Corona

To Tweet, Or Not To Tweet

~ gatornation2008

Good news!  Contrary to the rumors swirling all over social media, my three month absence was not the result of having been trapped under a rock or succumbing to the ‘Rona.  No, no such tragedies have befallen me.  Instead, I have simply been the victim of a slow news quarter.  Seriously, can you remember a less eventful summer?  Me neither.  My hat is off to professional journalists.  This is when they earn their money.  How they’ve managed to find stories in this news-desert over the last three months is beyond me.  But that’s why they get paid the big bucks, right?  I’ve sat at my laptop for hours at a time over the last three months, trying to come up with something – anything! – to write about, to no avail. If only there were some major news stories to get the juices flowing, like a global pandemic, a revolutionary social justice movement, or a presidential election.  Can you imagine?  What a writing bonanza that would be!!

Ah, I kid.  The truth is that if anything, I’ve been paralyzed for the last three months by too much news.  Where do you even start?  There’s just so much to choose from!  And everyone is soooo serious right now.   For someone who loves a joke, this environment doesn’t feel like the best time to be cracking the funnies.  Call it a hunch.  I also got sucked into the hell hole that is Twitter, which can quickly suck up hours of your day and leave you convinced that we all hate each other and we’re mere days away from the end of civilization as we know it.  What a terrible and delightfully addictive place that is.  My foray into Twitter led me to reflect recently on the question, “How much Twitter is too much Twitter?”, and I think I’ve come up with some good guidelines.  The optimal amount of Twitter is just enough to keep you informed of current events that may have a direct impact on you, therefore allowing you to take precautions if necessary, but not so much that you are emotionally invested in an argument between two strangers in another country in the comments section of a tweet that someone you follow retweeted.  So, for instance, if there’s civil unrest (formerly known as ‘rioting’) occurring two blocks from your house, Twitter is a very effective tool to stay informed on the status of said unrest, allowing you to ready your firearms and ammunition should said unrest spread to your house.  However, if there’s civil unrest on the other side of the country, let’s say Portland, for example, and you’re arguing with someone in England about whether it was a ‘protest’ or a ‘riot’, you’ve likely reached the point of diminishing returns on Twitter.  

The point is (I always get there, albeit very slowly), it took some time, but I realized that I’ve been busy consuming rather than creating content, to the detriment of the blog and probably my sanity.  So rather than continue to delve into any of the hundreds of inflammatory topics that our beloved media is doing an extraordinary job of politicizing and dividing us over every day for ratings and dollars, I will return to my specialty: the mundane and idiotic.  Unfortunately, those of you thinking it will mean a greater focus on sports will be disappointed, since they’ve managed to politicize those too.  There are plenty of places to get hot takes on politics disguised as sports commentary, so if I wade back into sports, I’ll be sticking to the obscure but vitally important stories, like what’s up with Phil Mickelson’s sunglasses at the PGA Championship.

Hey Phil –  there’s a member of the Highway Patrol out there who wants his sunglasses back.

Protect and Serve!

~ gatornation2008 ~ 1 Comment

The ordinary man is involved in action, the hero acts. An immense difference. Henry Miller

It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle. Norman Schwarzkopf

I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom. Bob Dylan

A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. Christopher Reeve

Calculation never made a hero. John Henry Newman

Thoughts and Prayers

Video ~ ~ gatornation2008 ~ 1 Comment

In times of great uncertainty, you need a voice.  Someone to guide you through the darkness and into the light.  Someone to give you direction and remind you of your purpose. Someone to be your moral compass, reinforcing your beliefs that love conquers hate, community trumps individualism, and selflessness will ultimately bring victory.  Someone who can soothe the fear and panic that has spread throughout the land. Someone who can cut through the gross politicization and bring a level head and logic and reason to a crisis that seems to defy all logic and reason.

That someone is NOT The Sport Dork.  Sorry, but I’m just a retired guy with a blog who sporadically posts entries and rants about athletes doing stupid shit in between posting pictures of food during international travels and underwear selfies.  If you’re looking to make sense of this thing, I’m not your guy. If you’re looking to be mildly entertained for a few minutes – or maybe I should say distracted, since ‘mildly entertained’ may be promising too much – THAT, I can do.  

As I mentioned in my last post, I was waiting for the right moment to write about something I found truly compelling, and last November it happened to be the NFL Myles Garrett-Mason Rudolph helmet-ripping-off saga.  Four months later, I’m back, because it feels like once again the helmet has been ripped off of our collective heads. Sure, there have been plenty of compelling stories since last November, but none compelling enough for me to pick up the proverbial pen and paper and weigh in as only The Sport Dork can.  Plus, I’m fairly lazy, and this whole blog thing was starting to feel like a job, and the whole reason I retired was to eliminate the stress of a job, so I just said ‘screw it’ for a few months, binge watched all eight seasons of Game of Thrones and gained fifteen pounds.  

But I digress.  The point is, when people all over the country are freaking out, I have an obligation to weigh in and offer some perspective, or if that doesn’t work, at a minimum pour some fuel on the fire.  So I’m back, and I’m here to comment on the news of the day, which I think we can all agree is unprecendented. In fact, I think the term ‘unprecedented’ was invented specifically for this type of event.  I never thought I’d see something like this in my lifetime, and I have to believe you never thought you’d see it either.  

Tom Brady is leaving the Patriots?  What world are we living in? No quarterback has ever switched teams after twenty years with one team!  Let me go out on a limb and make a prediction. We’re only three months into 2020, and I can’t imagine a bigger news story coming out for the rest of the decade.  Remember, you heard it here first. NOTHING could possibly top the shock and surprise felt across the country when his announcement came out yesterday. In fact, I challenge you to name a news story that even comes close.  I’ll wait.

I know Pats fans all over the country are in pain right now, and to all those suffering through this unthinkable national nightmare, I say this: my thoughts and prayers are with you, as I know are those of every American who has been impacted by the unparalleled accomplishments of the Patriots with TB12 under center.  The Patriots mantra of ‘Do Your Job’ has inspired hundreds of millions of people across the globe to do their jobs, and for that we are grateful.  

There will be plenty of time to look back on all of Tom’s accomplishments and celebrate his legacy, but for now I think the most important thing all of us can do is receive and embrace this moment with the gravity it deserves.  In times of crisis, it’s critical to prioritize – not to ‘sweat the small stuff’, as they say. So let’s all put our petty problems and daily issues to the side for the moment and put our collective energy toward the issue of the day.  A community is hurting, people, and this is the time for all of us, as Americans, to rally behind them. We can each do our part! Of course, recognizing my position of power and influence in the community, I have decided to get the ball rolling by taping a brief video message below that I can only hope will help the healing begin.  Go Pats!!