random musings...

Whoa.... football on TV. HDTV BABY!!!!!!...this is the first game I have gotten a chance to see since the HD purchase back in the spring. Dude...I'm tellin ya. HDTV is perfect for football. You see so much more. Kinda like sitting at the top of the lower deck at Death Valley.

also got to see the annual reality check with the Little League world series stuff...watched a kid meltdown after he started getting shelled. I am always reminded of the famous Star Wars quote"There's always a bigger fish"...these kids have dominated their respective hometown leagues all year...then suddenly they are faced with kids with the same talent level who have dominated their own hometown all year. The bewilderment on these kids faces as they suddenly cant get people out as easy anymore...the sudden realization that there are people as good as them out there...and that they might not be as good as they thought they would be... its a gut wrenching reality that they get faced with, and its all a part of life when you think about it. Kinda like when people get to Tiger Band and you hear them say "I was Drum Major in High School"...and I'm like thinkin..."yeah, you and every other person out here". But its just really interesting to see the total meltdowns by these kids. It happens every year... some kid is pitchin lights out, striking out people...looking all smug and cocky (always a white kid...but then again, they are usually all white, which is another post altogether). You hear the announcer talk about how this kid is "undefeated, unscored upon", etc. There's always the anecdote about the kid haveing a "perfect game" during the summer where he "stuck out all 18 batters he faced"... so usually, about the 4th inning or so, the other team starts taking pitches and suddenly, the bases are full. The coach goes out and says something like (or more likely yells) "son<it's always son>... you need to bear down and focus!" the kid, smugness gone replaced with a tad bit of concern, kinda has a glassy "deer in the head lights" look but gets himself together when his teammates slap him on the head and yell "you da man!". Of course...the other teams hometown bully/best player/coach's son comes to the plate.... and crushes the first pitch he sees waaaayyyyy out of the park. the tragic thing is the camera focusing on the dejected/crushed/bewildered losing pitcher as he starts bawling before the hitter even gets to second base. Pitchers' coach goes out (and you know he's going to yank him for his son, standing at shortstop, waiting his chance because coach didnt want the parents cryin nepotism) and trys to console the bawling kid...and you hear the announcers talk in a hushed tone something like "it's these lessons that are played out in front of us on this big stage. This kid will one day think back to this and realize that it wasnt so bad...that these were truly the best of times" or something similar and supposedly profound. Anyway...you get the pitcher, err... picture.

A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while. - Nuke Laloosh