Sports Teams

I don't fully understand anyone's loyalty to any given sports team. The teams are always in a state of flux and there is no actual team...especially in the pros and a bit less so in colleges. It even happens in high schools,,,maybe not in grade schools...I don't know.

It's like Animal Farm...or a flip book. In a flip book, one makes subtle changes from page to page until the final rendition is completely different than the first. I once worked at a company called Imagine. There were many people working there who came from a company called Iridio. As time went by, there were changes made in company focus, client targets and attitude. I told the owners that if I had wanted to work at Iridio I would have gone there in the first place but I was not one of the owners and could only observe. I made a flip book. I started with the word, Imagine...and on each page, I made a very slight change to the letters...at the end, after fanning through the booklet, what was...Iridio. That was what was really happening to the company as well...but no one seemed to notice...or care.

In Animal Farm (which I haven't read for a long, long time and may be incorrect with the details), the hapless animals saw nearly indistinct changes, day by day..."Didn't that sign used to say...? Didn't the pigs used to live in the barnyard with us? Weren't there people in the house?" Without even being aware of it, the farm animals learned to accept an entirely new reality.

That's what the sports teams are all about. There are very few, lasting members of any team. There are trades made to make improvements all the time. ..or the players insist on moving on...The Seattle Mariners and Seahawks are a good example. The fans show up at the games, paying for tickets, hot dogs, beer, tee shirts and a variety of memorabilia. Nothing stays the same though. The teams don't have any of the same players and the fans keep coming. "Go Hawks! Go Mariners!"...but these are not the same people they rooted for just one season ago. You can't go off thinking Griffey, A-Rod, Paxton or The Big Unit are your Mariners. They're not. They're gone. It's the same with the Seahawks. Yet the rabid fans keep on keepin' on.

Why in the world do the local fans continue to support their team...the individual players...any of it? It's always in transition. There is no real team! Those players who moved to other teams...they return as opponents, sometimes on the same day they left.

Russel Wilson changed schools...as so many others have done. He'll go to a different pro team if the money doesn't work out in Seattle. There is zero loyalty from team ownership or management to players or fans....or from players to teams or fans...and yet the local fan base remains attached to the team. It simply makes no sense. There is no team!

The coaches and managers are no different. There's a revolving door in the offices and clubhouses of all pro and college organizations.

"Didn't that guy used to be our running back? Wasn't he our pitcher?" Go team!

MLB All-Star Game

I'm listening to the radio broadcast. I definitely DON'T like the announcers. Actually, the second guy is good but I sure don't like the main guy. It just reminds me how fortunate I am to live in the Seattle area. The main guy on the radio says, "Top seven, bottom six, NL, AL", continually  shortening terms. These guys are on the freeking radio! They can fill all kinds of air space with real data. If they were to cut back on language details but give us some other interesting information...that might be okay...but they don't. I have no clue what the weather is or what ever else is going on at the site. I'm happy to have Rick Rizzs and...and what's--his name. Together, they're great.

New Mariners Announcer Guy

Okay...I've listened to a few pre-season games and, in general, I'm pleased with the new guy.

However, I must say, when I hear, "top six" instead of, "the the top of the sixth", I cringe and writhe in pain. Those "top six" and "bottom seven-type" terms make me feel like I'm in Southern California. (That's not a good place to be for a person in the Northwest. Really! Why shorten the term like that? It's not like there's such a limit on microphone time!) It's similar to calling I-5, "the five" and I-90, "the ninety". It's just plain wrong for this area!

Mr. New Announcer, please lose those terms now and remember you're in Washington...and we don't like anything to do with California!

I know I've commented on this before but even though it took me a long time to swaddle Rick Rizzs and even Dave Niehaus...they both grew on me. I just never EVER want to hear, "kerplunk" from Mr. Rizzs again.

I don't mind spending my money to support my local teams but it would be great if they supported us too.

As an aside, I was so ( ! ) distraught when Evening Magazine got rid of the local people that made me feel at home and hired that ass-wipe. I don't like him. I've seen him at events. He's an arrogant ass-wipe from Denver ( ? ) and I"d be happy to see him...gone. We have a unique place and culture here in the northwest and we should cherish it without diluting it all with ass-wipes from afar.

I'll get back to this. However, I have to go out and milk the yaks.

Carmen...Seattle Opera...My review (finally!)

I haven't been to this opera yet. That will be this Wednesday...but I'm hoping for the best. Stay tuned.

So…I did go to see Seattle Opera’s Carmen last night and, in general, it was good.

As usual, the chorus (including the youth chorus) was great and the overall presentation was great and all the dancing was wonderful.

Carmen was okay…a mezzo who had plenty of sound and energy, and carried herself well on stage. She was not the most graceful person for the part and her movements were a bit choppy and mechanical at times but I really have no serious complaints about her Carmen portrayal. (I do prefer the soprano, Cecilia Angell as Carmen.)

Don Jose, early on, seemed a bit weak in the voice but strengthened later on. There was one odd thing about his singing, however…when I was learning how to sing French arias, I was told that they should be sung with an Italian type of pronunciation. (Apparently, this originated as a result of Italian tenors singing the French with a certain arrogance that their way was the only correct way.) Specifically, the letter ‘R’ should be pronounced with a rolling ‘R’ rather than the pharyngeal (?) French norm, from the back of the throat. This Don Jose sang with the pharyngeal ‘R’ pronunciation…sometimes. Other times, he rolled his R’s. First, it was a distraction (and almost an offense) to hear the ‘R’s” coming from the back of his throat instead being rolled. Second, it was an even greater distraction to hear them pronounced differently from time to time. Another distraction of his was the unusual pronunciation of most vowels. They seemed to be neither French nor Italian and most were totally different than I was taught. (I should mention that, although I learned to sing a lot of the Don Jose role, I am more of a shower singer than a real performer!) All that said, although this Don Jose was not the most powerful tenor I’ve ever heard, he certainly was better than most tenors I’ve heard at Seattle Opera. I just didn’t like the pronunciations of so many things that it was a distraction and detraction from my personal enjoyment. It occurs to me that this Don Jose’s native language is probably Spanish and I noticed that many of his vowel pronunciations were to similar to Placido Domingo ‘s. Okay, one more minor complaint about Don Jose…he over-acted at times…especially in the ‘flower song’.

Escamillo was fair. His voice was the weakest of all, especially in the lower register, and it surprised me that he was even cast for the role. Craig Nim would have been a far better choice and would have probably acted the role as well or better.

Zuniga was adequate with a strong enough voice.

Micaela…was as wonderful.

Frasquita and Mercedes were perfect.

Don't go to Seattle

A friend told me last week that it took an hour to get from Queen Anne to I-5 and that was BEFORE the first planned shutdown of the 99 viaduct which begins this week. Travel in and around Seattle is already a nightmare but it only gets worse with the 99 issue and rolling shutdowns of the 520 floating bridge and near-future tolling implemented on the bridge. In addition, for those who still care to brave the traffic, parking is extremely expensive and mostly, unavailable. For those who think about using public transportation...good luck. It stinks. Rather than do the right thing and make much-needed repairs to the viaduct to prevent catastrophic results from an inevitable earthquake, it was decided to build a tunnel which will cost billions and disrupt traffic for years. In addition, the tunnel will be subject to even worse destruction from said earthquake. It all makes no sense. Seattle is heading for gridlock for many years to come. Imagine trying to do business in Seattle. Prospective shoppers are discouraged from going downtown and parking costs are out of sight. Imagine being a salesperson, attempting to make a few meaningful calls during the workweek. Seattle is off-limits. Imagine going to dinner in Seattle and paying through the nose for parking (if there is any available, then paying a fortune for the dinner. Stay away. Seattle is people-unfriendly.

Seattle Earthquake

Doesn't anyone in a decision-making capacity have any ability to learn from history? Imagine a massive earthquake in the Northwest and think of what would happen to the new tunnel. Everyone inside would be either crushed or drowned. Imagine the liquification in the Sodo area...it's just fill dirt there. But the tunnel! The tunnel doesn't exist yet...and never should. Yes, the mayor is aware, in light of the recent Japan earthquake, that the viaduct is a deathtrap. But really!? A tunnel is far worse! Either do a retrofit of the existing viaduct or tear it down and build a nice boulevard along the waterfront. The Seattle area is living on borrowed time and the massive earthquake could be only moments away.

Seattle earthquake

With all the horror in Japan as a result of the earthquake, I wondered about potential damage in my area, Seattle. Five to ten years ago, there was an extensive study to determine expected results from a mere 6.7 earthquake. Among many other awful things, the viaduct would fall, the seawalls would collapse and there would be numerous, minor tsunamis in the Sound. Well...Seattle intends to remove the viaduct and replace it with a tunnel. A tunnel! I can't even imagine how many people are sopping up the profits of such a venture. The tunnel would run right along, parallel to, and lower than the...seawall. That would be the same seawall that just fell into the water, taking all the docks with it. That would be the same Puget Sound that would be generating local tsunamis, swamping houses and businesses along the waterfront. Does anyone think the tunnel, not fifty feet from that same waterfront, would survive? Really?! That's all fill dirt along the waterfront. The tunnel would rupture and fill with water in a mere 6.7 earthquake. What of a more intense earthquake? Even in that 6.7 earthquake, hundreds of vehicles (and humans) could be crushed and/or drowned in this foolish tunnel. The tunnel idea should be abandoned immediately. There should either be a retrofit of the viaduct or it should be replaced by surface streets. This folly can only be the result of a tremendous amount of political scheming and palm-greasing. Stop the tunnel! Now!