I don't understand the baseball tradition

I am a big sports fan and love watching baseball but ever since I was little there was one thing I never understood. Why do managers wear the uniforms like the players? A lot of them are fat, old guys who I can relate to but I can't relate to wearing the uniform. I have brought this up to several friends of mine in the past but a link I saw the other day refreshed my memory on the subject.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/23/opinion/greene-baseball-manager-uniforms/index.html?hpt=hp_bn9

I am right with this guy all the way. Tony Larussa just won the world series and is my favorite manager of all time because of when he managed the A's but he looks ridiculous. Can you imagine if coaches had to wear uniforms in every sport. I would love to see Rex Ryan throwing on football pads and a helmet. He would look like a big green version of the Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man. Or in basketball if Coach K had real baggy shorts and a jersey with no t-shirt underneath. He would look a lot like one of his campers during K Academy and that is not a pretty site let me tell you no matter how much you work out when you get older. Now what are some of the sports where this would be the funniest? How about a swim coach putting on a speedo and nothing else? The last U.S. swimming coach is here at Texas and he is around 70 years old. There might be some volleyball coaches I would like to see in the tight spandex but definitely not any of the male ones. The only other coaches that remotely come close to wearing what the players do are tennis and golf but everyone who is a country clubber only has a selection of five ugly shirts and pants to choose from at the pro shop.

Going back to baseball ... I understand why managers had uniforms back in the 20's and 30's because most of them were the veteran guys on the team who coached and played both. However, when it became a job that was strictly coaching and not playing they should have went the sweater vest route like Tressel or the hooded sweatshirt like Belichek if nothing else. I think everybody that works with the team should get to wear the uniform, not just the manager, coaching staff and bat boy. I would like to see the guy playing the organ in a full uniform, stepping on the foot pedal with his golden spikes. Maybe the guy selling beer could wear batting gloves so he doesn't drop any.

This is the thing in sports that disturbs me the most besides ESPN but who am I to be the rational one. Let these old guys feel youthful and attached to the game by wearing uniforms. I am shocked Nolan Ryan didn't have on a uniform as a GM sitting at the World Series. At least he earned the right unlike some of the other managers in baseball.

Panic! At the Disco

Everyone says Austin is the live music capital of the world so a couple of weeks ago I went and checked out a list of upcoming concerts and found that Panic! At the Disco was coming to town. They were going to be playing at a place called La Zona Rosa downtown so I decided it would be fun to go. I like a couple of their songs and most importantly it would get me out of this funk I have been in with work dominating my life.

Not expecting much other than a night out, I was shocked when Panic! At the Disco put on an amazing show and became one of my two favorite bands right now. I would say the country concerts I have been to were people more my age but this concert had way better sound quality, venue and music.

From previous experiences most concerts are fun but the music is never as good as it sounds on CD or ITunes or whatever. Usually all you hear is a ton of base, loud noise and some mumbling into a microphone but if you know the band well it doesn't matter because you already know the words. This concert started out that way as Foxy Shazam and Patrick Stump both had those qualities. Stump does have a terrific voice but it got lost a lot in the loudness of the bass guitar. I will give Stump some credit because he played the same song Mike Tyson sang at the piano in The Hangover!

However, Panic! At the Disco must have some extraordinary sounds technicians because the voices were clear as day as was each instrument. The energy was extremely high and the talent is through the roof for those four guys. It was one of those concerts where as soon as you get in your car you want to play their CD and listen to all those songs all over again. In fact as I am writing this I am listening to my Panic! At the Disco pandora station and the Ballad of Mona Lisa just came on haha. The concert was awesome and I would love to go back and see those guys again.

The venue was also good. It wasn't a huge basketball arena or some big outdoor place with a ginormous lawn. If I were to guess La Zona Rosa could probably hold around 500-1000 people and it was great because I could see the stage really well and I didn't have to get in the middle of a bunch of crazy high school kids. I am not a big crowd person so I found a great leaning place up against a wall with a clear view of the stage and nobody crowding me or running into me. Also of note the La Zona Rosa was mentioned in a song by Little Texas called Amy's Back in Austin. The line reads

I bet Amy's back in Austin
Workin' at the LaZona Rosa Cafe
I remember the night we lost it
And the day she went away

Well Ben is back in Austin but I would recommend Amy not come back unless she is going to see Panic! At the Disco.

State Fair: Fried Food and Crazy People

My absense from the blog world has in large part been due to me moving halfway across the United States, trying to get a place to live, learning a new city and working every waking moment of my day but not that I have figured some of that out I decided to get back into the swing of things. I am sorry if some of you have enjoyed the absense of my blog because it is back baby!!

There are countless topics I could write about with my new experiences this past month here in Austin, Texas but I have instead decided to go a different route and talk about the State Fair.

This time of year is usually when most states have people from all over conglomerate for a few simple things ... fried food, carnival rides and games and people watching. Well at least that is why I go and I can only speak for myself.

I remember the county fair growing up in my hometown and have some good memories from when I was younger. I would like to thank my grandpa for letting me enter one of his ducks to win a grand champion purple ribbon one year. For anyone who knows me I don't know the first thing about ducks or taking care of one but it was a way for my grandpa to get me some extra cash.

When I got older I hated the county fair mostly because I was ready to get out of town and experience the world and also because some of the cowboys made me mad. Now I live in Texas where more cowboys can make me mad haha. The only two cowboys I ever really liked were John Wayne and the giant cowboy in Las Vegas. I liked John Wayne because I heard he used to own an entire street block and he lived on one end and his wife on the other. You have to love your personal space. With the Vegas one I don't need to explain.

I really fell in love with the State Fair when I moved to North Carolina. An annual event, I would go and try different fried foods. One year I even ventured to try a turkey leg which congealed in my stomach like candle wax and allowed me swallow fire if I wanted to. I also learned the tricks of the trade from eight year old kids on the water gun carnival game. After studying them for a good one or two hours I perfected my approach and am now dominate. I have a stuffed clownfish and a stewie doll from family guy to show for it.

This year I was very excited to check out the Texas State Fair. The Red River Rivalry game and state fair all in one place ... perfect storm right. Well work got in the way and I never really got to spend any time at the fair. After we lost the game in the second quarter I thought about leaving at halftime to go walk around but decided I should keep my job. So afterwards we made one quick walkthrough and got a famous corny dog which by the way is just a regular corn dog and nothing worth bragging about. It was hard walking by the fried bubble gum stand for three straight days and not partaking I can tell you that. Next year I vow to double my fried food intake to make up for this year however.

I did get my fair share of people watching in this year though and let me tell you it never gets old. I can't describe any in particular but I am positive Jerry Springer could do a one stop shop for guests on his show.

To close this week I would like to mention that I have thought seriously for the last two years about leaving my job and going on the road as a carny for one year. I feel I could run a ring toss game or guess people's birthday or something and then just talk to random people. After one year I could easily write a book and become a best selling author.