Several years ago I wrote a blog expressing my dislike of baseball moms.. the ones who have no clue about the game, but choose to scream and yell at the coaches and players like they do. We played 8 season of little league baseball. I was so happy to get away from that crazed environment. It was all I could do to not grab these mothers and tell them what a fool they were making out of themselves. I just couldn't believe it....

and then came along wrestling! Wow.. this was my son's first year of wrestling. Not a big deal, I grew up around it. I thought it was fairly normal. Groups of parents sit in the stands all day, and I do mean all day, waiting for their son (and in some case daughter) to come up in the rotation. The gym was usually so packed with parents you had no idea who each one was cheering for..
and then we arrived in Midwest City. I could go on and on about this town, but I will save that for another day. Let me just say that I was uncomfortable with how the parents were behaving. They weren't screaming in support of their son on the mat.. they were screaming to injure and impale their opponent. Seriously people, it's 7th grade. One mother in particular was so obnoxious I secretly wanted her son to lose. I know that sounds bad, it wasn't his fault he was born to a loud, out of control, mouthy woman.. but I wanted him to lose so she would shut up. When he won she jumped in the stands shouting that the other kid was a loser, that he sucked, and he needed to go home. She was doing this at a 7th grade tournament.. image how an important match would cause her to act.

All of that being said, the Midwest City woman seemed like a model of sportsmanship compared to the moms of Eastside Tulsa. They were some real gems. I've been to Tulsa many, many times. I don't remember what the East side is like, but I got a good glimpse at the OKWA state tournament in Lawton this year. What a bunch of trash. Literally, trashy people. They cheered like a pack of wolves for their sons to not only win, but hurt the other opponent. They mocked kids - kids - who got hurt on the mat. They screamed that their sons opponents were babies, that they f***'n sucked, and how dare they think they can 'mess with the Eastside'. They threw things from the stands onto the mat when they weren't satisfied with the officials. They let their younger children run around like wild animals in the stands - to the point other parents had to grab them and scold them and tell them to stop. And at one point security came into the stands and told the parents to stop pointing a laser into the eyes of their child's opponent. 7th grad people.. 7th grade.

So all in all, I guess I'd take the clueless baseball moms. It's easier to learn the game than it is to learn how to have some class.

Home Team... I don't think so.

Having just returned from the National Championship game, where OU was the "home team", I am wondering why the Orange Bowl Committee would even begin to give OU that label.

Give me a break. By design Dolphin Stadium was laid to out to be "equal" no matter which teams made it to the national championship game. It just didn't work out that way. Each school gets 1/4 of the stadium which encompasses a corner and then reaches out in both directions to about the 25 yard line. The Orange Bowl committee sold the 50 yard line on both sides down to the 25 yard lines respectively to "sponsors" who amazingly all were wearing bright blue and obnoxious orange.

Of course OU's seats sold out before the tickets went on sale. They were all sold in a pre-game package to season ticket holders.
As I watched the game from the press box, which hangs over the Oklahoma endzone, I was impressed by Oklahoma's showing. Everyone got the memo... wear red. Unfortunately, the rest of the stadium got the "wear blue and obnoxious orange" memo.

This stadium amazed me for several reasons. I was there to watch OU and USC play back in 2005.. at the time I thought it was amazing. This trip totally trumped that experience. USC fans have class. Florida's 60,ooo fans were classless, drunk, crazy, gator-mouth slapping jackasses. No other way to put it. So far I'm not too impressed with the SEC.
Most of the fans were within some sort of driving distance - seeing it was being played in Florida (the REAL home team) - so they had all types of tailgating going on since the crack of dawn.
These people grilled, danced, drank, stripped - and not the good looking ones - drank some more, pee'd in the parking lot, slapped that annoying gator chomp thing with their hands, and drank some more. The poor OU fans that dared put up a tent and roll out their Cirlce K styrophome cooler they picked up on the way to the stadium didn't have a chance. The Florida faithful were everywhere. And obnoxious as ever.

So, back to the amazement.. these 60,000 Florida fans filled up that stadium and were so loud I honestly didn't know if OU could pull off a play. I'm sure if you had the chance to truly ask one of the players they would say the same thing. It almost took your breath away listening to these people chomp their stupid hands like gators and sing some really gay "ain't it great to be a gator" song. Now, I was sitting above the Sooner fans, so I can't honestly say how loud they were compared to the Florida fanatics but there is no way. Sooners were outnumbered 5 to 1 easily.

So I just ask this one question? What's the point of having a "home" team when clearly the system isn't set up for that? Just part of the game.. I know. Just another part of it that I don't think it too fair.

Country Livin'...

You know you live in the middle of nowhere when:

1) ... the family in the trailer down the road spends more on a marquee sign advertising 'Christmas Fireworks' than they do for any dental care in the past year.

I mean there are several reasons why fireworks and Christmas just don't seem to mix for me, but the most obvious one is this.. the family advertised that fireworks make "great stocking stuffers".. really? I'm no firefighter or smokey the bear-type but it doesn't seem to take a rocket scientist to figure out explosives hanging by socks infront of a fireplace spell D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R!!!

2) ... you go on a nice little run and can use road kill as mile markers.

True story, happened today. I set out on my quest to conquer 4 miles of country road. I found as I pounded the pavement there was a dead skunk at mile marker one. Shortly before knocking out two miles I had to step over a flattened oppossum. The third mile brought with it a special stinch of dead raccoon and maggots.. and then I turned around and passed it all over again on the trip home. I was mildly pleased to see the skunk the second time around - it meant I only had one mile left to go.

3) ... your friends and neighbors mark every special occassion by shooting off fireworks.

It's really the trailer families fault, but it seems that people in my neighborhood find every excuse in the book to blow something up. It causes the dog and baby to go nuts. We aren't big fans of fireworks in my household. The chaos they cause just doesn't seem worth it for me.

4) ... the opening of a Subway sandwich shop 4 miles away from your front door seems like you've struck gold.

If only I could get them to open a Sonic. I'd truly be in heaven.