Stalemate Tailgate

I remember thinking, in highschool, the only good thing about pep rallies was skipping them to get out of school early. It really wasn't until my senior year, when I became the mascot and took on the responsibility of boosting school spirit, that I fully appreciated having school spirit and what it meant to support a team.
    
      Then came college and all the glory of the "adult" pep rally, better known as tailgating. While I was attending the University of Texas at Austin I made sure never to miss a tailgating event. It was a magical time where total strangers would gather to share laughs, debates, beers and BBQ. However the greatest aspect about tailgating, isn't the beer and BBQ although those are an extremely close second, it's the sense of really being apart of something. The rush of cheering on your team as they prepare to defend your honor against the rivals, like troops going to war. I think tailgating is a way to connect the fans to the players.
   
       I have to admit it was a real shame when I came to Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi and found that tailgating didn't really stand for the same things. The Islanders that actually do show up to tailgate appear to use the time to build animosity towards the other team instead of showing unrelenting love for their own. When your team goes in to battle for a win feeling unsupported, they go in wanting a win for themselves. They can't draw that extra drive that only comes from knowing hundreds of people are counting on them. Supporting your school and showing school spirit is the best way to show university faculty that you value your school and therefore should be seen as an important aspect to university life not just another body in a classroom. I look at tailgating like an old childhood playground favorite- Red Rover. You call for your opponent to come over and dare them to break "the chain" (your hands clasped to teammates'). Try as your opponent might if they cannot break your chain they are forced to become one with your team. This should be tailgating. Your opponent cannot break your support for your team therefore they must respect them for gaining such a loyal following. 


       Sports and life are one in the same, you are going to win some and lose some. In the end, it's like a wise man once said, "Those who do not stand for something, will fall for anything." So stand at your tailgate, inspire your fellow Islanders with love for their team and let your rivals know we will fall to no one. 

Ice Ice Baby

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend my first IceRays game coincidently it was also my very first hockey game. I had always found hockey to be seemingly slow and dull. Dudes prancing around an ice rink whacking each other with sticks, yeah that was an instant channel change. However, I had a friend visiting from New York that week and he swore up and down hockey was the only way to go, so I figured we’d both try something new and cheer on the IceRays.

The moment we got to the ABC a couple in front of us had two spare tickets they offered up free of charge. So far I loved this sport. We grabbed ourselves an ice-cold brew (no pun intended) and made our way to our seats, directly behind the glass and right next to the penalty box. It hadn’t been more than two minutes before a fight broke out among two of the players. Gloves off, fists flying, blood staining the white ice- brutality at its finest. I sipped my beer and settled in excitedly as the crowd rooted and roared. It wasn’t long into the game that I began to really appreciate how gracefully these guys were gliding around controlling this tiny puck on ice. Then out of nowhere, BAM, they would just smack straight into each other causing the crowd and myself to whip into a state of frenzy. I was in love. Hockey not only gave me the excitement I’d been looking for in a sport but it also some how brought the crowd together in a way I had yet to experience in Corpus. It wasn’t the beer or the drop in temperature either.

I realized just how relatable hockey was. As a student I often find myself drifting from class to class as quickly and effortlessly as possible. It isn’t until someone shouts my name, bumps into me in the breezeways or a long boarder cuts me off that I even notice I’m walking around a campus on an island. I think we are all just trying to glide through our time here until the inevitable “body check” occurs and we are thrown into a spiral of frustration; the metaphorical fist fight. I fight studying early for exams. I fight the project I’ve been given all semester to complete, until a week before D-day. Sometimes I even fight the effort to give my fellow Islanders a friendly smile. It’s not until you have fought all these things that you realize you have placed yourself in the penalty box.

Maybe we all just need the occasional support from the crowd, the shouting of encouraging words and the occasional pounding on the glass. This means no more walking coma. Ace the exam, get to the project promptly, and smile at strangers- hat trick. 

Mask-cot

I was recently reading “Sports Page Magazine” and was pleasantly surprised to see the Islanders had made the cut of the “Top 100 Most Unique Collegiate Mascots.” However the article had nothing to actually say about Izzy or his legend and because one of the first stories I ever wrote for the Island Waves was on the tiki-masked man himself, I decided to take the chance once again to talk about Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi’s unique spirit.

            Not long ago (2004), Tarpie left the school’s spirit in Izzy’s hands in order to return to the sea. They say it’s better down where it’s wetter, but perhaps that’s a marine biologist’s bias. Regardless, Izzy worked to please alumni as well as hype current and in-coming students, which for going to school on an island would seem like a pretty easy thing to do, but he had his work cut out for him. After about seven years, however, Izzy’s seaweed hair and liberal grass skirt were seen as “creepy” by some, while others felt Izzy’s laid back demeanor portrayed the school in a negative way.  Heaven forbid we let today’s society see us as too laid back. Thankfully instead of sending Izzy back to life in a hut, he was given a pair of board shorts and a hair cut. While I was a bit upset anyone felt the need to civilize Izzy, I also know how hard it is to wear a skirt on the daily and expect to be taken seriously.

            I still hear how creepy and weird Izzy is, from time to time, but isn’t that exactly why we love him? He’s our spirit. He’s the laid back happy go lucky beach bum we all hope to be, after we’ve received degrees and high paying jobs to buy the perfect beach villa. My only concern with Izzy has always only been his fair skin. For being an Islander the man rocks the SPF better than a lifeguard. This doesn’t make him creepier than the UC Santa Cruz banana slug though.

            Whether Izzy is pale, or creepy, a hippy, a beach bum or whatever, he is the spirit of our island, the face of the student body, the skill that dominates our competition and the hug of a friend when times get tough. Would you rather be the Volunteers or the Friars or even worse, the Lumberjacks? So the next time you want to hate on your spirit ask yourself this, is it better to be remembered for originality or be characterless and conform only to float through life and then fade away? 

No Pain, No Gain

My first day of school started in beyond excruciating, pain. All day it felt like I had a blunt, iron-rod piercing my chest and spine. However, I spent my nine-hour day on campus smiling, attending all my classes and generally taking care of business as usual. That night I spent hours trying to catch my breath and fall asleep. Around 5 a.m., I sprang out of bed to puke up some of the foulest, swamp water looking, bile I had ever seen. Determined to make it to day two (or the first day of Tuesday, Thursday classes) I threw myself into a steamy bath and tried mentally psyching myself up for class at 11. After countless futile attempts to alleviate the pain, at 10:30 I threw in the towel; fading in and out of consciousness I had a friend take me to the emergency room. I listened all day, to nurses and doctors asking why I’d waited so long to get checked out, as they poked me with needles and performed numerous tests. Later, diagnosed with “unspecified abdominal pain and vomiting” I thought what a waste of two school days that pain had caused. I had to wonder, how often do we ignore mental and physical pain in order to reach our goals?

          In 1972, Muhammad Ali fought Ken Norton and suffered a broken jaw from a killer hook. Despite his better judgment, Ali decided to keep fighting. The 12-round bout was decided by split decision in favor of Norton, costing Ali the heavyweight title belt and giving him his second loss ever.

          First game of the 1988 World Series, Kirk Gibson sat in the clubhouse getting treatment on his sprained hamstring and knee. It was assumed he would not be playing since he wasn’t even on the bench. But come the 9th inning, the Dodgers were down 4-3 with two outs and Dennis Eckersley on the mound. So the injured Gibson was called to pinch-hit. After two gross looking swings and misses, on a 3-2 count, Gibson hits a walk off home run to end the game. His hobble around the bases has become probably the most replayed baseball clip ever. Amazingly, he was so hurt that this was his only time at bat for the entire World Series.

          During the 1996 Olympics, the gymnastics gold medal was up in the air for the US and Russia. On her first vault, Kerri Strug landed awkwardly on her ankle, suffering a third-degree lateral sprain and tendon damage. Struggling to attempt her second try, Strug surprisingly stuck the final vault, guaranteeing the US gold. Then was carried off by her creepy mustachioed coach.

          Everyone knew Tiger was hurting during the 2008 US Open. The pain wiped across his face with every stroke. It was painful to watch and probably more painful to actually experience. But he came back to force a sudden death playoff with Rocco Mediate after sinking a now legendary 12-foot birdie putt. He went for par on the sudden-death hole and won his 14th major. Two days later, it was revealed that Woods had a torn ACL and two stress fractures in his tibia and was going to miss the rest of the year after knee surgery. A torn ACL knocks the average NFL player out of the game immediately. Woods won a goddamn major championship with those injuries. (The number of sanchas Woods played-through-the-pain with we’ll probably never know.)

          Determination can be a powerful anesthesia, however sometimes it’s ok to admit when it’s too much. When it comes to an education, the important thing is surviving for another season.

They've Got Spirit, How 'Bout You?

Can you imagine waiting in line, through the wee hours of the morning, just to score a pair of new sneakers at 5 a.m.? I recently read a story about a man that was stabbed seven times while he was waiting in line to get a pair of Nike Air Jordan XI Concord sneakers. Now while I think that’s just the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard of lately, I can’t help but think back on all the crazy things I thought were worth waiting for all night. *cough* Harry Potter *cough*. At what point do we get sucked into total obsession over athletic endorsements and how exactly can that celebrity endorsed cool factor be applied to Corpus Christi athletes?

Corpus definitely has the potential to pack arenas, after the hordes of people I witnessed on Black Friday I’m sure of that, but that still doesn’t seem to be enough to pack the stands at sporting events. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to a Hooks’ game and been allowed to choose a better seat because What-A-Burger Field was basically deserted. So then what exactly are Corpus teams missing? There are a lot of excuses like, tickets are too pricey, Corpus teams are boring to watch, or my favorite “I just didn’t know anything was happening.” Honestly though, I think the only thing Corpus teams are missing is support. Unfortunately support only comes during successful seasons and successful seasons only come from supporters cheering, for all they are worth until their voices go hoarse. It’s a vicious cycle.

          Excited to start the new school year right, a friend and I attended the Islanders
women’s basketball game against UTSA on the 11^th hoping to get tastes of that school spirit energy; you know the kind that has you rooting on the edge of your seat at each basket. What we got was a scattered group of students with really only about a third of them making any effort to root the team on. For the most part though, the "cheering" was more drunken slurs at the opposing team if anything. I think I saw more support for Shaun White’s clothing line at Target recently. Fans support the Flying Tomato because he’s a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and can work a half-pipe as easily as he would a snow covered mountain. On the other hand, take Lebron James- the man hasn’t won one ring since he was drafted to the NBA in 2003 yet he has billboards dedicated to him, a Nike clothing line and millions of fans worldwide. In James’ case winning doesn’t appear to be everything.

But what all of these sports celebrities have in common is the connection to their fans and community. Some of them achieve this by touring the state and motivating the youth, others endorse items that give the common-man something to come together over and some win games with such grace and modesty that it’s impossible to ignore. Though it’s been a rough season for just about all my favorite Texas teams I think they still have what it takes to turn things around and ignite the interest they have been thirsting for. We really just need a few hometown heroes to remind us why we fell in love with the game.

This week's column

Don’t Call it a Come Back

Taking breaks is always necessary: winter break, spring break, timeouts. Even my Wii asks me to put the controller down regularly, but in a city where there is plenty of time to stop and smell the roses (or in Corpus’ case, a hibiscus) how do we make the most of our breaks, and in the end, will it help us or hurt us?

            Tiger Woods ended 2011 with his first win in two years. Woods claimed the past season slump was due to leg injuries and not enough practice. There has not been enough time for people to forget about his nine affairs to remember. In fact Woods’ only chance at redemption may lie in his performance in the Abu Dhabi Championship and whether he aces Rory Mcllory, Luke Donald and Martin Kaymer right out of first place. I could certainly over look Woods’ personal flops as long as his professional game was back in swing; Golf really isn’t the same with out him.

            I can think of plenty of times where taking a break from personal issues helped me rebuild my studies and myself better than before. Of course sometimes taking breaks from school can be a different story. Sometimes you find yourself taking a semester off, to experience the world, only to come back and realize how much work you now need to get done. Other times you have a winter break that you wish would never end, because the thought of agonizing over grades and tests seems like too much.

            Another prime example of needing to take a break would be long time Packers’ quarterback Brett Favre. Since 2002 Favre was running through the retirement rumor mill, skipping summer training camps then coming back and extending his NFL records. It wasn’t until Favre was traded to the Jets in 2008, cut from the roster, picked up by the Vikings, and sustained numerous injuries did he realize the time for retirement had come.

            I once dated a football player at a rival school who took a season off from football for surgery and then returned to help the team with one of the best seasons of his career (they beat my school that year). As humans we need water breaks, lunch breaks and mental health days. As students we live for happy hours and summer breaks. Aren’t we are all looking for a break from something? Careful though, sometimes we pull a Michael Jordan and take a break only to realize we were right where we needed to be all along. 

It begins with a girl, and her city...

              Recently I was promoted at work to Sports Editor *loud applause* yes yes thank you thank you. I really couldn't have done it with out the love and support of my fans, friends and family. Included in the promotion, along with pay raise, working hours and boasting rights, was the honor of writing my very own column. So for all my beloved friends far and abroad, I will be posting my weekly columns; have no fear as I will still be posting unfiltered raw goods about my sparkling city.