Honestly Though, I'm the Best

Dear Jake,


I don't usually like loud-mouthed athletes.  I was going to say that I didn't like loud-mouthed athletes unless they play for my team, but nope, I thought about it, I don't like loud-mouthed athletes at all. 

Greed for money doesn't bother me much.  It's business.  Most of these professional sports are multi-billion dollar  industries.  If you work hard meeting the type of demands these sports put on you, you should probably fight for as big a piece of pie you can get.  I'm not gonna lie, I would.  So it's not the money thing that gets me.

The desire to be in the limelight isn't it either, I don't think.  I really think the limelight lands on the best performers.  You can talk forever and make a lot of noise, but people really only care about you if you are valuable to them in some way.

It's probably the arrogance thing that gets me.  Richard Sherman bugs me.  If only he was as good as he thinks he is.  It seems that the people who talk the loudest always end up thinking they are a little bit better than they actually turn out to be.  Don't get me wrong here.  I think Richard Sherman is probably one of the best in his position to ever play the game.  I think his numbers back that up, but he forgets that he is one of many on a team and without them, he's not much.  He thinks he is a little bit better than the best.  I think this meme that floated around the internet for a week or so post Superbowl sort of sums up what usually ends up happening to the talkers.

I don't know, I usually don't end up liking the people that like themselves so much that they don't leave any room for the rest of us.  You should like yourself, sure, but when you start loving yourself like the talkers love themselves, it doesn't leave me any room to like you.  I imagine that people like Sherman wake up, look in the mirror, flex, and kiss themselves for about 1/2 an hour every morning.  He doesn't need me to like him.

Some people dig it though.  They are the people that don't even like themselves, so they get their jollies by feeding off the residue love that the talkers leave like a trail of slime.

I'm supposed to ask you a question, I'd rather give an assignment.  So I'll give an assignment in the form of a question.  Will you write a short story in the first person describing a lunch date that you have with your choice of any three people alive or dead?  Tell us who the people invited to your lunch are.  Tell us where you are going to eat.  Tell us why you want to have lunch with them.  Tell us some of the conversations you expect to have with these people.

I also want to encourage anyone reading this to share your thoughts on these subjects as well.  I'm not sure anyone else does read these, but it's super fun to have a community involved in the discussions.  Share your thoughts.  We don't judge.  Feel free to ask your own questions too.  If you want, share this blog with other people who actually think about things and might want to participate in these discussions.

I can't speak for Jake, but I want to use this blog as an outlet to blast out my own thoughts and think them through via writing.  I'm not trying to build a huge audience, but I'm always for people joining in on the conversation.  Be part of it, and invite friends to be part of it too if you want.

Sincerely,
Joel

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Patriot-ism

Dear Joel,

Ok, fine. Let's talk football.

I don't like the Patriots. It started when they won 3 Super Bowls in 4 years about 10 years ago. It's nothing personal, but I think it's normal for sports fans to root against established champions (unless it's your team, of course). Almost the whole country was pulling for the Royals in last fall's World Series. Not because they all hate the Giants, but because the Giants had already won twice in just the last few years. And I'm sure at some level in the recesses of my mind, I also don't like the Patriots because I'm a Cowboys fan. I like to think that the early 90s Cowboys dynasty was one of the best in the history of the NFL. Every time another team is as successful as often for a period of years, it makes that Cowboys team seem less special.

Then my dislike continued because of Brady and Belichick. Don't get me wrong, I think those guys are two of the best who have ever held those positions - but that doesn't mean I like them. I get irritated with the coach's lack of openness about his team and his system, his gruffness with the media and the way he doesn't give anyone anything to use as ammunition against him or his team. I hate those qualities - even while simultaneously wishing that my team was more like that. The last 10 years of Cowboys football has included far too much press coverage for negative reasons. Diva attitudes like that of T.O. make it tough for us to defend our team in the public square.

Then in 2007 my dislike for the Patriots heightened. The Spygate news came out, and I hate cheaters. Then, as if to spite everyone who got mad at the Patriots in the early part of that season, they were almost invincible on the football field. Watching them play was like watching the US Men's basketball team in the 1992 Olympics (the Dream Team). They didn't just win, they destroyed opponents. They were quite literally unstoppable. Given their still recent success and the Spygate stuff, I really didn't like them, so their success that year made me disdain them more and more. I don't like the New York Giants, but when they defeated New England in the Super Bowl following that season, I was ecstatic.

It's remained that way for awhile now. I was happy again when the Giants beat them again in the Super Bowl a few years later. And as this season wore on and the Patriots seemed to get better and better, all I could think was, "Aren't they supposed to be done being good?" Brady is old (for a football player). Belichick is old (for anyone). Isn't their "dynasty" supposed to be gone? When the Conference Championships were decided a few weeks ago I was bummed at the two teams that were going to be in the Super Bowl. I don't like the Pats for reasons described above, but I didn't want Seattle to win back-to-back championships either. So whom should I root for?

Then Deflategate happened. There's a lot about this story I still don't know or understand. I don't know how clear it is that deflating the footballs was intentional. I don't know whether there was involvement by Patriot coaches or players. I don't know if deflating footballs would really result in much of an advantage. And I know it didn't provide enough of an advantage for anyone to say that they might not have beaten the Colts otherwise.

But I hate cheaters. After the Patriots reputation, and after hearing hall of fame QBs making statements about how Brady had to have known that the balls were under-inflated, it's hard for me to think that the team is completely innocent. And so, I was cheering for the Seahawks.

I've written too much to get into too many details of the game (unless you want me to continue this next week) so I'll be brief. I thought it was a very good game. I enjoyed watching it.

And I think the decision to pass the ball on 2nd and goal from 1-yard line when Marshawn Lynch is your running back probably ranks up there with some of the worst play calls I've ever seen in my life.

Here's my question for you: How do you feel about "loud-mouthed" athletes? Guys who might perform very well on the field, but are completely antagonistic to everyone else in the world (Richard Sherman, has-been guys like T.O. and Chad Ochocinco, even including guys in other sports). A lot of people are bothered by what is at least perceived as arrogance and greed for money and the limelight. Are you?

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When the Stars Align

Dear Jake

The Cubs have been doing everything right lately.  The problem is, they are still the Cubs.  I would like to think that being the Cubs isn't really a thing.  I'd like to think that the inability to maximize talent when it hits the actual ball field is just a figment of our imagination.  I would like to like the Cubs even.

Look at the best teams in the three biggest American sports right now.  When I say best, I really mean, current champions in out of season sports and leaders of in season sports.

Baseball = Giants
Basketball = Hawks and Warriors
Football = Patriots

I don't follow basketball as closely as I do baseball and football, but I have followed it closer this year than ever before.  I am starting to come to conclusions that the Cubs need to figure out if they are ever really going to be taken seriously in the "next year" conversation.

The best teams do not start with the talent they have.  They start with a system that works.  The system then, creates talent.

Take the Patriots.  At the top they have Robert Kraft.  He then has Belichick.  They then have Tom Brady.  They then have Gronkowski and crew.  They win a lot of games.  I think we too often jump to the conclusion that the majority of their wins are because Tom Brady and company is just that good.  I think that those first two mentioned are the largest part of why the Patriots win.  I think that there is an environment within that organization that holds itself to a higher standard and demands wins.  I think it demands an entire lifestyle that has a common goal.  If you want to play on that team, you buy into that system.  If you don't buy into it, they get rid of you, no matter how talented you are.  Those who buy into it suddenly become better at what they do.

The Seahawks this year fell into rhythm after they got rid of Percy Harvin.  He wasn't buying in.  They ditched him and boom, they got good again.  Percy Harvin is good.  Really good.  Four weeks ago if I said the name Chris Matthews, you'd think of the journalist that has the show Hardball on NBC.  Do you remember him?  Yeah, neither does anyone else because NOW when I say Chris Matthews you think of the guy who recovered and onside kick and then tried to become Superbowl legend in the first half on Feb 1.  It's teams that have the "organization before self" philosophy that win championships.

The Giants do it.  I'm not scared about losing Panda to the Red Sox.  Why?  The team makes the talent.  The talent does not make the team.

The Cardinals do it.  You waxed eloquently the other day about David Eckstein.  Talented?  Yes, but I think he can credit a fair amount of his success to an organization that expects the unlikeliest to perform better than everyone else.

The Atlanta Hawks had no one voted into the all-star game.  Yet they keep winning and winning and winning.  It's almost comical because the analysts don't really know what to talk about with them.  No one really stands out.

Dez Bryant wants a raise.  So does Murray.  It's quite the quandary if you are the Cowboys.  I believe some of that decision gets a bit easier if you have a system in place that doesn't need the best at every position to be the best team on the field.  Personally, I think that the Cowboys shouldn't fear losing either of them.  I think they have a stellar offensive line and if Romo is what he was this year, he'll make a decent receiver look like Dez Bryant. 

The Cubs have been doing everything right.  Their front office has had some inside changes too.  We'll see if that translates to on field performance.  I would like to believe it will.  Every Cubs fan in America would swear that it already has.  You have to constantly remind them that the season hasn't started yet.  They drive me nuts.  I think I'd love the Cubs if I didn't have to put up with the la la land fan club that they cart around.  I give them credit for loving a team that doesn't win, but I'd love THEM if they could talk about baseball with reality goggles.  Instead they have rose colored glasses permanently adhered to their face.

So I want to come back to baseball in a bit, but I have to know your thoughts on the Superbowl.  I have my own but I want to hear yours.

What's your take on the Seahawk's play call on the 1 yard line?
Is Tom Brady in the conversation for best QB?
What did you think about the game in general?
And if you aren't sick of it, what are your beliefs about deflategate?

I look forward to hearing from you on Thursday.

Sincerely,
Joel

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Bandits and the Little Big Man

Dear Joel,

Do you remember when we were little and mom and dad bought us boys memberships to the Quad City River Bandits Kids Club Posse (or whatever it was called)? Season tickets, plus special promos at every game. We didn't go to all of the Bandits' games, but we went to a lot of them. Back then the ball park was called John O'Donnell. It was old and full of character. The Bandits weren't very popular, so a lot of times, especially on week days, it seemed like we were the biggest group of fans there. In fact, each game the Diamond Girls would walk around with a Domino's pizza to give to the loudest cheering group of fans. I'm pretty sure we won that on more than one occasion.

I am so thankful for our exposure to baseball as kids. I know that's a big reason why I love the game so much today. It might be why I'm kind of a purist, and why I'm so frustrated with the new instant replay system in the major leagues. It's also probably a big reason why I hope the new commissioner was joking when he suggested eliminating defensive shifts in baseball. My goodness, I could do a whole series of posts on each one of those! 

You asked me to tell you who my two favorite athletes are from each of three different sports. I might get to that someday, but today I'm only writing about one guy, from my favorite sport, and my favorite team. At the time, they were a pretty new favorite of mine.

March 2006, I started dating the woman who would soon become my wife. I've always loved baseball, but had never been devoted to a specific team. I liked the Cubs (still do) because we had WGN sometimes, and could watch them play. And they were the closest team to us. I liked the Braves (still do) because we also had TBS sometimes, and could watch them play, and they were successful. I also liked the Giants (still do) because you did. But then I started dating Elizabeth, and realized that if there was going to be peace in our relationship, I would need to become a fan of her life-long team, the St. Louis Cardinals - which I gladly did (she still hates that I pull for the Cubs against most teams, by the way). Fortunately for me, in my very first season of Cardinal fandom, my team won the World Series! It was really fun. There were some big names on that team. Big bats like Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, Jim Edmonds, and Scott Rolen. And the manager was already pretty much a living legend - Tony LaRussa. But there was another guy on that team.

He wasn't gifted with nearly as much natural athletic ability as those other guys. He was small. After watching Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds bat, you'd look at this guy stepping up to the plate and wonder whose kid he was. A bat in his hands looked like an oak tree. He had to choke up so he could swing it properly. The opposing manager called him a "cute little kid." His name was David Eckstein, and when it was all said and done, it was Eckstein - not Pujols, Edmonds or Rolen - who was named the World Series Most Valuable Player.

Why is he my guy? Because he became World Series MVP largely due to his effort. How can you possibly be a successful major league ball player when you're 5' 7"? By working harder than everyone else. I loved to watch that guy play. His hustle, his intelligence, his preparation, his mental toughness - all of these things helped him earn one of the toughest honors to earn in the game.

But I can give you one more reason why I love that guy. As a reward for winning MVP of that series, Eckstein was gifted a brand new Corvette. When he was presented with his award after the game, and handed the keys to the Corvette, he somewhat casually mentioned that it was the first new car he'd ever owned. The guy was 31 years old and had made over $8.7 million as a professional baseball player to that point. And he'd never bought a new car!

I've got other "favorites" too, of course, but we'll have to put those on hold for now. When we talk sports, I can really fired up about certain things (how dumb the designated hitter is in the American League, how irritating, as I mentioned above, the instant replay system in baseball is, how poorly the NFL judges a catch from a non-catch). What fires you up like that? Maybe it's not even in sports. Maybe it's those drivers who don't use turn signals. I HATE THOSE GUYS!!! Go ahead, sound off on something.

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Look Both Ways

Dear Jake,

I struggle with sports.  On one hand I really enjoy them.  The primary station I listen to on the radio in the car is ESPN.  The first thing I look for when I have access to television is ESPN.  Sports Illustrated comes weekly and I devour it while letting hot water run down my back in the shower for far too long.  The Olympics seem to draw humanity peacefully toward each other for a few short weeks every 2 years.  I think I may one day actually enjoy the World Cup as well.

On the other hand sports really upset me.  Not sports in general, but more what we as a society have done with them.  In less than one week the Superbowl will take center stage.  Last year over 111.5 million people watched the game.  In fact, during the NFL regular season, each game averaged 17.6 million viewers.  Assuming there were five games broadcasted in any given area in any given week 88 million people tuned into at least one NFL game.

According to Gallup figures, 118 million people say they go to church each week.  Two sociologists named Kirk Hadaway and Penny Marler thought that was a fishy number.  They thought that people probably exaggerate how often they go to church.  They did their own study in 2010 and found that only about 63 million people in the U.S. are actually in church on Sunday.  If you think that there's surely been an increase in attendance since 2010 you would be right...if you're Mormon, Jehova's Witness, Muslim, Buddhist, or Wiccan (which is the fastest growing group).  If you prefer Jesus to magic hats, Allah, Buddha, or the earth however, you're soon going to find yourself in the minority.

That's really mean to the NFL who, let's face it, is just doing what it's supposed to do.  Let me be clear, I have absolutely no problem with a business being really good at what they do.  We need that.  We really do.  I point out those numbers only to point out what I think my real, true beef with sports is; we idolize them.  You, me, and well, the majority of people in America.  I don't need the NFL, NBA, or MLB to show me that.  Each week I watch as families are torn apart by athletics.  When I write family I'm referring to the ecumenical church family.

Each week I watch as families, who without a doubt love Jesus very much, choose out of corporate worship for months at a time because their athletic schedules conflict.  I listened as one student pleaded with her mom saying, "Please let me skip my game and go tonight [to youth group]." Her mom replied, "You have to think about your team."  She doesn't see her church family as a team that's every bit as important.  She doesn't see the church's mission as being as important as the sport's team's mission.  At some point we have to call it what it is.  At some point we have to admit that sports has become a corporate idol.

I could write about how the church has largely fought against this by trying to compete with sports and outdo them with entertainment, but that's a different post.  Instead I want to tell you why I still justify my love of sports.

When I watch the video of the 2008 Olympics men's 4x100 meter freestyle relay I can't help but get a sense of deep pride.  I remember watching it live and feeling ecstatic.  Why?  It's the answer to that question that brings redemption to sports in my mind.

At first glance the pride you feel is for what?  Our four guys were faster than your four guys?  Our four guys had more spirit?  America is clearly better than France?  By the way, we didn't need a swim meet to tell us that.  To be honest, I think most of us were shocked that the French team didn't hoist a white flag after the first leg of the race.

I believe the pride you feel points to something greater.  I think it's the fact that you can be connected to something so amazing.  I'm part of a country that can produce such amazing athletes!  I'm part of the country that could come from behind in a race for the ages.  Somehow you have a stake in the outcome of that race.  Somehow by them winning, YOU have won.

Living in eastern Iowa, I still see scores from Wilton games.  I love it when they win.  Why?  For the same reason.  I have a legacy there.  Those athletes are my people.  They are my tribe.  If they are great, I am great.

Go Dutch! AmIright?

I think it's this type of community that points toward something bigger.  Community is good.  In fact, God loves community.  I think it's a real small glimpse of what's to come.  It's joy experienced because someone you are connected to is experiencing joy.

My memories of these moments in sports are many, but the ones that stick out don't have videos.  At least not videos that I have access to.

I remember throwing a touchdown pass to Will Norton in jr. high off a sweep pass.  I remember steeling an inbound pass against Tipton with 6 seconds left and scoring a layup to win the game just before time ran out.  I remember hitting my first home run in your wife's hometown.  I remember hitting my first home run in high school which also happened to be with bases loaded. 

I remember Solon having bases loaded and I was playing short-stop (don't ask).  We were up one run and there was one out.  They hit a line drive, I jumped and sno-coned it, then pegged the runner at first for a double-play.  We were in jr. high and playing at Westview.  It was the same season Wade Hagen told us we played like whale shit...the lowest thing on the planet.

To be honest I remember every home run I've ever hit.  Mark McGuire was once asked how does it feel to hit a home run and he responded, "It's better than sex."  In my experience that's not even close to true.

I remember watching you throw a rope to home plate from right field.  I think you were playing Williamsburg.  I remember the fence in center-field was painted white which was totally annoying your team.  We were sitting down the right field line and I remember thinking, "Wow.  I had no idea."  In fact, I think that was the same game you hit the ball off the top of the wall.  It was about 1 inch from being a home run.  If I remember correctly, no one on your team could hit the ball that day.

I remember Josh Petersen's first home run at Iowa City Regina.  Random?  Yes, but crystal clear in my mind.

I remember Aaron Call hitting a home run in West Liberty that no one ever saw come down.  It left the park above the lights.  This isn't a big fish story.  Honestly, the headline in the newspaper even pointed that out.  I've never seen anything like it...except for...

I remember Jeremy Weigh (can't remember how he spelled it) hit a monster out of Principal Park.  Of course this takes me to about a million memories of Jaron's undefeated season.  I could name all of them or I could just talk about the amazing play at the plate in Regina.  There was the magic pop-up dropped at PV, and Jaron's slide into first base at, among many, the state baseball tournament.

Then there's the peripheral memories.  They are there because of sports, but don't have a lot to do with the sport itself.  I remember my first MLB game at Candlestick Park.  I remember taking Gabriel to his first game at, you guessed it, AT&T Park in San Francisco.  I remember playing pickle at Cherry Dale on one of the nights someone else in my family was playing baseball.  I remember eating Cheeze-Its and drinking Gatorade from a cooler at tournaments.  I remember bus rides with the team.  I remember pealing off sweaty clothes and caked dirt that wasn't quite yet mud coming off with it.  I remember the smell of grass in the fall as we did up-downs at football practice.  I remember watching football film and laughing at the guy on the other team who was looking for the ball and forgot about the goal post.  He ran into it so hard that you could hear the loud "BONG" sound on the video being taken in the press box.  We rewound it several times.

In the future I'm going to tell you about my basketball team that I coached this year.  I'm now on a different side of sports.  I pray all the time that I can keep them in their proper place within our list of priorities as my children get older.

I love sports, and I hate them.

I think that individual athletes can be either great for a sport or horrific for it.  I would like to know who your all-time favorites are and why.  Who are your top one or two athletes in the three major sports in America; baseball, football, basketball?  Why are they your favorite?

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I remember...

Dear Joel,

I'm all too happy to talk about sports!

Sports cover the entire spectrum in their contribution to society. At their worst, sports can bring out the terrible side of humans. Sporting events cause husbands and fathers to neglect family in order to watch the big game. They persuede people to purchase huge tvs and expensive cable packages. They cause outbursts and anger when the wrong team wins or when officials miss a call. It's no better among participants. The importance placed on sports, and the corresponding money tied to it, resulted in the White Sox throwing a World Series almost a hundred years ago. Baseball players take performance enhancing drugs so they can hit more home runs. A particular NFL team has cheated by illegally spying on other teams, and that team is under investigation once again for intentionally deflating footballs to gain an advantage in the second biggest game of the year. I get to witness these negative effects first-hand too. I play rec-league softball, flag football, and basketball each season in my community, and the tantrums that grown men throw on the athletic field is incredibly embarrassing. My own co-workers and friends with whom I get along wonderfully off the court sometimes turn into completely different people when the basketball is put in play. 

So when you say, "What role do sports play in society?" one of the answers is, unfortunately, one that can have terrible effects on relationships. Given the sinful nature of mankind, we shouldn't expect any different.

On the other hand, the rush that comes from being a sports fan can be incredible. Feats of strength, skill, and pure athleticism that you and I could never perform are amazing to watch. If I were to go into the positive effects that sports have had in my life, this would be far too long of a post. From the health benefits to the camaraderie experienced from being a part of a team, I could write for a while (and perhaps I will at some point). I think there's something in all of us that wants to achieve excellence. Sports is one of the primary things that inspires us to that end. Most of us don't ever get to the big leagues, but those who do are the ones we point to as examples of the physical qualities we all had.

Here are a few of my favorite sports memories (I had a huge list here, but decided I needed to pair it down a bit).

In 1993 I remember sitting on Frosty Edkin's couch with his son, Grant, and watching John Paxson bury a 3-pointer to give the Chicago Bulls a 1-point victory over the Suns in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

A few years later the world watched an 18-year old American gymnast named Kerri Strug, who needed a strong showing in her final vault performance at the Atlanta Olympics to secure a gold medal for the U.S. women's team. The only problem was that she had an injured ankle. How do you stick a landing when you can only land on one foot? Like this:

Fast forward a bit to 2006, when my team didn't come out on top. After taking over as the starting QB mid-season, Tony Romo (whom no one had ever heard of a couple of months prior) had performed remarkably well, and helped put the Cowboys in the playoffs. All they needed in order to defeat the Seahawks in the initial playoff game was a simple, routine, chip-shot field goal. But it didn't turn out so well.

The next year the New England Patriots won every game they played all year and were 18-0, headed to the Super Bowl as huge favorites to destroy the New York Giants. With 1:15 to play, the Giants were only down 4 points, but were facing a 3rd and 5, and Giants quarterback Eli Manning had Patriots converging all around him for what would have most likely been a game-winning sack. But then Manning squirmed loose and Giants receiver David Tyree did something incredible:

If I were building up to the most epic, this one would be saved for last, but since I'm going chronologically, here it is. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the main story was that U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps was attempting to do something no one else had ever done: Win 8 gold medals in a single Games. One of those medals, however, would need to come from the Men's 4X100m Freestyle event, which meant that he and his three teammates would have to pull an upset victory over the French team. Prior to the Olympics, the French team's captain had made some trash-talk remarks about how badly he planned to crush the Americans. And as that captain dove into the pool as the anchor leg for the French, he held what in swimming would be considered a very significant lead over the American anchor, Jason Lezak. But a miracle was about to happen. (This is the longest video, but whether you remember this moment or not, it's worth watching for sure. I still tear up every time.)

I don't have videos for this one. It's really a collection of memories. The last month of the 2011 baseball season was a blast to follow, as two teams (one in each league) held significant leads, but collapsed down the stretch, while two other teams came all the way back. The final day of the season saw two teams in each league tied for the final respective Wild Card slots. Those games held so much intrigue that I can't describe it. In the end, the Cardinals had squeaked into the post season as a Wild Card team. Then, the NLDS came down to a decisive Game 5, and two of the best pitchers in the league faced off for the chance to live another day. And of course, we all remember Game 6 of the World Series that year, when the Cardinals were down to their last strike -- twice -- and managed to pull off one of the greatest post season comebacks baseball has ever seen. That game is the reason you've heard of David Freese.

I have a lot more I could say about sports, but I'll have to wait to see if that's the direction our conversation goes. What about you? What are some of the "Do you remember where you were when....?" moments from sports that jump to mind? Do sports turn you into a mad man?

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