All I could think was "at least I’m not out in public in this bright orange shirt."
You’re probably thinking, "huh?"
Let me start from the beginning.
Early Sunday afternoon I dug through my drawers looking for something that is quite impossible to misplace – a bright orange Netherlands soccer jersey. In just a few hours, Spain and my adopted European nation, The Netherlands, were to meet in the World Cup finals.
Due to the fact that I have a one-year-old and a non-soccer appreciating husband, I watched the game in my jersey and matching orange hat at home.
You might be wondering, "what's the deal with the orange?" The colors of the Dutch flag are red, white and blue – no orange to be seen. So what's the Netherlands' relationship, make that borderline obsession, with the color orange?
The answer lies in Dutch history. Orange is the color of the Dutch Royal Family. The lineage of the current dynasty – the House of Oranje-Nassau — dates back to Willem van Oranje, or William of Orange, who organized the Dutch revolt against Spanish rule, which after the Eighty Years’ War led to an independent Dutch state. Thus, the Dutch have adopted orange as their national color, and refer to The Netherlands national soccer team as "oranje."
Back to the present. The World Cup final, a bore to many, had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.
The beauty of Spain’s game is unmistakable to those who know soccer; in fact, they play what is generally considered "Dutch-style soccer."
This 2010 Dutch team, however, does not play the same artistry-filled game as their Dutch World Cup Final predecessors in 1974 and 1978. This team plays structured, defensive and disciplined soccer – exactly the opposite of the aesthetically-pleasing Dutch "total football."
This squad is more of a "wear you down, force you out of your game" kind of team, and it worked for them for most of the tournament. They were like those pesky gnats that attack me outside of my house – all over their opponents, sometimes with numerous fouls, until the other team is forced to play a game they aren’t used to playing, and one that is less successful. It worked for them, as they entered the World Cup final undefeated in the tournament and in all of their World
Cup qualifying games, as well.
But the Spaniards have been ranked number one in the world numerous times in the past three years; they are the reigning European Champions, and seven of their starting 11 start together on their club team, Barcelona, which won the UEFA Champions League – the world club title – in 2009.
Spain shockingly lost their first game of the World Cup, 1-0 to Switzerland, but went on to win their remaining games, while allowing only one more goal scored on them the remainder of the tournament.
Suffice to say, my Dutchmen had quite an undertaking if they hoped to win their first World Cup title.
After the first 45 minutes it was scoreless; after the full 90 minutes of regulation it was scoreless; after the first 15-minute overtime it was scoreless; but then, in the 116th minute, Andres Iniesta broke through to score the winning, and only, goal of the game.
Spain was World Cup champions.
I was downtrodden; utterly deflated. Sitting in my living room in my bright orange jersey and hat, I was like the millions of other Dutch fans, all dressed in our "oranje," dejected yet again.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Friday, November 27, 2009
PC gone wild
We’ve gotten to a point in our culture where we have to watch every single thing we say; jokes aren’t funny, and people take everything too literally.
There is one type of humor that is especially off-limits – racial or ethnic humor. We are so worried about political correctness that we can’t even mention any race or ethnicity without someone being offended.
A few weeks ago, college football announcer Bob Griese was suspended for making a comment about Columbian NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya. During a promotional spot, a graphic was shown listing the top five drivers in NASCAR’s points race. Fellow analyst Chris Spielman asked where was driver Juan Pablo Montoya, who is Colombian. Griese replied: "Out having a taco."
Insensitive? Yes. Deserving of a suspension despite repeated apologies? I don't believe so.
I guess what announcers and people in general need to realize is that any ethnic or racial jokes are completely forbidden.
I can kind of see why Griese was suspended, not that I agree with it, and I can certainly see why people like Don Imus - who made completely racist and unacceptable comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team a few years ago - are suspended or fired. If something offends an entire group of people, then it shouldn’t be said, and if it is said, then the offended should be punished.
However, this past week our overreaction to political correctness boiled over. After a NBA game between the L.A. Clippers and the Memphis Grizzlies, two basketball announcers were suspended for an exchange regarding the first Iranian player in the NBA.
Los Angeles Clippers TV announcers Ralph Lawler and Mike Smith were suspended for one game because after they spoke of Hamed Haddidi, a Clippers fan who watched the telecast complained about the verbal exchange and said he was owed an apology today from Fox Sports.
One viewer made a complaint, and because of that, the announcers were forced to apologize for what I see as a simple error. The comment that the viewer complained about was the pronunciation of "Iranian." Apparently Smith pronounced it "Eye-Ranian," which the viewer found offensive.
An announcer should not have to publically apologize or be reprimanded for pronunciation, unless it is meant in an offensive manner. In this case, it was not anything except someone with a slight regional accent saying the word "Iranian" in a different pronunciation than is normally viewed as correct.
The official apology released was: "We regret the remarks made by Clippers announcers Michael Smith and Ralph Lawler during Wednesday's telecast. While we believe that Michael and Ralph did not intend their exchange to be offensive, the comments were inappropriate."
So in other words, they said something, meant nothing by it, but have to apologize because it could have been taken the wrong way. Give me a break!
People need to realize that sports announcers are in the business of entertainment, and their exchange was banter trying to be humorous.
Maybe the complaint was taken so seriously because of the tumultuous relationship we currently have with Iran, or maybe we’ve gotten to the point where we quite literally can’t even refer to a person’s race, ethnicity or country of origin when discussing them. It’s PC run wild.
I don’t know, maybe I’m just not PC enough.
There is one type of humor that is especially off-limits – racial or ethnic humor. We are so worried about political correctness that we can’t even mention any race or ethnicity without someone being offended.
A few weeks ago, college football announcer Bob Griese was suspended for making a comment about Columbian NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya. During a promotional spot, a graphic was shown listing the top five drivers in NASCAR’s points race. Fellow analyst Chris Spielman asked where was driver Juan Pablo Montoya, who is Colombian. Griese replied: "Out having a taco."
Insensitive? Yes. Deserving of a suspension despite repeated apologies? I don't believe so.
I guess what announcers and people in general need to realize is that any ethnic or racial jokes are completely forbidden.
I can kind of see why Griese was suspended, not that I agree with it, and I can certainly see why people like Don Imus - who made completely racist and unacceptable comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team a few years ago - are suspended or fired. If something offends an entire group of people, then it shouldn’t be said, and if it is said, then the offended should be punished.
However, this past week our overreaction to political correctness boiled over. After a NBA game between the L.A. Clippers and the Memphis Grizzlies, two basketball announcers were suspended for an exchange regarding the first Iranian player in the NBA.
Los Angeles Clippers TV announcers Ralph Lawler and Mike Smith were suspended for one game because after they spoke of Hamed Haddidi, a Clippers fan who watched the telecast complained about the verbal exchange and said he was owed an apology today from Fox Sports.
One viewer made a complaint, and because of that, the announcers were forced to apologize for what I see as a simple error. The comment that the viewer complained about was the pronunciation of "Iranian." Apparently Smith pronounced it "Eye-Ranian," which the viewer found offensive.
An announcer should not have to publically apologize or be reprimanded for pronunciation, unless it is meant in an offensive manner. In this case, it was not anything except someone with a slight regional accent saying the word "Iranian" in a different pronunciation than is normally viewed as correct.
The official apology released was: "We regret the remarks made by Clippers announcers Michael Smith and Ralph Lawler during Wednesday's telecast. While we believe that Michael and Ralph did not intend their exchange to be offensive, the comments were inappropriate."
So in other words, they said something, meant nothing by it, but have to apologize because it could have been taken the wrong way. Give me a break!
People need to realize that sports announcers are in the business of entertainment, and their exchange was banter trying to be humorous.
Maybe the complaint was taken so seriously because of the tumultuous relationship we currently have with Iran, or maybe we’ve gotten to the point where we quite literally can’t even refer to a person’s race, ethnicity or country of origin when discussing them. It’s PC run wild.
I don’t know, maybe I’m just not PC enough.
Athletes are role models, like it or not
(Ran 11/19)
Athletes are role models, whether they like it or not.
The problem is, the sports headlines each day are always of the troubled athlete, the cheaters or the losers, not the athletes we want our children to look up to.
Mike Tyson was recently arrested, again; this time for allegedly punching a photographer at the airport.
In September, LeGarrette Blount was suspended for the entire season by the University of Oregon for punching an opposing player in the Ducks season-opening loss to Boise State. (The suspension was recently lifted, with Blount having sat out eight games.)
Super Bowl-winning wide receiver Plaxico Burress recently reported to prison to begin a two-year sentence for carrying an unregistered handgun.
I know many athletes don’t ask to be role models, but they need to know and remember that it comes with the territory. When you are paid millions of dollars to play a sport, and you do it in front of a television audience of millions, it doesn’t matter what you asked for — you become a role model.
Of course I’m focusing on the bad examples. There are plenty of good stories out there; the problem is that we don’t hear about them.
On Saturday, boxer Manny Pacquiao won his the championship belt in his unprecedented 7th weight class. But Pacquiao is not only a boxer, he is also a humanitarian, and on Nov. 24, he will be honored for his humanitarianism in his home country of the Phillipeans, when he will be named a 2009 Gusi Peace Prize laureate. The world champion boxer is the award's only athlete among the elite group of 19 honorees from 16 different nations. Pacquiao is also a political force in his country, where he is running for congress.
Pacquiao is being honored for, among other things, braving the tumultuous conditions created by typhoons in the Philippines, where he has broken training to help save lives by delivering food into devastated areas.
Curtis Granderson of the Cleveland Indians was recently named MLB’s Man of the Year for his charitable work. Granderson established the "Grand Kids Foundation," a non-profit that focuses on improving opportunities for inner-city youth in the areas of education and youth baseball. He recently wrote a children's book entitled All You Can Be, which was illustrated by fourth-graders from across the state of Michigan that "encourages children to chase their dreams," and he is an active member of the Action Team national youth volunteer program, which is managed by the Major League Baseball Players Trust and Volunteers of America, and whose goal is to inspire and train the next generation of volunteers in more than 150 high schools across the U.S.
But these athletes don’t get the headlines that Tyson, Blount or Burress do; we are left thinking that boxers are thugs and that all football players are criminals.
What kind of example is this setting?
Yes, the athletes need to take responsibility and understand that they are role models, but the media must also understand this. Instead of focusing on Burress’s stupid decisions, we should publicize the generosity of Pacquiao or Granderson.
Pacquiao and Granderson’s stories are inspiring, and it is athletes like these who can make sports the great assembler that they can be. Sports can bring together people with little else in common, and athletes can encourage generosity in others.
On Monday, I read a story that began with me cringing, and ended with a satisfied smile, when the University of Tennessee turned an ugly situation into a good example for all student-athletes. Two of their star freshman football players were dismissed from the team after being charged in an attempted armed robbery (cringe). There is nothing the team could do about their crime, but instead of sitting on their hands and waiting for something to happen legally, Lane Kiffin – in a rare good move – dismissed them from the team, setting an example that all coaches should follow. It seems that the coaches at Tennessee understand that athletes are role models, and must behave as such.
Instead of focusing on athletes who make poor and sometimes criminal decisions, the media should focus on the positives of sports, those athletes and teams that rise above to succeed and inspire.
Athletes are role models, whether they like it or not.
The problem is, the sports headlines each day are always of the troubled athlete, the cheaters or the losers, not the athletes we want our children to look up to.
Mike Tyson was recently arrested, again; this time for allegedly punching a photographer at the airport.
In September, LeGarrette Blount was suspended for the entire season by the University of Oregon for punching an opposing player in the Ducks season-opening loss to Boise State. (The suspension was recently lifted, with Blount having sat out eight games.)
Super Bowl-winning wide receiver Plaxico Burress recently reported to prison to begin a two-year sentence for carrying an unregistered handgun.
I know many athletes don’t ask to be role models, but they need to know and remember that it comes with the territory. When you are paid millions of dollars to play a sport, and you do it in front of a television audience of millions, it doesn’t matter what you asked for — you become a role model.
Of course I’m focusing on the bad examples. There are plenty of good stories out there; the problem is that we don’t hear about them.
On Saturday, boxer Manny Pacquiao won his the championship belt in his unprecedented 7th weight class. But Pacquiao is not only a boxer, he is also a humanitarian, and on Nov. 24, he will be honored for his humanitarianism in his home country of the Phillipeans, when he will be named a 2009 Gusi Peace Prize laureate. The world champion boxer is the award's only athlete among the elite group of 19 honorees from 16 different nations. Pacquiao is also a political force in his country, where he is running for congress.
Pacquiao is being honored for, among other things, braving the tumultuous conditions created by typhoons in the Philippines, where he has broken training to help save lives by delivering food into devastated areas.
Curtis Granderson of the Cleveland Indians was recently named MLB’s Man of the Year for his charitable work. Granderson established the "Grand Kids Foundation," a non-profit that focuses on improving opportunities for inner-city youth in the areas of education and youth baseball. He recently wrote a children's book entitled All You Can Be, which was illustrated by fourth-graders from across the state of Michigan that "encourages children to chase their dreams," and he is an active member of the Action Team national youth volunteer program, which is managed by the Major League Baseball Players Trust and Volunteers of America, and whose goal is to inspire and train the next generation of volunteers in more than 150 high schools across the U.S.
But these athletes don’t get the headlines that Tyson, Blount or Burress do; we are left thinking that boxers are thugs and that all football players are criminals.
What kind of example is this setting?
Yes, the athletes need to take responsibility and understand that they are role models, but the media must also understand this. Instead of focusing on Burress’s stupid decisions, we should publicize the generosity of Pacquiao or Granderson.
Pacquiao and Granderson’s stories are inspiring, and it is athletes like these who can make sports the great assembler that they can be. Sports can bring together people with little else in common, and athletes can encourage generosity in others.
On Monday, I read a story that began with me cringing, and ended with a satisfied smile, when the University of Tennessee turned an ugly situation into a good example for all student-athletes. Two of their star freshman football players were dismissed from the team after being charged in an attempted armed robbery (cringe). There is nothing the team could do about their crime, but instead of sitting on their hands and waiting for something to happen legally, Lane Kiffin – in a rare good move – dismissed them from the team, setting an example that all coaches should follow. It seems that the coaches at Tennessee understand that athletes are role models, and must behave as such.
Instead of focusing on athletes who make poor and sometimes criminal decisions, the media should focus on the positives of sports, those athletes and teams that rise above to succeed and inspire.
For the Love of Fantasy
(Ran 11/12 - Don't let the title excite you, it's nothing raunchy)
I am one of roughly 22 million Americans who take part in fantasy sports each season. I'll shout it from the rooftop - I love fantasy football!
Being in a fantasy football league has made me love, hate and respect my friends at a new level. I have learned that trash talking is an art form much like writing Haiku. It is as addictive as coffee and perfect for A.D.D. adults like myself. Now I can be in three leagues and burn some of that bottled energy.
I anticipate draft day, sifting through fantasy-specific magazines, reading every article by the Talented Mr. Roto, and getting everyone else’s expert opinion before preparing my own draft order.
I’m not alone. Last year, roughly $800 million worth of products and services were generated by the fantasy industry in 2008. And I’m also not alone in saying it’s worth every minute and every penny.
The great thing about fantasy football is that even if you are a fan of the Detroit Lions, Sundays can be fun if you’re in a fantasy league. Even if you have nothing to cheer for with your own team, you have individual players (and a defense) to cheer for in most games. It’s got to be the most genius aspect the NFL ever came up with – and they didn’t even think of it.
It cannot be overstated – it is necessary for professional football to be involved with the fantasy industry. In the NFL, unlike college, there are no real rivalries older than a few decades. But any person can draft a team and have a reason to watch every single game on TV. With rapid fantasy football leagues, the NFL will never - I repeat never - have a viewership problem.
Ten years ago you never saw all players who were "probable," "questionable" and "out" scrolling across the screen all Sunday morning on ESPN. That isn’t for the everyday fan to know who on their hometown team is out – it’s so fantasy owners know who to play in their weekly lineup.
What began in 1962 between a group of five men in Oakland has turned into a money-making machine beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.
Thanks in large part to fantasy, the NFL had overtaken MLB as the most popular sport in the U.S. Sure, people play fantasy baseball, but it’s so much more time-consuming, having to change your lineup every single day, and with less strategy than a 16-game football season.
Many people don’t understand the draw… I think the best way to describe it is that it allows me to have a real, tangible reason for checking scores and stats each week, aside from pure entertainment.
Maybe it can turn into an obsession, and can make us all a lot less productive at work… but it sure is fun.
I am one of roughly 22 million Americans who take part in fantasy sports each season. I'll shout it from the rooftop - I love fantasy football!
Being in a fantasy football league has made me love, hate and respect my friends at a new level. I have learned that trash talking is an art form much like writing Haiku. It is as addictive as coffee and perfect for A.D.D. adults like myself. Now I can be in three leagues and burn some of that bottled energy.
I anticipate draft day, sifting through fantasy-specific magazines, reading every article by the Talented Mr. Roto, and getting everyone else’s expert opinion before preparing my own draft order.
I’m not alone. Last year, roughly $800 million worth of products and services were generated by the fantasy industry in 2008. And I’m also not alone in saying it’s worth every minute and every penny.
The great thing about fantasy football is that even if you are a fan of the Detroit Lions, Sundays can be fun if you’re in a fantasy league. Even if you have nothing to cheer for with your own team, you have individual players (and a defense) to cheer for in most games. It’s got to be the most genius aspect the NFL ever came up with – and they didn’t even think of it.
It cannot be overstated – it is necessary for professional football to be involved with the fantasy industry. In the NFL, unlike college, there are no real rivalries older than a few decades. But any person can draft a team and have a reason to watch every single game on TV. With rapid fantasy football leagues, the NFL will never - I repeat never - have a viewership problem.
Ten years ago you never saw all players who were "probable," "questionable" and "out" scrolling across the screen all Sunday morning on ESPN. That isn’t for the everyday fan to know who on their hometown team is out – it’s so fantasy owners know who to play in their weekly lineup.
What began in 1962 between a group of five men in Oakland has turned into a money-making machine beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.
Thanks in large part to fantasy, the NFL had overtaken MLB as the most popular sport in the U.S. Sure, people play fantasy baseball, but it’s so much more time-consuming, having to change your lineup every single day, and with less strategy than a 16-game football season.
Many people don’t understand the draw… I think the best way to describe it is that it allows me to have a real, tangible reason for checking scores and stats each week, aside from pure entertainment.
Maybe it can turn into an obsession, and can make us all a lot less productive at work… but it sure is fun.
Sports are what the doctor ordered
(Ran 11/5)
Sports are games - athletic competition that force us to test our limits. Sports aren’t life-or-death; they aren’t even that meaningful, really. But sometimes, things happen that cause sports to take on greater meaning. Sometimes, sports can be just what the metaphorical doctor ordered
Sports bring a smile to our faces, they bring together strangers, and they unite communities. In times of hardship, people often come together to cheer for an athlete or team. In sports, we can forget about our lives for a few hours, forget about the pain of our Soldiers being gone for a year, the debt we are in, or any of a number of other negative things that may be going on in our lives.
For two hours every Saturday or Sunday, we are taken to a different world, where red and black are the only acceptable colors, and all that matters is that the Bulldogs beat the Gators.
There are times when sports become more than just competition; they unite, they help us begin to heal, and, most importantly, they make us smile.
I just finished reading an article on ESPN.com about University of Miami walk-on wide receiver Chris Hayes, whose father committed suicide last October. Hayes had never even dressed for a game, but the Saturday following his father’s untimely death, the special teams coach told Hayes he was suiting up. And during the last play of the game, the 5’9" Hayes lined up as tight end against an All-American linebacker.
Hayes had no impact on that game; in fact, he has little impact on his team ever – in the win-loss column, anyway. But on that particular day, he showed his team made up of future NFLers what real heart is, and what sports really mean. Hayes didn’t have to show up to the game only days after burying his father. Quite frankly, most people probably didn’t expect him to. But for Hayes, I’d have to think that going to the game was a way to start the healing process. Through a game, Hayes showed the heart of a champion, and that sometimes sports can help us overcome immense pain.
Every year on ESPN, they have the Make-a-Wish series, where sick children fulfill their sports fantasies by spending the day with their favorite athlete or team. By the end of each of the three-minute segments, I am undoubtedly in tears and remembering why it is that I love sports so much. It’s because they can heal, even if it’s just for a moment.
There are small towns in America that have little to cheer for besides those games under the Friday night lights, when the entire community rallies around a group of 15-18 year old boys.
Even at the worst point in our lives, sports can pick us up; they give us something to look forward to, and something to cheer for. Whether it’s cheering up a kid who is battling illness, helping a man get over the loss of his father, or bringing together a down-and-out community, sports do mean something.
Sports are games - athletic competition that force us to test our limits. Sports aren’t life-or-death; they aren’t even that meaningful, really. But sometimes, things happen that cause sports to take on greater meaning. Sometimes, sports can be just what the metaphorical doctor ordered
Sports bring a smile to our faces, they bring together strangers, and they unite communities. In times of hardship, people often come together to cheer for an athlete or team. In sports, we can forget about our lives for a few hours, forget about the pain of our Soldiers being gone for a year, the debt we are in, or any of a number of other negative things that may be going on in our lives.
For two hours every Saturday or Sunday, we are taken to a different world, where red and black are the only acceptable colors, and all that matters is that the Bulldogs beat the Gators.
There are times when sports become more than just competition; they unite, they help us begin to heal, and, most importantly, they make us smile.
I just finished reading an article on ESPN.com about University of Miami walk-on wide receiver Chris Hayes, whose father committed suicide last October. Hayes had never even dressed for a game, but the Saturday following his father’s untimely death, the special teams coach told Hayes he was suiting up. And during the last play of the game, the 5’9" Hayes lined up as tight end against an All-American linebacker.
Hayes had no impact on that game; in fact, he has little impact on his team ever – in the win-loss column, anyway. But on that particular day, he showed his team made up of future NFLers what real heart is, and what sports really mean. Hayes didn’t have to show up to the game only days after burying his father. Quite frankly, most people probably didn’t expect him to. But for Hayes, I’d have to think that going to the game was a way to start the healing process. Through a game, Hayes showed the heart of a champion, and that sometimes sports can help us overcome immense pain.
Every year on ESPN, they have the Make-a-Wish series, where sick children fulfill their sports fantasies by spending the day with their favorite athlete or team. By the end of each of the three-minute segments, I am undoubtedly in tears and remembering why it is that I love sports so much. It’s because they can heal, even if it’s just for a moment.
There are small towns in America that have little to cheer for besides those games under the Friday night lights, when the entire community rallies around a group of 15-18 year old boys.
Even at the worst point in our lives, sports can pick us up; they give us something to look forward to, and something to cheer for. Whether it’s cheering up a kid who is battling illness, helping a man get over the loss of his father, or bringing together a down-and-out community, sports do mean something.
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