Inevitable Wisconsin Reflection.

As I sit in my bed at my mom’s house in Greendale, Wisconsin I realize that I haven’t lived in this state for nearly ten years. I almost can’t comprehend that. Wow, time flies, it really does. People always told me things would go fast, I sort of believed it, but “sort of” is now 100% gone, there is no doubt. The reflection of how fast time moves opens up a waterfall of thought about how I should utilize time, how I should be living life, treating others, treating myself, if I’m living the right way, if I’m happy, and what kind of strides I’m making in my life.

Uh oh, the obvious life-reflection-when-I-come-home moment is in full force. Well, it’s necessary. Sometimes you need to take stock of your life and how you’re growing as a person…or not growing. On the flip, maybe it isn’t normal to reflect as much as I am? Sometimes too much reflection can lead to doubt, for me at least.  The ideal case is that reflection leads to growth, but that isn’t always the case.

The beauty of having a small town like Greendale is that it’s always a reminder of where I’m from. It’s a simple reminder of who I was, and to an even larger extent, how I got to be who I am. I wonder if that’s the case for everyone when they return to their hometown?

The things written above is a stream of thought that I’ve had many times in past. My personal conclusion inevitable. However, now I tell myself to get there faster. I try to avoid the rabbit hole of emotion that comes with reflection. Also, time is flying, life is short, lets just conclude…

Live often, and live fast but do it slowly because life is short. And to echo a mantra that isn’t mine: “seek and find.” 

Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Holiday and Culture

not-drunk-from-wisconsin-t-shirt The combination of a mother who doesn’t think I eat enough and the culture that is (most of) Wisconsin has created the perfect storm of complete and total over fucking indulgence… I wish I didn’t drop an F-bomb right there but I needed it for emphasis.

Quick backstory - I left Wisconsin and moved to Los Angeles to find a career, or really any job in the entertainment industry. It took a while to figure out what the hell I was doing and I’ve often wondered if I should have prepped myself a bit more before I blindly moved. The truth is: a) nothing can “prepare” you for a move to LA and b) The other part to why I moved so quickly was because of the lifestyle I was living.

I was drinking and eating as though it was the final days of the world. A glutton who lay on a bed and was served s’mores dipped in grease and then deep fried then wrapped in cheese while I washed it down with a Keystone Light. Okay, no, not really, but almost really. I was eating but mainly because I was drinking so much, and yes, it was Keystone. Of course I was drinking so much – I was in college and this was Wisconsin.

To honestly understand the culture is to live in the Midwest, it’s difficult to express if you don’t experience it. During my early 20’s in Milwaukee I may have spent more days blacked out than I did coherent, and it felt okay, not because it was okay but because I was just one of many doing it. I thought that’s how college was but actually it’s how Milwaukee was.

Wait, am I talking about Milwaukee or having a mini intervention right now?

At some point I knew I wanted to move and I also knew I needed to stop living how I was living. I imagined my liver probably was that of a 75-year-old man and my brain was becoming deformed. So I booked it to Los Angeles and started doing coke… KIDDING. I chilled out and essentially continued on with my life in a culture that I preferred.

Over the last 7 years or so I’ve come to appreciate Milwaukee for all the things that I missed while I lived here, which is standard protocol for just about anyone who returns to somewhere. It took me a minute to realize that the culture is more than just getting black out drunk. Having said that… Drinking is still a MASSIVE part of Milwaukee and there is no getting around that.

Regardless - it’s holiday season 2012 and I’m back. I guess I’m a little wiser and I’m definitely older and I’m fully prepared to embrace the things I once couldn’t handle. The culture that I once was being tornadoed in is no more. It’s not as though I stopped drinking or something, it’s just that I’m aware of what the hell can happen to me, I’ve been down that road before.

Fuck it. Bring it on, Wisconsin. Bring on the Packers, Bucks, not the Brewers, the cold, the cold forcing me to stay inside and do nothing, the booze, and did I mention the Packers? This is a culture to embrace head on like you’re staring down a bull, and just like staring down a bull - if you’re able to coherently discuss it after it’s over, then you’ve succeeded.

What I Learned From The Weekend

The Packers: For the first time all season I started to justify why it was okay if the Packers didn’t go undefeated, then Mason Crosby hit a field goal and I it was as though the thought had never been there. Truthfully, I was a bit upset it was even planted in my head.  

I’m not hiding the fact that I want the Green Bay Packers to go 16-0 in the regular season and win the Super Bowl, I’m greedy and I know it, but it’s what I want. If you’re a Packers fan then you’re thinking it too, if you’re a Packers player you’re thinking it, whether or not you’re admitting it is another story.

 

I don’t know exactly what I should take away from the Packers VS Giants this weekend. On one hand I was happy about their resilience and the fact they won in the final seconds. On the other hand I was worried once again because they seem somewhat exploited by Old man Coughlin and Eli Manning. But come to think about it… doesn’t someone always exploit them, but they manage to win?

 

Biggest fear is the injuries; I don’t like seeing Charles Woodson get injured at any time. So let me say this to any and all Packers people – Don’t think about injuries, go 16-0!

 

Tebow: How can a human not be Team Tebow? What other team is there to be on? I’m rooting for Tebow as though he’s Rocky Balboa, and you know what the weird thing is, he’s the underdog.

 

Think about it – he’s wasn’t exactly handed keys to the kingdom. He took advantage of a situation. Sure, he passes the ball like a blindfolded 8th grader but he’s winning games. Yesterday when the Broncos were down by 1 going into the 4th quarter I text my friend and asked if he had any doubt if Tebow would not win the game – he said no. Next week the Packers play The Raiders, who’s tied with the Broncos for first. So lets be clear – The Bronco’s will be in first after next week.

 

Tom Coughlin Looks So Worried: Whenever I see someone whose totally disgruntled and looks completely disoriented I always think they have The Coughlin Look.

 

Detroit = Not For Real: You can only go so long in the NFL being something that you’re not and the Lions have met the end of their road. I haven’t believed in this team from the beginning and now they’re starting to unravel.

 

I’m not exactly a Lions hater either, I actually was rooting for them and happy to see them start out so strong. But I never thought they’d continue on with a full head of steam and the luck of a Goonie. When I see the Lions I see:

 

A quarterback that looks like he’s going to pop champagne if he doesn’t get injured this season.

A wide receiver that is a monster and wants the ball more.

A angry coach.

A weak defense that thinks they’re the “bad boys” of football when actually they’re trying harder than the Ravens to be the Ravens of 2001.

More angry people who look insecure – including their coach.

A tight-end that spent a week on my fantasy football squad and is underachieving.

 

More Favre Rumors: What would an NFL season be without Brett Favre penis pictures - I mean stories? Rumors are swirling that Favre may be interested in helping the depleted Bears – I don’t buy it, but I like hearing about it.

 

Moving on to things not NFL…

 

I Really Want Dwight Howard in LA: Rumors started to swirl that Howard and Chris Paul may be traded, ahem, will be traded… when is the question.

 

Truthfully I’d be a bit upset to see any of the current Lakers go but they’re old and Dwight Howard is a superhuman… if he’s even human. To the rich go the spoils – bring on Dwight Howard and start the script for Kazaam 2.

 

Breaking Dawn is #1 for a 3rd Week In a Row: What a shitty weekend for movies. The box office isn’t exactly surging so Bella, Edward, and Dr. Muscles are in the top spot at the box office yet again.

 

There is no hiding how much this movie made me want to do anything else in the entire world when I was watching it, so to see this at #1 says one of a few things:

There are shitty movies out.

I am too old to get Twilight.

I’m losing my mind and this movie is good (NO!)

I am probably too old for Twilight.

 

People Are Still Freaking Out About YouTube: Not sure how intertwined you may be with the YouTube community but they recently did an overhaul of their site and everyone seems to be talking about it too much (like right now).

 

Long story short it’s easier to unsubscribe to channels at any given point. Lots of people (myself included) have subscribers because they subscribed to someone else and when they subscribed to them – I would get one too. Make sense? Well now when a person says “you know what, I want to flush out channels I don’t watch” they will… and they are.

 

YouTubers are up in arms about it, but it kind of makes sense. The beauty of technology and creativity is there is a sense of transparency and also the viewer has the control…. That’s the point, right?

 

The Walking Dead Is Overrated: I tried to get into it this weekend. Here’s how my Season 1 viewing went:

Episode 1 – Pretty cool.

Episode 2 – Ehhh.

Episode 3 – I’m done.

I kind of found it cheesy, not the concept (which has been done 100 times) but other aspects. Also, why the shit didn’t they say how long he was in the coma!? That’s the first fucking question I’d ask and the second would be “How’d this happen!?” Please don’t hold this from me, why won’t you tell me!?

 

Super 8 is Underrated: It’s late and my lady is out of town, so what do I do? Watch Super 8 of course – and it’s a really cool movie.

 

My friends would argue with me on this point but I stand by it – Super 8 is badass. So what it’s sort of a Spielberg “rip off” and JJ Abrams uses too many camera flares – it’s fun, entertaining, and adventurous. Watch it again.

 

Netflix Streaming Needs More Movies: It’s amazing that when you want to watch something specific and it’s not streaming on Netflix you can turn on Netflix. When I couldn’t watch Oceans 11 I was back to bashing it like it was releasing Quikster.

NFL Players: What Are You Talking About?

It’s time I come to terms and try to open a discussion about the culture that is NFL lingo. I don’t know if I should be ashamed with what I’m about to say or if others have been concealing this too. I know I can’t be in this boat by myself but as an NFL fan I’ve been lying to myself.

David Fleming from ESPN the Magazine had a conversation with Aaron Rodgers for their “Interview Issue.”

Side Note: Out on Stand Dec 12th, and also a great read.

The conversation is essentially a breakdown and the progress of Aaron Rodgers. Being a massive Packers fan I took a little more interest in what he had to say, then I read something…

Coming off of a question about James Jones and a Touchdown. Flemings question is in BOLD.

Is part of that getting to a place where complicated reads, such as the TD to Jones, just become second nature?

"It's quicker reactions and being more decisive with my checks. When you really start figuring things out as a quarterback, you realize you don't have to be perfect every time, but you do have to be quick and decisive. On that play, we had James on the left and Greg Jennings on the right. The pass check was for James to run a man-beater route -- a route with a double move that works well against single coverage. We were hoping the Chargers would go to a one-high safety look. Instead, they played more quarters, where each DB plays a quarter of the field, and they used high-low coverage on Greg. My quick reaction was that we still have man coverage on the other side with James, who is running a man-beater route. It wasn't perfect, but we still had good options to work with."

When I finished reading A Rodg’s response I thought - “Oh, So Rodgers makes quicker decisions and he passed to Jones because Jennings was initially covered.” But that’s the problem right there! That’s only sort of what Rodgers said, as a matter of fact he said a few things that I have no fucking clue what they mean:

“We were hoping the Chargers would go to a one-high safety look.”

“…The pass check was for James to run a man-beater route -- a route with a double move…"

”Instead, they played more quarters, where each DB plays a quarter of the field…”

“…and they used high-low coverage on Greg.”

In one answer I’m partially confused, not totally but partially, and the thing is – this isn’t some fluke answer, this is how regular repartee is in the NFL. Come on. As a fan when I talk to my buddy I don’t say “Wow, did you see the secondary in that nickel defense? I can’t believe the corners dropped back.”

I say “Dude, Jones just caught a good fucking pass from Rodgers! Touchdown!”

I can appreciate the coaches/players analysis and it’s not as though I want it to be stopped, I just want a better explanation. There’s no way these guys can think we all know what they’re talking about. Come to think of it, Ron Jaworski from Monday Night Football has great breakdowns and explains regarding what he’s talking about. But he’s one of the few.

Can I be alone on this? No way, I just can’t. I want a simplistic analysis from these guys; they have to know it’s what we want (or I want). I’m kind of getting tired of sitting in a room with my football friends and hearing some rubix cube of an explanation of what just happened and then nobody acknowledges it.

Am I alone on this? Is it just part of the football culture? Did I just out myself as a moronic football fan?

A link to the article: http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7295185/nfl-green-bay-aaron-rodgers-greatest-season-qb-ever-had

Adios Jinx: The Perfect Green Bay Packers Season

I’m a sports fan, and being a sports fan means I believe in random superstitions and raw emotion generally tanks logic more than I’d like to admit. I occasionally believe in random jinxes and from time to time am afraid to admit this to myself simply because I feel to embarrassed…I’m a sports fan.

In my world you walk a fine line between gloating and creating the ultimate jinx, it’s actually tough not to cross the two - The reason we worry about a jinx is because we have a personal investment in the team, we actually care. The reason we gloat is because we’re so proud as if we’re actually quarterbacking the team.

I’ve turned the other cheek and am very careful not to create commotion in my jinx world; I’ve played it safe because I’ve been burned before.

I’ve played it cool… I’ve played it smart… I didn’t want to jinx a single person… I didn’t want to jinx my team. But today that changes.

Fuck you potential jinx. Today I announce what I’ve been thinking all NFL season:

The Green Bay Packers are going undefeated. I want them to go undefeated. I never want them to lose.

Somewhere my friend Alex just got very pissed off with me for “calling it” but I had too, and I know he’s thinking the same thing too, but neither one of us want to be responsible if they lose.

I hate it when ESPN starts with the Miami Dolphin undefeated 72’ season talk at weeks 2 and to be honest I’m sick of them leading off shows with “Looks like the Dolphins can pop the champagne” once the 5-0 whoever lose their game. I don’t want to hear about it anymore, I want to hear about the 2011 Packers going undefeated - all the way through the Super Bowl.

Here’s why they’ll do it:

The Offense: Is it just me or do these guys really like each other? If the Packers were on Hard Knocks I bet we’d see them playing monopoly with each other’s families. Why is it important for them to like each other? Duh, they want each other to succeed.

Aaron Rodgers: It’s a good time to be QB in the NFL; A Rodg is experiencing that right now. As long as he’s going… the Packers will not lose.

Well, wait… I’ll stop, that’s it, that’s why they’ll go undefeated. The A Rodg led offense is so good that it’s tough to keep up with them at this moment in time, the only way you can come close to beating them is by keeping them off the field.

Why they won’t do it:

Injures: That’s it.

Old me would have just given myself the Larry David skeptical stare down and asked why I just opened the door on a potential jinx of injuries, poor Rodgers play, bad offensive play, and the perfect season. New Me is the guy staring back at Larry David confident in whatever I just said – knowing the only way to this machine down is through the unfortunate injury.

The Packers are good and my logic is telling me nobody can stop them, they’re currently like the opening sequence of Last Boy Scout where Billy Banks is running down the field shooting everyone because nobody will stop them… The Packers are him - minus the gun.

Today I denounce a jinx. ESPN please start prepping any and all clever things you have to say about the Miami Dolphins and Green Bay Packers. The Packers are going 16-0.

I say this with confidence.