[Industrialblog,
October 12, 2006]
Re: Dodgers, Mets
BTW, Dodgers: Thanks for winning the last seven games of the series and knocking the Phillies out of the Wild Card race, only to get swept by the Mets. Assholes (Dodgers, that is.)
As for the Mets, I have mixed feelings. My first ball game was when I was aboutsix years old or so and saw the Mets play the Cubs at Shea Stadium. Probably 1970 season, could've been 69. I don't remember the game, except that I couldn't figure out what was going on.
My father took me to the game ... something he rarely did because he hated sports. It's funny. He'd try to take me bird watching, something I find about as exciting as watching paint dry. He'd try to get me interested, and tell me all the different kinds of birds, and then try to quiz me. "What's that?" he'd asked.
I stopped that line of questioning by responding, no matter what the bird, "A glossy ibis." He caught on pretty quick.
What's funny is that his father would take him to lots of baseball games, and he hated it. They lived in New York City, so his father would take him to see the Yankees and Giants mostly, back in the 1930s. He saw Babe Ruth play, Gehrig, that team. Yeah, way back. And my father hated it. He wanted to watch birds.
I used to worry that when I had a son, he'd want to watch birds and I'd disown him and sell him to the Arabs for two belly dancers and a pet goat.
Anyway, I never really caught fire with the Mets. Don't really know why. I liked the Cincinnati Reds from TV ... who knows why you pick a favorite baseball team? I rooted for the Mets, I admit, in the 1973 series because they had the great Willie Mays on the team. I wasn't exactly telling the truth when I told "Jim" in the comments that I wouldn't forgive the Mets for 1973 ...
The team I really hated was the 1986 team. The single most obnoxious team of criminals, coke addicts, drug dealers and cocky morons I'd ever seen. They could play baseball, and I'm glad they self-destructed before winning three or four Series -- and they had the talent. Don't know why they couldn't pull it off.
My resentment against the 2000 team comes from their losing to the loathsome Jankees. They were always one run short against the Yank-Mes, and that was irritating. Fortunately, I only watched a few innings of that series.
As for the Mets, I have mixed feelings. My first ball game was when I was aboutsix years old or so and saw the Mets play the Cubs at Shea Stadium. Probably 1970 season, could've been 69. I don't remember the game, except that I couldn't figure out what was going on.
My father took me to the game ... something he rarely did because he hated sports. It's funny. He'd try to take me bird watching, something I find about as exciting as watching paint dry. He'd try to get me interested, and tell me all the different kinds of birds, and then try to quiz me. "What's that?" he'd asked.
I stopped that line of questioning by responding, no matter what the bird, "A glossy ibis." He caught on pretty quick.
What's funny is that his father would take him to lots of baseball games, and he hated it. They lived in New York City, so his father would take him to see the Yankees and Giants mostly, back in the 1930s. He saw Babe Ruth play, Gehrig, that team. Yeah, way back. And my father hated it. He wanted to watch birds.
I used to worry that when I had a son, he'd want to watch birds and I'd disown him and sell him to the Arabs for two belly dancers and a pet goat.
Anyway, I never really caught fire with the Mets. Don't really know why. I liked the Cincinnati Reds from TV ... who knows why you pick a favorite baseball team? I rooted for the Mets, I admit, in the 1973 series because they had the great Willie Mays on the team. I wasn't exactly telling the truth when I told "Jim" in the comments that I wouldn't forgive the Mets for 1973 ...
The team I really hated was the 1986 team. The single most obnoxious team of criminals, coke addicts, drug dealers and cocky morons I'd ever seen. They could play baseball, and I'm glad they self-destructed before winning three or four Series -- and they had the talent. Don't know why they couldn't pull it off.
My resentment against the 2000 team comes from their losing to the loathsome Jankees. They were always one run short against the Yank-Mes, and that was irritating. Fortunately, I only watched a few innings of that series.
I have found, however, that sometimes you really do have to make your kids do stuff they don't like over and over again until they get it. At which point, they like the activity, but secretly loathe you for making them take lessons for 5 years.
So - perhaps our Dad's were really trying to be nice. Perhaps, but I don't buy it. They probably figured we'd get to do what we wanted when we grew up and they deserved the break because they were working hard all of the time. That's my rationalization at least.
Still, if I did have any great interest in sports, without a doubt baseball would be my game. And the Milwaukee Brewers would be my team. Hey, I'm originally from Wisconsin. In fact, this summer I did listen to a Brewers game on the radio maybe half a dozen times. When it comes to baseball, I prefer radio to TV. I prefer to picture the game in my head.
Chris: Here. It's an odd-looking bird that's pretty commonly found in marshlands near the ocean; I don't know how common it is elsewhere in the country, but there are lots in the bays and estuaries that feed into the Atlantic. I don't know why I settled on that particular bird.
Super G: Yeah, I figured he thought that I'd share his enthusiasm, but more likely he was more interested in taking a break from work.
Paul: But baseball statistics are how I learned math. For the longest time I figured out percentages simply by making the analogy -- okay, you divide hits by at-bats to get the batting average. It's a little like reading Playboy in your teens; I read the magazine and it kept me literate until I grew up enough to actually find a bookstore.