OK, so I didn’t see the *real* Stacy Keach. Rather, it was a dude who looked like him in his younger days. I’d say it was after he was Sgt. Stedenko but before he was Cameron Alexander in American History X.
I’ll warn you right now this will be a lengthy blog, due in part to what I did yesterday.
This was another week where there isn’t too much to write about until you get to the weekend, and in this case, yesterday. The reason why I didn’t post this yesterday is that last night I did something for the first time: attend an NFL game. It’s funny, I’ve been to baseball, college and pro basketball, college football, arena football, and other sports, but I’ve never attended an NFL game live and in person. I can’t really tell you why that’s the case; it just so happened this was the time I finally decided to do so, and the game was in Jacksonville, a city I haven’t visited in a few years. More on that later.
There really isn’t much to say at all about Monday through Thursday, except that on Wednesday there was a quick trip to the dentist. I’m fine, but I got to enjoy some good old nitrous oxide. As I’ve said before (and was proven in The Hangover Part 2) your local dentist has access to some great drugs! Friday I went to the Sand Lake Road area to check out the Barnes & Noble they have there (I picked up an item or two) then I once again enjoyed the greatness that is the peppermint yogurt at Pinkberry; you should get it like how it’s recommended, which is with some goodies like melted chocolate and white chocolate pieces. That’s highly recommended.
My Saturday was dull. I just stayed in and watched some college football. Sunday was when the excitement started; well, maybe that’s not the best word, as that day proved to be not the best, and I’m not just talking about the Bears game. As usual I went to Friendly Confines to watch Chicago play. They played against the mediocre Kansas City Chiefs; both teams had to play their backup QB’s due to injuries. Speaking of that, Chicago’s star workhorse running back Matt Forte hurt his knee early in the game, and he was out for the rest of it… and the next few weeks too. That was a crushing moment.
The game itself… WOW. I’ve thought for a long time that a Sunday Night Football game back in late ’02 between the Bears and the Tampa Bay Bucs was the worst game I’ve ever seen in my entire life. I’m not sure about it but this Bears-Chiefs game may have topped that. Aside from some cool moments it was just terrible to watch. The final score was 10-3 Chiefs and if it wasn’t for a fluke touchdown that Kansas City got at the end of the first half the game would have gone into overtime tied 3-3! Not helping matters was the fact that there were some real loudmouths around. Not a great experience overall. I’ll still be there Sunday afternoon when the Bears have to play the Denver Broncos. A few weeks ago I thought the game wouldn’t be so bad but now, I think it’ll be God-awful to watch in various ways and I don’t even think Tim Tebow will do his usual and start off badly only to Hulk up and give them a big boot and legdrop. Yes, I’ve heard some people online say that about Tebow and compare him to Hulk Hogan in his big comebacks. TEBOWAMANIA, in other words. Man, having a lot of Bears fans and fans of the former Gator QB there… what an atmosphere it could be.
I didn’t head straight home. I stopped at the Premiere Cinemas at the Fashion Square Mall to watch Immortals 3D. I hadn’t been to that nice Cineplex in far too long and I heard the 3D film looked rather nice in that format. It does, and while the story isn’t anything special at least it’s entertaining macho fun.
Yesterday, I had quite the day trip as I went up to Jacksonville to watch the Jaguars play against the San Diego Chargers. Both teams had poor records, but I decided to go to that game rather than a Bucs or Dolphins game as I hadn’t been to that part of Florida in a few years (not that there’s too much for me to do in that area), there’s been stories for years about how it’s possible the team will move to another city-so I might as well watch them when I can-and I was hoping the game would be close. That last part was incorrect but I still ended up having a good time at my first-ever live NFL game.
The drive there and back was uneventful. On the way there I took the scenic route via such roads as 19 and 17. The scenery was nice and for part of the way I hardly dealt with any traffic at all. When I did… there were some nincompoops. I also spent a few minutes in Georgia in order to look for things that I can’t buy in the central area of Florida. I am mostly talking about such geeky things as sodas and energy drinks. I did find some things I can’t find around Clermont, so mission accomplished there. I had dinner at some restaurant I found out about awhile ago… I just don’t remember how I stumbled upon it. After hearing at Smashburger, I have to say their namesake isn’t shabby but it’s awfully greasy and messy to eat. They do have a cinnamon milkshake that is pretty tasty, though.
Now, onto the game. Trying to figure out where to park wasn’t as clear as crystal, unfortunately. I had to follow some cars that appeared to know what they were doing. I was right as I stumbled upon a parking lot that was literally in a park. Having to pay 30 dollars was an unpleasant surprise. I walked to the stadium, saw what the cheapest tickets were then I thought, “Oh yeah, THAT is why I haven’t been to a pro football game before.” 65 bucks… yikes. Still, I paid and I walked up to the 400 level. At least it was a nice cool night with a light breeze.
The game started off badly for the Jaguars. They were a lot better for most of the second quarter but fell apart and they were awful for the second half. That allowed for San Diego to win 38-14. While I wish the game would have been closer, at least it wasn’t boring. As for the fans there, there were a surprising number of Chargers fans around. I had no idea. While there were a good number of empty seats around at least the people there were into the game. I could have done without some of the whininess I heard, at least I do understand somewhat why they would be frustrated with a team that has been average the past few years and now is pretty poor this year. They didn’t seem to mind that their coach got fired last week but a lot of people were excited they have a new owner that’s supposed to take over soon, a Mr. Khan. I wasn’t sure how people would like him; I don’t like saying it but he was born in Pakistan and I could imagine some white trash fans not liking him just for that reason. However, a lot of people were sporting fake mustaches a la their new owner and had signs and t-shirts proclaiming their love for him. They were also nice to their current owner, so that’s good.
Here’s some more fan-related things:
• Of course I saw some fan with a sign and said Chargers fan was one of millions in the U.S. who seems to be unfamiliar with the term “you’re”, given that they never use it even when they’re supposed to. Also of course, I know people in person who don’t know the difference between the two!
• Halftime was pretty neat. Not really for the BMX-related stunts I saw, but rather that they handed out they Styrofoam stick things which actually lit up in a blue color, so the lights were out for halftime and the image of all those blue sticks in the crowd was pretty neat.
• Unfortunately there were some whiny fans by me. My theory concerning me attracting the worst people is proven true again. A lot of people left before the game was over and I can’t really blame them. It was a Monday night contest and all. I stayed the entire time. Given the high cost I wanted to try and get as much out of it as I could.
• THE moment of the night was in the second half when I heard some jackass braying to people that they shouldn’t be leaving before the game’s over with. So, who do I see leave early in the 4th quarter? Why, that braying fan and his family! I swear this actually took place.
• The highlight in terms of fans there was a young lady who had a personalized Jaguars jersey. When I saw it said “Space Case” I thought, “Uh oh. This could be trouble.” However, this woman was just plain wacky and strange… and in a good way! I never saw her drank booze or ingest any sorts of substances, so she’s just naturally that out there, which is even better. While I could understand how some people wouldn’t like her, all she did was be wacky and try to get the section pumped up for big plays no matter what the score was. She was just fascinating to watch and she was hilarious too. In the 4th quarter when things were going bad she completely went bonkers. She was dancing often and she literally was ROFL when the Jacksonville QB was running with the ball and for no reason at all he just dropped the ball. A lot of people aren’t happy with that QB, and this year they REALLY wish that they could experience TEBOWAMANIA by him being a Jaguar. Anyhow, Space Case doesn’t have model looks but with that kind of personality… I’m sure she’d be great to party with!
Anyhow, what a long, long day I had. I am glad that it only took a few minutes to get out of the parking lot; that said, I still didn’t get back home until after 2:30 AM. I have no idea when I’ll attend my next NFL game. It’d be neat to see the Bears play live… OK, not the Bears of today, but you get what I’m saying.
I’ll be back Monday the 12th. I’ll watch the latest UFC show at Buffalo Wild Wings and I’ll also talk about my experience with Chicago fans meeting up with TEBOWAMANIA fans.
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