Monday, December 15, 2014

Sometimes, its just the little things......

     Mr Mike Sorensen from the Deseret News wrote this article to preview the upcoming bowl game between Utah and Colorado St.   I have read Mike's articles at the Deseret News for years now and I have come to the conclusion that he is a BYU fan who hates the fact that he is often assigned to write about the Utes, but he tries his best anyway.   Some of his comments in that article are a bit silly, and I don't think anybody bothered to fact check, but I just had to get some thoughts down after reading this...........

    I spent 8 years as a kid in Texas.  I  spent each Saturday in the fall (and I'm about to gag here..........) watching the Texas Longhorns play football.  Occasionally, we would go to the church and catch the blue guys from Provo over the satellite feed.  

    One day, Dad came and turned the Longhorns game off and said that we would be watching a "real" team play that day.  For the first time, we were able to catch a University of Utah football game on ESPN!  This was 1994.  There were 4 or 5 games on TV all day, IF you had cable!  ESPN2 was a premium channel.  I didn't know anything about this red team, except that I had seen their logo on a few of Dad's shirts.

    For a game that I can barely remember, there was a play that I will never forget for as long as I live.  As Mike described, Harold Lusk picked off the Colorado St. QB and took off down the sideline.  As he ran for the game clinching touchdown, I remember Dad jumping up and down and yelling "GO! GO! GO!" and I got so excited, I jumped out of my seat and joined in!   

    That was that.  I was hooked.  We didn't go to the church on Saturdays for games anymore.  

     Ever since then, its been a lot of great memories.  I'll never forget tromping through the snow to see my first game at the Huntsman Center as Dad told me stories of Jerry Chambers, Mike Newlin, and Ticky Burden.  Or when the youth at my church got a bunch of free tickets and I saw Steve "Ice up, son!" Smith take a punt to the house.  

     Just this past year, I went to two different football games with a couple of my siblings, got soaking wet and felt like I was going to freeze over, only to see the team lose both times. Yet I can honestly say that I had a blast each game.  Last year, I took my son to his first game at the Huntsman Center and watched his face light up as he said "Dad, I like bas-et-baw!"

    And of course, I'll never forget taking my girlfriend to the football game against Louisville in 2009, and just praying for the whole three and a half hours because I was scared to death, knowing I had a ring back in my car and that was the night.  She said "yes", and five years later, I still don't know how she puts up with me!  

   I don't really know what I am trying to say here, other than this little trip down memory lane helped remind me today how lucky I am, and how much I love my family.   Sometimes, it's just the little things.  

Friday, May 30, 2014

Are Competition Reality Shows On Their Way Out?

                The 2000’s saw an explosion of competition shows.  From “American Idol” to “Last Comic Standing”, we have seen it all.

                As we begin the summer of 2014, what is the future of these shows?  Will we see another decade of the same familiar faces, or will the producers and networks have to make tweaks to keep up with audiences?

                While not outright struggling, many of these shows have seen a decline in viewership.  While each show is unique, the three biggest culprits for this decline are likely turnover among judges, declining talent, and a general sense of viewer exhaustion.

                Take the former summer sensation “So You Think You Can Dance?” for example.  When it debuted, I was hooked.  It was fun to watch the week to week competition as contestants were stretched and challenged. 

                A few seasons in, I got bored.  It felt like I had seen everything that the show had to offer.  About this same time, there was an uptick in another aspect that I think adds to viewer exhaustion: sob stories. 

                Everybody who comes before the judges has faced insurmountable odds to get there.  They have gone through horrors like catching a cold, being denied desert for bad behavior after dinner by their parents, or getting a B+ on their test instead of an A.  They have overcome these giant obstacles to now appear on this show.  Oh and by the way, this audition is their last shot.  It will make or break their lives.  If they don’t win it all here, they will be forced into the horrible pit of getting a real job.

                I tuned out.  And I was not the only one to do so.  In the years since, my tv has stopped on the show once or twice per year just to see how it is.  Nothing has changed.  And any time I stick there for a minute, it takes one Mary Murphy comment to get me to change the channel. 

                I read that recently the show has been condensed to once a week due to poor ratings.  Good grief.  This is a FOX show.  This is not one of the big three networks.  How bad must they be that Fox is not willing to run it twice a week in the summer?

                I tuned in to the latest edition of “Last Comic Standing” and I don’t think I am going to bother.  While there was some decent talent, the new host is dreadful, the Wayans brother (a judge) looks bored out of his mind.  A quick word to the producers: turn Roseanne’s mic off while the contestants are up there.  Her laugh makes my skin crawl.  She sounds like Salacious Crumb from Star Wars.  Quite frankly, if they got rid of that, I would come back and watch the rest of the season.

                When it first came on, I really enjoyed “The Voice”.  The new approach and celebrity judges with personality made it fun.  The more I watched, the more I realized that this show has everything that I despise about this genre.  Everyone’s got a sob story.  Every audition, battle, and performance is “the best” that the judges have ever seen.  Each person is told they have the potential to make a billion dollars in the business. 

                Has anyone from this show gone on to even be a regular on the radio?  It is just like American Idol.  No one knows who won, no one cares.

                The only show that has long term staying potential is “America’s Got Talent”. 

                AGT has success because it is not constrained to any one thing.  If you do something cool, you can be on.  You can watch that show and see something that you have never seen before.  The judges, for the most part, judge based on the level of entertainment.  Too many of these shows feature judges who are “professionals” who heap an over the top amount of praise on some folks who have good technique and will treat anyone inferior as though they had just personally insulted them.  AGT judges seem to (again, for the most part) realize that the show isn’t all about them and the world doesn’t revolve around them and they just try to have fun. 


                This declining brand of shows will only survive as they expand to be more inclusive and as the judges lighten up and make it more fun.  I predict that AGT will continue on successfully while these other shows will slowly troll out.  

Monday, April 14, 2014

Marvel Has The Winning Formula. Can Everyone Else Keep Up?





   When I was a kid, I looked forward to Saturday morning cartoons every week.  My earliest recollection is of "Garfield and Friends" with Garfield the lazy cat and that weird group of farm animals which included a duck who wore a floating tube wherever he went and a little chicken who had never hatched out of his shell conveniently named "Sheldon".

    Side note 1: What on earth was that show?

    Side note 2: I am convinced that there has been, for quite some time, a group of people who get together, get high as a kite, and then create kids shows.  That is the only explanation I can think of for shows from my childhood like Zoobilee Zoo and Today's Special.  In the modern era, Doodlebop fits this description.  I am going to toss the unknown farm animal show into this group.

    As I got older, my interests changed.  X-Men, Spider-Man, and the Batman-Superman Adventures were the best two hours of the week.  Super heroes battling seemingly unbeatable foes and at the end of the day, always finding a way to save the day.

    Sidenote 3: The exception here is Morph from X-Men.  Poor Morph..

    When the X-Men movies started coming out around the turn of the century, I was "too cool" for kids stuff like that, and didn't bother to see them.  It wasn't until "The Dark Knight" came out that I actually saw a comic book movie.

    I loved it.  I loved the message it sent; given the choice, people will generally do the right thing, even at a great cost.

   As the years went by, I started getting more into them.  My wife and I went back and watched all of the X-Men movies, the Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, etc. etc.

   Some of them, quite frankly, bored me to tears.

   Sidenote 4: Sorry DC diehards, you are about to get trolled!

   During "The Dark Knight Rises", I had to struggle to stay awake.  While watching last summer's "Man of Steel", I kept wishing that the Avengers would show up, mop the floor with all of these characters, and then the movie would end.

    Others were just all right, but I was still glad I'd watched them.  The Tobey Maguire Spider-Man series, Fantastic Four, and Thor movies fit here.  Even movies that have been generally accepted as trash like "Daredevil" and its spinoff "Elektra" were ok.

    When the "Avengers" finally came out, it was incredible.  I left the theater just pumped for the sequel.  I had no idea why, but I was excited.

    This last Saturday, I went and saw the "Captain America: The Winter Solider".  I loved it.  For two hours, I was totally carefree.  Captain America saved the day and all was right with the world.  For those two hours, I was 10 again, watching Saturday morning cartoons and then pretending to be these heroes.

    It finally hit me.  That is why I love these movies.  They take me back to childhood.  They bring out the kid in me.  They make me forget that there are any other movies out there.

   What Marvel has done with their cinematic universe is unparalleled in the history of movies.  Sure, we have seen hundreds of movies that have sequels.  But to create a universe where many movies take place and then to have characters that we have come to know join forces to save the world?  Incredible.  Add to that a TV show that exists in this universe and upcoming Netflix series and you have something pretty cool.

    How cool is it?  Every other studio involved with making comic book movies is trying to follow suite.  I am really excited to see what Fox does with bringing the X-Men and the Fantastic Four reboot into the same universe.  There are a lot of interesting stories that could be told.  With Spider-Man and Sony pictures, there are many directions the stories could go.  I might even give DC comics another shot if they can successfully throw together a Justice League movie.

    Sidenote 5:  That last line is a lie.  I am done with them.  Just not my thing.  If you like it, cool.  No sense in me trying to argue my side, all of us like what we like and don't what we don't.  I just like to troll. :)

   I think that as time goes along, and the competition increases, we are going to see better and better movies made.  I can't wait to pop some popcorn and enjoy the ride!

 

   

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Another chapter in the "Book of Fans"

    For as long as I can remember, Runnin' Utes basketball and (more recently) the Jazz have been a big part of my life.

    I had a family member who played for the Runnin' Utes.  He made the team by hard work as a walk on and had his best game ever against BYU.  

     As a kid, I was legally blind in my left eye.  This made learning how to read all but impossible.  I remember day after day of throwing books across the room in frustration as my poor parents tried to teach me.  Nothing worked.  One day, my Dad got the idea that maybe if I found something I was interested in, the reading would come easier.  He introduced me to box scores in the "Houston Chronicle" and a light bulb clicked on.

    Each morning, I got up early and was assigned to tell him about what had happened in the Jazz (his team), Rockets (my team), and Runnin' Utes (our team) games.  Even though they were a long way away, I learned to love players like Jimmy Soto and Josh Grant by reading the box scores.  Reading became fun, and it changed my life.

    When we moved to Utah, I jumped ship to the Jazz full time.  I loved going to the occasional game at the "Decibel Center" or walking across campus to see the Utes play up on the hill.  In my driveway at home, I shot baskets for hours on end and pretended to be right there along side Mike Doleac, Nick Jacobson, Alex Jensen, Andre Miller, Hanno Mottola, Ketih Van Horn, Jeff Hornacek, Karl Malone, John Stockton and my many other heroes.  

    Those were the glory days.  Though we came up just short of winning the big win, we were on top of the world.  

    These days, times are different.  But my love of those teams has not changed.  

    I enjoy social media.  I like reading what others see because I feel like 99% of people have something to offer that I can learn from.  I also like that I can control who I follow.  I don't follow any bozos.  I follow those who are passionate and bring something to the table, and I love it.  

    At the same time, it can be a terrible place.  I see people taking to it to run down kids who are trying their hardest and may not always have the results on the court or field.  When I see this, I picture in my mind this family member I mentioned earlier.  I picture him playing hard and having people run him down when things didn't go right and it gets me upset.  These are kids who work their tails off in school and on the court. 

   Why does anyone feel the need to run down a kid?  Or even worse, their family?  That is pathetic.  I get tired of Jazz fans who constantly want to blame all of the problems in the world on Ty Corbin, but Ty is a grown man who is paid quite well and taking over the top criticism from zealots is part of the job.  It is pitiful that he has to deal with it, but it is part of the job nonetheless.  Kids?  Moms and Dads who just love their kids? Absolutely disgusting that anyone would feel the need to call them names and harass them.  Would anyone say this same stuff to their face?  Not a chance.  So why do it over social media?  
    In no way, shape, or form, am I saying that athletes and coaches are beyond criticism.  There are criticisms of the Ute and Jazz players and coaches that are fair and appropriate.  Was I frustrated after last night's game?  You better believe it.  

    I was asked an interesting question last night.  I am known as someone who is optimistic about my teams and people wanted to know at what point will good efforts not be enough and when will I "demand" that my teams win games such as last night. 

     My answer?  Never.  We play in a difficult conference.  Losses like this are going to happen no matter how much talent we have.  Do I want more wins?  Absolutely.  Do I believe they will come?  Without a doubt!  But in the meantime, I will accept the reality that we are an up and coming team.  Twice this year, we have given Arizona a ball game despite being at a significant talent disadvantage.  If being content with that makes me a "lapdog" or "someone who pathetically accepts moral victories", so be it.  It is reality, even if I am disappointed that one got away.  

    Win, lose, or draw, I will always support my team, the players, and coaches, as long as I see a great effort being put forth.  When I see a lousy effort, even in wins, I will become more vocal.  (you should read my blogs about the 2012 Boston Red Sox).  I do not think for even one second that I am a better fan than someone who feels differently, it is just the way I approach it.  

   In anything in life, it helps to look at the big picture.  Two years ago, outside of people I can count on one hand, I couldn't have paid anyone to talk about Runnin' Ute hoops with me.  Last night, the Huntsman Center was darn near full.  Improvement is being made.  Larry K is doing things the right way.  Our time will come.  I have no doubt about it.  Someday soon, all of these frustrations will be distant memories.