Welcome back dear readers (and deer readers too...I loved you in Bambi). The changes are still being finished up (including those to better the content of the site) but in the meantime the posting needs to continue so here we go with today’s list of things that bother, irk, pester, vex, and generally amuse me. We start today with football . While at the Jets game this past Sunday I found that the vendors were hawking the usual delectable goodies, beer, beer, beer, hotdogs, beer, and beer. But wait; is that guy over there selling what I think he is? Is that Gatorade? Yes...yes it is. But why? Did the team order too much for the players on the field to use before it went bad and they’re trying to make some of their money back on the purchase? Not likely. Are they fans in the stands subject to extreme heat that could cause them to dehydrate and pass out and desperately need the extra electrolytes provided by the sugary-sweet beverage? Not when it was about 45 degrees at gametime. Oh...it must be because the fans are so rabid that they are jumping up and down at a frenzied pace to equivalize their efforts to that of a marathon runner....humm...that doesn’t seem to be the case either. Instead, I offer the fact that people have become so addicted to the sweetness and the perceived benefits of drinking sports drinks of any kind that it has become akin to soda. Truth be told, you can do just as well drinking water when it comes to moderate athletic activity (30 min and less). I also think that the vending companies could do much better business in the late fall and winter (in the cold parts of the US) by selling cup-of-soup. Just think you could have the beer guy pass the cream of mushroom guy in the isles and people would like up at the concession stand to grab a hot dog and a chicken-noodle or even split pea. Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s time to buy stock in Campbell’s.
Continuing on the football discussion it seems that not everybody in the county is a big fan of our President-elect. Not a surprise as he didn’t gain 100% of the votes. But this story just came across my desk about the back up center for the University of Texas football team, Buck Burnette. On election night Mr. Burnette posted a message on his Facebook Page: “all the hunters gather up, we have a n[#$%&]er in the whitehouse”. Only he didn’t edit that one word. Either way word got to UT head coach Mack Brown who gave Burnette the old heave-ho off the team. In Burnette’s defense, he did post an apology after taking down the quote the next day. Here we go...the kid is only 20 years old from a small town in Texas. His actions were stupid and yet another example of people not getting that FACEBOOK is seen by everybody and nothing you post is ever “private”. Does he deserve to be kicked off the team for the remainder of this season? Yes. However, he should have the opportunity to compete for a slot next season (he’s only a sophomore) but first he needs to issue an apology (in person) to all of his teammates for his comments and letting them down. There are posts out there that argue he should only be suspended for a game or two. I have to disagree as this is the kind of thing that can divide a locker room full of players from all sorts of backgrounds, especially when that team is still in the hunt for the National Championship. It really doesn’t matter what happens because it’s doubtful this kid will come back to play at UT. More then likely he’ll have to transfer to a new campus because of all the pressure and dirty looks he’ll encounter for as long as he stays at UT. My only suggestion as to new locals is for Mr. Burnette to avoid Furman and Grambling...just to be safe.
The one offensive formation that no football team has ever tried is the “Panhandle”, perhaps that’s because it’s hard to beg the defensive team for some change and possibly a touchdown...besides those pants are tight, where would they keep their quarters? I’m reminded of this because of a guy I passed on my way back from lunch with just a cup out in front of him shaking it. What made this the universal sign for “spare some change?”? Is the “ask” (as Mrs. Bloggerman says) different in other countries? I’m not sure and I’m not sure if you really care. I was also interested in the origin of the term “panhandle” and came across this on Yahoo Answers:
"Panhandler" is said to derive from the Spanish "pan", meaning both bread and money (just as the American slang "bread" does today). But though it is supposed to have been first recorded in 1890, the earliest quotation I am able to find for it is in the humorist George Ade's 'Doc Horne'(1899): " He had 'sized' the hustler for a 'panhandler' from the very start". However, the fact that Ade put the word in quotation marks probably indicates that he did not invent it, as has often been claimed. QPB Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins By Robert Hendrickson
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