Our National Pastime

As much as I enjoy an occassional baseball game, especially in person at Dodger Stadium, I find the season to be too long, the best out of seven play-off games and the equal number of World Series games, to be mind numbing.

Football is more exciting...I like to watch UCLA vs USC, Army vs Navy, The Rose Bowl, the Superbowl, and an occassional Raiders game.

And if I miss any of the above, I don't regret it....life goes on.

What I love about baseball is, you really don't have to watch the whole game.  If you miss the first 7 innings, it doesn't really matter.  Go read a book for awhile, do some laundry, empty the dishwasher, then tune in for the last two innings.  Between the possibilites of a last moment game-saver and the joys of the highlight reel, you really won't miss anything.

I'm not a big sports fan, except for soccer and badminton and croquet, which I play myself if I can rope-a-dope enough players. I do enjoy volunteering for the concession stand that my 2-year college staffs at our minor league baseball games, the Arkansas Travelers. I get to mess with the kids' minds, flirt outrageously, and see college colleagues that I wouldn't ordinarily rub elbows with, since our school has grown so. The game is secondary, it's sort of an excuse for socializing. Now I'm off to socialize with my pillow...

DO NOT MESS WITH FOOTBALL ! It is our National Obsession . When all else goes down the drain , at least we have football.

Unlike yesterday, I should attempt to accomplish some sort of work today. I'm absolutely sure work should NOT be our new National Pastime! I'll check back with all of you later to see what you've come up with...which I'm certain will be interesting.

In 'The Old Days' the baseball season ended the week after Labor Day.  Football season then begain, and ended on/about Thanksgiving Day.  And then basketball season started (a good game for a time of year when snow was blowing outside....).  Now the seasons all overlap, and one has to be a multitasker to keep everything straight.

Almost nobody agrees with me, but I always liked high school games best, because you knew the kids playing and you NEVER knew what could happen.  (All three sports!)  Maybe someone's mom would get into a fistfight with a ref.  Maybe a confused football player would run the wrong way and 'score' (heh, heh). Maybe some kid would lose his contact lens in a basketball game and everyone would get on their hands and knees searching for the almost invisible (and very expensive) missing plastic gizmo.

The professionalization of sports may impress the 'perfectionists' (the same folks who demand 300 game bowling or refusing to pay any attention to any golfer except Tiger Woods.)  The rise of 'professional sports' (to me) has simply made it uninteresting -- sort of like watching an automobile idling in one's driveway.  So long ago I simply 'tuned out' of 'the sports industry'.  I simply don't see the point in cheering for a team that's simply a business, capable of 'moving offshore' (as the Houston Oilers did several years ago).  I don't cheer for Exxon, or for Dow Chemical, or Bank of America, no matter how professional their execution.  Ditto professional sports.  Reqiescat in Pace.

Television is  our National Pastime. Television dictated to our other pastime, baseball, that all World Series games should be played at night so more people, except the kiddies, can watch it. Television also kept them from stopping the game in the third inning the other night when it was clearly monsooning.

Yes, Football is our National Obsession. Nice also to have the NBA back.

Ahhhh, the widely referred to or proverbial pastime...BASEBALL!  I loooooove baseball.  Baseball has provided me as well as many others a much needed release from the trials and tribulations of everyday life. Whether in attendance or watching from the boob-tube it is a pleasure to participate.  Eating hotdogs, bitching at the ump, high fiving, it's all a part of the fun!  This is true with all sports.  Football is ok, basketball is my second fav. I actually enjoy all sports except maybe watching golf.  So I say..with great respect... lighten up on baseball!!!!!!  

WillieTrask: I am constantly saying "say it ain't so".  I didn't think anyone else even knew of it.  Funny!       

I still have splinters in my bottom that I picked up from the bleachers in Shibe Park 50 years ago. The Phillies occpuy all my nonrelational passion throughout the year. Beginning in November, I look forward to the arrival of pitchers and catchers at Spring Training. The last few months have been agonizing, wonderful, anxious, breathtaking. There has been a state of high anxiety in my home since Monday's game was suspended. My English born wife has become my color commentator ("What was wrong with that pitch? If you ask me, umpiring has been dreadful during this series!"). My three daughters call after every game to compare reactions to plays and missed opportunities.

I'll be holding my breath all day, waiting for 8:30 Eastern time. Go Phillies!

I vote for the dunking of Dinky Donuts.

Ask DiMaggio. Second to none.

John Prine got over 130 posts, y'all.

MackDaddy, Shoeless Joe ran a liquor store not too far from where I grew up- OK, less than 150 miles from where I grew up. Supposedly, that was the beginning, "Say it ain't so, Joe."

drdsgscott. I spent a summer in Philadelphia and went to a game and got a Mike Mask. If I knew where it was, I'd send it to you. For that matter does anybody know where Mr. Schmidt is these days?

Frailty, thy name is baseball...

I take umbrage with baseball.  I loathe it… Baseball gets under my skin.  As a youth, I played all sports.  Sports were my life (my wife would argue the past tense there and insert "IS").  My activities included football, basketball, soccer and baseball, in that order.  I can remember playing a soccer game and immediately after changing clothes in the car to go play in my baseball game.  My disdain for baseball doesn't come from an inability to play the game.  On the contrary, I played well enough to start every year.  For me baseball always lacked the panache of football or basketball.  The physicality or contact football and basketball carry.  Football especially resonates with my personality… much like a Gladiatorial event!!!  A battle.  SPARTANS!!! HA-OOH! HA-OOH! HA-OOH!

For starters baseball, we don’t need 162 games.  I find this a comical point and baseball should remedy.  Second, shorten the games… nothing is really accomplished until the last 2 innings.  See Little League for help here MLB… 6 innings works for them and could for you.  Baseball lacks an edge.  In recent years the steroid abuse and scandals have left a bad taste in America’s mouth.  Baseball is in need of a facelift, desperately…

The one thing baseball has going for it is quite simply, it’s a sport… I love the line from City Slickers with the character (Phil) talking about his estranged relationship with his dad growing up… “We could always talk about baseball.”  I get that.  My father and I have a cordial relationship to this day.  Nothing deep or meaningful really, but we can always connect about sports.  At anytime or place and that’s our connection.

So back to the topic at hand… Boo Baseball… Go away.
Football is our National Pastime…

But if we wanted to get serious for a moment… Care to guess what IS our nations number one spectator sport by attendance and marketing dollars spent and dollars spent by its fans???  It’s not football…

Now I must go tackle something…

All I can say at this point is GO CUBBIES!!!!  I was brought up on Baseball, we HAD to play in the local girls softball league as kids. We ALWAYS played pickle in our neighborhood or if there were enough kids out a true game of baseball in fields next our homes. We actually picked rocks, & mowed down the weeds one summer in a lot for field use. Of course because the lot was no longer overgrown someoen bought to build on that fall. We only got 1 summer season out of doing all that hard work....Totally worth it.

I won't say that I don't suck at baseball, Right field & I have a Great Relationship as long as no flyballs come that way or I have to throw it to the pitcher...... I happen to live in THe Football town, but at work most of the guys are like Drdgscott counting down to the pitchers & catchers reporting & spring training. It's nice I've cashed in the last 2 seasons from the bets made about when it coems to the Cubs vs Brewers in standings ...All in good fun..Although not a big fan of the American Leagues DH rules.   

(kindlee ~ Replied to your ? about how station pick songs on yesterdays post)   

Football is the new national pastime. Although, I'm not sure it officially usurps the unofficial pastime: watching TV. But I digress.

For the rest of the world, the global pastime is soccer, or the other football (wheatgrass, I believe that answers your question).

That's it for me. I must now go read up on last night's season opener of MY national pastime: basketball.

Agent666, it did not... I was refering to the United States, not globally.  So nay to your soccer, nay I say!

Guess again. 

WillieT:  That's very interesting.  I think I heard the term in a movie (?) years ago.  Who knows.  But you provided me with a giggle when I saw it in you post.

We all know I love sports... but my REAL favorite pastime if you go by the actual definition of the word: agreeable activity, an interest or activity someone persues in their spare time would have to be SHOPPING! 

Willie Trask:

Mike is in Florida getting tan. Like other old Phils, the organization brings him out every once in a while, dusts him off, and has him wave to the crowd at Citizens Bank Park. UNLIKE other old Phils, he is immortalized at the Park by a sandwich called "The Schmitter," a gooey confabulation of meat and cheeses guaranteed to close your arteries just by smelling it.

By the way, Citizens Bank Park was recently listed by Gourmet magazine as having the best food in baseball. From Bull Luizinski's barbeque to cheesesteaks to Harry to K's crabcakes to the death defying Schmitter, Phillies baseball has transcended hot dogs and flat beer.

The nice thing about shopping is that it's multi-seasonal. While baseball is seasonal and its National Pastime Status was perpetrated by men. A National pastime should be something you can do every month of the year, like sex. And, of course, Shopping.

Back to Gia: Hear!  Hear!  Totally in agreement. 

I'm with Doc. I can't enjoy watching sports unless I have a personal attachment to that particular game. Whether it's because I know someone playing, or because I have personally fought to the death in that particular sport.

I'd never had a visceral reaction to a baseball game until I saw my son step up to bat at his first game. Now, you can't get me off the fence. Love it. Serious adrenaline.

And my sport is tennis. I don't expect to pull any of you that way.

But it makes me think of why we, personally or culturally, are drawn to a particular sport.

I love tennis because I am intense and impatient. I want to know that the ball is always coming to me.  I love one-on-one combat. I like the competition to be personal. I don't even like doubles. When I win, I want total credit. When I lose, I want total responsibility.  

I love the building intensity and the final drive, both oppentants gradually approaching each other at the net. There is nothing (at least in the sports arena) more mentally and physically satisfying than the building momentum of a hard rally that ends with an overhead drive down someone's throat. And then a cigarette, of course. 

So that's why I like that sport. And that's why I can watch that sport. Because I know those feelings that come with it.

So why the American sway from baseball to football, and now, slowly (and debatably) toward the other football?

I think of baseball as more of a gentleman's sport. Not that it lacks strength or skill, but that it seems reflective.

Football makes me think of more brute strength and violence. I use the word brute intentionally. It has that stereotype, even if it's unwarranted. There's a sloppiness to the final execution. Not to the initial play stragies, just to the last drive. A pile of men in padding.

And then there's soccer. When I think of soccer, I think of naked aggression. Very wet, bloody bodies. And precision. Almost like a violent, symphonic dance. You can see why their fans get the most swept away, notoriously. 

I don't watch any of these three. But I always dated the soccer players. Go figure.  

Can't watch baseball on TV, gotta go to the ballfield (especially if it is a local league or farm league game) and eat junk food and yell rediculous things just for the hell of it, and try to catch foul balls.  No commercials, no one nagging you to do housework or yardwork, and you get plenty of Vitamin D from the sun...so baseball is actually healthy to watch, in person at least. (see I can justify anything)

We grew up playing any and every sport we wanted.  To me its still more fun to get out and play, than it is to watch.  Of course as kids we were taught "its not about winning, its about having fun", which is why I have a very hard time watching professional sports because the money and the pressure has sucked the joy and the fun out of the games.

I liked going to my high school's sporting events because we knew the players and wanted to support them.  Now I don't know any of the professional players and I find it hard to care about the outcome, especially when make millions...regardless of the outcome of the game.  Its all a bit silly, and not in a good way. 

My friends in Ireland used to say "Your football is just rugby gone a bit queer and your baseball...well its big men playing little balls.  Now Hurling...that's a REAL sport."

Gia,

Was off looking at the pics of new J. Peterman 'Trick or Treats' that I found in my email while you were typing your brilliant observation. Here, here, girl.

And who can say there isn't an adrenaline rush when you click on 'submit order?' 

Over the summer, I strategized at length over the perfect top for a special event. One night, after some wine, I executed the play. After three weeks and still no package on the porch, I called the retailer to inquire.

"Miss, it looks like the item is still sitting in your 'shopping bag.' You never submitted the order."

Bloody wine. Never mix booze and sports.

So would that be an incomplete pass, Gia? 

Missive your profile pic looks like a painting.  I don't fit in my 1947 dress anymore... :{ 

I think our national pasttime is bitching about sports, government, and foreigners...oh and eating hamburgers.

Nachista,

It IS a painting. By numbers, actually. Grin.

Dude, you had to say hamburger, didn't you? 

I'm starving and all I want is an Old Fashion and steak fries with fry sauce.  Makes me miss Rocky's.   Oh damn, now I want a Rocky's grilled cheese too.  *sigh* Off to raid the office halloween candy stash.

PE ladies: speaking of Peterman clothes...remember I had a white-tie affair to attend this past weekend.  Well, I wore the Windowpane Skirt, Velvet Jacket, and Choker.  I have never felt more like Cinderella in my entire life!  The bride was stunning but I think I received almost as much attention as she did.  If you need a unique, flattering holiday outfit...I highly recommend this gorgeous outfit!  I did fit into the size 8 beautifully, but I survived on cucumbers the whole week before. It was truly worth the sacrifice!  Now..on Sunday I did make up for it! 

Time for lunch ladies.    

MackDaddy,

Did the skirt 'whoosh?' It looks like it does. I'm so glad you had such a nice evening. Wanna mail me the skirt to wear for the film premiere? I should warn you, though, I'd wear it with my black 'motor city rocks' t-shirt, torn off sleeves and all. Am all about the J.Peterman ironic juxtaposition. Total blasphemy.

Woohoo MackDaddy!  You did it, we're so proud of you.  I'm hanging on to my size 8 clothing in the vain hope of slimming down.  Do you have pictures?

Hahahaha Missive I have the perfect accessory for the skirt/ripped t-shirt ensemble...

http://www.wilmaworld.com/catalog.html

I have one of those wrist wallets and I wear it when I'm on my motorcycle or out at a club.

Oh and these...

http://www.sundancecatalog.com/PRODUCT/Specialty+Shops/Footwear+Guide/Boot+Envy/35219.html

Amazing.  Even on a blog post about baseball losing its hold as our National Pastime, it's still taking a beating and is second fiddle to hamburgers and clothing... too funny.

Time to pack it in baseball.  I'm done with you.

Thanks my friends.  Yep... the skirt does swoosh BEAUTIFULLY.  It has a sort of slight crineline (?) underneath.  When the extremely handsome young gentleman escorted me to my pew (had to sit in front with family) you could hear women whispering to each oither about my outfit as I was walking down the romantic candlelit aisle.  I heard two women seated directly behind me and politely responded yes...it IS J. Peterman!  I must have had 50 people give me lovely compliments including the bride!  I wore it with velvet heels and very sheer black hose that night, but I have a pair of suede studded (hooker style) boots that I plan on wearing with it to another party in a couple of weeks.  So the outfit is very versatile, but the torn tee might be pushing the envelope.  But if anyone can carry it off it would be Miss Ive!  If I can find a scanner I will provide photos. 

Back to Pastimes,

(But, yes, Mackdaddy, pictures, please)

Our I.T. guy just came into our kitchen whlle I was warming up my lunch and asked if I wanted to play tennis some time. Pervert. Yes, I hope you're reading.

And that made me think of voyuerism—certainly an American pastime. Right?

Just give us the flippin' answer, Wheatgrass. What is it? 

First off, baseball is boring unless you are at a game.  And the only thing that makes baseball games exciting is drinking beer, eating hot dogs and peanuts, yelling obscene comments at other fans or the umps and just taking in the competitive environment that sports provide.  All of these exciting bonuses have nothing to do with the game itself.  Wheatgrass: obviously the answer to your question is baseball.  Of course there is going to the most attendance, marketing dollars spent and money made when you play 160 some odd games compared to less than 20 in football.  And that's what makes the season boring...nobody can seriously follow 160 games that are 4 hours long, until you are a die hard fan.

Now on to football, not a big NFL fan but nothing in this country can beat college football.  It's what you get excited all summer for (well me), the kick-off to college football.  The best thing about the sport is that games only come once a week...on saturday (besides the random thursday and friday night games).  So during the fall months you can spend your saturday either at a game, watching your school play at a bar or lounging around the house...all the while the game is still exciting.  These boys are still playing for their pride and the pride of their school and the passion of the game, money is not brought into the equation yet like the NFL.  Who wants to pass up some of the great rivalries: Ohio State/Michigan (Go Bucks), UCLA/UCS, Texas/Texas A&M, Florida/Georgia.  For my last bit on football, nothing in college football beats the SEC conference year after year.  As a whole this conference has the best athletes, best competition and some of the best traditions.  Nothing like beating up on teams week after week and never providing an "easy" week.  GO SEC!!!  

Last and final input on sporting traditions and past-times...no event or sport compares to international football (soccer).  Football internationally is the world's pasttime and the sport where you will find the most passionate and die-hard fans.  Football is part of each country's culture and in their blood.  Beware when attending games because you run the risk of being stomped, beat and in some cases your risking your life.  The game doesn't get the same respect here in the United States because our level of play isn't as good and their are so many other competing sports but it is coming around.  But if you want to find a game with the most passionate fans take in great rivalry game between Manchester United and Liverpool and I am sure you will find it truly exhilirating.  Make sure you wear the right color though, you want to make it out alive...

I seriously want to ditch work and find a sporting event or carnival...just for the food.  Churros, hot dogs, carmel corn, pretzels, pizza...and my lunch break isn't for another 3 hours.

Sarbeth, you should try a Celtics vs Rangers game...IN GLASGOW!  I've been afraid for my life a few times before, but never strongly as in that stadium, it was insanity.

Football: It begins when it is too hot, continues until it is too cold and is mostly crammed into one day of the week.

Its terms: Trenches; blitz; bomb; sack; coffin corner; spearing and roughing are more than vaguely militaristic and therefore violent sounding.

Way too much time is devoted, if you are there, to watching twenty two men stand around on the field waiting for television time outs to end.

It has too many players who, having just given up consecutive twenty yard completions, surrender themselves to excessive and unseemly celebrations if they stop a first down play.

When it is on, we have one television on in the living room, a radio in the kitchen and a small set going upstairs. We love it.

Baseball: It begins when it is too cold, continues until it is too hot and then, until it is again, too cold.

A famous writer who lives in the same Gramercy Park building as our daughter and her family told me this story as we stood outside having a smoke:

In clearing out the apartment of his late father, he was surprised to find Mets season tickets at the same time his nine year old grandson was showing real interest in the game.

That April opening day could in fact have been lousier, but only if the wind driven drizzle had turned to snow and yet there was in his voice the same enthusiasm and excitement as in that little boy's somewhere else in town. Baseball.

Sometimes, when I've winged my Cub's cap across the room over a strike out or double play, I have had to smile a little thinking that somewhere somebody is dancing around the kitchen.

We have a little Flip cam video of our three year old grandson at the Telephone Bar on Second Avenue eating an enormous restaurant dish of beans while watching baseball above and behind me.

"He whacked it! He did not whack it." It was all the same to him. He had no dog in that fight. It wasn't one.

It is the greenest grass, the loudest crowd, and in the most exciting game ever played, maybe one minute out of three hours of play that we'll be talking about tomorrow.

So, here, Mr. P., is my nomination for the new national past time: It requires no new arenas, stadiums, teams, balls or rules. No extra officials, vendors or parking.

Just make sure that my seat is always in front of the family that brought the kids and then, make sure that it swivels one hundred and eighty degrees. Sparkling eyes, ear to ear ketchup or mustard, big thrills, a little heartbreak. I'm good.

Sarbeth: You've mentioned three small letters that send chills down my spine... S.E.C... no debate.  The best football is played there.

MissIve:  The object of a guessing game is to have GUESSES... Agent666 played.  You haven't.

Stoney: I second your notion for a new Mr. P pastime.  All in favor say, Urban Sombrero!

Am secretly praying to baseball gods, or any gods that listen today to please let the world series end today... I will be your slave if you grant me this one request... and maybe one more like free coffee for a year... then I'll be your slave ye gods of baseball... Promise!

Baseball successfully answered the call for a national pastime back when there was a need, a desire for a "national pastime". It was born of a simpler time when there was not much else available to bring folks together and distract them from their daily toils. It was a sport available to the common man, the everyday Joe.

Back when baseball really hit its stride, people didn't have the option to go to 32 screen Multiplexes, they couldn't rent or download all manner of entertainment and have it played on their home entertainment centers, and as far as the other sports that were becoming available at the time, they were fairly restrictive as to who could actually play them.

Basketball favored height. Football required strength, speed and a bit of girth. Golf was elitist. Hockey . . . . well you needed ice for that.

Baseball on the other hand could be played almost everywhere, and it was. Baseball was played in parks, empty parking lots, vacant lots, and often in the streets and alleys.

Baseball players came in all shapes and sizes and they all were suited to different aspects of the game. You had the fleet-footed shortstops and center fielders, the strong armed pitchers, the big lumbering first baseman and catchers, guys that could see the seam of the ball on every pitch thrown to them and guys that could catch everything that was hit in their direction. Why, if you where just playing sandlot baseball and couldn't run fast, you could hit and have someone else run for you.

Baseball's season was ideal too. It began with the new hope and blossoming of spring and ended with the bittersweet end of warm weather in the fall. Much of the time in between seasons was spent in anticipation of the next season. It could be played almost everywhere in the US.

I'm afraid that the world has become too complex, perhaps a bit too jaded, to ever embrace another "national pastime" in the same way we once embraced baseball.

I'm a bit sad that we seem to have forgotten how much we really need a "national pastime" that could bring us all together. The magic of a ballpark where we could just sit side-by-side, cheer and/or boo the players, yell at the umpires, eat simple foods, smell the grass and hear the crack of the bats. The only thing better is when the players on the field are just children who only play because the love the game.

If only I could hit a curve ball.

It's not Nascar, is it? Say it ain't so.

If it is, going back to my original question of what our attractions to particular sports says about us, what does that say about our country? 

Wheatgrass,

NASCAR and it is without emabarrassment that I admit to ignorance of its meaning.

As for NASCAR, I will say this. My husband does not watch sports. At all. Except the Superbowl because he is an ad man, so he has to see the spots.

He sold his first Superbowl spot this year, so I may even watch the superbowl this year, too. 

Last year, one of his post house vendors gave him NASCAR tickets. He took my father. They both went into it as more of a social experiment than anything else. Tons of trash talk beforehand about NASCAR fans.

I even had two t-shirts silk screened for them so they would 'look the part.' My dad's said 'Pit Bull Groomer' and my husband's said nothing but 'Beef Ravioli.'

They both came home GIDDY. They LOVED IT. We never talk about that to anyone. It's in the vault. 

Yes.  The correct answer and checkered flag goes to MissIve for NASCAR.  Stoney, I am not embarrassed and am glad I don't know what it stands for. :)

Is baseball over yet?

Missive to go with these:

http://www.sundancecatalog.com/PRODUCT/Specialty+Shops/Footwear+Guide/Boot+Envy/35219.html

You will need to get these also:

http://the2bandits.com/store/B08GYB.html

It was the E-mail link formt he Daily Candy spot today.. To Weird...

Rings,

I do own equestrian boots, but without the bling. And I AM bringing them to Chicago. Let's just say I've got plans for a horse and carriage ride, sans carriage.

If only random shenanigans could be our nation's pastime. Ahhhh, the fun we'd have.

I wonder if social, online forums, such as this one, during the hours of 9 and 5, is rising amongst our nation's pastimes? I know it is in mine.

Have an automotive book (300 pages) on my desk with 17 red pens. Very tempting.  

Rings,

LOVE THE LIGHT BRIGHT!!!! OMG. I so remember the sound of my mother hitting a patch of those with the vacuum and screaming for all of us to come pick them up!

Way vintage chic. 

Miss Ive:  NASCAR...pleazzzz!  Hate it... but am a total fanatic about Formula One racing.  We go to the Indy 500 each year (albeit via limo and owners suite) but still it is soooo cool.  The roar of the engines and the shaking ground under your feet and the rush of the speeding cars is the ultimate rush.  From the moment Mrs. George says: Ladies and gentlemen...START YOUR ENGINES, you can't budge me.  I get to meet the drivers the night before at a dinner and then I have a hot pass to go down in the pits before the race, they even let me sit in the racecars.  It is so much fun!  I guess you can say I am quite eclectic.  One day I am at the opera, the next in the pits at Indy Speedway.    Bravo!  Whoohoo!   

This town I live in isn't big, it's not small, Its a little of both. Our ball club may be minor league but at least it's triple A. We'll sit below the marlboro man, above the right field wall, we do the wave all by ourselves! "Hey Ump, a blind man couldve made that call!"

We like our beer flat as can be, our dogs with mustard and relish. We got a great pitcher what's his name?..we cant even spell it. We dont worry about the pennant much, we just like to see them hit it deep. There's nothing like the view from the cheap seats.

If the game was close, well call it a win, go off to toast the boys again. That local band is back in town, they got a kinda minor league sound. They're not that bad, they're not that good, but all in all it's understood. We want to dance, they want to play, we wouldnt have it any other way.

Now the majors called up old what's his name, and one more building rises tall. Suddenly we're all grown up, and this old town not quite so small. But I'll always miss the middle-size town, in the middle of the middle-west. With no name pitchers and local bands, and mustard and relish and all the rest.

The only sport I ever REALLY go into watching was my kids' soccer games. I stalked the sidelines like a Valkyrie, noisy and embarrassing to them. But, I loved shouting SHOOT! SHOOT! SHOOT IT DAD-DANG IT! as the wee 'uns charged past in total concentration. They got better and better and so did the watching. I'll NEVER forget the day our little gang of raggedy elves came back from 3 goals down against the mighty and well-financed arrogant brutes that towered over them, rubbing their patrician noses in their own inadequacy as their stunned parents looked on, dumbfounded. THAT was sport, people. Movie-worthy. I've never been so proud, or hoarse. They probably don't remember it, but I cherish that day.

I forgot another sport besides croquet (I play DIRTY) and badminton that I RULE-pingpong. I will CRUSH your puny hopes and unman you sans merci. Beware...

William-I am NOT joking, and stop calling me Shirley!

Nachista-hurley's BRUTAL...love it! The wristwallet ROCKS, but I got the boots shaded baby. I'll post my Biker Bitch pic sometime...

Wait, the Gypsy boots are moving into Olivia Territory.

Mac, you SO ROCK!!! The outfit makes me GREEN. Speaking of green, I wore the JP dress in my pic to a grand opening for my college that same day-the sound of jaws dropping is so gratifying...

Wheaties, I was gonna guess WWF, but Missy beat me with the RIGHT answer. I'm glad I was wrong-it would be scary.

To those of you (on and off the EYE record) who want more of the JP inspired story from yesterday, I will say it's percolating. Can anyone find the OM clothing references? They're not too obscure, actually.

Hey, I'm trying to WORK here!!!

Forget not the majestic and much discussed mystical Geometric symmetry of baseball. And there are no football songs.

And, even if you dismiss Field of Dreams a a bunch of hokum, there is still Bull Durham and Eight Men Out. Wjhat has football got? The Longest Yard? ( Nice hair, ever find any spiders in it?) or the other longest yard? Or S4emi Tough? Come ON.

What about BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY ( TEGWAR- the exciting game without any rules) The Pride of the Yankees.

And as any Cubs fan knows, winning has nothing to do with enjoying baseball. A football team with the Cubs' record is also known as a bunch of guys who still have day jobs. And All Stadium Food is Baseball Food.

Come on folks, football is a great excuse to put on a blue blazer and take a flask into a stadium ( right MissIve) but BASEBALL is a sport.

A sport which is neither as dangerous nor as important to our economy as shopping, I will admit, but so what?

BUT WAIT, I have Change-ed my mind. If we hearken back to Willie Stark, just days ago, he said Every man in America could be a King, in which case, I vote for the Spote of Kings- steeplechase style, that is, great clothes and great food. Drinking is part of the ritual.  You can't beat it with a custom made Swaine, Adney crop.   

And, for those of you who think our national pastime is POlitics, just remember what some great person said about it ( and took care of the futbol folks at the same time):

POLITICS? Politics is like coaching football. You have to be smart enough to understand it and stupid enough to think it's important.

Where is that Racing Form? Pass me my stirrup cup, Fiona.

Oh, and.. NESCAR? NESCAR? Floor it and TURN LEFT, NESCAR?! As my good friend would say, umph. 

Not to sound like a sexist pig, but is there any way we could make Women's Beach Volleyball into our national pasttime? :D

Coyotemike,

I thought Women's Beach Volleyball fell under: Religious experience.

Sorry Mr. P: 

Totally off subject but need my PE friends help.  Halloween costume!  Need inexpensive, homemade ideas, that can be put together quickly....I have an idea but...will tell you after I get a few ideas kicked back to me.  Turn on your creativity pals!!!!

Coyotemike:

I've got your sexist back, brother! I second your motion.

Just read (like 2 minutes ago) that Ethel Barrymore (She would be Drew's Great Aunt) was a Baseball Fanatic. She knew the stats to every Pitcher in the League. although back then there weren't as many teams...

Missive ~ Luff Light Brite don't like the new shape of the pegs though... Not EVEN speculating about the Carriage Ride sans Carriage, still trying to stop the running with the painting image going through my mind... 

Agent and Coyotemike,

My cousin is a corporate lawyer by day and competitive beach volleyball player by night. She would vote with you.

And she's not sexist. Really. 

Miss Ive, I recall you were looking for one of these.  Looks what's falling back into chic:

http://www.sundancecatalog.com/PRODUCT/Index+Shopping/Literary+Gifts/42855.html

Peterman, make a quick $700 and sell one of these to Miss Ive in the PETERMAN catalog, whydon'tcha.

Jonathan!

Cannot believe you remembered. Love it. Need it, too. If I wrote on one of those, nobody would talk back and get me so distracted!

But how would I know about it without all my friends who 'talk back?'

Dilemma.  . . 

MissIve ~ I say go Analog one week & Digital the next..... Dang that DTV Conference has me talking like a Techie that actually KNOWS what's happening...

Well, I see I have a lot of catching up to do! Before I read all the details of today's posts, I did have a few moments during the day to think about just what it is that makes something a National Pastime.

Perhaps it's not just something we watch together as a Nation but, rather, something we actually do together. From stick-ball in an alley, soccer pick-up games in the park, playing HORSE in the driveway, and flag football in the backyard, almost everyone has been personally exposed to its Nation's Pastimes. We know what it's like to be part of a team; having a common drive towards the same goal, the feelings of competition and friendly rivalry, the teamwork and skill that it takes to be successful, and, of course, the fun of the game. These experiences can ignite a passion in us for watching a sporting event. We can appreciate and be in awe of a professional team and some of the amazing skills of the players, because we've tried it ourselves. I think the reason I enjoy watching baseball, much more than football, is because I've played baseball so I can better relate to that sport.

Other places around the globe have their own National Pastimes. International soccer (known as football on the rest of the planet) is a passionate obsession in many parts of the world. Orienteering (a sport I, personally, love to do) is a National Pastime in Norway and Finland, and is 2nd, only to skiing, in Sweden. Again, all these pastimes are routinely enjoyed by the general populace, young and old.

National Pastimes everywhere seem to be born out of a common experience that links us together. They are easy enough for beginners yet; they also have enough subtleties to continually challenge more skilled players and professionals, alike. This passion is often carried on, in perpetuity, from one generation to the next. I think that makes each of us feel that we're a part of our National Pastime.

In a country as large and diverse as ours, I also don't see what's wrong with adding an "s" to the end of National Pastime, either.

rings90, Thanks for your interesting answer to my question of yesterday. Somehow, I imagine that it has to do even more with money now, than it did years ago...like all things...including sports. But, I like knowing that money hasn't stopped the joy of the kids playing in the garage band, at the end of my street, or the fun of the baseball game going on right now in my neighborhood - using a dogs dish, I saw, as homeplate :)

Mud-slinging seems an appropriate national pastime in an election year.  Sadly, binge-eating, playing video games and watching television seem to be the activities (group or solo) at which Americans excel.

Living in NASCAR-central (NC), my favorite joke is:  What do you get when you put all the women at a NASCAR event together?  Answer:  A full set of teeth.

I remembered because I've recently inherited one such typewriter, and I was tempted to ship it to you.  Magically and anonymously appearing on your doorstep, you would know that your house was being watched over by the Manual Typewriter Faeries...

 But then I couldn't bring myself to part with it.  I still have the sleek, German, manual that I typed all of my freshman papers on, with two fingers.  But the one I've got now is really quite full of character.  Anyway, I'm blathering.  When I saw the Sundance offering, in some bizarre way is assuaged my guilt, knowing that there was another option out there for you. 

Is it weird that I like the sports/pasttimes you can usually do alone?  Cycling, Skiing, running, swimming, dance, etc?  I'm not very competitive and I do enjoy a backyard pickup ball game or tennis match now and then, but I feel the most satisfaction when I do things alone without competition. 

I've stopped performing with the dance troupe that I used to dance with, because I found that it took away from my love of just dancing to dance for myself, for the pure enjoyment of the music and movement and sensation of dance.

nachista, I find that I, too, prefer to exercise, walk, or bike alone. I don't know why. Maybe it's a time when I concentrate on me, the music playing, and my surroundings. It gives me some quiet and peaceful moments, for thought and reflection, without interruption. But, then, when I'm orienteering, for some reason, I don't like to be last.

ONE-DOC: I love your Nascar jab (do not like Nascar at all), but I am a F1 fan...please note most of us do have our teeth.  All kidding aside, I have to say that the first time I went to the Indy, I was expecting shirtless men and almost topless women, inibriated and as you say minus a few teeth.  I was sooooooo wrong!  I fortunately (thanks to my husbands client) went first class.  A police escort into the speedway right to the elevator door to our suite.  A private room with our own bar and an unreal buffet all at our disposal.  We also had wonderful cushion seats outside to watch the race.  I had an absolutely wonderful time.  Danika Patrick made the day very exciting.  The whole experience was not at all what I had expected.  It was very family oriented, lots of famous faces to mingle among.  I am proud to say that I love to try new things and this is one time I was pleasantly surprised.  We have gone back every year, except last year (I was in Hawaii) and I am looking forward to the last Sunday in May of 09'.  Now I must call my dentist and make an appointment.

A new statue atwas erected at Wrigley Field earlier this year.  It honored "Mr. Cub", Ernie Banks.  Hank Araon and Willey Mays attended the unveiling. 

Common guys, "let's play two" today.  I can't wait for the ivy that covers the outfield walls to bloom ago. It could be their year you know.

ago = again in some languages.  Not in English however.  Sorry about that.

PeterLake, After (what seemed) an eternity it happened for the Red Sox (my grandfather never gave up hope; year after year after year...) and someday it will happen for the Cubs...don't stop believing...but, I thought, being from the South Side, you'd be a White Sox fan. The Cubbies are North-siders. What gives? I think I just heard my husband say something about blasphemy...

Of course, there's that part where I would have had to ship the typewriter to Peterman, and then have him send it to Miss Ive...  I don't think it was gonna work.  STILL!  There's manual typewriters out ther a-plenty!  I still use mine, and I still only type with two fingers.

MACKDADDY- get an old pillowcase and go as a scarecrow, or better, as Disney's THE Scarecrow. It will take five minutes to draw what you want for a face and ten seconds with nail scissors to cut eye and mouth holes.

Scare Crow Scare Cro-ow, soldiers of the king feared his name.

 Wear an old man's suit and tuck the hood-mask into the shirt collar. Only your luscious shape will hint as to who is within.  Drink through a straw and stay away from bank tellers.

Kindlee,

I grew up watching the Cubs and the Sox when they were both broadcast on channel 9 (WGN). Jack Brickhouse was the announcer for both of my teams.

I attended many more White Sox games than Cub game. This was partially because of their proximity to where I lived and the stockyards which is where my Father worked. It was also due to the fact that my Father never missed a day of work so we usually went to night games; which wasn't possible at Wrigley Field at the time.

Although I loved the night-time fireworks at Comiskey Park, nothing beats the ivy covered walls at Wrigley Field. You can still step back in time when you walk out of the tunnel and enter the stands.

Back in the mid to latte ‘50s and early ‘60s it was the White Sox that drew all of the attention and filled their ballpark whenever they were in town. The Cubbies were lucky to break 10,000 in attendance back then. I think because of that I always had a soft spot in my heart for them. I also admired the sheer athleticism and eternal optimism of "Mr. Cub", Ernie Banks.

I love the City of Chicago and I'm a Chicago sports fan.  I would never point the guns inward.

PeterLake, My husband gave a smile and an affirmative nod to your explanation. (I think his mom was secretly a Cubs fan.) And now the time has come to say - Go Bears!

Kindlee,

There is a wonderful commercial where you see a Chicago duplex with one side cover in White Sox flags, emblems and banners; the other side covered in Cubs paraphernalia.

Then, as the leaves turn to brown and start to fall, both sides are then covered in Bears flags, emblems and banners.

MACKDADDY1, In the non-sexy category: last year a friend of mine wore light blue surgical scrubs, randomly glued cotton balls all over the scrubs, and had a small squirt gun full of water - she said she was partly cloudy with a chance of showers...

PeterLake,

Cool! Undying solidarity! Chicagoans love their city and all its icons.

Willie Trask and Kindlee:  Your suggestions are awesome!  My original idea was a Tooters girl.  I planned on wearing a pair of long orange gym shorts, slouch socks, and tennis shoes with a Hooters tank top with the H marked out and a T above it.  Then I planned to fill balloons with pudding to "enhance" my bustline.  Carry a tray of buffalo wings and beer bottles.  Perch a long blonde wig on my head and plenty of makeup, but the plan was scratched when I couldn't find the orange shorts.  I actually think both of your ideas are usable.  Thanks for the help!  I knew my PE buddies would ccome up with some creative ideas.   

When I think baseball I think of my late Uncle George, alone in the living room with all the lights out, peering at his 1949 television (an enormous cabinet with a five or six inch screen).  Lord help the fool who walked between him and the screen!

And I think of high school when the 'new technology' (transistor radios!) had hit.  Kids were hanging out the windows, shouting down the scores to the kids on recess (and vice versa).  Teachers ignored the normal rules about 'bringing stuff to school' and would ask the proud owners of the new devices, 'Who's ahead?  What inning is it?  Top or bottom?'  And the weather (in my memory) was always sunny, with just the first hints of fall in the air (a few early leaves falling from the horse chestnut trees and the maples). 

Wow, have times changed!  (Or maybe I have just 'prettied up' my memories....)

I wish Jean Shepherd were still around to tell stories of baseball and his childhood.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Shepherd .  I miss 'Shep'....

Nobody did it better than Jean Shepherd. I'm signing off to pursue my other favorite pastime. Sleeping.