You may (or may not) have noticed that ChopCulture has been on hiatus for about a year. My last mailbag was posted on June 24, 2010. I could blame the Virginia bar exam for my extended sabbatical, but I really only spent three months studying for that bad boy. Quite frankly, I was just lazy for the other nine months.
During the blog’s absence, I expected my Twitter (@ChopCulture) following to be stronger so as to quench your thirst for semi-daily sports and pop culture observations, but many of you have been hesitant to join…which brings me to my first mailbag question. As always, these are real questions from actual readers.
Q: I recently joined Twitter (@chiefhunt) and I don’t know who to follow. Can you give me some recommendations?
· Hunter R., Greenville, SC
ChopCulture: Hunter, let me start by welcoming you to Twitter. Prepare to start getting your breaking news, sports updates, and comedy all in one simple location – iPhone and Blackberry both have very user-friendly apps. I was reluctant to join Twitter. I thought it was basically the celebrity version of Facebook’s status update – which is my least favorite aspect of Facebook. I didn’t care to know what some B list actor had for lunch. I signed up on the recommendation of @JGPraytor, and I was completely wrong about the purpose of Twitter. Now, instead of checking ESPN.com and CNN.com 15-20 times a day each, I get all of my world news and sports information from Twitter. If there is a sports trade, I know about it instantly. I found out on Twitter that we killed Bin Laden. I follow several UVa beat writers to get updates on untelevised UVa sporting events. I also get a tweet from Deadspin and a few other sports blogs every single time they put up a new post.
The worst people to follow on Twitter are athletes because 90% of them do use Twitter like it is a Facebook status update. Athletes are always either working out, eating, watching a movie, or tweeting about something that could get them in trouble. I don’t care if they are working out, eating, or watching a movie. If they are tweeting about something that could get them in trouble, one of the several sports journalists that I follow will keep me informed. I only follow about 100 people, broken down as follows: about 25 national sports journalists, 15 personal friends, 15 comedians, 15 writers associated with UVa or ACC athletics, 10 actors, 10 athletes, 5 people affiliated with the Detroit Lions, and about 5 national sports blogs. I would recommend that you follow –
1) @sportsguy33 (Bill Simmons – ESPN.com) – funny and informative
2) @ClayTravisBGID (Clay Travis – Outkickthecoverage.com) – SEC football coverage and funny commentary
3) @Rob Huebel – comedian with hilarious yet often bizarre sense of humor
4) @Deadspin – Sports News without Access, Favor, or Discretion
5) @sepinwall (Alan Sepinwall) – by far the best TV critic on Twitter
6) @sportspickle – witty sports commentary
7) @TFLN – texts from last night
8) @ConanOBrien and @Andy_Richter – neither will blow up your Twitter feed and both are usually funny
9) @slmandel (Stewart Mandel – CNNSI) – best national college football news
10) @Grantland33 – new sports and pop culture website featuring Bill Simmons and Chuck Klosterman
Hunter, based on your fanship – I also highly recommend that you follow the beat writers for the Atlanta Braves, South Carolina Gamecocks football and baseball, and the Jack Delhomme Fan Club.
Q: Have you given “Franklin & Bash” a shot?
· Adam C., Jackson, MS
CC: I have watched one episode of “Franklin & Bash” and was not overly impressed. I like Mark-Paul Gosselaar (how could someone our age not like the former Zack Morris?) and Breckin Meyer from their previous roles, but I have never been a fan of legal shows – with the exception of “Damages.” It bothers me when a crime takes place in the first 5 minutes of an episode and the trial has already started and ended by the end of the episode. Granted, I understand that “Franklin & Bash,” unlike most legal TV series, is supposed to be a comedy – even though it’s on a network that knows drama. I had to change the channel when Franklin (or was it Bash?) showed up drunk for trial and then high-fived a juror after his closing argument. Also, as a practicing attorney, I would like to sign up for the job that involves me hosting a hot tub party every weeknight. I definitely plan to give “F&B” another shot.
Q: What are the 5 most mentally unstable positions in sports?
· Jack L. M., Toano, VA
CC: I am only listing players from team sports, although you could argue that golfers and tennis players often become “head cases” when the pressure is on. My list of the 5 most unstable positions in sports is as follows:
1) Closer (baseball) – You have to be a little crazy to be a closer. You want the opponent to fear your game and you personally. The best closers embrace the loose cannon personality. Closers also usually have the best entrance music. For about 10 years, all Red Sox fans loathed Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” because it reminded them that Mariano Rivera was about to come in and end the game. Best examples: Brian Wilson, John Rocker, Jonathan Papelbon, Mitch Williams.
2) Placekickers (football) – Placekickers have good reason to be mentally unstable. If they miss a few kicks, they will likely get cut. They rarely get any respect, even if they make a game-winning kick. Sometimes I feel bad for kickers and their bi-polar role on the team…but then I remember that they make hundreds of thousands of dollars for very little work and very little risk of injury. Best examples: Scott Norwood, Gary Anderson, Ray Finkle.
3) Linebackers (football) – To be a Pro Bowl-caliber linebacker in the NFL (or as every ESPN analyst calls it – The National Football League), you have to want to murder someone. I would not want to make these people angry. Best examples: Ray Lewis, Brian Bosworth, Lawrence Taylor, James Harrison.
4) Goalie (hockey) – Why would anyone volunteer for this position? You have to crouch down and squat like a catcher the whole game (not just on defense like a baseball catcher) while wearing skates and then you have opponents relentlessly shoot heavy pucks at you for 60 minutes. You wear so much equipment that you are literally soaked with sweat after the game…a game that was played on ice. For these reasons alone, I suspect you are mentally unstable. Best examples: insert any NHL goalie here.
5) Wide receiver (football) – Football is clearly a game dominated by mentally unstable individuals. Wide receivers are not crazy like linebackers or head cases like kickers, but they are prima donnas. They are often selfish. They must have the ball. Just throw them the damn ball. They need constant attention. After touchdowns, they need props like cell phones, sharpies, and pom poms. One of them cannot spell “85” in Spanish. One of them spends straight cash, homey. Best examples: Chad Ochocinco, Keyshawn Johnson, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss.
Q: Is liking Justin Timberlake as an actor acceptable?
· Dave F., Richmond, VA
CC: Yes. I think the “Dick in a Box” skit from Saturday Night Live in 2006 was a turning point for Timberlake’s public image among men. Prior to “D in a B,” we only knew him from the Mickey Mouse Club, the boy band ‘NSync, his pop solo career, and as the guy that cried on Punk’d. We also had trouble understanding why Britney Spears and other girls were so infatuated with him. To some extent, we still wonder about this, but I digress. After his success on SNL, Timberlake came across more as a regular guy. I thought he was surprisingly good in the 2006 film Alpha Dog and even better in The Social Network. I never expected him to a be a lead actor in a movie (Friends with Benefits – which I have not yet seen), but he seems to be doing more acting than singing lately. Even though Timberlake has been one of the better hosts of SNL and the ESPYs in recent years, I am still not sold on his comedic ability. However, I am willing to admit that he is a good and likable actor.
Q: Should I start “Friday Night Lights” at season 1, episode 1?
· Adam C., Jackson, MS
Q: Most memorable line from “Friday Night Lights”?
a) Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose!
b) Texas Forever
c) All of the above
· Tony R., Baltimore, MD
CC: Yes, everyone should watch “Friday Night Lights” – in its entirety. I’ve had some time to reflect on the show since the series finale, and I would rank it as the third best show of my lifetime behind “Seinfeld” and “The Wire” (“Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men” fans – I’m only counting shows on permanent hiatus). FNL made me nostalgic, and I didn’t even play high school football or grow up in Texas. The theme song made me shed a few tears every time. The football scenes were exciting and realistic (although it was frustrating that every game came down to the last play), but the show was about much more than football. It was basically BH9er with better athletes, better-looking girls, and more developed parental characters. With all due respect to Jim and Cindy Walsh and Sandy and Kiki Cohen, Coach and Tami Taylor were the best married couple in dramatic TV history. The show also avoided the “college years” dilemma by spreading out the ages of the stars in season 1 and bringing in new high school characters in season 4. It was a risky move because several key characters had to be written off the show when they graduated from Dillon, but it was the right move to make and for the most part it worked. As much as I loved BH9er, it was ridiculous that every single character enrolled at Cal U after high school. “Friday Night Lights” was in constant danger of being canceled – the show probably lasted longer than it expected to and bowed out earlier than it wanted to – but the series finale was without question the best series finale I have ever seen. I cannot imagine a better way to end a show. There are rumors of a new movie based on the TV show, and I am not sure how I feel about it. As much as I love these characters – it would basically be a movie based on a TV show that was based on a movie that was based on a book.
Q: What’s your favorite women’s sport? I think mine just became women’s soccer. I was most impressed with the attitude of the players. The men were wimps compared to these ladies. I saw fewer flops, less cat-fighting, less drama between superstar-diva teammates, no mutinies against coaches (see France), and Brazilian players that are actually human.
· Hunter R., Greenville, SC
CC: Tennis and soccer are definitely my two favorite women’s sports – and not just because these sports typically feature highly attractive ladies. I use the following standard to determine whether I really enjoy a women’s sports: would I rather watch a men’s high school team or a professional women’s team play the sport? Without question, I would rather watch professional women’s soccer or tennis than watch a high school men’s team play either. Conversely, I would MUCH rather watch guys play high school basketball than watch the WNBA. Likewise, I would rather watch any men’s or co-ed office league softball game in America than college or pro or Olympic ladies softball.
Although I have followed women’s tennis more closely than women’s soccer in the past, I think soccer may have passed tennis as my favorite women’s sport this year. While no-name Russian and Asian players have dominated women’s tennis in recent months (Williams sisters have been injured), the women’s World Cup captivated the nation this summer. I tuned into the US-Brazil quarterfinal game pretty much because there was nothing else on TV that Sunday afternoon. I tweeted before the game that Abby Wambach was Steve Nash’s doppelganger. At the time, I believed that making pointless observations like that would be more interesting than the game itself. I was wrong. By the end of the game, I was ready to buy a Wambach jersey and plan the rest of my week around watching the US team’s semifinal and final games.
I watched the 1999 women’s World Cup as closely and enthusiastically as any men’s World Cup, but then I forgot about women’s soccer for 12 years. I think this year’s World Cup will have more staying power than the 1999 Cup. The 1999 Cup successfully influenced young girls to care about and play soccer. The 2011 Cup convinced a worldwide audience that women can play soccer at a very high level and that women’s soccer can be as entertaining as any men’s sport. I also liked that – with the exception of some stalling and bad sportsmanship from Brazil – there was very little flopping and unnecessary gamesmanship in this year’s World Cup, which was a welcome change from the flopfest that was the 2010 men’s World Cup. Maybe I am still suffering from World Cup fever, but right now soccer is my favorite women’s sport.
Q: Following the women’s World Cup, there seems to be some debate about whether or not penalty kicks are a good way to end a game. Some people love it. Some people despise it. Your thoughts?
· Drew R., Atlanta, GA
CC: I was surprised at how many commentators criticized the rule of ending the game in a shootout. Maybe soccer purists just don’t like it. I don’t recall that many people complaining in 1999 or after the quarterfinal game when the US won in penalty kicks. I love penalty kicks. No one wants to play or watch soccer for more than 120 minutes. I like that soccer has overtime with no golden goal but after regulation and overtime, penalty kicks are the best way to settle the match. Who wouldn’t want to see a basketball game end with a 3-point shootout rather than double overtime?
Here is my list of the 5 most exciting ways to end a sporting event:
1) Penalty kicks (your goalie and 5 best players decide the game)
2) Basketball buzzer beater (especially in March)
3) Walk-off homerun (arguably the only exciting part of a baseball game)
4) Hockey sudden death overtime (works better in hockey than soccer because hockey is more fast-paced)
5) College football overtime (much more exciting than NFL overtime that almost always ends with a field goal)
Q: Did Ashley make the right decision on “The Bachelorette”?
· West L., Columbia, SC
CC: I would say yes. Ben put himself out there and made himself vulnerable, but it didn’t work out for him. J.P. took a leap of faith and...I mean, wait, I don’t watch “The Bachelorette.” How would I know if she made the right choice? I was watching some random baseball game or something that night. Let’s just move on.
Q: Would you rather have never had your umbilical cord disconnected from your mother OR be Gary Busey’s Siamese twin?
· Lindsey D., Nashville, TN
CC: On second thought, let’s keep talking about that Bachelorette finale…
