College football fans be very, very afraid! It appears that Boone's Boys have a secret weapon heading into this football season. No, its not the most powerful offense in the world like last year. Mike Gundy is ready to unleash "The Bracelet" on unsuspecting opponents. The orange rubber bands simply read "Big 12 Champs, Dec 6, 2008" and have been known to give anyone who wears them super human powers.
The source of these special powers are not yet known but have been compared to the strength a child receives after purchasing a new pair of shoes. Think back to shoe shopping with your mom, whats the first thing you noticed as you slipped on a sweet, new pair of kicks? That's right, you could run faster, jump higher, and cut like a jackrabbit. Obviously this bracelet must hold similar powers to make otherwise sane men think they can accomplish the impossible.
The side effect of the bracelet appears to be delusional ramblings. Cowboy sophomore William Cole recently said the team yells "Big 12 championship" every time they break the huddle, which confirms the disorder.
All hope is not lost however, it appears there is one thing that renders these bracelets useless....A football field. Simply place the Oklahoma State team on a football field and any belief of super human strength or winning disappears and they simply become Pokes once again.
I will warn you, if you see a spiky haired figure slumped in the corner of a dark room clutching to one of these bracelets, do not approached him! He was recently spotted in this condition mumbling the words "We swears to serve the master of the precious. We will swear on... on... the precious!" While we aren't sure what this means we suggest you leave him be. After all your mom let you believe in the power of those new tennis shoes, so who are we to tell them the truth about "The Bracelet". Just let the field serve as their kryptonite.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
All Star memories
It's been two weeks since I had the privilege of attending this years MLB All Star game in New York and theres not a day that goes by that I don't think about it. It's rare when something lives up to such big expectations but it's even more rare when it exceeds those expectations. The All Star went above and beyond what I expected.
We began planning the trip more then a year out. In fact I booked my hotel, for the week of the game, the day I checked out of my hotel the year before. Our flight was also booked months in advance. Everything was falling into place but there was just one problem...TICKETS! Hotels and Planes come easy in New York but try finding the most sought after sports ticket of the entire year regardless of sport. This was "the game" and we quickly found that out from the ticket prices. Six, seven, eight hundred dollars a piece!!!! The budget was going to have to be expanded.
Several months went by and the search the golden ticket continued. The only problem was I'm not Charlie and George "Willy Wonka" Steinbrenner wasn't handing them out with the purchase of Everlasting Gobstobbers. I had a better chance of being handed the keys to the chocolate factory than scoring tickets to the game. But then grandpa danced in with one last wrapper only grandpa was Myles and the wrapper was an Ebay auction. He had placed a bid on a pair of tickets in the bleacher section and things were looking up.
Heading into the final day of the auction we were looking good and then the damn Ebay snipers hit with just minutes left. A flurry of bids began to pour in as I watched the price rise by hundreds of dollars. Making things worse the whole thing was playing out in front of me while I was doing my radio show. Try doing radio without cursing out the geeks that were trying to weasel in on our tickets. Talk about drama M. Night Shymalan could not have scripted it better as the time ticked down in front of me. Then the clock struck zero and I tried to keep myself composed as the winning bid posted- Myles312. We were going to the All Star game!
July 15th had arrived and Myles and I headed to FanFest that morning while the wives headed out for a day of shopping and to see Wicked on Broadway that evening. Normally the thought of sending two women out for a day of shopping in New York City would be a scary proposition but we had just dropped $885 bucks on two tickets to a ballgame so we gladly sent them on their way. FanFest was fun for a couple of baseball geeks and we grabbed up any free piece of memorabilia that we could find. Myles even scored an autographed David Wright bat for a sweet price. It was a great way to pass some time before heading to Yankee Stadium.
The time had come, we hopped the Subway and headed to the House that Ruth built. We headed up the stairs and onto the street and there she was right in front of us. I had been to Yankee Stadium a few times but it was a first for Myles. There's nothing like seeing the look on a friend's face after his first time. It was 3 in the afternoon but the streets were already packed and there was a buzz in the air. We walked the area soaking in the atmosphere, it was a mad house. Camera crews everywhere, fans in search of non-existent tickets, t-shirt vendors, free giveaways, and more. We grabbed a couple of slices and then headed over to enter the Cathedral.
We were both nervous heading to the gate we had tickets but they had come off of Ebay so nothing was guaranteed until we were inside. We handed our tickets over and the gentleman scanned them only instead of a nice little "please enter" beep we got an evil "access denied" beep. Our stomachs dropped as he looked up at us saying we couldn't enter at that gate because we had bleacher seats and had to enter a bleacher gate. We headed around the stadium and finally found the right gate and made it in.
I had never sat in the bleachers at Yankee stadium and quickly learned why they call the fans "Bleacher Creatures" that inhabit that area. It's because they're caged animals with no access to the rest of the stadium. I don't mean that in a bad way, the bleachers are great, it would have just been nice to roam the old stadium one last time. A cold beer wouldn't have hurt either. Our seats were great they were in left field right behind the memorial and just a few feet over from were Baseball Tonight had set up camp.
We had a few hours before the game was set to begin, so we made our way down to the rails and stood just above the National League's bullpen. Over the next couple of hours we watched both teams take batting practice and pose for team pics, while I took my fair share of pictures as well. Then directly below where we were standing a gate opened and Ozzie Smith walked through and over the next hour or so we would watch the greatest collection of Hall of Famers parade right in front of us. Aaron, Ripken, Eck, Winfield, Goose, Mays, Gywnn, Molitor, Banks, Ford, Reggie, they just kept rolling by. When Wade Boggs walked by Myles yelled down "Wade wheres your horse?" which got a smile and a nod from Mr. Chicken himself. It was amazing the memories it stirred up seeing those guys walk by and while the years may have caught up to them as they passed by I could still envision them taking to the field.
I love the pregame festivities at an All Star game so it was awesome to watch as the guys run out to take their spots along the first and third base lines. I would have preferred someone other than Sheryl Crow to sing the national anthem but I'll live with it. I couldn't tell you how many times I got goosebumps up to that point and the game wasn't even underway yet.
Time to play ball! I'm not going to give a play by play breakdown of the game. I'm sure you've all seen at least highlights by now but I do want to try and relay what it was like being in the stadium that night. To be honest the game was very slow going through the first 4 innings and Myles and I were a bit disappointed in what was going on. But with one swing of the bat in the 7th J.D. Drew would launch a slow moving, boring game into history. It was great to see the Yankee faithful react to that home run, one minute they were cheering because the A.L. had tied it up but the fact that a Red Sox hit it made them sick. So It was loud cheers that carried into loud boos.
Back to the game in a second, this story would not be complete without mentioning the girl a few rows in front of us. She was 12 years old and had been born and bred a Yankee and she had the mouth to back it up. A Mets fan that sat right behind us found out she was not to be messed with. For the first few innings the guy ripped Jeter every chance he got which lead to evil stares from the 12 year old girl. Then came the 7th inning stretch and she was ready as the field crew took to the field for their traditional dragging of the field and performance of Y.M.C.A by the Village People. As the song began she stood turned to the Mets fan and sang her own version belting out "Why are you gay? You suck! You suck! You suck!" over and over she sang the line until Mets fan sat down knowing he had met his match. She would later destroy a Marlins fan that didn't put up much of a fight either.
As you know the game was tied after 9 and we were just getting started. As the American League came to bat in the bottom of the 10th I was convinced it would end then because the clock was about to strike midnight. It would be the first of many times I was wrong on that night. I can't even put into words what we were privileged to over the next few innings. The plays that were made and the opportunities missed were legendary. Every player on the field stepped up and played as if it were game 7 of the World Series.
I believe it was in the 13th inning when a Field of Dreams moment happened. A gentleman in front of us, who I earlier found out was a 30 year Bleacher Creature season ticket holder, turned to us and said "Boys, this is no longer our game. It doesn't belong to the players or the fans. It belongs to him and he's saying this is my night and I'm not ready to let it go yet." Was this guy a Bleacher Creature or James Earl Jones? Full body goosebumps on that one. Here's a guy that has sat in those seats for 30 years and he was even in amazement at what we were witnessing.
Thanks to Michael Young the game finally came to a close after 15 innings and 4 hours and 50 minutes. And after what I had just seen Moonlight Graham could have walked from the field, saved a girl choking in the stands, and disappeared into a field of corn and I would have believed it. I sat in awe at what I had just seen and I spun to take a photo of the scoreboard to capture the moment. The clock read 1:37 a.m. which I will remember the rest of my life. Because at 1:37 a.m. on July 18th, 2008 the sport of was perfect. There was no Barry Bonds, no steroids, no huge salaries, no diva players, just baseball.
I've been asked many times if the ticket was worth the money and the answer is yes without a doubt. I sat in the greatest venue in all of sports and witnessed the greatest All Star game ever played. You can't put a price on memories and to have been able to share that trip with my wife and great friends far exceeds the $422.50 I spent on that ticket. Many more memories were made that week and the game just help top it off. The scary thing is I don't know how it can ever be topped but we'll try our best to do it. Maybe we can find a way to freeze time at 1:37 a.m.
We began planning the trip more then a year out. In fact I booked my hotel, for the week of the game, the day I checked out of my hotel the year before. Our flight was also booked months in advance. Everything was falling into place but there was just one problem...TICKETS! Hotels and Planes come easy in New York but try finding the most sought after sports ticket of the entire year regardless of sport. This was "the game" and we quickly found that out from the ticket prices. Six, seven, eight hundred dollars a piece!!!! The budget was going to have to be expanded.
Several months went by and the search the golden ticket continued. The only problem was I'm not Charlie and George "Willy Wonka" Steinbrenner wasn't handing them out with the purchase of Everlasting Gobstobbers. I had a better chance of being handed the keys to the chocolate factory than scoring tickets to the game. But then grandpa danced in with one last wrapper only grandpa was Myles and the wrapper was an Ebay auction. He had placed a bid on a pair of tickets in the bleacher section and things were looking up.
Heading into the final day of the auction we were looking good and then the damn Ebay snipers hit with just minutes left. A flurry of bids began to pour in as I watched the price rise by hundreds of dollars. Making things worse the whole thing was playing out in front of me while I was doing my radio show. Try doing radio without cursing out the geeks that were trying to weasel in on our tickets. Talk about drama M. Night Shymalan could not have scripted it better as the time ticked down in front of me. Then the clock struck zero and I tried to keep myself composed as the winning bid posted- Myles312. We were going to the All Star game!
July 15th had arrived and Myles and I headed to FanFest that morning while the wives headed out for a day of shopping and to see Wicked on Broadway that evening. Normally the thought of sending two women out for a day of shopping in New York City would be a scary proposition but we had just dropped $885 bucks on two tickets to a ballgame so we gladly sent them on their way. FanFest was fun for a couple of baseball geeks and we grabbed up any free piece of memorabilia that we could find. Myles even scored an autographed David Wright bat for a sweet price. It was a great way to pass some time before heading to Yankee Stadium.
The time had come, we hopped the Subway and headed to the House that Ruth built. We headed up the stairs and onto the street and there she was right in front of us. I had been to Yankee Stadium a few times but it was a first for Myles. There's nothing like seeing the look on a friend's face after his first time. It was 3 in the afternoon but the streets were already packed and there was a buzz in the air. We walked the area soaking in the atmosphere, it was a mad house. Camera crews everywhere, fans in search of non-existent tickets, t-shirt vendors, free giveaways, and more. We grabbed a couple of slices and then headed over to enter the Cathedral.
We were both nervous heading to the gate we had tickets but they had come off of Ebay so nothing was guaranteed until we were inside. We handed our tickets over and the gentleman scanned them only instead of a nice little "please enter" beep we got an evil "access denied" beep. Our stomachs dropped as he looked up at us saying we couldn't enter at that gate because we had bleacher seats and had to enter a bleacher gate. We headed around the stadium and finally found the right gate and made it in.
I had never sat in the bleachers at Yankee stadium and quickly learned why they call the fans "Bleacher Creatures" that inhabit that area. It's because they're caged animals with no access to the rest of the stadium. I don't mean that in a bad way, the bleachers are great, it would have just been nice to roam the old stadium one last time. A cold beer wouldn't have hurt either. Our seats were great they were in left field right behind the memorial and just a few feet over from were Baseball Tonight had set up camp.
We had a few hours before the game was set to begin, so we made our way down to the rails and stood just above the National League's bullpen. Over the next couple of hours we watched both teams take batting practice and pose for team pics, while I took my fair share of pictures as well. Then directly below where we were standing a gate opened and Ozzie Smith walked through and over the next hour or so we would watch the greatest collection of Hall of Famers parade right in front of us. Aaron, Ripken, Eck, Winfield, Goose, Mays, Gywnn, Molitor, Banks, Ford, Reggie, they just kept rolling by. When Wade Boggs walked by Myles yelled down "Wade wheres your horse?" which got a smile and a nod from Mr. Chicken himself. It was amazing the memories it stirred up seeing those guys walk by and while the years may have caught up to them as they passed by I could still envision them taking to the field.
I love the pregame festivities at an All Star game so it was awesome to watch as the guys run out to take their spots along the first and third base lines. I would have preferred someone other than Sheryl Crow to sing the national anthem but I'll live with it. I couldn't tell you how many times I got goosebumps up to that point and the game wasn't even underway yet.
Time to play ball! I'm not going to give a play by play breakdown of the game. I'm sure you've all seen at least highlights by now but I do want to try and relay what it was like being in the stadium that night. To be honest the game was very slow going through the first 4 innings and Myles and I were a bit disappointed in what was going on. But with one swing of the bat in the 7th J.D. Drew would launch a slow moving, boring game into history. It was great to see the Yankee faithful react to that home run, one minute they were cheering because the A.L. had tied it up but the fact that a Red Sox hit it made them sick. So It was loud cheers that carried into loud boos.
Back to the game in a second, this story would not be complete without mentioning the girl a few rows in front of us. She was 12 years old and had been born and bred a Yankee and she had the mouth to back it up. A Mets fan that sat right behind us found out she was not to be messed with. For the first few innings the guy ripped Jeter every chance he got which lead to evil stares from the 12 year old girl. Then came the 7th inning stretch and she was ready as the field crew took to the field for their traditional dragging of the field and performance of Y.M.C.A by the Village People. As the song began she stood turned to the Mets fan and sang her own version belting out "Why are you gay? You suck! You suck! You suck!" over and over she sang the line until Mets fan sat down knowing he had met his match. She would later destroy a Marlins fan that didn't put up much of a fight either.
As you know the game was tied after 9 and we were just getting started. As the American League came to bat in the bottom of the 10th I was convinced it would end then because the clock was about to strike midnight. It would be the first of many times I was wrong on that night. I can't even put into words what we were privileged to over the next few innings. The plays that were made and the opportunities missed were legendary. Every player on the field stepped up and played as if it were game 7 of the World Series.
I believe it was in the 13th inning when a Field of Dreams moment happened. A gentleman in front of us, who I earlier found out was a 30 year Bleacher Creature season ticket holder, turned to us and said "Boys, this is no longer our game. It doesn't belong to the players or the fans. It belongs to him and he's saying this is my night and I'm not ready to let it go yet." Was this guy a Bleacher Creature or James Earl Jones? Full body goosebumps on that one. Here's a guy that has sat in those seats for 30 years and he was even in amazement at what we were witnessing.
Thanks to Michael Young the game finally came to a close after 15 innings and 4 hours and 50 minutes. And after what I had just seen Moonlight Graham could have walked from the field, saved a girl choking in the stands, and disappeared into a field of corn and I would have believed it. I sat in awe at what I had just seen and I spun to take a photo of the scoreboard to capture the moment. The clock read 1:37 a.m. which I will remember the rest of my life. Because at 1:37 a.m. on July 18th, 2008 the sport of was perfect. There was no Barry Bonds, no steroids, no huge salaries, no diva players, just baseball.
I've been asked many times if the ticket was worth the money and the answer is yes without a doubt. I sat in the greatest venue in all of sports and witnessed the greatest All Star game ever played. You can't put a price on memories and to have been able to share that trip with my wife and great friends far exceeds the $422.50 I spent on that ticket. Many more memories were made that week and the game just help top it off. The scary thing is I don't know how it can ever be topped but we'll try our best to do it. Maybe we can find a way to freeze time at 1:37 a.m.
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