My Bizarre Obsession

By far one of the strangest things about me is my obsession with the Seattle Seahawks football team. Why is this strange? Well, for starters, I've never been to Seattle in my entire life. Not even once. Additionally, I am a rabid Yankee, Ranger and Knick fan, all local New York sports teams that I have loved since childhood. So why the Seahawks and not the Jets or Giants? Well, back in the late 70's, both teams were pretty bad, and alienated some New Yorkers by playing in New Jersey. So I looked around at other teams (being fifteen, I was tired of my teams losing) and picked the Seahawks for three reasons that, in retrospect, are completely ridiculous: they had a cool left handed (I'm a righty, so...huh?) quarterback named Jim Zorn who had a Z in his name, the star wide receiver (and future Hall of Famer), Steve Largent, was a slow, lumbering white guy (I could identify) who ran perfect routes and had phenomenal hands, and the head coach, Jack Patera, would run trick plays at literally any time of the game, making the team wildly unpredictable (translation: shockingly erratic) and ceaselessly entertaining. And, even more logic defying, they sucked worse than the two New York teams. So much for a fifteen year old brain's ability to reason... I now fully understand why the voting age is eighteen.
So here we are, twenty eight years later, and the Seahawks are actually quite good. Consequently, my obsession has not cooled, but rather has grown, like some kind of nefarious weed, some treacherous kudzu that threatens to engulf my sanity, and, on certain Sundays, even my marriage as well. I could talk about the Hawks forever, but training camp starts on Sunday, and I can't decide between the Seahawks toothbrush or the Seahawks chip clip...or should I get the football helmet Xmas tree lights instead? Sigh...decisions, decisions.

Live Earth 7/7/7: Weird and Mellow

This was a strange gig, no doubt about it. Poorly promoted , there was literally no traffic on the way to Giants Stadium, and not a whole lot of buzz for a so-called "global event." Tickets were still available on Ebay and Craigslist in droves, so it can't really be judged a success, as far as being an awareness booster is concerned. The concert, however, was a lot of fun, with three standout performances: Dave Mathews Band (who I don't love, but who really brought it), Pink Floyd front man Roger Waters( who is always good, and who brought the flying pig from Animals [see above]), and the indefatigable Bon Jovi, who had the crowd in the palm of their New Jerseyish hand from the very first song to the closing, raucous chorus of "Livin' on a Prayer".
The Police were a disappointment, opening with Driven to Tears (with all their great tunes, they open with that one?) and closing with...well, OK, I was on the bus back to Manhattan by then, bored by Sting's jazzy "rearrangement" of previously untouchable songs. Note to legendary rock bands: don't mess with the classics. What's next, Robert Plant stepping to the mike, as thousands of rabid fans cheer the newly reformed Led Zeppelin (don't get excited, this is hypothetical), announcing somberly,"This is a song of hope...", as the band tears into a polka-tinged version of "Stairway"? Please, stop the madness.

To Do List: Live Earth 7/7/07

You know if a concert this big is 20 minutes away from me, I'm gonna be there. So on Saturday, my wife and I (along with assorted friends) will be off to Giants Stadium to watch Al Gore (yes, he'll be there) and guests - most notably, Bon Jovi, Smashing Pumpkins, Dave Mathews Band and The Police - try to change the world, and, at the same time, provide a little entertainment to the masses. For a full look at the concerts and lineups, click here. I will be posting a recap a couple days after the show, so hopefully you'll check back in.