A note on my name- It may me temporary, but for now the Matador will do. It was chosen in honor of Don "The Matador" Everest because he's a no nonsense all business kind of guy. You dont want to get on his bad side, and I'm going to try to bring the same vigor to this blog that he brought to Vegas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZQ0ctZXAGoI figured I would change it up a bit seeing that most of the posts have been about the previous nights events and capitalize on my last few days in Ireland while some moments are still fresh in my head. Even though you may not find this funny, it is rather amusing in person.
Oh, and if you want to know what I have done the past few nights I am not happy to tell you I have been to Turkish Kebabs FOUR times in the past THREE days- one time as we were going out. You get the picture.
Four things I have noticed about Irish people when they watch American Sports
1. They love the offense.
2. They are front runners.
3. They dont understand the rules.
4. They dont understand our nicknames.
I will highlight these examples from the NFC Championship game of the Bears and Saints, even though it was quite awhile ago. I would talk about basketball and baseball, but the Irish cant exactly ehhh 'relate' to the NBA players and every European is a huge Yankees fan. They only wear Yankees clothes and I'm sure not one of them knows they signed Roger Clemens.
During the game an Irishmen realized we were Americans so came to talk to us to prove he knew his shit about football. Even though he had been binge drinking (5 or more drinks for men and 4 or more for women per occasion) he told me and my comrade that he loved the Bears because his sister lived in Chicago. He then went on the explain to us that he wouldnt mind to see the Saints win because of the whole Katrina thing- a hurricane devastated NO in case you didnt hear. So already this guy has a conflict of interest because both teams are playing each other. A minute later he told us his favorite team was the Pats and he really like Peyton Manning. (The Pats and Colts were to play each other a mere 2 hours later.) He was four for four on remaining teams.
The whole pub rooted for whoever was on offense and loved it when a team got a first down because they could tell by the line going across the screen. This same lad assumed I was from Indianapolis because I was wearing an Indians hat- this has happened numerous times in Ireland.
He also thought that the Bears nickname was THE Bears, like Chicago the Bears, like 'Here we go the brownies here we go.' At one point as the Bears were driving he screamed at the top of his lungs 'Cmon The Bears.' Simple Simple Simple.
However the best part about the night occurred when Drew Brees was called for intentional grounding in the end zone. I'll admit to a distant observor and non sports fan this is a tough play to understand, but the way they reacted was priceless.
Drew Brees threw the ball away as he was going to be sacked in the end zone. The refs then came together and talked for a few minutes. Then a ref threw a flag and Soldier Field went crazy. Then there was a commercial. When they came back the Saints were punting, not kicking, to the Bears even though the Saints had just had the ball. And two points, not three, or six, had suddenly appearred for the Bears.
The whole bar was completely silent through this whole event, and no one asked and even questioned what had happened. They all were watching the TV emotionless, didnt react, and once the Bears got the ball you could see them just shrug their shoulders and get right back into the game.
The announcers for the game were terrible. All they kept talking about was how Rex Grossman was horrible because that had been the headline in every American newspaper throughout the end of the Playoffs. Also, the analyst on the TV was a famous Rugby player who did not know one thing about football, but just kept repeating that both teams were tough and it was going to come down to who wouldnt get tired. The play by play would then respond, 'That is if the Bears are still in this game and Rex doesnt screw up.'
Simple Simple Simple.
Sorry this is so long, I figured give you guys a few updates on whats going on over here while Im still here.
In other blog-related news, sorry Kindofabigdeal, but this blog will have a lot of Cleveland Bias and thats just something you will have to deal with. I am happy to inform the other members of the blog that Kindof brings us some diversity- his favorite teams are spread throughtout the US from Hawaii to Maine and even parts of Canada to Florida. He is truly a loyal sports fan to numerous teams regardless of where they are- it usually depends on how they are in the standings.
I am embarrassed for the people in the picture on the left. What kind of sign is that? "If Jason is a Kidd, then