Tired

No, this post isn't about the Foo Fighters' 2002 song "Tired Of You" featuring a guitar track contribution from Brian May. (By the way, their new album is terrific if you haven't heard it yet.) Rather, I wonder which is a more tired joke at this point: Charlie Sheen, or Donald Trump? In fact, if someone was to combine the two subjects, he'd have one unstoppable, worn out super-joke! I'm looking in your direction, Jay Leno. "Ehhh, Charlie Sheen in the news again, have you heard about this, have you seen this? He said Obama's birth certificate is WINNING!" {Audience cheers mindlessly}

Also, if I can get on the record on Trump, I believe his "birther" angle was a work. He's actually on President Obama's side, and wants him re-elected. What better way than to portray Obama's opponents as stupid as possible? He played right into the exact stereotype of that tiny minority of conservatives that make the vast majority of conservatives shake their heads in embarrassment. (If you even want to count the birther movement as "conservative" in nature - I don't, but whatever.) See, if I want to make Cowboys fans look bad (as if they needed help), I don't just wear a Giants jersey and list logical reasons why Cowboys fans are not good...I wear a Cowboys jersey, and do the most idiotic thing I can, like kick a bunch of kittens or something.

Apples and oranges?

I've always appreciated music reviews where they give you an alternative. Or, to put it more specifically, a better recommendation from a similar genre. Sometimes even from the same band. For instance, if a music outlet reviews Aerosmith's Just Push Play (their 2001 offering; the last time Aerosmith was relevant) and didn't like it, they'll typically say, "Save your 15 bucks and just listen to Get a Grip again instead."

The reason I bring this up is, I gave a first listen today to Green Day's Bullet In a Bible live album from 2005, and I found it mostly grating and obnoxious. And I normally like Green Day just fine. I don't know, maybe it's just the mood I'm in today. Or my taste is changing - I had not listened to any Green Day in quite some time before today. I do like The Offspring still, they're also considered in the punk category...though as anyone should be able to admit, The Offspring is far superior to Green Day. It's also possible that some bands just don't have that certain "it" when they're live. Yet a 4th possibility was that the crowd mic was too loud. And the crowd sounded to be mostly made up of 12 year old girls. That's not the band's fault. Well, maybe it was their fault with regards to marketing, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. (They're not a band backed by Disney that wears purity rings while selling sex or anything, I'm sure of that much.)

Anyway, during about the 5th song on the live Green Day album, I thought to myself, "I'd rather be listening to Queen right now." And that's what made me think of the music review thing I led off with. Could I review this Green Day album by saying, "This album is a little empty...You might better enjoy Queen's Live at Wembley Stadium, 1986?" That's at least a live-album-to-live-album comparison. But they're not in the same ballpark as far as genre goes. If I can get away with that one though, could I also compare other, non-musical endeavors to Queen? "Chachkis' jalepeno poppers aren't very good...I recommend listening to Queen II instead."

Is this the (sports) world we created?

(Yes, that's another Queen reference in the title, if you're scoring at home.)

I'm going to come clean. I had this next thing in the cue for a while. But I didn't know how to present it in a kind or meaningful way. It's a clip from the Associated Press, of Arizona Cardinals fans reacting to the team losing the Super Bowl. 

 

Obviously my first instinct was mockery and sarcasm. (Hey, old habits die hard.) I was going to focus on the last guy, from the 31 second mark forward - the "I am so frustrated with this!" guy - and present a multiple choice question speculating what exactly the "this" is that he is "so frustrated with." I had it narrowed down to the following options:

a) an inflated sense of entitlement
b) a lack of upper body muscle definition
c) the fact that there are people who root for a team other than his
d) the unhealthy level of personal importance he places on the Arizona Cardinals winning a football game, and how it makes him feel

In seriousness though, I have more to say on this. As I mentioned earlier, I want to make this post meaningful, and maybe even redeeming. And I think I know how. I will start by again addressing the last guy. But instead of mocking him, I've just got two words for him...

Thank you.

Thank you for showing us what we should never become. Thank you for showing us how ugly we can allow ourselves to look, and for giving us motivation to never want to look like that in front of friends or loved ones - let alone in front of a camera.

At this point let me clarify something. I am not saying that only Cardinals fans behave like this, nor am I picking on them in particular. It would be silly to think that, for instance, no Browns or Lions fans in the past 50+ years, or Jets fans in the past 40 years, or Raiders fans in the past 25 years, etc., have ever angrily exclaimed "I am so frustrated with this," or looked bad on TV.

And on a positive note, the 3rd guy, at the 20 second mark, put things into proper perspective. "My heart is hurting a little bit but I'm still happy because the Cardinals showed they are a true team. Character, spirit, they fought strong 'till the end." That is a person who approaches sports in a healthy way, and I'd even say I'd like to watch a game with him sometime. Sure, that was only one guy out of five, but in fairness I am aware the AP had the ability to "cherry-pick" the clips to use, so I would be unfair to estimate or generalize with regards to percentages of folks who have it right.

Now to the larger issue of sportsmanship. Much like the time I truly questioned people's ability to laugh anymore, I am now truly questioning people's ability to handle their team losing anymore. In other countries people die over soccer far too frequently. I don't know if things here in America are any better or worse than they were in past generations, but I certainly hope we realize that sports just aren't that important. Yes, my blog is about mostly sports, but it comes with an obvious underlying axiom. Or at least I hope it's obvious. That axiom is, "Sports are not important in the overall picture."

A perfect example of an underlying axiom comes from one of my favorite forms of entertainment: Wrestling. When two wrestling fans have a discussion, they both know wrestling is scripted. But of course they don't need to say that every time. If they did, you'd have conversations like the following:
Lenny: "I know wrestling is scripted, but I like the way they've set up this Triple H vs. Randy Orton angle."
Carl: "I know wrestling is scripted too, but I am looking forward to seeing if Shawn Michaels will end the Undertaker's undefeated streak at Wrestlemania."

Likewise, with sports fandom, if you had to say what should be understood from the start, it would sound like this:

Lenny: "Sports are not important, and we have way more important things to worry about in the world, like our families who need our love and support, the war in Iraq, and the economic crisis...and I think the Bears gave up too much for Jay Cutler."
Carl: "Sports are not important, and we have way more important things to worry about in the world, like our families who need our love and support, the war in Iraq, and the economic crisis...and I disagree, I think the Bears got a good deal in this trade."

So this brings me back to the "I am so frustrated with this!" guy. How would you respond to him? All you have to do is remind him of any one of a few specific, simple facts. Again, in multiple choice format:

a) It's only a game
b) No one is dying because of the result
c) The Cardinals don't pay you enough to feel this way
d) (If applicable) Go home to your wife and/or children, they need your best

And just like my first multiple choice question, I feel any one of these answers are acceptable.

Top 10 Queen songs you've probably never heard

Without much to talk about in sports this month - obviously I'm not watching the NCAA tournament very closely - I have decided to share some of my favorite Queen songs. Queen is my favorite band ever, and contains both the greatest all-time singer, Freddie Mercury, and the most awesome guitar player, Brian May. (John Deacon on bass and Roger Taylor on drums weren't too shabby either.)

I didn't want to include any wildly popular Queen songs (of which there are numerous), because it would seem too difficult...yet too easy at the same time. I also won't include any songs from Queen I, due to the fact that it has too much sentimental value to me, making it hard to evaluate as objectively as the rest of the Queen albums. I had a cassette of Queen I for a couple years before I got a hold of any of their others albums, and I think I wore that tape out by the end of 6th grade. Anyway, without further delay, here are my top 10 Queen songs you've probably never heard. With each song you'll find Rhapsody links to each album if you're interested in listening, including live versions.

10) The Prophet's Song - A Night at the Opera (1975).

9) Friends Will Be Friends - A Kind of Magic (1986), Live at Wembley '86, Live Magic (1986).

8) Dragon Attack - The Game (1980), Rock Montreal (1981), Live at the Bowl (1982).

7) Don't Stop Me Now - Jazz (1978), Live Killers (1979).

6) '39 - A Night at the Opera (1975), Live Killers (1979).

5) Innuendo - Innuendo (1991).

4) It's a Hard Life - The Works (1984).

3) Ogre Battle - At The BBC (1973). Queen II (1974).

2) In The Lap of the Gods, Revisited - Sheer Heart Attack (1974), Live at Wembley '86

1) Seven Seas of Rhye - Queen II (1974), Live at Wembley '86, Live Magic (1986)

Honorable mention: I'm not sure if this one counts as wildly popular...though a live audience favorite, I've never heard it on the radio. If it counts, it belongs with the very best on this list.
Love of My Life - A Night at the Opera (1975), Live Killers (1979), Rock Montreal (1981), Live at the Bowl (1982), Live at Wembley '86, Live Magic (1986).

Another great thing to me about Queen, is that even after almost 20 years of listening to them, I could make this list again next week and I feel like it would be totally different.

Well folks, until next time, Keep Yourself Alive...but Don't Try So Hard.