Where Did February Go?

I knew heading into the month that this was going to be a bit of a challenge both at work and at home. The shortened calendar provides a bit of a crunch with regard to billing and just making sure everything is accomplished within the confines of the calendar. Two days may not seem like a lot but that is about 2 hours of billable time per person that are lost. Thankfully, that all seemed to work out and I was still able to put in my usual 200 hours. Of course this also shortened my lodge timeline a bit and I am still trying to make up for time lost.

However, work and lodge are far down the list of things that colored the calendar. My wife and I began the month as a family of two and now we find ourselves bringing the last day to a close with a son nearly two weeks old. It was a month that also saw a tremendous loss to our family… thankfully it is a short month and the page on the calendar can be quickly turned. Two days makes a hug difference in this regard.

The month began interestingly enough with all the football fanatics going into warm weather hibernation, Phil declaring that we were screwed for at least six more weeks, and Brian Williams announcing that he was not a highlander and has not shaped the course of history since the big bang. That same week I witnessed quite the interesting lodge meeting followed by the raising of another brother the following week. It was a unique experience going from seeing boys transformed into men through scouting and a man transformed into a mason a few days after.

Things were also busy at the office as we waited for Rip Torn to tell us what was going to happen next. This compounded the whole billing situation mentioned above. Things were just beginning to calm a little when my wife and I reached the fateful weekend that brought us to Bryn Mawr Hospital two days in a row. Of course, since the arrival of our son my perspective has changed just a wee bit. All the chaos from the first half of February just seemed to go away, the subsequent scramble to catch up doesn’t seem to bother me like it used to, and the rest of the days in the month just evaporated leaving only the memories behind. I know it happened but at this point I really don’t know what happened to February.

The Super Bowl Waiting Game

It seems as though the topic of the Super Bowl has come up in just about every conversation I have had in the last few days. Most of the time it has been about the game itself while the commercials and halftime show have also been topics thrown into the mix. No matter the specifics within the general topic I had basically the same reaction… doubt that I’ll watch it just let me know who wins.

However, tonight I found myself turning the channel to check on the progress of the game. The little that I saw it seemed to be an interesting contest and based on the social media streams and post-game coverage, it was one of the better matchups that has happened in some time. But I wasn’t watching occasionally to see if Seattle or New England would win another title, I tuned in to watch a few commercials (which continue to go downhill) and to see when The Blacklist would be starting.

Of course, there was also the one time that I flipped the channel and the halftime show was running rampant across the field. They seem to be getting more and more extravagant every year and playing into the fact that the primary purpose of the NFL is entertainment. It was also amusing, which was also pointed out on Facebook by a friend of mine, that Katy Perry was riding the “more you know” star. Definitely no deflated balls found in the halftime show (also courtesy of the observant comments found on Facebook).  

In the end, George Carlin was wrong. Football seems to go on forever. It is not rigidly timed both for the on the field play or on the field antics. The games get longer and longer every year with the halftime show providing viewers with a loner and longer bathroom break. You could almost hear the entire country flush at the same time about five minutes after the first half ended.  

Thankfully the postgame ruckus seemed to pass relatively quickly and the regularly scheduled programming resumed leaving the football game in the past. It seems as though no matter how good of a game it was there is always an anticlimactic feel at the end of the night when the Lombardi Trophy is raised the same speech is repeated by the owner and 90% of the time the winning quarterback is brought up to the podium to receive the MVP. It is almost formulaic once the clock winds down. Of course, what do I know, I am a lifelong Eagles fan.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

While everyone is focusing on the upcoming super bowl, I have been treating these weeks as I would any other. Football never had that much of an appeal to me. I used to enjoy watching the Eagles on occasion but never felt I was missing out on anything if I didn’t put the game on. And now, with all the rules changes, additional penalties, and a seeming increase in showboating, it really has lost the little attention I paid the sport.

Of course, that is a major issue across all sports. The rules are changing and removing some of the aspects of the game that kept it interesting. Hockey has fallen into this same model. While football has increased the prevalence of penalties, slowing the game down and, possibly, causing more injuries due to the hesitation of some players during plays, baseball seems to be implementing changes that are having a greater negative impact on the way the game used to be, the traditional game of baseball.

The most recent changes have taken the human element out of the game. The expansion of instant replay and the manager’s ability to challenge is something that I don’t have a big problem with. However, when it comes to umpires, monitoring the strike zone is something that should have never happened. Part of the game and part of the pitcher’s job is to know what kind of strike zone that particular umpire has. Some used to have massive strike zones like Eric Gregg and pitchers would take advantage of that fact. Others would have high or low strike zones. It is the pitcher’s and the batter’s responsibility to adapt to the situation.

Speaking of strike zones, whatever happened to pitching inside? The art of the brush back has been completely lost on the current generations of pitchers and I can’t really blame them. If you throw a pitch inside you run the chance of getting thrown out of the game. Put a shrinking strike zone on top of that and it’s no wonder why offense remains so stout throughout baseball.

And now we get to the real issue that bothers me about modern sports. Eliminating collisions at home plate is completely ridiculous. As a catcher, you know what may happen. You signed up for it. You made the decision to play the sport professionally knowing the risks that are involved. Football and hockey have had similar regulations put in place to eliminate certain kinds of contact. What the heck did these athletes think they were getting into when they decided to pursue this career?

There is something wrong when you can watch more hard contact in NASCAR. I think we should sign all these millionaires up to play a full season of rugby and see if they continue to complain about the violence that exists in their sport. In the end, toughen up and earn the absurd amount of money that you are getting paid to play a game!

So, going back to the original question, am I ready for some football? Eh. Not really. Not sure I am ready for spring training either. The real question is, where can I watch some rugby?