near the concession stand were a lot less of both. I was offered 3 fights, and called a homo more times than in the rest of my life combined. But I kept my head held high, and walked back to my seat for the start of the 2nd.
The Caps opened the scoring in the 2nd, as Alex Ovechkin shot a wounded duck towards the net that somehow evaded all the people in the way, and tucked itself into the corner. The Caps fans, as expected, went berserk, to the point that I'm still not sure what song they play when the Caps score. I was kinda worried at this point, but it turned out to be for naught, as Sean Avery (who was roundly booed everytime he got anywhere near the puck) tripped a Caps defenseman, allowing Scott Gomez to walk in and tie it up. The Rangers went on the power play shortly after, and I tend to suppress groans when that happens. For those of you who aren't Ranger fans, the Rangers power play was third-worst in the league. There was a point where we were giving up more shorthanded goals than we were scoring. Not this time. Nik Antropov fired one in, and the other Ranger fans in my section, who had been quiet all game started to get fired up. Even more inexplicably, the Rangers went on another man-advantage, which was quickly capped off by Marcus Naslund putting a wrist-shot in the top corner. The Caps faithful were stunned, while my fellow Ranger fans and I launched into a rousing rendition of the Rangers Goal Song (Lyrics: Oh Oh Oh, Oh Oh Oh, Oh Oh Oh, Hey, Hey, HeyHeyHey, Hey, Hey, HeyHeyHey). The Caps scored again to finish out the period, and the Rangers went into the break up 3-2.
This break, however, was quiet. No insults, no threats to fight, just a bunch of Ranger fans passing each other in the hallway with knowing smiles, amidst a red sea of silence. The Caps opened the scoring in the third, and the crowd was right back into it, starting "Rangers Suck" chants that echoed through the arena. The Rangers reclaimed the lead off of Brandon Dubinsky's incredible fake, which left a Caps defender flat on the ice, and subsequent wristshot. The Caps fans were subdued once again, but only until 7 minutes to go, when the video board operator decided it was time to play the inspirational movie clips.
Now, I've seen these in every stadium. There are the standard ones: John Belushi in "Animal House," Al Pacino in "Any Given Sunday," Sylvester Stallone in "Rocky," and my personal favorite, the one in "Network" where the guy says "I want you to get up, get up out of your chairs, go to the window, open it, and yell..." Well, the Caps played a montage of ALL of those, plus a bunch more, all culminating with Tom Green in Road Trip yelling (joined by tens of thousands of people), "UNLEASH THE FURY!!!!" This was, in short, awe-inspiring. Fortunately for me, it was not Capitals-inspiring, as the Rangers held off a furious rush to win the game.
As I walked out, every Ranger fan slapped high-fives with one another, like we were part of a special organization, like somehow we had contributed in our own small ways. The Caps fans were less than amused, and a fight broke out outside the Gallery Place Metro. I managed to get home after only a few insults, and didn't get jumped, which is always a good thing. I managed to then get everything I needed done, and jumped on a flight to Chicago, which I'll talk about in a subsequent post, I hope.
May all your hits be crits,
B
As I got there about 30 minutes before gametime, I was allowed to mill about in the bottom tier and take pictures during warmups (which will be posted on Facebook at some point). Mark Staal (Ranger defenseman) had some fun shooting slapshots toward the glass right in front of me and another kid in a Ranger jersey. Damn. Those things come in fast, and I'm glad I never tried hockey goalie.
I have to commend the Caps for a pretty sweet pre-game introduction session. First off, it's easy to get the fans psyched for a game with rock; Bush's Machinehead is a popular choice (both the Pirates and Nationals have used this at games I've been to), but the Caps use the intro to DMB's "Warehouse" to great effect. It's just Dave playing, and when he stops, the crowd all goes "Woo!" Very effective. I was able to stay in the lower bowl for half of the first period, until the person whose seat I was in showed up, at which point I was sent to the upper deck. Now, when I say I was in the upper deck, I am not kidding. I was in the penultimate row of the stadium. The Caps fans were less than overjoyed to see me, but soon settled back into watching the game.
The first period ended 0-0, and I went for a walk around the outside of the stadium to check the food options and sample a little bit of the local evironment. While the people in my row had been relative friendly and sober, the people who were milling about near the concession stand were a lot less of both. I was offered 3 fights, and called a homo more times than in the rest of my life combined. But I kept my head held high, and walked back to my seat for the start of the 2nd.
The Caps opened the scoring in the 2nd, as Alex Ovechkin shot a wounded duck towards the net that somehow evaded all the people in the way, and tucked itself into the corner. The Caps fans, as expected, went berserk, to the point that I'm still not sure what song they play when the Caps score. I was kinda worried at this point, but it turned out to be for naught, as Sean Avery (who was roundly booed everytime he got anywhere near the puck) tripped a Caps defenseman, allowing Scott Gomez to walk in and tie it up. The Rangers went on the power play shortly after, and I tend to suppress groans when that happens. For those of you who aren't Ranger fans, the Rangers power play was third-worst in the league. There was a point where we were giving up more shorthanded goals than we were scoring. Not this time. Nik Antropov fired one in, and the other Ranger fans in my section, who had been quiet all game started to get fired up. Even more inexplicably, the Rangers went on another man-advantage, which was quickly capped off by Marcus Naslund putting a wrist-shot in the top corner. The Caps faithful were stunned, while my fellow Ranger fans and I launched into a rousing rendition of the Rangers Goal Song (Lyrics: Oh Oh Oh, Oh Oh Oh, Oh Oh Oh, Hey, Hey, HeyHeyHey, Hey, Hey, HeyHeyHey). The Caps scored again to finish out the period, and the Rangers went into the break up 3-2.
This break, however, was quiet. No insults, no threats to fight, just a bunch of Ranger fans passing each other in the hallway with knowing smiles, amidst a red sea of silence. The Caps opened the scoring in the third, and the crowd was right back into it, starting "Rangers Suck" chants that echoed through the arena. The Rangers reclaimed the lead off of Brandon Dubinsky's incredible fake, which left a Caps defender flat on the ice, and subsequent wristshot. The Caps fans were subdued once again, but only until 7 minutes to go, when the video board operator decided it was time to play the inspirational movie clips.
Now, I've seen these in every stadium. There are the standard ones: John Belushi in "Animal House," Al Pacino in "Any Given Sunday," Sylvester Stallone in "Rocky," and my personal favorite, the one in "Network" where the guy says "I want you to get up, get up out of your chairs, go to the window, open it, and yell..." Well, the Caps played a montage of ALL of those, plus a bunch more, all culminating with Tom Green in Road Trip yelling (joined by tens of thousands of people), "UNLEASH THE FURY!!!!" This was, in short, awe-inspiring. Fortunately for me, it was not Capitals-inspiring, as the Rangers held off a furious rush to win the game.
As I walked out, every Ranger fan slapped high-fives with one another, like we were part of a special organization, like somehow we had contributed in our own small ways. The Caps fans were less than amused, and a fight broke out outside the Gallery Place Metro. I managed to get home after only a few insults, and didn't get jumped, which is always a good thing. I managed to then get everything I needed done, and jumped on a flight to Chicago, which I'll talk about in a subsequent post, I hope.
May all your hits be crits,
B
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