Monthly Archives: January 2012

Bye, Tim.

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So, just going to get this out of the way right now.  I do not like people preaching to me.  I went to a parish school from Kindergarten to 8th grade, then Jesuit schools for high school and college.  I have had quite enough of people telling me what my beliefs should be, how I should live my life, how I should vote and view people of other faiths.  That said, though, I could not care less what your religion or faith or belief system is, as long as it is a personal thing, and not being forced into the public discourse.  Tim Tebow is a man of faith, a great deal of it, in fact.  Now, if that was all, I would not care.  If he only praised his savior every press conference, ok yeah whatever.  Not a problem.  Focus on the Family involvement and endorsement?  Well….they’re what I like to call a hate group, actively promoting the superiority of their faith, as well as bitter prejudice against homosexuals and non-Christians.  So there are points lost there.  He begins to rapidly approach the level of that one guy in college that came into the student government office at BC (remember, a Jesuit school) and telling me how I was going to Hell because I was baptized as a Catholic.  Or maybe that one woman who said she would pray for my children because I would not pick either Catholicism or Judaism (the religious heritage of my wife) for my kids, instead exposing them to both cultures.

That, however, is not why I loathe Tim Tebow.  I might just consider him a slang term for male anatomy, but that would be it.  No, there’s more. (After the video…)

The reason is that he has been placed on a mythical pedestal, being lauded as the under-appreciated hero, an upright and just man, overcoming all adversity simply by his faith.  Also, he has been adopted as a warrior for those who are so desperate to find some way to show everyone who does not share the same kind of faith in their deity of choice that they are, in fact, better than the rest of us by virtue of their hero.  ESPN does entire shows about him, sports announcers sing his praises and overlook every flaw.  Columnists write columns about him, wishing Obama and other world leaders could be more like Tebow.  Posters of him bowing and kneeling in supplication everywhere you look.

On top of all that, he is really a terrible quarterback.  Simply awful.  Tonight’s game against the Patriots showed that.  Not just because the Pats demolished them in a manner more befitting the Walls Of Jericho, but because never once in the game did he assume any sort of leadership, poise, and fight to try and show the Pats that he meant business.  His play was spotty, his passes for the most part weren’t wobbling ducks, they were more like cartwheeling penguins flung from a catapult.  He simply could not deliver, despite his teammates trying desperately to try and make him do so.

This entire time we have been preached to, having so many people tell us that he deserves football fans’ praise and adulation not because he is a great player, but because he is a moral, upright guy with deep faith and hatred for gays and the idea that a woman has any say about anything that happens with her body.So not only, in my eyes, does he deserve my scorn, but he’s also an awful football player.  Tebow and his ilk at Focus On The Family are constantly talking about how things are being forced down their throats.  Well, at least he won’t be forced down mine for several months, and for that, I am both grateful and proud to be a Patriots fan.

2011 is gone. Then why not 2012?

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It’s after New Year’s, and finally we have come to the end of a long, grueling period of time where we are barraged with some of the most annoying things on earth, Year-In-Review lists.  From Top Ten News Stories Of 2011 and Top Ten Viral Videos Of 2011 to The List Of The Top Lists Of 2011, the last week of December is rife with everyone in the media coming up with the most ridiculous retrospectives, just to fill the time left by shows in rerun state, or being put on temporary hiatus because people actually like it and the network doesn’t know how to handle that. (Yes I am still angry at NBC about this Community bullshit)

We all do it, though.  I’ve been going over this past year myself, it’s been tumultuous, crazy, and full of ups and downs that rival the worst roller coasters.  I see on Facebook how people are going over the past year, happy and sad moments, and talking about them.  Personally, I’m happy to see this year in the rear-view mirror, but the whole concept of a year is an arbitrary convention that we use that has no real bearing in the way things happen, so really, I guess I am just glad I have this marker tonight to be able to remind myself it’s all in the past now.  Of course, the pessimistic cynic in me also assumes that this year will be just as chock-full of sucky moments, and hopes for at least some positive wins to help balance it off.

I dislike the whole concept of resolutions, both on philosophical and practical grounds.  The idea of making these resolutions based on the new date does not really show a desire to commit to something like that, generally, because you KNOW that the things you resolve to do or not do are for your own improvement, and should be doing it already.  Just, maybe, not doing it well.

So instead of resolutions, I have decided to set a few goals for myself this year, and see if I can’t make the time we have left until the Mayangeddon in December hits.

  1. Work a little harder at being more active.  I am not foolish enough to think I will go to a gym or anything with any regularity, but at least walk more, climb stairs instead of elevators when there are only a floor or two to go up, that sort of thing.  I might not lose a lot of weight just doing that, but it can’t hurt and is a place to start.
  2. (NOTE: This is probably the only time I will ever talk about my work here) Do my damnedest to improve myself professionally to run my team better and do my part in the re-election effort.  Seriously, this is a big deal for me, and a unique opportunity that fate has delivered, I really want to make the most of it.  It’s not every day you get to be a part of something historic like this.
  3. Write more.
  4. Figure out what I want to do when I grow up.  This is still up in the air.
See, reasonable goals for myself, not resolutions, because I do not have that ability, and I think they are silly anyhow.  You want to quit smoking?  Just friggin do it.  Hell, my mother just up and decided to quit one day, went cold turkey and stayed that way.  Don’t wait for New Year’s Day.
What I think I would like most of all, though, is to have the same number of people in my family and friends at the end of the year as the beginning.  2011 saw an unacceptable decline, and I would prefer the trend reverse itself.