Franchisees

Some friends and family of mine, as well as myself, attended the Chiefs vs. Saints game last night at Arrowhead and taking in the whole experience (since the game was outright boring as hell) it got me thinking. If you know me, or have been following my blog, you know that for some time now I have been trying to select a new NFL franchise to adopt in a "casual fan" way. I used to be a HUGE NFL fan, but after many years I gravitated more toward the college game and couldn't be happier. I am a die hard Notre Dame fan, and will always be a bigger fan of the college game than the pros from this point forward. However, the NFL is so big and such a grand stage, and is football afterall, it almost forces one to care about how some team does. I used to be a 49ers fan, for quite some time and in very obsessed fashion I might add. But over time, the team and it's direction grew away from me and my interests until there was finally nothing left for me there. I didn't so much abandon them as they abandoned me. After spending many months pondering other teams to root for, and even initially setting out to root for whichever team drafted Brady Quinn (sorry, Cleveland is NOT an option), I settled on the Buccaneers.

Tampa Bay is fairly awful right now, but that is irrelevant. What I prefer to focus on is the team concept, the uniforms and logos, the players...a lot of the intagibles you'd expect an artist to dwell on. Anyway, fast forward back to the game last night. I just can't imagine ever being a Chiefs fan...and I live in KC! I just can't. I can't fathom rooting for a club that is so egregarious with it's fan base. Kansas City has an ENORMOUS following...very loyal, always willing to pay whatever it takes to get tickets to the games or buy merchandise and concessions at the stadium. And for what? A mediocre product? The Chiefs have won one Superbowl since it's inception and haven't even so much as sniffed another title shot since. Not realistically. Loyalists will point to the '93 season with Montana and Allen, but that's a fallacy. Do you think, if either wasn't washed up already, they would have come to a small market town like KC? Not a chance. The Chiefs made a quick appearance as the first victim for Indianapolis last season, but they hadn't seen the playoffs in five years prior to that.

Arrowhead has this planned "renovation", which in reality is nothing more than adding a facade and renovating the concession stands (although they say it's going to give fans all the ammeneties of other stadiums around the league. Yeah, right.) It's a shame...the Chiefs have an unbelievably loyal and proud following here in Kansas City...it's a shame that the organization doesn't take better care of their fans and it's a shame the fans let them get away with it.

So, anyway, I'm not quite sold on Tampa as a team to root for and I cannot figure out why. I tried to contemplate this last night while watching the Saints slap the taste out of the Chiefs mouths. The problem with the NFL (in my mind) is that you either root for a player(s), a team from where you live, or you randomly pick some team you like because of logo, uniforms and players. That's how I arrived at the 49ers when I was a teenager. I dug their unis, players and play style. I was hooked from there on out. But, as I grew older and learned about football (and I mean a lot about football), I got into other styles of teams. Then, the Niners ditched everything that was Forty-Niner like and began to demolish the roster and way of running a team and that was it for me. Dr. John York decided to burn the ship down...I didn't stay on board to find out if the ocean would put the fire out.

I know college football is more important to me, and always will be. I find comfort in that actually. Fall Saturdays are my football Sunday. But, the NFL and it's hype machine is next to impossible to ignore. And really, how much do I want to (or can I) invest in another team? Notre Dame is my love in football, and my main supplier of merchandise purchased. I don't need to add another club to spend a ton of money on, so that leaves casual fan status at best.

So...now I'm thinking perhaps I'll pick players to follow and not necessarily a team. I don't know. I do know this...I will be buying a real replica, sewn patches version of whatever team drafts Tom Zibikowski (my favorite college player in a long, long time). So maybe there's that as a future in the NFL.

Bringin The Heat

So my wife has entered into a career type job which she loves, and is very good at, and I couldn't be happier. She is working as a counselor and staff member for a level five treatment facility taking care of at risk and abused teens. She has always wanted to get into taking care of children of various ages, especially ones at these critical points in their lives, so I am ecstatic she has found a good place to do it at. It also doesn't hurt they have trained her in self defense (something she will not allow me to do, even though I have five years of martial arts), crisis management and CPR among other things. She's making good money and has all the hours in the world she wants, so everything is A-OK on that front. As for me, I am continuing to spread the good word about my artwork. I contacted my old friend Dr. Daniel Fleming with the Apex Art Space about possibly doing a new showing.

Since my work was in the KCAC Rivermarket Regional show a little bit a go, I felt another Crossroads District show was definitely in order. Plus, I love the Crossroads area and it never hurts to get my work in front of the masses. I think this time I will actually have prints for sale on site, so even though I would expect little activity in this department, it'll still be nice to have available. I'm also going to be making more forays into the sculpture world soon, so that should be fun. I always said if I didn't have to worry about making a living as an artist I'd be a sculptor. :) I contacted my buddy Mario Mora about possibly showing with me as he has before and any time I ever get opportunities I like to extend them on to my fellow UCM compatriots. Gotta look out for the brothers and sisters out there fighting against The Man you know.

Revelations

So my wife and I have been actively trying to have kids for awhile now, with no real luck to be seen. This is especially hard for my wife, considering her main thing in life is to become a mother. She'll make a good one, too. Last night, she found out her sister is pregnant after only having just started trying a very short time ago. Needless to say, that didn't help her feelings toward the subject. She's convinced there's something wrong with her physically or something, while I try to take a more positive approach and simply assume it'll happen at some random time. In reflection of this, I offer these poignant lyrics by Concrete Blonde that I think fit the subject quite well:

Say its been too hard
Say its been too long
You say its all too much
The thrill has long been gone
Well I thought you could
Yes I thought you could
And you thought you could too

But its a place and time
Where the years behind are piled up high
But never mind
Its time to crash and burn or fly
And I thought you could
You know I thought you could
You know I thought you could too

Go to sleep now
Go on dream away
Isn't easy is it, babe?
And I hope
And I dream
And I pray
That sometime
Well find a way

Some say easy come
Some say easy go
Some say time flies by too fast
Some say it drags on all too slow
Well I thought you could
You know I thought you could
And I thought I could too

But if you never find
The heart to start all over again
Remember I was one
Who tried to be a friend to you,
Well you know I tried
Yes you know I tried
And I know you tried too

Go to sleep now
Go on dream away
Isn't easy is it, babe?
And I hope
And I dream
And I pray
That sometime
Well find a way

As for the rest of the time recently, we've spent it getting settled, Kherstin getting into a new job (which I will elaborate on further in another post) and attending my family reunion. That is always a fun event, although I really don't know many of the people on that side of the family. On our way back we stopped by our family cemetery, which is located in secret (or so it would seem) deep in the Ozarks of Missouri. I can honestly say, if you did not know where this place was, you never would. Very quiet, peaceful and serene though. I don't know if my wife and I will ever lay there when our time comes...I prefer the idea of us being cremated and having our ashes mixed together in an urn of some time...probably of our own design. Just something about the whole burial process creeps me out. Probably that whole "death" part.