Why We Care So Much About Sports

Last night I watched my beloved Arizona Diamondbacks drop another game in the NLCS to the Colorado Rockies to go down 2-0. I find myself getting really upset and the play by the Dbacks so far in this series. Cursing, punching the air and couch cushions, and disbelief are just a few things that I do when we lose big games. During the Dbacks World Series run in 2001, I had a migraine up until Luis Gonzalez’s hit won it for us. This gets me thinking about why I get so emotional about all of this.

In all reality, the outcome of sporting events shouldn’t have any bearing on my life or my day to day actions. But they do. If the Diamondbacks go on to win 4 in a row and go to the World Series or drop the next 2 and end their playoff run, my life will probably go on exactly the same. Probably also exactly the same had they not even made the playoffs. But I have a great interest in them. When they win, they bring the community together. People who would never talk to each other, have something in common the minute they see each other in Dbacks colors. After the World Series win over the New York Yankees in 2001, anyone wearing Diamondbacks stuff was your best friend and vice-versa. This even happens when they lose. There is nothing better than fans talking about “what could have been” with other fans. Look at the Chicago Cubs. They have probably some of the best and most loyal fans of any sport and they haven’t won a World Series in 99 years now. They are the lovable losers but they never have to worry about not packing Wrigley Field.

To some people, sports are just as much a part of life as anything else. Football fans will sit in a parking lot several hours before the game just to hang out with friends and other fans just like themselves. Why? For the love of the game, rooting on your team, and sharing stories (both of winning and losing) with others. Fans will devote an entire day to sitting in the parking lot tailgating for several hours, then spend 3 to 4 hours inside the stadium watching the game. Once the game is over, time to go home and sit around with buddies and discuss the game.

Sports brings people together in different ways that many other things can. A team is something that many different people from different paths of life can share. Sports can also be used to help heal. This is best shown with the Virginia Tech home football opener this season. It was the first time since the tragic shootings there in April that the school had come together like that for something not related to the shootings. While those who were lost were mourned, it was a chance for the community to come together and realize that as tragic as that event was, they are still a strong community and they showed it at the game.

So people who ask why you care about sports may not be able to understand. You can’t really explain it. It’s not like anything else out there. We care about the team, win or lose. We rush home at night to catch a game on TV. We wait in line to buy playoff tickets. People who don’t get it don’t do those things for whatever it is that they love in place of sports. Just like they might not understand our love of sports, I cannot understand their “lack” of love of sports.

So what I’m trying to say is that I can’t tell you why we care so much about sports. What I can say is that it is there and for most of us, it’s not leaving anytime soon. Like it or not, sports are part of the American landscape. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten goosebumps at a live sporting event watching the team and crowd interact. I was at game 1 of the NLCS and to see all the crowd act in unison and wave their Dbacks towels was amazing. Either you are moved by that or you aren’t. I’m a true sports fan and I am proud to admit it.

Pandora Radio Review

I came across something the other day that I am really enjoying. It’s called Pandora and it’s a personal, online radio station. What’s cool about it over others out there is that you start by picking a band or a song and Pandora will make a radio station for you from songs and artists similar to what you picked.

I had just seen Muse in concert (awesome by the way) and so my first station was Muse naturally. You can find it here. It’s really starting to know what I like and I’m not having to give songs thumbs down as much.

There are no ads, just music and I don’t think you can find that anywhere else. At least I can’t. I don’t know how they do it but the music seems to go on and on. So go check it out at www.Pandora.com and let me know what you think of it.

Congratulations Arizona Diamondbacks

Hey I know that this is a bit off-topic but I am a HUGE Arizona Diamondbacks fan and I have to say congrats to our boys for sweeping the Cubbies tonight. We get no love from any major media outlets because we are on the West Coast. We did have the best record in a tight National League and did hold on 2 worthy contenders to win our 4th National League West crown in 10 years of existence. All but 2 “expert” writers for ESPN picked the Cubs to win. The closest they got was a base-loaded situation tonight and they choked their way out of that.

It’s about time we get the respect we deserve. The Yankee$ and Red $ox are good but I’m tired of seeing them all the time on national TV. Now it’s time for the nation to see that the young Dbacks are a force as well.

CONGRATS ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS!!!!!!!!

My Fun with Ubuntu

Well I wrote a couple of weeks ago about getting a dual-boot set up with my existing Windows XP box with Ubuntu on top. As I wrote here, that didn’t work out too well. Since then, I have been trying a couple on things but in the end, I think it was Ubuntu’s dislike of being on the second disk on my computer that did it in. I tried to let go of some of the free space on my first disk but apparently that isn’t happening. I still don’t know what is wrong with it.

A couple of days ago, I was introduced to the idea of running Ubuntu off of a VMWare image. I can’t believe that the thought never crossed my mind but it is so simple. I don’t have to mess around with any funky OS install and if I want to uninstall it, I can very easily.

So now I have Ubuntu running perfectly without any issues on my machine. You can get the image here. Give it a shot if you’re interested. I am really happy how this turned out for me and hopefully it will save you trouble in the future.

iPod Touch versus iPhone – Part Two

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article about the iPod Touch versus the iPhone. I’ve done a lot more reading and research on this and have decided on the iTouch (I can’t call it the iPod Touch, too long, and sorry for the perverse name). I’ve heard all of the reviews saving it is lacking but they all say the same thing. That if the iTouch had come out first, people would be blown away by it and in awe of it. Well it didn’t come out first, the iPhone did. People need to stop all of the bitching about that it doesn’t have this or that and realize that it is a pocket media player. Its purpose is to play music and videos. Done, it does that. All of the extra items to me are bonuses. Now don’t get me wrong. I will totally take advantage of all of its cool features like the WiFi but it’s not necessary. I have that already on my phone. I have WiFi, camera, calendar, email, etc. right there on my trusty Dash. Why would I want that all again so I can carry around two things that basically do the same thing?

So sorry for my little rant there. Some was for the people that I hear bitching online but honestly, it was mostly for me. Even though I have set my mind on the iTouch, I still have thoughts about “Why not the iPhone?” and “Maybe the iPhone will be cooler”. I don’t understand why I even think this but what can you do? I am going to get the iTouch and a review will be found here shortly after.

Since I apparently need the confirmation, let me know what you think. Am I making a good move? Speak Up!