You don't go out looking for a job dressed like that? On a weekday? / Is this a... what day is this?
The Apologist
Yes, I blew it already. It only took a few days for me to fall behind and for that loyal readers (do we have loyal readers yet?), I apologize. To be fair, this has all happened so fast.
It seems like only a week ago that the Yachtsman, Scizz and I were three sheets to the wind in a midtown bar throwing around the idea of "getting the band back together" and relaunching the blog. So of course I said, "SURE! I can get a post up by Monday!"
Oops.
But enough about that. The best way to restart this all seems like to recap where I am as a fan these days. Why? Well, my last post was almost a year and a half ago. Plus, I am one of my favorite topics.
Yes, I blew it already. It only took a few days for me to fall behind and for that loyal readers (do we have loyal readers yet?), I apologize. To be fair, this has all happened so fast.
It seems like only a week ago that the Yachtsman, Scizz and I were three sheets to the wind in a midtown bar throwing around the idea of "getting the band back together" and relaunching the blog. So of course I said, "SURE! I can get a post up by Monday!"
Oops.
But enough about that. The best way to restart this all seems like to recap where I am as a fan these days. Why? Well, my last post was almost a year and a half ago. Plus, I am one of my favorite topics.
When we first started this blog, it seemed like the logical outlet for my fanatical following of the Buffalo Bills and Sabres. I spent an inordinate amount of time reading and watching sports and a preposterous chunk of that was devoted to keeping track of the illogical moves made by my two favorite teams. I say preposterous because we all know when you talk to the average person and describe what it's like to root for the Bills & Sabres, you can't help but find yourself quickly making excuses for what sounds like a masochistic ritual that defies common sense.
Now, the amount of time that I spend in any given day paying attention to sports is still what some would consider unhealthy, but the attention to the details of my hometown teams has dwindled with each passing game. To be honest, I've felt like the two teams of my youth have given me no choice but to reel in my interest, excitement and expectations.
Now, the amount of time that I spend in any given day paying attention to sports is still what some would consider unhealthy, but the attention to the details of my hometown teams has dwindled with each passing game. To be honest, I've felt like the two teams of my youth have given me no choice but to reel in my interest, excitement and expectations.
And speaking of excitement, let's discuss the Buffalo Bills. The first team I ever loved. The team that gave me the greatest sports ride of my life from 1990-1994. Even with all those brutal Super Bowl losses, I'll never love following a team the way I loved following Kelly, Thurman, Reed, Bruce and Talley.
But ever since Doug Flutie was benched for Rob Johnson, I've watched them make one foolish move after another and squander the remaining years of their owner's life, who seemingly has no qualms dangling the future of the team over a fire in front of the eyes of the fans. Recently things have started to improve, but let's be honest it's hard to get overly excited about a 5-11 team. And raise your hand if you're secretly dreading what Tom Modrak is going to do with that 3rd overall pick.
But ever since Doug Flutie was benched for Rob Johnson, I've watched them make one foolish move after another and squander the remaining years of their owner's life, who seemingly has no qualms dangling the future of the team over a fire in front of the eyes of the fans. Recently things have started to improve, but let's be honest it's hard to get overly excited about a 5-11 team. And raise your hand if you're secretly dreading what Tom Modrak is going to do with that 3rd overall pick.
Meanwhile, we have the roller coaster ride that is the Buffalo Sabres. Starting with the Stanley Cup loss of 1999, they permanently cemented their place in my heart with the unpredictable playoff run of 05-06. As Roger Kahn so eloquently put it in The Boys of Summer, "You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat."
In 2005, the Yachtsman and I had just moved to NYC and we were feeling a little overwhelmed by it all. But as fate would have it, one block away from our apartment was a fantastic sports bar where we resided for every single game and watched a largely unknown group led by an undersized center from Connecticut and an unheralded finesse scorer from Quebec get within one game of the Stanley Cup finals.
Now, if you had walked up to me after I watched the Carolina Hurricanes celebrate their victory and told me that the Sabres would struggle to get out of the first round, let alone make the playoffs over the next five years, I would've said you were crazy. And yet here we are, several discarded stars and role players later, watching a team desperately trying to claw their way into the final playoff spot before the season runs out. I don't want to downplay another trip to playoffs, but the goal once seemed so much greater. And whether it's been because ownership didn't allow for risks to be taken or players didn't step up into leadership roles that were expected things have drifted into a state of seemingly accepted mediocrity. Caught in that drift is my attention span.
So where does that leave me? Disappointed and distracted, but not disheartened. I still believe that I'll see a Buffalo team carry a trophy down Elmwood Avenue in my lifetime, but I'm doing my best not to allow myself to get carried away by near victories and trade deadline moves. And let's be fair, life is too short to be spent watching 35-point blowouts against the Patriots in Week 16. If thinking that makes me less of a fan in your eyes, well then, so be it.
I can say with confidence that my enjoyment of sports has never been stronger. For me, sports offeres a glimpse of the amazing things that can be accomplished when a group of people put aside their differences and band together to accomplish a greater goal. And that's where the Bills and Sabres have left me wanting more. And so I'd be lying if I said I didn't catch myself paying less and less attention to the likes of Pominville half-assing his way through another shift or watching four Bills fail to tackle a backup running back and more attention to the three-headed monster that is the Miami Heat or enjoying San Francisco's miracle ride to the World Series trophy. (Seriously. Cody Ross? Where the hell did that guy come from?!)
So this is the new perspective I will be bringing to the table in the weeks to come. I can't promise that I'll put up 200-word posts about the Bills' OTAs or a promising prospect who signs a minor-league deal with Portland, but I'll do my best to offer up my many opinions on a variety of sports topics that I hope you'll find interesting.
After all, isn't that what blogs are all about?
Well... that and sharing ridiculous videos and pictures.
In 2005, the Yachtsman and I had just moved to NYC and we were feeling a little overwhelmed by it all. But as fate would have it, one block away from our apartment was a fantastic sports bar where we resided for every single game and watched a largely unknown group led by an undersized center from Connecticut and an unheralded finesse scorer from Quebec get within one game of the Stanley Cup finals.
Now, if you had walked up to me after I watched the Carolina Hurricanes celebrate their victory and told me that the Sabres would struggle to get out of the first round, let alone make the playoffs over the next five years, I would've said you were crazy. And yet here we are, several discarded stars and role players later, watching a team desperately trying to claw their way into the final playoff spot before the season runs out. I don't want to downplay another trip to playoffs, but the goal once seemed so much greater. And whether it's been because ownership didn't allow for risks to be taken or players didn't step up into leadership roles that were expected things have drifted into a state of seemingly accepted mediocrity. Caught in that drift is my attention span.
So where does that leave me? Disappointed and distracted, but not disheartened. I still believe that I'll see a Buffalo team carry a trophy down Elmwood Avenue in my lifetime, but I'm doing my best not to allow myself to get carried away by near victories and trade deadline moves. And let's be fair, life is too short to be spent watching 35-point blowouts against the Patriots in Week 16. If thinking that makes me less of a fan in your eyes, well then, so be it.
I can say with confidence that my enjoyment of sports has never been stronger. For me, sports offeres a glimpse of the amazing things that can be accomplished when a group of people put aside their differences and band together to accomplish a greater goal. And that's where the Bills and Sabres have left me wanting more. And so I'd be lying if I said I didn't catch myself paying less and less attention to the likes of Pominville half-assing his way through another shift or watching four Bills fail to tackle a backup running back and more attention to the three-headed monster that is the Miami Heat or enjoying San Francisco's miracle ride to the World Series trophy. (Seriously. Cody Ross? Where the hell did that guy come from?!)
So this is the new perspective I will be bringing to the table in the weeks to come. I can't promise that I'll put up 200-word posts about the Bills' OTAs or a promising prospect who signs a minor-league deal with Portland, but I'll do my best to offer up my many opinions on a variety of sports topics that I hope you'll find interesting.
After all, isn't that what blogs are all about?
Well... that and sharing ridiculous videos and pictures.
'Til next time...
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