: Root, root, root for the Home Team
I try to keep up with what’s happening in the world. And there’s a lot to keep up with – politics, science, sports, foreign affairs, music, art, literature, etc, etc, etc. One person can never keep track of it all – so you have to specialize – you have to pick and choose what is important to you and what you can give up paying attention to. As for me, I’ve given up following sports. OK, OK. When the Olympics is on I may spend the odd hour watching curling or badminton, but unless there’s some major news event (like the gymnast who pulled out of some competitions) I quickly lose interest.
[Advance warning to folks who do not follow/understand sports: the rest of this post will contain sports jargon that will be largely unexplained]
This lack of interest goes way back to 1959. That was the year the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to LA. I got to be a Dodgers fan through my mother. The Dodgers famously broke the color barrier and so all good liberals had to root for the “Da Bums”. Plus my mom was from Brooklyn. So when I read in the newspapers that the Dodgers were thinking about moving to LA, it was inconceivable to my 11 year old mind that such a thing could happen. No way. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west and the Dodgers are going to stay in Brooklyn – they’d work things out.
And then the unthinkable happened. The Dodgers signed with LA and were gone. This was a defining moment for me – it was a revelation to my 11 year old psyche that bad stuff could happen in the world that would affect me personally. But I didn’t let go all at once, I continued to root for them even though they had betrayed me. The ’63 World Series was especially sweet – the Dodgers beat the hated Yankees 4 games to none – Sandy Koufax won games 1 & 4. Yes!
I actually got to see Koufax pitch a 4 hitter against the Mets. Koufax’s curve ball was unreal.
But after Koufax retired in ’66, that was pretty much it for me. I could never transfer my allegiance to the Mets – they were just a bunch of posers. And rooting for the hated Yankees was unthinkable for a Dodgers fan. Plus in 1966 I entered college and had more important things to pay attention to, ahem.
And that was almost it for following sports. But not quite. . . .
In 1964 I got to see my first and only live professional football game – the NY Giants (that’s the football Giants, not the baseball Giants) – the game was played in the then baseball Giants stadium in New York (sorry non-sports fans out there – you’ll just have to bear with me). This was Y.A. Tittle’s last season. They were playing against the 49ers – I think the 49ers won. So I became sort of a fair weather fan of the NY Giants (again that’s football not baseball for you non-sports people reading this). Every September, I have this bizarre belief that the Giants will get into the Superbowl. Usually this belief disappears by mid-October, but maybe once every 10-15 years the Giants actually make a run for it and I find myself watching a Giants game on a Sunday afternoon. But then here’s the catch – it seems like whenever I turn on the TV in the middle of a game? On the next play something bad will happen and the Giants end up losing. It’s like my watching the game puts sort of a hex on them.
PostScript: Recommended reading for both sports & non-sports fans: The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn.
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Saturday October 30th, 9:00PM -1:00AM
Better Off Dead at Great Notch Inn,
400 US-46, Woodland Park, NJ 07424(973) 256-7742
I may put a hex on you if I don’t see you the night before Halloween at “Da Notch”. I hate putting on costumes, but I will don some minimalist something or other so as not to be a complete party pooper. Last year I used a wizard’s hat that my then preteen daughter used the last time she went trick or treating. When was that Hannah? 1999? 2000? 2001?
http://www.betteroffdead.com
https://www.facebook.com/Great-Notch-Inn-45741843010/
Saturday November 13th, 8:00PM -10:00PM
Dave Rudbarg at The Shrine,
Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard (7th Avenue), just below 134th Street, Manhattan, NY (212) 690-7807
Dave Rudbarg is a powerhouse vocalist who has released several albums. I’m flattered that Dave has called on me to play at this premier showcase venue in Harlem. I will be joined on stage by some top notch musicians – Glen Johnson on drums, Andy Fuchs on guitar, Steve Soltow on bass, and Wendy Haskin Meyer will join in on vocals. As this is in NYC, all attendees must follow NYC health restrictions.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063610720802
https://www.shrinenyc.com/
Saturday November 20 – 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Composer’s Collective of New York at Tenri Cultural Institute
43 A West 13th Street, New York City
Exponential Ensemble (a collective of NYC based chamber musicians) will be premiering my new composition Short Story for Mixed Ensemble along with nine other new musical works by the composers in the Composer’s Collective of New York. This concert was originally scheduled for last spring. I do not have ticketing information available just yet, but seats will be very limited; if you want to attend, please get back to me and I will let you know as soon as this info available. As this is in NYC, all attendees must follow NYC health restrictions.
https://www.exponentialensemble.com/
http://www.composerscollective.org/