As a graduate of Purdue University and a 20+ year blogger, I think I'm contractually obligated to have thoughts on Purdue finally getting over the hump to make the Final 4.

It’s cool that they did it.

Happy?

Okay, I'll say some more. My evolution from rabid to casual sports fan has been well documented here, so I won't repeat it.

Have I watched every Purdue game in the tourney? Yes.

Did I scream “That's a foul!” about 25 times at the TV today? Yes.

Did I do a shot of celebratory bourbon with my son when the game was over? Yep! But ultimately the successes and failures of college kids playing basketball have no material impact on my life. If the run ends next weekend I’ll be happy it happened, and I’ll go on with life.

I am very happy for the people whose lives are impacted though. Coach Painter, who should not need the validation, has it. The media will find some new imagined failure to hold over him now. Coach Keady, who absolutely should have made a Final Four or 2, gets to see his coaching protege do it following the same general formula he passed down through his coaching tree. The team, most of which are not headed into professional basketball, gets this amazing and intense shared experience that will bond them forever. They also erase the first-round loss from last year. Nobody cares anymore. And let's not forget that they aren't done. They can still be National Champions.

Also, although it's been obvious to anybody who pays attention for a while, it's obvious to everyone now. Purdue owns Indiana. It's the premier college basketball program in the state, and it's not even close anymore.

So, what does it all mean? A lot, if you are closely connected to the team or University. For the rest of us, some school pride, good memories of college life resurfacing, and new memories of the tournament run. It might not be a lot in the big picture, and really should not have the importance we put on it, but given the shit show the world has been since 2016, I'll take my wins where I can get them.

Boiler the fuck up.

Last Thursday I had a non-stop flight from Richmond to Denver, which was a perfect opportunity to read Craig Calcaterra’s new book, Rethinking Fandom. It’s so new it’s not being released until April 5, but Craig and I are tight, so I got it early.

By “tight” I mean I have no idea why his publisher shipped the book a month early.

The timing was perfect, in that when I turned my phone back on after landing, literally minutes after finishing the book, I learned the players and owners had come to an agreement to end the lockout. I have not decided if I’m re-upping my MLB.tv subscription this year or not. I may just go with the cheap radio feed plan and watch whatever games are on Apple TV, ESPN, or the free game of the day on MLB.tv. This seems like a good year to test how much I’ll miss every Red Sox game (minus blacked out Orioles and Nationals games). The truth is, I rarely watch a full game anymore. I tend to watch a few innings several times a week, versus sitting down for an entire game. I prefer the radio commentary anyway, plus I really like going to sleep to the sounds of west coast games.

It’s not a large tomb, which is good. You can probably easily read the book in a couple of hours. It is divided into two sections. Section 1 reviews some of the more egregious examples of teams taking advantage of the fans and/or the local taxpayers. The Atlanta Braves white flight stadium deal gets attention, as does the “rooting for laundry” issue, labor issues, regular fans being priced out of attendance, and other things. One thing he brought up that I had not thought a lot about was the breakdown of the social contract between team and fans. The fact that the Florida Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates can make a profit with no fans in the stands was not news to me. However, thinking about it in terms of the social contract was. The deal used to be the team tries to win, and we show up and buy $12 beers while cheering for the home team. However, in too many cases, the teams have broken that social contract because they think they don’t need the fans to make money. In the short term, they are probably right. In the longer term, they are killing baseball.

Section 2 of the book proposes that we fans have more power in this situation than we realize. Craig suggests that many of the old chestnuts of fandom no longer apply. It is absolutely okay to be a fair-weather fan. It’s okay to root for players inside the laundry, and not the laundry. Likewise, it’s okay to just be a casual fan and not obsess over every win or loss. Section 2 was fascinating to me, as I’ve been rethinking my fandom for a while now.

I’m over college sports

Closing the book on the Red Sox

I backslid on college basketball this year, but it reinforced what I wrote on that blog post. I’m happier as a casual fan, and I’m going back to being a casual fan. The emotional investment in the individual 2-hour games just isn’t fun for me anymore.

The rooting for laundry issue is relevant too, as I’ve wanted to be more of a Dodgers' fan in recent years because that is where Mookie Betts is. But it felt wrong to me. Craig says it’s not wrong, and I think he is right. Root for people, not laundry. Or root for the laundry. It’s your call. Likewise, it’s okay to ditch your team if ownership perpetrates racist stereotypes in the team name.

The big takeaway is that the sports we follow today are not the sports our fathers followed. It follows that our fandom can and should change too.

Any sports fan feeling the unease I’ve felt over recent years at how sports has changed will probably enjoy this book.

This is simply unacceptable. Baseball is the only thing broadcast radio is still good for.

My earliest memory of MLB is my parents letting me sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor of the living room where the stereo was, so I could go to sleep listening to the Red Sox on Armed Forces Radio. I was 6 or 7 at the time and we were in Spain, so 6 PM baseball games would start at midnight on the radio in Spain. 45 years later I still fall asleep to baseball radio broadcasts streaming online.

In the early days of online streaming, before video was even a thing, I built an FM transmitter so I could sit outside on the deck with a portable radio and listen to the Red Sox, just like my grandfather did on his porch. Yes, I could have hauled my laptop out there, but the ambiance just isn't the same. He lived in Boston and they had every Red Sox game on TV for free, but he preferred to sit on the porch in the dark with a portable radio and a whiskey. I can confirm that it is still a damn fine way to enjoy a ballgame.

Play by play on TV is kind of a mess. We can see what is happening, so the announcers mostly ramble about everything except the game, as the viewers don't really need them to explain what is happening in real time. Radio, of course, is different. We need the announcers to actually give us the play-by-play, it is the actual point of the whole exercise. Since they are busy telling us what is happening on the field, they don't have time to ramble. It's a win-win.

So what I'm saying here is the Blue Jays front office sucks.

For the past several years watching Purdue Sports on TV has felt more like an obligation than something I actually want to do. I dutifully show up in front of the screen at the appointed time, but honestly the snark on Twitter is more enjoyable than watching the game most of the time. I'm not referring to the team's performance here, I stayed a fan through the Hope and Hazell years. I'm referring to the idea that being so emotionally invested in the athletic successes and failures of 18-21 year old kids has just stopped being fun.

There are plenty of reasons to not support big time NCAA sports.

1. There is really nothing "amateur" about it. The kids have access to the best equipment, facilities, and training in the world.
2. The kids are without a doubt getting screwed on the trade. They get a 4 year scholarship, which at many if not most of the schools comes with the expectation that they will focus on football or basketball first and do just enough to maintain a B average in school, preferably in a major that makes that easy.
3. Meanwhile the schools make millions and millions on the backs of the kids, 97% of which will not make a living in pro sports but will graduate with degrees that limit their initial earning potential.
4. The NCAA itself is a corrupt organization that over and over makes decisions that prioritize money over the athlete's well being.
5. Particularly with NCAA football, there is really zero suspense about who the top teams will be every year. If you didn't go to one of about 10 schools your chances of celebrating a national championship reduce to zero.

I'm not referring to Div II/III or non-revenue sports here. Those kids almost universally are playing for fun or the thrill of competition, etc. They generally are not being paid to play, and they generally know there are no riches at the end of the rainbow.

When the NCAA Tournament was canceled last year due to the pandemic I barely noticed. Had the games been played I would have watched many of them. But the games not being played had zero impact on my life. That was the seed that started me thinking about the role of college sports in my life.

So when Hulu Live raised rates yet again in December, I saw an opportunity. The up-charge for Hulu Live is $50/month, and an examination of our TV viewing habits revealed that the only thing we really need Hulu Live for is Purdue sports. I watch the Premier League on Peacock, and MLB via MLB TV. I quit the NFL about 5 years ago, and I quit the NBA when Bird and Magic retired.

So I let the Live TV subscription expire a week ago, as an experiment. In that time we have missed two Purdue basketball games. I hardly noticed. It's not like I can't find the highlights online almost in real time if I want them. It's not like the score and stats aren't available in real time online if I want to follow along. I still hope Purdue does well in football and basketball, because it brings money into the University and is just good PR in general. I'll still look forward to going back for Homecoming or to an occasional game when I can because the in-person atmosphere of big time college sports is a level of fun that is hard to match. I may even watch on TV if Purdue is featured on one of the networks.

However, I've learned I don't want to dedicate hours per week to watch in real time on TV. I'm over college sports. And I'm okay with that.

A musical message.

In the approximately nine years I've been playing gun games, I've seen a few DQ's for safety reasons. (The percentage of DQs to shooters is actually quite minuscule.) These are typically 180° violations, or negligent discharges when reloading or moving. In the interest of full disclosure, my own DQ was for a dropped gun. There's a reason for the strict safety rules in USPSA and IDPA and a reason all gun handling happens under the watchful eye of a safety officer. Thanks to those strict rules, the sports have an excellent safety record. Even experienced competitors make mistakes, and when it happens, it's only right that they are done for the day. It hurts, but if your brain isn't fully engaged, it could hurt even more more.

Baseball has been one of my passions since I was about 5 or 6 years old. I clearly remember anxiously awaiting my Dad to bring home the Stars and Stripes from the base in Spain so that I could read the box scores and keep up with the Red Sox. My father, and his father, are from Boston. I was born a Red Sox fan. I remember the agony of 1975, Bucky Fucking Dent, Bill Buckner, Aaron Fucking Boone, and of course the pure, unadulterated joy that was the 2004 post-season. I still have 5000+ baseball cards from about 1975 through about 1982 in boxes in my closet. Until this season, I re-watched Keeping The Faith every Spring just prior to Opening Day. I cried as I watched it every Spring, just to prior to Opening Day. I never got around to my annual re-watch this year because I was too busy obsessively keeping up with the English Premier League, but we will get to that in a minute.

Although never an obsession, my interest in the NFL has been waning over the last several years too. I’ve been thinking a lot about why that is. What could have changed that caused a 48 year old dude to suddenly become a passionate EPL fan while drifting away from the two sports that he grew up with? I think several things are at play here, some external to me, and one issue that is all about me.

The problems with MLB and NFL have been well documented so I probably don’t need to rehash them here. There is a lot going on with the major professional sports to cause a thinking person to lose interest. However, I want to focus on the personal side of this, what happened to me to cause me to drift from my one true sports love.

I think it all goes back to 2004. I grew up a passionate Red Sox fan through the 70s and 80s, and continued on as an adult through the 90s. Even with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th and Foulke on the mound in Saint Louis 1 out away from a World Series sweep, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, because the other shoe always dropped on the Red Sox. Of course it didn’t that year, and that changed everything. A few years later the Red Sox were up against Colorado and I wasn’t even worried. I was totally relaxed through the World Series, not that the Rockies ever seriously threatened.

My love affair with the Patriots is similar. They were pretty much the laughing stock of the NFL when I was a kid. While all my friends in junior high had their Cowboys and Steelers logo jackets from Sears (remember those?) I had a Patriots jacket. I took a lot of abuse for that jacket, but it never occurred to me to jump on a bandwagon and follow a popular or winning team. It took character to stick with the Red Sox and Patriots back then. I was proud of that character, and in a way I was a character in the story of the ever suffering Boston sports fan. Let’s face it, the Patriots are the bad guys today. They win, the push the envelope on the rules, and their coach is kind of a dick.

And that, I think, is the crux of the change. It doesn’t take character to be a Red Sox or Patriots fan these days. Hell, we’ve become the very thing we used to hate; the big money, well run teams that are always in the running. (Ignore the last two years for the Red Sox). The story of the Red Sox and Patriots that I loved ran its course. That book is completed. It’s on the shelf. I can pick it up and remember it fondly as I thumb through the pages, but I never experience the joy of reading it for the first time again. The story of those teams now is the story of big money well run franchises. Where is the fun in that?

I’m always the first person up on Saturday morning, when soccer is on here in the US. At first it was just background noise while I messed around online, read, or whatever in those quiet hours I had to myself on Saturday mornings. However over the course of last fall I found myself watching with more and more interest, starting to understand and appreciate the game of soccer. Then I started looking forward to Saturday and Sunday mornings, so I could drink tea and watch soccer. After a while I started thinking about finding a favorite team. I did some research and immediately ruled out the big money teams that always win, so no Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United or Manchester City. I thought I would be a Liverpool fan because of the Red Sox connection, but actually that seemed to turn me off. I decided to just relax and try to watch every team and see what happened. What happened is that I started seeking out the Southampton Saints each week. So I did some research on their background.

Their story is that as a smaller city on the South Coast of England they will never have the money of the London based teams, so they put together one of the premier youth development programs to make their own talent. They went bankrupt a few years back and got bounced all the way down to League 1. New management put a 5 year plan in place to get back to the Premier League, they did it in 3. Now after 4 straight years in the EPL, they’ve finished higher every season, this year finishing 6th, only 3 point from a Champions League slot. It’s a team that lives on the edge, having to sell off players before they get too expensive and reinvest in younger players. They are basically the Tampa Bay Rays of EPL, and I fell for them hard.

And that is when I made the connection between the Red Sox, Patriots, Saints, and Purdue. I’m a tortured sports fan. Sure, tribalism and regional pride play a role in the teams we choose to love, but for me it’s the story arc. Apparently I like tragedies, and the Red Sox and Patriots are no longer tragedies. Getting to know some Southampton fans on Twitter it feels like the comments section at Soxaholix pre-2004. Sure they are having a great year, wonder how they’ll screw it up? We had a great season, wonder who they will trade away in the off-season? It all sounds very familiar. It sounds like home, metaphorically speaking, in a sports sense.

So what happens if Southampton pulls a Leister and wins it all next year? Well, we all know that won’t happen, and even if it does I’ll always have Purdue. They can always be counted on to break my heart.

Note: I have not abandoned the Red Sox. I have my MLB.TV subscription and I’m quite enjoying this season, with Ortiz retiring and two minimum wagers in Holt and Travis in the starting lineup. But then, the Ortiz retiring story is kind of a tragedy, right? But it's not the same. The passion is gone. I don’t expect it to ever come back.

A lack of blogging recently isn't an indication of a lack of life activity, just the opposite in fact. It means I've been too distracted by life to sit down and write. We were out of town last weekend, in part to attend the Spring Game at VA Tech. I was pleased we had reservations at the same hotel at which we found good beer last year. Before I even checked in at the front desk I detoured to take a peak at the taps in the lobby bar. I was not disappointed.

Colleen and I visited lobby bar in the evening to relax over a few beers. Three of the offerings were old favorites, along with one new to me beer. I tried a sample of a local beer, River Company Dumpster Dog Porter, but opted to go a more hoppier route. Colleen enjoyed a pint of the Porter. I couldn't resist a pint of an old favorite, Loose Cannon from Heavy Seas, and later a pint of Bell's Two Hearted Ale.

As we were enjoying our drinks and talking with other guests, there was suddenly a lot of excitement in the lobby and bunch of folks leapt from their seats. Buffalo Bills Quarterback Tyrod Taylor was checking in to the hotel. He posed for a few selfies and things quieted down. For a bit anyway, until Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Bruce Smith walked in. He too posed for selfies and signed autographs and the lobby calmed once again. Seattle Seahawks player Kam Chancellor also made a pass-through of the lobby.

The commonality among the players is of course, they are all VA Tech alumni, in town for the Spring Game. In all honesty, if it wasn't for the other fans at the bar, and some quick Google searches, I wouldn't have known who they were, not being a big sports fan. Nonetheless, it added some excitement to an already enjoyable Friday evening.

Back before Christmas I realized that I was regularly spending my weekend mornings watching the Premier League. Yep, without trying or even noticing, I had became a soccer fan. So of course at some point I need to pick a team to follow. I have, of course, read Bill Simmons on the subject, and I generally agree with his key rules.

1. Avoid bandwagonning at all costs. We all hated that guy that became a Red Sox fan in October 2004, or a Cowboys fan in the 70s, etc. BTW, spell check is insisting that bandwagonning is not a word. If not, it should be.

2. Avoid teams in danger of not being in the Premier League next year. Not because I have anything against the Champions League, it's just a practical matter in that I can't see the lower league games here in the US. If my team gets relegated in 5 years I'll deal with it, but it would be tough in year one of fandom. I take fandom seriously, and I'll be all-in for life once I decide.

Simmons had some other concerns about the team being somewhere he'd like to visit, worrying about the celebrity fans, and not picking too tortured of a team. Those are secondary issues for me. I went to Purdue, and I was a Red Sox and Patriots fan through the 70s and 80s. I do tortured sports fan well.

I'm also not in a hurry to pick a team. I'm content to just enjoy watching the games this season to see what happens. But I am making some progress on picking a team.

No bandwagons.

That rules out Chelsea, Man U, and Arsenal. Hugely popular with all the money is sort of an automatic turnoff for me. Maybe that is why I've never dated a supermodel?

Avoid the relegation zone.

Newcastle, Sunderland, Aston Villa, Swansea City, Norwich City, Bournemouth. Newcastle could get in the running if the survive the season, as they have some serious hardcore fans, which I appreciate, and they are sponsored by the beer, which is a fine reason to support a team.

The contenders

Leicester City - Leading the EPL at the moment, in their 3rd year back in the top league. The Cinderella aspect of their run certainly could be appealing, but it hasn't really caught my interest. Also could be a bandwagon candidate if they win it all this year, and I don't think I'm going to make a decision before then.

Manchester City - As the less successful team in Manchester, they are sort of the Mets to the Man U Yankees, which should make them appealing. Yet I was rooting against them when I watched their match recently. So probably not.

Tottenham Hotspur - On the short list. I have enjoyed watching them play, like the aggressive style while still playing good defense, and really, could their name be any more British sounding?

West Ham United - For whatever reason I was rooting for them over Man City last week, but that was the first time I had ever even thought about them, so probably not, although if I find myself actively rooting for them again soon I may need to elevate them to top 4. Also, they are the favorite team of Steve Harris from Iron Maiden, so there is that.

Liverpool - Also on the shortlist. Yes, they are Big 4, but they are one that hasn't won anything recently, but might be on the verge soon. As a lifelong Red Sox fan I have a compelling reason to follow Liverpool, although I have to admit in watching them twice now I haven't felt the emotional pull I would expect. Maybe that is me rebelling against the obvious choice.

Southampton - On the shortlist. Originally I was taken by the home fans singing of "When the Saints Come Marching Home" in one of the first games I watched. Didn't expect to hear 30,000 English soccer fans singing that song, even though the song's providence probably is British. Got bonus points for beating Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford and causing the fans to jeer the own team. Admittedly, that seems to be happening a lot to Man U this season.

Stoke City - Don't think I've seen them play yet. No opinion.

Watford - Same as above

Crystal Palace - A friend described them as the KC Royals; young, don't have the money, but find a way to win. It sounded appealing but in watching at least one match I haven't felt any pull towards them.

Everton - Eh, so Sylvester Stallone is a fan.

West Bromwich Albion - Who?

Also, I loved the transfer period. In America the last place teams in any sport start giving up and selling of stars for future stars at about the 2/3 point. In EPL, the bottom teams go on a spending spree to buy their way to safety out of the relegation zone. It's been really fun to watch. Alas, Newcastle's spending spree may not do them any good as they dropped their first match 3-0 to Everton after the spending spree.

So at the moment it's probably between Southampton and The Spurs. Subject to change, of course. If you are an EPL fan feel free to make your case for your favorite team.

Update: After watching the 30 minute special on Southampton's rise from League One to Premier in 3 years, and reading about the cool investment they are making in US youth soccer, I'm all-in for Southampton.

Go Saints!

Just as soon as I'm feeling pretty good about my shooting, I come across this video.