With college bowl season starting tomorrow (December 18), as typically happens at this time of year, any number of writers and outlets are offering their rankings of the bowl games based on appeal and interest level. For instance, check out Dennis Dodd’s list on CBSSports.com, Mark Schlabach’s list on ESPN.com, and Stewart Mandell's list on SportsIllustrated.com. As also typically happens at this time of year, these lists, generated from individuals and institutions heavily inculcated in the United States’ systems of power, are dominated by BCS bowl games and games featuring teams from the automatic-qualifying BCS conferences. Before reading these lists, though, I decided I would create my own list of bowl games based on appeal and interest. While surely serving as (and at least partially intended as) a kind of counterdiscourse in hopes of showing that legitimate alternative perspectives to the dominant and short-sighted national media context exist, this list is also true. I’ve truly ranked these based on how appealing and interesting I believe each game would be to watch. I don’t know how many or which ones I’ll get to watch, as I have quite a few other things to do over the next few weeks, but these are in the order that I find myself interested in watching them, from most interesting to least interesting.
1. Northern Illinois v. Fresno St. – After compiling the list, I read that Dennis Dodd says he's looking for motivation on this one. I feel sorry for him because time and again, as I ranked and re-ranked the games on this list, this sounds like the most exciting matchup to me. I watched part of the MAC championship game and the Fresno State-Illinois game a couple of weeks ago, and that experience makes me think this will be an exciting game. It’s too bad it's the first day. I guess it's all downhill from there.
2. San Diego State v. Navy – SDSU has, based on reports, been very good all year, and I have not had a chance to see them. Here’s a good opportunity to do so, though I am worried that if they are as good as the sense of them I’m getting, this could become a rout. Still, the appeal of seeing the Aztecs puts this game at number two.
3. Louisville v. Southern Miss – I’m not entirely sure why, but this sounds like a really interesting game to watch, I suppose largely to see Charlie Strong's team in action, though also because this seems like it could be an exciting game. I hope it was Strong not wanting the job at Florida that led to that institution hiring Will Muschamp, because otherwise it seems inappropriate. This is also a first-day game, which means that two of my top three are among the three first-day games. I guess it's really downhill after that. [Correction on this one: It wasn't a first day game. Somehow I got it in my head that it was while I was writing up the list, and then I forgot to double-check it later.]
4. Michigan State v. Alabama – Frankly, the only reason this is so high is because I received my Masters degree from Michigan State and, thus, I follow their sports teams. Having Alabama as an opponent makes the game remain interesting (as opposed to if this was Arkansas or Florida or something), since Nick Saban was the head coach at MSU when I was a student there. As an MSU fan, I’m worried that Alabama could blow out the Spartans. That’s largely based on historically being used to MSU being just good enough to get my hopes up and not good enough to fulfill them. This year’s team, though, has been different (or else they’d be 7-5 or 8-4 right now), so maybe that will come through in the bowl game, too.
5. Nevada v. Boston College – I watched the Nevada-Boise State game, and Nevada looked outstanding. They are what make this game very worth seeing. This game almost ends up lower because BC does little for me, though. With a different opponent, this would challenge for the top spot.
6. Utah v. Boise State – I’m interested in watching Boise State again, as I’ve found them exciting all year. I keep getting the feeling, though, that Boise State will blow Utah out, which drops this game a bit in the rankings.
7. Miami (OH) v. Middle Tennessee State – Of all the teams that made bowl games this year, Miami of Ohio is the only one I’ve seen live (when they played at BGSU in November). That pushes this game up from what would otherwise be a few slots further down. Still, both teams sound interesting to watch.
8. Illinois v. Baylor – Again, the Fresno State-Illinois game helps make this interesting. So does Baylor’s Robert Griffin.
9. Troy v. Ohio – This sounds like it could be a really close, and thus exciting, game. I’m sure very few lists have Frank Solich’s current team’s game higher than his old team’s game, but mine does.
10. Syracuse v. Kansas State – Syracuse has been a complete surprise in returning to the land of being decent. Kansas State has been up and down. Altogether, this sounds like two teams I’d like to watch play each other.
11. Wisconsin v. TCU – Watching TCU sounds like a lot of fun, but with Wisconsin as their opponent, this loses a lot of its luster. What keeps this appealing is that I’d love to watch the Horned Frogs blow out the Badgers. If that starts happening in the game, it’ll only get better as the game goes on.
12. Washington v. Nebraska – Only Washington makes this interesting, as I kind of like watching them—and not just because of Jake Locker. A game featuring Nebraska against a lot of other bowl teams would fall down the list considerably, even if Bo Pelini yelling at refs is kind of entertaining.
13. Penn State v. Florida – This just feels like a middle of the road kind of game. I guess it’s kind of interesting that it’s Urban Meyer’s last game before retirement, not Joe Paterno’s, and that’s what gets it up this high.
14. Hawaii v. Tulsa – This sounds kind of interesting, but watching Hawaii play in Hawaii always drops the appeal of a bowl game for me. This matchup elsewhere might inch up higher on this list.
15. Auburn v. Oregon – All three of the rankings to which I link above rank this game number one, but I see it a bit differently. I'm interested in seeing Oregon because what I have seen of them is exciting. However, Auburn does absolutely nothing at all for me. Oregon-TCU would be much higher on the list—probably in the top five. With Auburn, this game is just three spots above the middle of the pack, and that’s all Ducks.
16. Northwestern v. Texas Tech – This, like Penn State-Florida, seems like a middle-of-the-road kind of game. Fifteen years ago, my interest in watching Northwestern as it finally became good would have gotten this a higher ranking. Today, I’m kind of bored of them, and Texas Tech doesn’t do much for me.
17. Maryland v. East Carolina – This is a real middle-of-the-road kind of game, and it’s also where my interest level for games on this list starts taking a real turn toward getting really less interested.
18. NC State v. West Virginia – This game might be kind of interesting, but I’m not sure. It’s the game about which I’m the most unsure of my interest level, which is why it seems like a perfect fit for the exact middle of this list.
19. Toledo v. Florida International – Watching Toledo piques my interest somewhat, but FIU piques almost none, so this ends up just below being smack dab in the middle of the pack.
20. Missouri v. Iowa – I don’t mind the idea of watching Missouri, but Iowa makes this really gravitate toward the unwatchable side. And that’s not just my Spartan grudge against Iowa talking. I mean, I could actually handle the Hawkeyes beating the Spartans because I expected it, but then when they couldn’t hold on to beat Ohio State, and thus they cost the Spartans a trip to the Rose Bowl, they showed that they’re a bunch of ding dongs. But besides that, the Hawkeyes kind of bore me.
21. Michigan v. Mississippi State – I’m not particularly interested in watching the Wolverines (I wonder if you can guess why …), but Mississippi State makes this slightly more interesting.
22. Air Force v. Georgia Tech – Things are really starting to get significantly more boring here. These teams don’t do much for me.
23. Arizona V. Oklahoma State – Ho hum. This is only this high because the stuff below it is even less appealing. At least the idea of watching either of these teams doesn't make my skin crawl.
24. Miami (FL) v. Notre Dame - Can I wake up now? With Randy Shannon still as the Hurricane coach, I'd have a little more interest, but now, good night …
25. Oklahoma v. Connecticut – If you make this OU/Stanford, OU/Wisconsin, or OU/Virginia Tech, it would compete for the bottom of the list. Only the idea of watching Connecticut makes it palatable.
26. Virginia Tech v. Stanford – ZZZZZZ
27. North Carolina v. Tennessee – Major ZZZZZZ
28. SMU v. Army – I’m going to talk about this game and game number 29 together, because they’re very similar. I have nothing against Army or UTEP, but SMU and BYU actually bring big-time negative points to the table in terms of watchability.
29. BYU v. UTEP – See game 28.
30. Clemson v. South Florida – Oh my god is this getting painful …
31. Florida State v. South Carolina – Maybe I might be interested … No, I’m not …
32. Pittsburgh v. Kentucky – You wouldn’t believe what I just saw the paint on my wall do …
33. Central Florida v. Georgia -- I'm seeing a pattern with three of the last four games. Apparently, college football in Florida does little for me.
34. Texas A&M v. LSU – If game number 30 sounds painful, this sounds like more prolonged and intense contact with that pain. Additionally, I have no interest in fueling this whole “Mad Hatter” Les Miles narrative.
35. Arkansas v. Ohio State – This is unequivocally, absolutely the least interesting matchup of the lot. I couldn't care less about either team or a game between them. Ugh …
Friday, December 17, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Remembering Bob Feller
Word has been circulating since last night that Hall of Fame major league baseball pitcher Bob Feller passed away last night. As is to be expected, Feller's death has been met with a cacophony of tributes and memorials, like this one, this one, and this one, among a ton of others. I'd like to add my own to the chorus.
While I did not grow up a Cleveland Indians fan, I grew up in Cleveland Indians country. Well, it was largely Cleveland Indians country and largely Cincinnati Reds country, with a smattering of Tigers and Cubs fans here and there, and proudly oddball types who rooted for other teams, like me, the Mets fan, and my best friend while growing up, who was a Pirates fan. The local radio station, though, was a Cleveland Indians affiliate, so there was considerable identification with the Cleveland team in town. I imagine in large part because of this, Cleveland pretty much became my favorite American League team. This was also aided by the fact that I could feel for the disappointments of Indians fans--something that studying the Brooklyn Dodgers only made more pronounced.
So, of course, given that I was a big baseball fan and that I grew up in Cleveland Indian land, I knew very well all about Bob Feller. And so, getting the chance to meet and talk baseball with Bob Feller was a highlight that I can still recall pretty vividly.
It was in the spring of 1995, and I was attending, along with my dad and a family friend, a conference commemorating the 100th birthday of Babe Ruth, held at Hofstra University. In addition to us academic types, the conference featured a lot of media members, like Dick Schaap and John Steadman, and ballplayers, including Robin Roberts, Enos Slaughter, Phil Rizzuto, Roy White, Ryne Duren, Ron Blomberg, and a whole lot of more that aren't in the list that's just coming off the top of my head as I write. Bob Feller was also in attendance at the conference, and during one social event, I ended up standing right next to him, so I introduced myself, told him it was a pleasure to meet him, and struck up conversation about that year's Cleveland Indians team. I remember Bob saying that he thought the lineup was very good but the pitching was a little suspect. Of course, the pitching, though indeed a little suspect, held out, and that would end up being the year the Indians finally made it back to the World Series for the first time since 1954, when Feller was still playing for the team.
It's apparent from many things Feller has said that he and I have disagreed on a lot of things, like how to view Pete Rose's candidacy for the Hall of Fame, how to view contemporary ballplayers and how to view the military, how to view Muhammad Ali, and whom to support in the 2008 presidential election. Indeed, I think Feller and I have very different ways of seeing the world that are very much reflected in these differences in opinion. That said, there are moments of agreement between Feller and me (though I'm sure that at least in part we did not arrive at those positions in the same ways). For example, Feller was as early as the mid-to-late 1950s a critic of baseball's labor structure. Also, Feller, who is white, barnstormed with black ballplayers before major league baseball integrated in the late 1940s.
In the end, I'm not going to celebrate Feller as a patriot, a saint, or anything like that, as so many tributes are doing. Feller, like me, and like all of us, was a product of his times and his cultures, and I'm not going to gloss over disagreements I have with him or limitations I think exist in the opinions he has offered, nor am I going to overemphasize the things about which I agreed with him as if they constitute some kind of greatness. What I will say is that Feller was an outstanding baseball player--in my mind (and I know the minds of many others) one of the greatest pitchers of all time--and a person who seemed pretty down to earth ... at least down to earth enough to think nothing of engaging in a conversation about his specialty with a 22-year-old no-name like me.
While I did not grow up a Cleveland Indians fan, I grew up in Cleveland Indians country. Well, it was largely Cleveland Indians country and largely Cincinnati Reds country, with a smattering of Tigers and Cubs fans here and there, and proudly oddball types who rooted for other teams, like me, the Mets fan, and my best friend while growing up, who was a Pirates fan. The local radio station, though, was a Cleveland Indians affiliate, so there was considerable identification with the Cleveland team in town. I imagine in large part because of this, Cleveland pretty much became my favorite American League team. This was also aided by the fact that I could feel for the disappointments of Indians fans--something that studying the Brooklyn Dodgers only made more pronounced.
So, of course, given that I was a big baseball fan and that I grew up in Cleveland Indian land, I knew very well all about Bob Feller. And so, getting the chance to meet and talk baseball with Bob Feller was a highlight that I can still recall pretty vividly.
It was in the spring of 1995, and I was attending, along with my dad and a family friend, a conference commemorating the 100th birthday of Babe Ruth, held at Hofstra University. In addition to us academic types, the conference featured a lot of media members, like Dick Schaap and John Steadman, and ballplayers, including Robin Roberts, Enos Slaughter, Phil Rizzuto, Roy White, Ryne Duren, Ron Blomberg, and a whole lot of more that aren't in the list that's just coming off the top of my head as I write. Bob Feller was also in attendance at the conference, and during one social event, I ended up standing right next to him, so I introduced myself, told him it was a pleasure to meet him, and struck up conversation about that year's Cleveland Indians team. I remember Bob saying that he thought the lineup was very good but the pitching was a little suspect. Of course, the pitching, though indeed a little suspect, held out, and that would end up being the year the Indians finally made it back to the World Series for the first time since 1954, when Feller was still playing for the team.
It's apparent from many things Feller has said that he and I have disagreed on a lot of things, like how to view Pete Rose's candidacy for the Hall of Fame, how to view contemporary ballplayers and how to view the military, how to view Muhammad Ali, and whom to support in the 2008 presidential election. Indeed, I think Feller and I have very different ways of seeing the world that are very much reflected in these differences in opinion. That said, there are moments of agreement between Feller and me (though I'm sure that at least in part we did not arrive at those positions in the same ways). For example, Feller was as early as the mid-to-late 1950s a critic of baseball's labor structure. Also, Feller, who is white, barnstormed with black ballplayers before major league baseball integrated in the late 1940s.
In the end, I'm not going to celebrate Feller as a patriot, a saint, or anything like that, as so many tributes are doing. Feller, like me, and like all of us, was a product of his times and his cultures, and I'm not going to gloss over disagreements I have with him or limitations I think exist in the opinions he has offered, nor am I going to overemphasize the things about which I agreed with him as if they constitute some kind of greatness. What I will say is that Feller was an outstanding baseball player--in my mind (and I know the minds of many others) one of the greatest pitchers of all time--and a person who seemed pretty down to earth ... at least down to earth enough to think nothing of engaging in a conversation about his specialty with a 22-year-old no-name like me.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Strawberry Fields Forever
Today marks 30 years since John Lennon was shot and killed. I remember hearing the news as an eight-year-old kid back in 1980. More vividly, though, I remember six and a half years later, when my family, while on a vacation to San Francisco, went to a wax museum that included a figure of Lennon. In a response that I didn't realize I would see, my mom cried when she saw the wax figure of Lennon, and she said, "I can't believe he's dead."
I suppose I didn't realize my mom would respond like this for two reasons. First, I didn't realize how much my mom identified with Lennon and the Beatles. Growing up, I heard the Beatles a lot at home. My parents had a number of their albums. I loved the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band film made with Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees. We sang things like "Yellow Submarine" in my family often. My dad had a Beatles songbook from which he would play songs on his guitar. I associated much of this with my dad, though. Rock music was much more of my dad's thing, and so I hadn't realized that John Lennon might be so important to my mom as well.
Second, I didn't realize how significant Lennon was in general. I certainly knew that it had been big news when he was shot, and I certainly knew that the Beatles were typically considered the biggest pop music act ever. I didn't, though, realize how deep of a connection many people like my mom felt to Lennon and the Beatles until I saw my mom tearfully mourning Lennon six and a half years after he died.
Today, as I read stories and see headlines commemorating John Lennon on the 30th anniversary of his death, I'm brought back time and again to that image of my mom in the wax museum. I imagine my mom's death earlier this year plays a part in this. I also believe, though, that that memory would not have stayed with me for more than two decades had it not been something I associated with John Lennon and his death anyway. It's something I've thought of in connection with Lennon since it happened.
Though I was alive for eight years at the same time as Lennon, just as I was not fully aware of his significance then, I also was not aware of the many things outside of music that Lennon did, particularly the many political and social movements with which he aligned himself. I would learn that stuff very soon after the experience in the wax museum. It was, after all, that very summer that my interest in pop music blossomed, as I began following the pop charts diligently. By the next summer I was practicing on a bass guitar, reading and collecting books on popular music, and even occasionally buying Billboard magazine. I was quickly learning much more about not just Lennon and the Beatles, but also Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, the Who, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and so on, discovering more and more about both their musical contributions and their social and political significance. While I would eventually give up the dream of becoming a pop star (well, maybe not entirely ...), this interest became foundational for what would become my career studying and teaching about popular culture. My involvement with Tunesmate, built out of the bonding that my college roommate, who founded the site, and I developed through a mutual interest in pop music, is a clear manifestation of this (and, of note, I've posted about Lennon there today as well). I am, at least in part, who I am today because of the influence of Lennon and the Beatles, among many other music and popular culture artists, just as I am who I am today because of my mom, my dad, teachers, nuns and priests, relatives, and other specific individuals who have influenced my life and my interests.
And I think a continuing effort to become more aware through self-reflection has helped me understand these influences and interests much more fully. That self-reflective awareness rests at the heart of my understanding of knowledge and education. It also rests at the heart of my understanding of democracy. I think we grow closer to a vibrant, functioning democracy the more we willingly examine ourselves; seek out nuanced and complex understandings of things; admit the limitations of our own "faiths," "truths," and "knowledge"; and emphasize more what we don't know rather than what we think we do. My mom's reaction to the John Lennon figure allowed me to do some of that reflection. Remembering that experience today while reading and thinking about John Lennon is allowing me to do even more.
And that seems to be consistent with what John Lennon stood for. While I tend to hear about "Imagine" most in discussions of favorite songs by the Beatles and/or John Lennon, my favorite Beatles song is "Strawberry Fields Forever." One of the lines says, "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see. It's gets hard to be someone, but it all works out. It doesn't matter much to me." I've always read the line as a critique of that kind of living, as if we are not supposed to live with eyes closed, misunderstanding everyone and everything else. My sense is that Lennon stands for quite the opposite of that kind of life. His was a life of seeking awareness, understanding, hope, and acceptance, not blindess, misunderstanding, and the oppressions toward which these can lead. And it's by keeping that in mind, in conjunction with my memory of my mom in the wax museum, that I choose to remember John Lennon today.
I suppose I didn't realize my mom would respond like this for two reasons. First, I didn't realize how much my mom identified with Lennon and the Beatles. Growing up, I heard the Beatles a lot at home. My parents had a number of their albums. I loved the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band film made with Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees. We sang things like "Yellow Submarine" in my family often. My dad had a Beatles songbook from which he would play songs on his guitar. I associated much of this with my dad, though. Rock music was much more of my dad's thing, and so I hadn't realized that John Lennon might be so important to my mom as well.
Second, I didn't realize how significant Lennon was in general. I certainly knew that it had been big news when he was shot, and I certainly knew that the Beatles were typically considered the biggest pop music act ever. I didn't, though, realize how deep of a connection many people like my mom felt to Lennon and the Beatles until I saw my mom tearfully mourning Lennon six and a half years after he died.
Today, as I read stories and see headlines commemorating John Lennon on the 30th anniversary of his death, I'm brought back time and again to that image of my mom in the wax museum. I imagine my mom's death earlier this year plays a part in this. I also believe, though, that that memory would not have stayed with me for more than two decades had it not been something I associated with John Lennon and his death anyway. It's something I've thought of in connection with Lennon since it happened.
Though I was alive for eight years at the same time as Lennon, just as I was not fully aware of his significance then, I also was not aware of the many things outside of music that Lennon did, particularly the many political and social movements with which he aligned himself. I would learn that stuff very soon after the experience in the wax museum. It was, after all, that very summer that my interest in pop music blossomed, as I began following the pop charts diligently. By the next summer I was practicing on a bass guitar, reading and collecting books on popular music, and even occasionally buying Billboard magazine. I was quickly learning much more about not just Lennon and the Beatles, but also Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, the Who, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and so on, discovering more and more about both their musical contributions and their social and political significance. While I would eventually give up the dream of becoming a pop star (well, maybe not entirely ...), this interest became foundational for what would become my career studying and teaching about popular culture. My involvement with Tunesmate, built out of the bonding that my college roommate, who founded the site, and I developed through a mutual interest in pop music, is a clear manifestation of this (and, of note, I've posted about Lennon there today as well). I am, at least in part, who I am today because of the influence of Lennon and the Beatles, among many other music and popular culture artists, just as I am who I am today because of my mom, my dad, teachers, nuns and priests, relatives, and other specific individuals who have influenced my life and my interests.
And I think a continuing effort to become more aware through self-reflection has helped me understand these influences and interests much more fully. That self-reflective awareness rests at the heart of my understanding of knowledge and education. It also rests at the heart of my understanding of democracy. I think we grow closer to a vibrant, functioning democracy the more we willingly examine ourselves; seek out nuanced and complex understandings of things; admit the limitations of our own "faiths," "truths," and "knowledge"; and emphasize more what we don't know rather than what we think we do. My mom's reaction to the John Lennon figure allowed me to do some of that reflection. Remembering that experience today while reading and thinking about John Lennon is allowing me to do even more.
And that seems to be consistent with what John Lennon stood for. While I tend to hear about "Imagine" most in discussions of favorite songs by the Beatles and/or John Lennon, my favorite Beatles song is "Strawberry Fields Forever." One of the lines says, "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see. It's gets hard to be someone, but it all works out. It doesn't matter much to me." I've always read the line as a critique of that kind of living, as if we are not supposed to live with eyes closed, misunderstanding everyone and everything else. My sense is that Lennon stands for quite the opposite of that kind of life. His was a life of seeking awareness, understanding, hope, and acceptance, not blindess, misunderstanding, and the oppressions toward which these can lead. And it's by keeping that in mind, in conjunction with my memory of my mom in the wax museum, that I choose to remember John Lennon today.
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