Tag: football

Not art + design

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

Because every gym on the planet is seemingly contractually obligated to be airing ESPN on at least one television, I saw this story about how the coach of the Cleveland Browns was spotted wearing this t-shirt that said “Pittsburgh started it,” as commentary over an incident a few weeks ago where the Browns’ Myles Garrett and the Steelers’ Mason Rudolph got into a scuffle ending with Garrett ripping Rudolph’s helmet off of him and swinging it at his head.  Garrett has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL for basically assault, and Rudolph was fined a bunch of money for remarks that supposedly started the whole incident which may or may not have been racist.

But this isn’t a post about the incident, because when the day is over, I really don’t give two shits about an organization that somehow thinks organized dog death fighting is a lesser crime than kneeling during the national anthem.   No, I’m more incensed over the fact that on the aforementioned t-shirt, is an actual signature on it from a supposed “art + design” company as if printing a t-shirt with three words in the Garfield font (Cooper Black) is remotely anything considered art or design.

This is the kind of shit that really makes me jaded towards the creative industry as a whole.  A bunch of hacks out there that take the most low-effort bullshit, slap a logo or take credit for it, and call it “design.”  And when challenged, comes a deluge of bullshit about minimalism or simplicity.  And then there’s legions of like-minded sheep who think it’s the most innovative idea in the world, and then it goes viral and people actually benefit from it.

Amazingly, the “company” that signed this shirt that I could easily plagiarize in 2 seconds, appears to be an actual company that actually makes all sorts of Cleveland-centric apparel and merch, almost all of which is 78,000% more creative and contains actual design than Pittsburgh Started It.  But because they’re an actual company, they do have the audacity to try to monetize their low-hanging fruit, and to no surprise at all, are selling these bullshit shirts for $28 a pop.  But realistically, even if it was some individual who calls themselves a studio, they’d still try to sell them for $35, because they’re broke-ass poor and trying to capitalize on going viral.

Naturally, people are buying them because they clearly have way too much money.

Either way, if I had more than 0 readers, I’m sure I’d inevitably be accused of being jealous that someone out there is making money on such a low-budget idea.  And they’d be entirely right, because I would love to make actual money on such little effort.  Why the fuck can’t something controversial and nationally known happen for an Atlanta team, that I could easily make into some sort of meme, call it design and cash in on?

It had to happen eventually

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

Back when Extreme Championship Wrestling was still a thing, Tommy Dreamer had a feud with Raven that went on for a few years, where no matter what happened in the storylines, whenever they actually had a match against each other, Tommy Dreamer always lost.  It didn’t matter if Dreamer was in control of the entire match, or Raven would squash him, in the end, Dreamer did the job. 

It wasn’t until Raven had been poached by WCW because Paul Heyman couldn’t afford to keep any of the rising stars that he had cultivated, did Tommy Dreamer actually get his long-awaited win over Raven.  And even that was mostly because it was a convenient way to write him out of the storylines because he was leaving, but the point remains it took Tommy Dreamer over two years of jobbing before he finally got a win over his long-hated rival.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, the University of Virginia finally defeated Virginia Tech in football.  They won the Commonwealth Cup for the first time since 2003.  As I was watching the score (I don’t watch games, because teams I favor tend to always lose when I do), and it was knotted at 30-30 in the fourth quarter, I couldn’t help but have this sinking feeling that maybe this was the year where the streak had to end.  But who really knew, because over the last few years, there had been quite a few nail biters where the good guys prevailed, including an improbable OT win just a year ago.

But then I saw that UVA went up 33-30, and when it came down to the final drive, it was either going to be a soul-sucking TD win for Tech, or probably a turnover when UVA would inevitably make Hendon Hooker actually have to throw the ball if they wanted to win.  When I saw that suddenly UVA was then up 39-30, I knew what had happened without having to dig.

Anyway, for quite a while, I’ve had this analogy in mind for the day when UVA actually beat Tech.  I think it really came to mind back in like 2014, when the two teams were 5-6, and they were playing not just for the Commonwealth Cup, but for bowl eligibility, and the game was a real nail biter that came down to the closing seconds and a defensive stand by the Hokies in order to win it.  But that was the first time I finally felt like the general invincibility of Virginia Tech over UVA was no longer a given, and I couldn’t help but feel that the proverbial doomsday clock of the Hokies’ dominance was really starting to tick.

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I love everything about Andrew Luck’s retirement

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

With the start of the 2019-2020 NFL season mere weeks away, the big news to come off the gridiron was the seemingly abrupt and out-of-nowhere announcement by Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, that he was retiring from football.

At a still young 29, this comes as a shock to many, as lots of star quarterbacks are typically capable of playing well into their late-30s, and you look at Tom Brady whom at age 42 is coming off of his sixth Super Bowl, and it seems to believe that Luck is walking away way early.  Obviously, he has his own reasons for making this decision, but the reactions have definitely varied throughout the world of sports fandom.

Obviously, there are lots of enraged fans, mostly out of Indianapolis and/or are fervent fantasy football players, at the thought that their franchise quarterback and/or stat printer would have the audacity to abandon ship and leave them in the middle of the ocean.  These people are the ones who are blasting comment sections across the internet to opine how selfish and stupid Luck is, abandoning Indianapolis, the fans, and how stupid he is to be leaving a kabillion dollars on the table by walking away early.

And then there are fans like me, who stand and applaud Andrew Luck for walking away while he still has his head, (most of) his health, and a world of potential ahead of him to mold and shape the rest of his life ahead of him that doesn’t have anything to do with football.  Sure, he’s probably leaving a tremendous amount of money on the table by calling it quits now, but if there’s one thing that’s always been the primary adjective for Andrew Luck is that he’s smart; I think it’s safe to assume that of the nearly $100M he’s earned in his career, not including endorsements, Luck is going to be just fine throughout the remainder of his life financially, and I’d wager he’ll be just fine being a physically mobile and capable millionaire now, instead of being a physically addled, hobbling, brain-mushed multi-millionaire in ten years.

I always love it when professional athletes leave on their own terms, and not being forced into retirement by injury or old age.  Especially ones like Andrew Luck who obviously have a lot left in the tank, but just don’t feel like putting their bodies on the line in order to bilk more money out of a machine that they’ve already gotten more than enough out of in the first place.  Even if it means the teams they depart are left high and dry, it’s still admirable to me when a guy realizes that not everything is sports and money and has goals and ambitions outside of sports, and makes the bold decision to pursue them instead of letting themselves wreck their bodies in pursuit of what may never come.

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When you look at Super Bowl Leee that way…

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

Super Bowl Leee was a fantastic championship game… if it were soccer.

Not because the punters made more news and excitement kicking the ball a combined 14 times, setting some obscure records in the process.  But in the sense that it was an extremely low-scoring affair that resembled more of a soccer game that fútbol americano enthusiasts love to ridicule.

Seriously, when the game went into halftime with New England up 3-0, I was really hoping that that would be the final score, because it would be ironically hilarious to have a Super Bowl be decided by a 3-0 score.  The “best” teams in the league duking it out, only for a single field goal to be not just the decider, but the only score of an entire 3-4 hour affair.  It would roughly be the equivalent of a soccer match where the final score is 1-0.

And although it didn’t end up being 3-0, it was still an embarrassing exhibition that really was 10-3, before there were some more kicks, with the Pats getting an insurance field goal before the Rams booted their own; and it figures that both teams would have missed field goals, because Nantz and Romo made it very clear that throughout the entire season in the Georgia Dome Mercedes-Benz Arena, no Falcons or any opponent kicker had missed a field goal, 31/31 overall.

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Snowpocalypse 2019, Super Bowl Leee, etc.

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

I find myself in a position where I suddenly have some down time, and for lack of better things to do, I kind of feel like I should feel like writing.  Meetings are still consuming the vast majority of my work days, but for some reason, my afternoon meeting(s) have been pushed back to a later time, so kind of out the blue, I’ve got this patch of time, and I’ve already exhausted my usual rounds of internet surfing during my morning meeting(s), so I guess I’ll try to help the time pass by writing about some things that I don’t necessarily want to spend an entire post writing about, but aren’t so bad consolidated into a singular post.

So, earlier in the week, the City of Atlanta for the most part, shut down.  On Monday, the news was that an unavoidable snow storm was converging onto the southeast, including Georgia, and that by Tuesday morning, snow was all but guaranteed.  Mind you, all of Monday was around the high 50’s, and by the time I left the office, had topped out at 60F degrees.  It was such a beautiful day, I went home and threw the ball for big dog, since if the weather were to come true, there wouldn’t be another chance any time soon for ball time to occur.

As night rolled in, the temperature did start to drop, and I could feel that thickness in the air that typically seems to come with snow, but I couldn’t help but think in my mind how funny it would be if Snowpocalypse was some massive false call, and that nothing was to occur.  I had already taken contingency plans as far as work was concerned, and made sure to collect numbers from my employees, just in case I had to let them know that the office was closed in the morning.  The news kept pushing back the arrival of the impending snow from 11 pm to 3 am, and by the time I went to sleep, it was around 5 am.  I went to bed, expecting to see snow on the ground by the time I woke up.

And naturally, there was none.  I’m glad I didn’t alter my routine and stay up late because snow was all but guaranteed, and fuck myself from waking up.  I texted all my employees and made the day optional on account of the updated news that by 10-11 am, SNOW WAS GOING TO COME, but otherwise went into the office myself.  Went ot the gym, ran cardio, showered, and then went upstairs to my desk, where I had a pretty routine day; and since I’m seated next to the window, I had a front row seat to the small amount of misting that occurred, but no snow actually fell.

The picture above is a pretty accurate representation of what Snowpocalypse 2019 looked like in Atlanta.

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I don’t even like Clemson, but they deserve better than this

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

However, there’s kind of an appropriate metaphor in the imagery: College Football National Championship winning Clemson Tigers football team goes to the White House, Donald Trump serves them a gargantuan spread… of fast food

I don’t think it’s any new news that I don’t like Clemson.  For nearly the last decade, I don’t remember the last time that Tech has beaten Clemson in football, whether it’s been Tajh Boyd, Deshaun Watson or Kelly Bryant at quarterback.  I’d even root for Duke over them in basketball, and I’ve become way bigger of a supporter of SEC schools simply out of the necessity that someone’s got to be willing and able to stand up to them in their ascent of the college football ranks.

But that being said, champions are still champions, and should be rewarded for their excellence as such.  Now I’ve got plenty of words and opinions to offer about the whole government shutdown, but little good can actually come out of putting any of them in writing, but the fact that as a result of it, the White House basically has no cooks or chefs on site, relegating the champion Clemson football team to have a train cart of McDonalds, Wendy’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut and other fast food options, that’s kind of sad.

Even Clemson deserves better than this kind of spread, in the fucking White House.  But then again, given the current state of the political world, somehow it all seems kind of ironically appropriate, and the imagery that has come from this whole shit show within a shit show, have been nothing short of classic and iconic.

Still though, any team that even accepts an invitation to the White House in the first place, should probably expect some sort of luxury or opulence when visiting the home to basically who’s supposed to be the most powerful person in the world.  Even the Clemson squad that won the National Championship in 2017 had some sort of gourmet barbecue spread, and it occurs to me that Clemson championships have all occurred in years in which a particular guy has been in office, and that they’re both orange as fuck.

Despite the fact that many players and perspectives see this as funny, charming, or are able to roll with the punches, I’m definitely in the camp of people, players and perspectives that doesn’t really find it as humorous, except in an ironic metaphorical sense.  I get that elite athletes probably don’t have the opportunity to eat like retards as much as they want, unless they’re linemen, but for those athletic players that actually would like to have a future professionally, a buffet of fast food really isn’t the best idea, even in celebration.

When the day is over, this too, like many other absurd and ludicrous stories that come out of Washington D.C., isn’t really that big of a surprise.  There’s little reason to believe that Clemson won’t get (another) re-do in coming years, and maybe them or Alabama, will be treated to a nicer spread, a little more appropriate for future champions.

I guess all that’s left is, I wonder what the Boston Red Sox’s meal is going to be?  A truck full of Dunkin Donuts maybe?

Could the XFL actually save football?

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

I’ve gone on record to say that I’ve typically been in the camp that I don’t think college athletes should be getting paid, because they’re in essence already being paid with college educations, room, board, feed and all sorts of non-monetary privileges that are the things that typically drown all ordinary people in student debt for the vast majority of their lives.

I’ve read numerous articles and arguments both for and against the idea of paying student-athletes, and I most certainly see both sides of the coin.  And although I still feel strongly that college players shouldn’t be paid money, I do feel like I’m softening on the idea that the reality still is that college players receive very little for their blood, sweat and tears, while the coaches, staff, schools and the fat cats of the NCAA are making literal millions of dollars.

I now think the idea of allowing players to make royalties off of their name is fair, and/or the idea that student-athletes should receive some sort of annuities or flexible scholarships that will allow them to protect their lives with educations and more usable degrees, instead of forcing them to make all sorts of essential decisions while they’re still eligible amateurs, often times still teenagers or just past.  The inequity of what students receive versus what the NCAA gets is wider than a Kardashian’s asshole and it just doesn’t seem right to me anymore.

However, going back to the headline of this post, shortly after Clemson put the finishing touches on Alabama in round 4, and winning their second National Championship (which is a disgusting thought in its own right but that’s another diatribe), the recently re-booted XFL made a strategically subtle reminder to the world, that they are “not restricted by the rules that exist in other professional football leagues,” which is basically saying “unlike the NFL, we don’t have rules saying you have to be X years old or have completed X number of years in college,” which to the ears of the young and ambitious sounds a lot like “you can go high school to pro and start getting paid sooner… in the XFL.”

Money is the impetus for everything in the rotten world we live in, and it goes to say that money is main reason for how the world of fútbol americano is the way it is today.  Underclassmen in the college ranks are coveted and exploited because they’re young, have fresh legs, and are malleable to a school’s system.  Subsequently, their young age makes them appealing to the professional ranks since their window of peak physical performance is open longer at 20 than it is at 22, so they can be exploited and milked for longer.

The rich get richer, which is why college football has seen four straight years of Alabama vs. Clemson.  Kids want to play for winners, which is why the top schools always have their veritable picks of the litter, with there being a trickle-down effect of the top prospects often times going to the most winning schools that will have them.  Upstarts often happen when the unheralded and underrated rise to their potentials, or more often times, when a disgruntled former prospect grows tired of riding the bench and being forced to wait their turn, and then they transfer to another school with hopes for actual playing time and exposure, but none of them in recent years have still been able to actually topple a powerhouse.

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