Reverse the Curse

I’m a sports fan. Due to my health, I’ve never been much of an athlete – but ever since I was 14 and the 1995 Mariners pulled me in to a new world, I’ve been a sports fan.

Sometimes, this is awesome. As a teenager, all of a sudden, I had things I could talk about and really enjoy with my three brothers and dad, all of whom love sports.

Sometimes, this is not awesome.  Let me give you a quick summary of all the teams I’ve rooted for over the years:

*Seattle Mariners: In 1995, after beating the Yankees in a 5 game series (after being down 2-0) they couldn’t get past Cleveland. They lost Game 6 of the ALCS. To this day, have gotten to the ALCS one other time, but never made it to the World Series. (Even the year they won 116 games – tying the record for most wins in a season.)

*USA Hockey: In 2002, I was living in Canada for college. The Salt Lake City Olympics featured TWO gold metal hockey games (both Men’s & Women’s) where Canada beat the USA. It was miserable to watch with my Canadian friends.

*Edmonton Eskimos: I was still living in Edmonton Alberta in 2003.  The CFL team went to the Grey Cup. And Lost.

*Edmonton Oilers: 2006 – Since I went to school in Edmonton, I adopted the Oilers as my hockey team. They were the come from behind kids, only to get to the 7th game of the Stanley Cup finals, and lose.

*Seattle Seahawks: Lost the Superbowl in 2006

*Chicago Bears: They did win the Superbowl when I lived in Chicago, but I was only 5 years old and don’t remember the win.  In Grad School, it was 2007 and I lived in Chicago again. The Bears lost the Superbowl.

*Seattle Super Sonics: This one is so bad that the Sonics moved to OKC in 2008 and changed their name. I’ve been rooting against the Thunder ever since. (Maybe the one bright spot? I was forced to root for the Miami Heat to beat the Thunder in the finals. And the Heat won….Lesser of two evils.) I wrote off the NBA for a few years, until I was married to a Spurs fan.

*San Antonio Spurs: My adopted team, thanks to my husband, made it to the finals this year. As is the pattern of my life, they lost in the finals.

So there you go. And I’ll not even attempt to claim all the foibles of the Cubs as mine. They are my second favorite baseball team.  Since I was born in Chicago and have lived there a total of 8 years, the loveable losers have a special place in my heart as well.

All of that being said, I refuse to give up. I WILL cheer for my teams. And one year, one of them will WIN. I’m hoping this is the year. I’m banking on the curse being reversed. I’m ROOTING for the SEAHAWKS.  — And that’s all there is to it.

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wow. burnout?

It’s been a while. I don’t know if I have had a longer ‘no post’ time in the last 5 years…

Not too much happening here. Or rather, too much happening here.

Lets see. Here’s a list of what’s been going on:

*Search for the Shake ended for 2010. We’ll pick it up again in 2011

*I’ve been playing lots of games, Settlers, Speed Scrabble, Ticket to Ride, Puerto Rico, and just learned a new one today Carcassonne. Oh, and I purchased ‘Bang!’ (a mafia type card game) on ebay.

*Got two new tires for the front wheels of my car.

*Enjoying the final season of LOST.

*My roomie & I planted a garden. Tomatoes, Jalapenos, Snow Peas, Dill, Chives, & Basil. (also strawberries, but no luck with them yet).

*Went to two Dallas Stars Games.  One happened to be an Oilers game, and we were 12 rows up from the glass.

*Started up the grill. Corn, broccoli, chicken, salmon, steak, hot links, brats, potatoes, green beans, kabobs, peppers. Yummy!

*Started a one month trial of Netflix. 2 weeks, four movies watched.

*A friend from Wa State came for a visit. We took a road trip to San Antonio.

*Saw the Alamo. (3/6/1836 – & 10 years later Texas became a state.)

*Said Friend from Wa State, myself, and my roomie went to see the Mariners play on 4/11. They got beat pretty badly, but it was fun to see them play during opening week.

*Also on 4/11 we celebrated “Happy to be Alive” day – the 27th anniversary of my open heart surgery.

*Tried Nutella.

*Accidentally left the sun roof of my car open just a crack all night – while it rained. I was fortunate to not have any water in the car the next morning.

*Learned that people like to talk about PB & J on facebook & twitter

*Learned I’m a “terrible tour guide” which resulted in a driving tour of my neighborhood and surrounding area.

*Stayed up way too late past my bed time on numerous occasions (tonight being a prime example)

*I’m sure there is more but because of the item right above this… I can’t remember. 🙂

Moved!

I moved. It went so well, thanks to great friends where were willing to give a bit of time and energy on their Saturday morning.

I’m getting close to being unpacked. And after this evening, I should basically be done with the old place (cleaning) and handing in the keys tomorrow.

Not only did I get to move, with my new roommie and dear friends who helped me move – we had all had a blast hanging out.

I also would be remiss if I did not mention that my new home has cable & internet… Which for this weekend meant being able to watch a few periods from the first Oiler game of the regular season as well as the end of the Mariners Last game of the season. (still hoping it’s not Ken Griffey, Jr.’s Last game)

Oh. and the new Relient K cd drops tomorrow. It’s soooo good!

no more internet

I moved over the weekend and as a result, I no longer have internet access from home. This means that my blog posts will probably be less frequent.

So, while I have a moment, I just want to say two sports realted things.
1. I am rooting for the Philies in the World Series because I like Jamie Moyer
2. The Oilers have started out the season 4-0

Sometimes my thoughts keep me up at night

I know it happens to everyone. But sometimes, I find myself on the brink of utter ridiculousness. “Normal” people would be awake tossing and turning because of things like the financial crisis of which we are all so painfully aware. Nope, not me. What takes away from my precious sleep time? The fact that I bleed blue, green, and a touch of copper – that’s what.

I think it might be some kind of illness I should be treated for. It can’t be normal to stay awake thinking about how the Mariner’s miserable season is finally over or how the Seahawks have a huge game coming up on Sunday against the Giants (the first Hawks game to be on TV this season down here). Mainly I am just excited that (here comes the copper) the NHL season is on the verge of starting and the Oilers are looking great. I think something in my head is a little out of whack.

It all started out in 1995, with a crazy September of Mariners baseball. This was the first time I ever felt any symptoms of the sports fever. Maybe the only cure is to have your team win. I wouldn’t know. Since I started paying attention, my teams have only strung me along on promises of grandeur. The M’s have been two games out of the World Series, twice, while the Seahawks lost in the Superbowl. And my Oilers, they lost the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Championship.

Sport fever is not an illness without ramifications; it has infected a large portion of the population and as a result, unites people across the world. Sadly, this affliction can also divide humanity. I once found myself seething in deep hatred of a new individual I just met because he said he was from Raleigh, NC. For a brief moment, I did not even realize where the disdain came from, as it is very uncommon for me to react this way to anyone. In an instant, I remembered that the Carolina Hurricanes were the team that just beat my Oilers in game seven. Once I discovered this, and learned this new friend did not like hockey, all was forgiven.

Anyway, you can have your sleepless nights over matters of importance; I would rather risk my sleep on the effects of compounded interest in underdog teams that will one day win it all.

uhm. RAD!

So I just decided to click over to 630 ched to see if there was any new oilers news. clicked on “listen” because it said the sports show was on. Turns out they are playing a preseason game right now. So I clicked on the oilers website which brought me to a very surprising discover.

Live Oilers Game – streaming, online, for FREE! After some quick research, I guess it premiered earlier this year, but I never knew about it. So, here I am watching an oilers game. The NHL calls it Livewire and I believe any team can be watched. (you redwing fans, click here)

Also, again watched house and fringe tonight. Regarding Fringe, its not LOST, and its no ALIAS, but after three episodes, “I’m in.”

Oilers

I wanted to go to the Oilers game today. They are in town playing the blackhawks. Due to lack of interest (from other people who I wondered if they wanted to go with) and lack of money, I didn’t go.

I am currently listening to the game (online-630 CHED). Its 3-3 going into the third. There have been a handful of penalties, and even 3-5 penalty killing for the oilers. Its turning out to be a great game. Too bad for me not being there.

I thought about it…

And I decided “no.” The Oilers are playing tomorrow in Chicago against the Blackhawks at the United Center. I can get downtown easy enough, but to then try and figure out what bus to ride from the train, to the United Center..ugh. Maybe in March when they are back in town I can rally up a group of people who don’t care about hockey, but would go for cheep entertainment (tickets are like 10-20 dollars).

88-74

Not too shabby! Thats the season record for the Mariners. They end 6 games out of the division and 6 games back of the wild card. While they made it close in August, they failed to keep the momentum in September. So, slightly disappointing. At the same time, what an improvement! This year was much more fun than the last few. I look forward to off-season improvements, a winter lull, and a hopeful February.

For the winter, I will cheer on the Seahawks (who are looking to destroy the 49ers) and the oilers (who went 4-2 in preseason). For the month of October, I must confess, I am rooting for the N.L. While the teams might be weaker overall, their stories are much more fun. I just cant root for the Angels. Definatley not, when it comes to the Yankees. Boston, they had their turn a few years back. And Cleveland, no thanks. Better stories run with the Phillies and the Cubbies. (It helps to live in Chi-town).

Here’s a photo from the other day at Wrigley. I did not take the picture, but basically, it is about where we were standing and it felt like we were almost this close.

My Favorite Hockey Player…

…was traded yesterday from the Edmonton Oilers to the NY Islanders. Ryan Smyth. 😦

Very sad. It looks like the Oilers are thinking they are probably out of the playoffs (hence the firesale) but today I wore my Oilers shirt with Pride anyway. We still have a month of hockey to enjoy.

AND THEN 33 days until baseball.