Unpacking - Series 1, Episode 2 The Sportsball Edition

 The next little portion of my pile is sportsball related. I included my Champ Bailey Broncos jersey. The Payton Manning jersey I have is definitely nicer, but Champ is my favorite Bronco. I like wearing jerseys. They're tough, good for layering things underneath, and easy to wash. I had to include a Cubs jersey in the bag as well. The home white one I have is really nice, so that one got the nod.

I might as well talk about the baseball caps here as well. I included a Cubs hat, of course. I selected kind of a grubby one that I wear quite a bit. It annoyed me to no end when people claimed I was a fair-weather Cubs fan during the World Series run and the year after. Yes, there were a lot of people who jumped back on the Cubs bandwagon that year, and I was happy to have them climb aboard. I had suffered plenty for many, many years leading up to that point, though. This hat has the sweat if not the blood and tears.

The other hat I chose is my Boise Hawks hat. The Hawks are now an independent minor league team after having been affiliated with the Rockies and then the Cubs. They don't make this particular hat anymore, which is why I chose it as opposed to one of my other minor league hats. I love collecting the minor league hats. They have great logos and sometimes cool stories behind the team names. If I had to reseed a new collection, I'd start it with this Hawks hat.

My Northwestern sweatshirt is in the mix here as well. I have to have a sweatshirt, and going with my alma mater seems the right way to go here. The Champion sweatshirts are always nice. My last Northwestern one lasted over twenty years. Granted, by the end it wasn't something I would really wear out of the house, but I got my use out of it and then some.

The other Northwestern article I included is my Northwestern scarf. (I should add here that I'm really kind of glad that purple is Northwestern's main color. I like purple in the wardrobe.) I don't know why scarves aren't bigger in the U.S. outside of where and when it gets very cold. Of course they are great for freezing weather, but they are useful too in merely chilly conditions. You can wrap or unwrap a scarf to regulate temperatures as needed. Chic Europeans understand this. I'd probably prefer a slightly lighter weight one for regular use, but this one does the trick, and is purple!

I'm bringing four pairs of socks. Now, should I wind up in Florida I probably won't wear socks at all, as I spend all my time in flip-flops. If I only have my bag of stuff, I'll have to pick up some flip-flops as well, because I didn't pack any! I think these four pairs of socks will cover me for whatever I need, though. I am wearing my shark socks. I actually have several pairs of shark socks. These ones are blue and remind me that some days you need to be a shark, just like some days you need to be Flash Gordon. They didn't work all that great today in that regard, to be honest, but they did keep my feet relatively warm. I did pack a warmer pair - SmartWool ski socks. SmartWool socks are pricey but worth it. I've had this pair many, many years and while they've worn pretty thin in places, there are no little holes for my toes to peek out and embarrass me in the airport after going through TSA. (Who am I kidding? I don't take off my shoes like some sort of pleb. I have TSA-Pre!) Those socks are black, though it'd probably be better if I packed a pair of black dress socks as well. Anyway, I needed a brown pair to fill out the triumverate of men's solid sock colors. I chose a brown pair with flamingos on them. Flamingos remind me of Florida.

I chose a couple pairs of non-descript boxer-briefs since going commando for an extended period is kind of eh... stinky. The only thing to say generally is that they are boxer-briefs. I prefer those, particularly to run in. I do have to mention the shark underwear though. Sense there is a theme here? Yeah these ones have some pretty ferocious great whites on them. Also, they have this kind of front packet that is supposed to give the jewels some support. It's a little gimicky. The important thing is that there are sharks.

I put one dress shirt in. Well, it's long-sleeved and has buttons, so sort of dress shirt ish. It's a genuine Rockmount shirt, brown with hops leaves and flowers embroidered in green along with the mother-of-pearl snaps. If you visit Denver, you need to visit the Rockmount shop downtown near the train station. The shirts are awesome and true originals. They are not cheap and with the embroidery, you really have to have them professionally cleaned. But if you ever have an issue with one, you can just take it in to them and they will fix it while you wait. I love them. They create an exceptional product and then back it with great customer service. I have a couple other shirts from them. One is a similar western shirt, but more traditional with swallows in red and white on a black shirt. That one doesn't fit as well as this one and isn't quite as unusual.

I'll finish out unpacking my clothing by talking about the jeans. I packed a pair of plain navy-blue Levi's 501's. For the past couple years, I've only bought 501s, though in different colors, cuts, and sizes. The main reason is that 501s are built to last. I've had Lucky brand jeans. They are expensive and super-comfortable and wear out inside two years. I have 501s that I'm not even super fond of the color anymore, but they will never, ever, ever wear out, so I feel kind of stuck with them. Plus 501s are just cool, and some day I plan on being cool.

That isn't a whole lot of clothing. I should have thrown in a pair of shorts, but nothing was really bringing me joy. No swimsuit because the good swimsuits are down in FL and anyway, I'd rather have an excuse to go naked. (I'd be a nudist if I could.) I should probably throw in another pair of 501s. I also have a ton of dress shirts that I really do like, but they are all still hanging in dry cleaning bags from 2019. I really am hoping that we will have more opportunities to "dress up" again in 2022 and that my nice clothes and shoes can make a reappearance. For now though, I gave the space over to books.

To be continued

Of Redskins and Irishmen

I never understood how people backed the Redskins name. It's so obviously racist. I've heard the argument that it isn't necessarily derogatory. Certainly it isn't "nigger" or "kike", and not even "wop" or "mick". But we don't have the "Cincinnati Darkies" nor the "Atlanta Whiteys". Why should we ever lump an entire group of people all in by skin color? You can do your own research on the etymology of the name, but it boils down to making a mascot out of an entire race of people by their skin color. I never understood that. It's (past) time for it to go.

I have mixed feelings about using Native American iconography at all. For example, I understand that Florida State has a very good relationship and open dialog with the Seminole tribe in using their name. I know that the University of North Dakota abandoned the Sioux name after it could not get approval from all neighboring Sioux tribes. ( I have to note here that 'Dakota' is literally one of the linguistic divisions of the Greater Sioux nation, so one of the suggestions in their entire naming controversy was to just call the teams 'North Dakota' as 'North Dakota Sioux' was simply redundant.) I can understand arguments both for and against the Blackhawks, the Braves, the Indians. Those aren't blatantly racist and contemptuous. I could even attempt to hear an argument for the "Tomahawk Chop" cheer of Braves fans. (I dunno. I'd listen, but I'm pretty close-minded to those particular shenanigans. "The Indians" kind of too - I wouldn't really understand the argument behind that mascot. I'd try. [No, I wouldn't.] I like that "Caucasians" t-shirt one can buy that mocks the Cleveland Indians.) Redskins, though, is a racist, pejorative term. It may not have started that way (again, feel free to do your own research) but it has been used that way for over a hundred years. Has to go.

In a Facebook post I brought up the fact that everyone seems to completely ignore "The Fighting Irish". It broke down into a thread about the merits or lack thereof of the Redskins moniker. I should know better. (I should know better than to say anything slightly political in a Facebook post. Though how this is even a political issue is absolutely stunning to me. [I should say, it WAS stunning until I thought about it more and realized I shouldn't be so surprised.] I should also know better than to say anything that goes a slight bit against the tide of the social discourse of the day, which has turned into more tide than actual discourse. Don't say anything against it nor even something tangential to today's topic - you'll just be trying to swim across an overwhelming current. Just nod your head and go with it.) The Rice name is Orange Irish. I'm pretty sure our family went over to the Emerald Isle and beat (and worse) the Catholic into servitude. So I'm not going to feign any sort of indignation at the name "Fighting Irish". What perplexes me is that I don't understand why people ignore the mascot of Notre Dame but are incensed that North Dakota would use "The Fighting Sioux".

The Fighting Irish is no less a pejorative than the Fighting Sioux (though both, to me, are much less so than Redskins). One of the stories of how Notre Dame athletes gained the moniker is that Northwestern students taunted their team with "Kill the Fighting Irish" during a game in 1899. (There have been many proud days in Northwestern history, but that doesn't sound like one of them.) Another is that Notre Dame's own coach used the stereotype when he said to his team during a game in 1909, this time against Michigan, "What’s the matter with you guys? You’re all Irish and you’re not fighting worth a lick.” In 2005 the NCAA went forward with sanctions on just about anyone with a Native American mascot including the Fighting Sioux of North Dakota, but said nothing about Notre Dame.

Anytime the NCAA does something about anything I first assume it's about money. Why doesn't anyone else take notice of it, however? What doesn't anyone, Irish or otherwise say, "Hey, why are you holding onto that old stereotype anyway?" (I have my personal suspicions.) You will notice that the media hardly ever adds the "Fighting" part in anymore, particularly NBC, simply calling them "The Irish" more often than not. But Notre Dame's athletics web page is titled "Notre Dame Athletics | The Fighting Irish". I realize that I've written a lot about Notre Dame now on the day the Washington Redskins gave up their mascot, but here's the reason - It makes doing something that is completely right, like standing against the Redskins name, look hypocritical. It smacks of political correctness instead of simply what it is - Correctness. I'm not suggesting that we change every athletics mascot name that might offend someone in someway. I'm saying that if we are going to have a conversation about removing racially or ethnically disparaging names and The Fighting Irish doesn't even enter the conversation, people need to ask themselves why.

RIP Stuart Scott

Honestly, I never thought I'd shed a tear over the passing of Stuart Scott. I'll admit that I wasn't the biggest fan of him as a Sportscaster. Initially I thought that Boo-yah and all the other catch-phrases were sort of gimicky. I just wanted the sports scores. I didn't need SportsCenter to be entertaining. As a young white kid used to the vanilla delivery of the sports report each night and then each morning with the advent of ESPN, I found Scott's delivery to be uppity. There, I said it. Yes, UPPITY. Subtle racism that I didn't recognize at the time, but it amounted to this black man coming into a white man's world and overturning the apple cart. Thank God he did. Sportscasting has never been, and will never be, the same again.

There is one fewer innovator in the world this morning. Scott brought real soul, soul in the most African-American, hip-hop, barbershop, gospel choir sense of the word, to the mayonnaise on white bread world of Bristol, Connecticut's ESPN, and he did it unabashedly and without compromise. (Can I get an Amen?) He changed how every sportscaster would deliver the news, black or white. I'm paraphrasing, but one of the more insightful comments I read about Scott this morning was from one of his white colleagues (it escapes me just which one) saying that Scott came in and was just himself, a rather brash black man, and that gave everyone else the permission to just be themselves as well.

More recently, while I appreciated what he had contributed to his profession, I felt that he had grown a bit long in the tooth for his "cool as the other side of the pillow" persona. I remember though after his eye injury, someone taking a shot at him on social media about it and thinking, Really? Here's this big brash persona who puts himself in the public eye (still completely unabashed), is very good at what he does, and yet has plenty to criticize, and you want to take a shot at his appearance? And it was with great sorrow that I heard of his cancer diagnosis. Having lost loved ones to cancer, it isn't something I would wish on anyone.

I started following Stuart Scott on Twitter. It was then that I really began to admire him. Here was a man who was facing a devastating illness with such a quiet dignity. On Twitter he told of the doctor visits, the treatments, but never with any complaint. His concern was more for the young cancer patients he saw. He was always optimistic, always a warrior attitude toward the fight ahead. And still his timeline was mostly about sports and his children. On air, other than his increasingly thinner appearance, you'd never know anything about his fight with cancer. I was impressed to see him on air so soon after what I'm sure was some exhausting round of radiation. A professional. Cal Ripken and Lou Gehrig rolled up into one.

Today's news is further proof that cancer is a bitch. It doesn't care how optimistic you are, or how much of a fighter. I mean, those traits are certainly healthier for you in a fight with cancer than resignation. I just mean, that I've seen the most optimistic, courageous people lose to cancer. It's more proof that the fight cannot be left to those who have the disease or their immediate circles. The fight against cancer belongs to all of us. This world was a better one with Stuart Scott in it.