She Would Have Killed Me
Many of you saw this tweet. Here’s the accompanying backstory:
My girlfriend, Somer, drives a nice car: a 2011 Kia Sorento EX, that she affectionately calls Kiki. The other day, I drove it to work, cause she’s awesome and lets me enjoy the heated seats and satellite radio when she can.
It had been raining that day (just like every day for the last two weeks here in central Ohio) and I stopped on the way home to check the water level at a fishing hole I’ve had my eye on for a couple of weeks. On the way up the path back towards Riverside Drive, I saw a little trail through the trees off to the side. It didn’t occur to me – in time – that maybe the path wasn’t Kia-friendly due to the rain.
About ten minutes, and a couple of prayers, later I took this video to show her that her little Kia needs off-road tires if it’s going to insist on taking me mudding.
And now, the video evidence: Read more…
Hockey Flashback
A few years ago – way back in ’04 – I went to a Columbus Blue Jackets game and then wrote a paper about it for school. It is the only time I’ve ever been to a pro hockey game, and though I still don’t really like hockey, it was a good time. I’m thinking that maybe next season I’ll try to go to another one.
The game ended in a tie, but I didn’t care about the score. All I cared about was that it was over and I didn’t want to leave.
On Thursday night, I experienced a first: I went to an NHL game. The Blue Jackets were playing the Lightning from Tampa Bay, and by an act of divine intervention, I got a ticket. Actually, a guy from my dad’s office had an extra, but anyway, I was there.
For those of you have never been to a Blue Jackets game, I have one word of advice: Go. Even if you think a line change is something you do at the grocery store, just go. You will enjoy it. Trust me.
From the moment I walked across Nationwide Boulevard I could feel the energy, excitement, and cold emerging from a small patch of ice inside the brick arena known as the Insurance Igloo. After the lady at the door scanned my ticket, I thought I would need a knife to cut through all the emotions.
Crew Family Proves It’s Worth, Again
(Read this first, unless you already know the story)
When I heard that Greg Graven’s mom had died back on March 25th, my heart immediately went out to him. I’ve never lost a family member that close, and I can’t imagine the emotion that he was feeling. To lose your mother, as a senior in high school, no less, must be beyond earth-shattering.
But, when I learned, a few days later, about the outpouring of love from the Crew Family that Greg and I share, I was floored. It came to my attention, from someone I refer to as “Aunt Lisa” that William Hesmer, the Crew’s starting goalie, had not only given Greg the jersey off his back after the most recent match, but had written on his Facebook wall the afternoon of her passing. I was floored.
I mean, this guy is a pro athlete, he has a lot of things on his plate and a lot of fans who have had important and close relatives die. Something tells me, though I may be wrong, that Will doesn’t go around writing on facebook walls of his fans for fun. He’d be all Facebook, no soccer.
But, nevertheless, he did. And he made an eighteen year old’s week with three simple, heartfelt sentences.
This was a story that had to be told.
How I Learned to Be Massive: My Crew Story
I read this post over on 11 Warriors a few days ago, and it really got me to thinking about what being a Crew fan means to me. It’s a long – and sometimes complicated – story, that has everything from humor to tears to anger and everything in between. There are so many parts to my Crew Story, and eventually I’m going to tell them all, but I figure it’s best to start at the beginning…
My path to soccer was long and twisted, with many stops and starts. I played in youth leagues when I was growing up, but eventually grew tired of it and drifted away. After moving to Kentucky, I joined the high school team as a quick way to make friends and get back into shape for basketball. It was during high school that I was first exposed to the EPL, World Cup (’98), and eventually the Columbus Crew.
During my senior year the team came to Crew Stadium the same weekend as the Kansas City Wizards, and I guess you could say that was the day I was officially introduced to The Crew, but I hardly remember it and certainly didn’t give it a second thought until almost ten years later. From the west side stands, my friends and I watched Ansil Elcock and Robert Warzycha score in the 2-1 victory (but I had to look the score line up just now).
After that weekend, soccer really only came up during the ‘02 and ‘06 World Cups but it was just a passing interest, even though I had moved back to Columbus and had the Crew in my backyard. Baseball was a bigger part of my life, and becoming a soccer fan again never occurred to me.
A Few Talking Points
Hey y’all, did you think I’d forgotten about this place?
I’ve been busy, kind of. I guess not really busy, just giving my time to other endeavors. Nothing really specific or whatever, besides of course my work with Massive Report. I guess I’ve just neglected this space for lack of inspiration. I wanted this to be a place where I could tell sorties and rant and share things about my life, but for some reason I haven’t been doing that. So, as this blog enters it’s 4th year, and my semi-pro writing career enters its 3rd, here is my oath to do better. I’ve got some ideas on how to use this space, inspired by a few of my role models in the social media realm, and I think everyone will benefit from a refocused effort on The Jock. Let’s just say that this blog will have more of a purpose from here on out.
But, before any of that happens, I’ve got some photos to share. I’ve been quietly reviving my love for photography, and there are a lot of new things in my Photo Diary. I think I’m going to try and come up with a new name and/or format for that piece of my life, but no promises there. I kind of like that it’s just a random collection of things I see and capture. Sometimes, a theme just ruins things.
Also, as I alluded to before, I’m now doing some serious stuff with the #1 Columbus Crew news website, Massive Report. We’re gearing up for a big season, doing a bi-weekly podcast (with great guests), and generally being awesome at keeping Crew Nation informed. If you’ve ever met me in real life, you probably know how excited I am to be a part of that staff, and that I’m very thankful for the chance to work with such a talented group of people. There are big things going on there, and it’s a blessing to be a part of it.
There are a lot of other things going on in my life, but none of them are extraordinary enough to mention here. Just mundane things that everyone does. I think the most exciting thing I’ve done recently was laundry, or maybe it was cook dinner. I know, you guys are probably super bummed that I didn’t write about those, aren’t you? I think I may have tweeted about one of them, but I’m not sure.
So, yeah. That’s all that. Keep your eye here, if not for my awesome stories, than at least for my patented LaMacchia Rants or the occasional Attack on Someone You Don’t Know. TwentyEleven is going to be the year of The Jock.
