I'm actually excited tonight. My heart is pumping a little faster than usual, and I haven't even lapped Sgt. Purvis in PT. Today was actually filled with a lot of let downs, but not the one that mattered.
As I hastily threw my kit on and raced downstairs to answer the call of an attack on another platoon, I checked the clock, and who had the ball. Minnesota, with 89 seconds to go. I left, assuming that like the previous missions we were supposed to do today, that this one would probably be canceled too. I wasn't let down, and we executed our rare view of the outside world of Baghdad. The safest place next to possibly Disneyland. No longer confined to the inside of the impregnable concrete walls, we were out running around allowing the blood to pump a little. I thought that the Vikings would probably just roll over and die to their four point deficit. After all football season is upon us, and it's more American to think of such things before worrying about my own safety, or that of my own country.
I came back, surprised to find that Vikings had won on a miracle pass and catch to the back of the endzone. Allowing them VICTORY in a great come from behind, last play of the game, exciting beyond every satisfaction-fashion. I'm a huge fan of sports in general, and though this isn't the main focus of my blog, sports that is, I do appreciate writing about them. But you can read post story about this game or any other game in your Monday morning coffee, or ESPN web download. So I'll spare you the details. I do however want to point out how American the sport of football has become.
We are not necessarily involved with this, but bigger wigs like to schedule their business around the schedules of games. So that they can watch the live feeds that we get here in Iraq at midnight plus. They hog the couches, and get the cooks to pop out jalapeno poppers and chips, soda and near beer. They enjoy always, for the most part. Their is still work to be done, and we do it, but hope to catch a quarter or a drive, an exciting play or fantastic score. We get reports sent to the guard positions with score updates from the Sergeant of the Guard. Places like COP 763, where we lived previously, did not have any kind of AFN programming until football season was upon us. Then, AFN SPORTS. Right in time for kickoff.
Perhaps this is only one demographic. The meat head, Alpha Males of the world. Not always the sharpest tools in the shed, and predisposed through natural selection and evolution to enjoy spectacles of smashing, crashing, and vulgar collision. Football. 22 men trying to pull each others heads off. The strategy isn't too complicated to pick up or understand, and therefore easily watched and enjoyed. Action is a constant and there is never really any room for anything but eating chips and drinking beer. The new American past-time, Football.
Today, my Platoon Sergeant, asked who was a bigger baseball fan than football fan. Out of the near twenty of us present, only three had their hands raised. It's not that people are just a bigger fan of football than baseball, it's that they actually despise sports like baseball. Find them extremely boring. We are adrenaline junkies, and pride ourselves on being tough. Usually you get two responses when you ask what don't you like about baseball. The first one is that it's boring. The next response you will get is that it's not a 'contact' sport, and therefore shouldn't be watched by real men. GRUNT GRUNT GRUNT!!!! As with almost everything, the reasoning behind it is purely and simply ignorance. Lack of paying attention. I hope that it's purely the demographic of the Infantry that sees it this way. Because I think sports like Baseball and America's tie to it are a direct correlation to a more civilized nation. The understanding of the sport shows how truly civil we are. It's okay to enjoy spectacles of brutality like football or boxing. But to just like them because they are 'contact' sports and the manly American thing to watch is an obvious example of the simplicity of those who cannot follow the more intricate sports. Those that require extra thought, finesse and often times brain over brawn.
I enjoy football. Actually love watching it. I enjoy watching MMA. They are physical sports, even more so than Baseball. But when you have the ill-informed telling you that there is nothing to baseball, and no contact involved, you can't but double take to make sure that they've entirely evolved, no longer having a raised uni brow and knuckles to drag on the ground. I've had this debate and it's always a failing one, because after all, arguing with an idiot you most certainly lose every time. They will pull you down to their level and beat you with experience. But no matter how 'manly' they pretend they are, they've never accepted the challenge of standing 60 feet away, and allowing me to throw a fastball into their side. But that doesn't hurt, it's only baseball right?
I don't think I have to point out the 'class' of both sports. But in the sport of good debating, or persuasion, it's only fair that I should. Baseball is currently in it's darkest era. There are huge scandals and grand jury investigations into steroid use and abuse throughout the game. Yes, this is a horrible thing, and even counts of purgery have been thrown at some of the games greatest to ever play. Where this is a terrible slight on the name of baseball, it is really dwarfed, or at least should be dwarfed in comparison to the atrocities that happen almost on a weekly basis in football. These are athletes that are supposed to play with the same class as any professional in any field. But, a lot of them are thugs. Yes, I said it. Thugs. There are two names right now that I'm thinking of that jump out as huge, because they are so worshiped in the annals of football, even despite their crimes to humanity, to brethren. Michael Vick. Plaxico Burress. These are both big time football players, who have committed crimes that are way beyond those of taking steroids. Which is a problem in football too. Both of them are negative members to society. And yet, they are praised, for being 'hard.' Essentially we are praising the dumb for being stupid. It's the new American way. I could name more, PacMan Jones (really, your name is PacMan?), half of the '96 Cowboys team, and Terrell Owens. Yes, I know Terrell Owens has technically not done anything against the law. But what a douche! Are you trying to get biggest douche of the millennium award? All I'm saying, is bring a little class to the game that you play. You are on the pedestal, the fans and media have put you there. Time to start acting like a role model. That applies to all sports, not just football or baseball. We should hold our athletes accountable for their class. I'm pretty sure if I made 4 million a year, that would be enough to keep me from having any 'off field' issues. I guess that's why they get paid so much, not for their performance on the field, but for their fines off.
Have you ever get ran into at home plate? There's no contact in Baseball. Ever.
Baseball is the belly of society. Straighten out baseball and you'll straighten out the rest of the world. -Bill Lee
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