Life is....

If we are casual friends, good friends or you've just seen my blogs before, you're probably pretty aware of how much I love football. I've always loved the sport. I remember wanting to play when I was like 8 but my dad said I wasn't old enough yet. He stuck me on a soccer team and I had to wait.

Since the Seattle Seahawks came into the NFL, somebody in my family had season tickets. My grandpa had 'em, then my dad took them over and now I have the season tickets. I always figured I just really loved the sport because of how awesome it is, but it's become clear to me over the past six months that football embodies something else much larger than just an interest in a sport. 

Since I can remember, football was a part of our family. I found a picture of my brother and I when we were like 3 and 7, rocking full Seahawk uniforms, shoulder pads, helmets and all. I remember my brother playing for the Bellevue Colts and eventually I would play for the same league and even get the same coaches. That was when I first really got a taste of winning. We won two consecutive league titles, even going undefeated in the second season and playing a game in the Kingdome before a Seahawks game. In our third season together we went undefeated again until losing in the championship game. 

Whether you're winning or losing, there was always a lesson to be learned. But I reflect on the fact that the person facilitating most of those lessons was my dad. I can still remember asking him questions about rules and old players he liked and now I realize that football gave me and my dad a reason to enjoy life together. 

As an adult my father and I talked roughly about two things: Work and sports. Since work is a drag and football was the house favorite, the Huskies and Seahawks were a main discussion point in their house. Every year when we pass my birthday and enter into August, it is bittersweet. Summer is ending, but FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE! Life is just better during football season.

Fantasy drafts, watching your teams draft picks in the pre-season and preparing for all the games you'll be attending, these all signify that it is August. Only this year, it's more bitter than sweet. 

Five years ago my dad got diagnosed with cancer as so many good people do and through all the treatments, the good news and the bad news, I always remained optimistic. My dad was a real spiritual man so his impending fate did not weaken his resolve. Because of that even keel it was difficult to really gauge how things really were with his body. We golfed, went to games and even talked about our future plans. I never once thought "this could our last season together." 

Last year the Seahawks got hot. Expectations were high and our execution did not disappoint. It felt like it could finally be our year. I'd be lying if I said that wasn't a faintly familiar feeling in August and September. With all the good we saw on the field, my dad sat us all down around Thanksgiving and told us that they finally gave him a time table and it wasn't very long. 

The Seahawks season took on a whole different shape. Nobody wanted to talk about the bullshit that comes with knowing that your time is coming to an end, but we found comfort in talking football. I wonder if I'll eventually regret not having more serious talks in those final weeks, but I know that even talking about injuries and trades had a lot of value. The playoffs came and to me it felt like the football gods were going to give my dad a trophy before he was gone. We gave too much to this team over the years to get screwed over again. A title felt inevitable. We held out hope that my dad could go to the NFC Championship game but he wasn't up for it. My brother and I went and the stadium radiated with an energy that is indescribable. And like I would expect a higher power to do, they put a nuclear emotion into my body in the form of Richard Sherman's game winning tip. It was more than a win, it was a cosmic signal. It was telling me that there was a force at work. 

I'm not a real religious man and don't consider this a reason to start going to church, but it does tell me that Bob Marley was right and "every little thing's gonna be alright."

I went to my dad's house after the game and he just grinned from ear to ear but I don't think he was as happy about the Seahawks as he was at the sight of my joy. That was my dad. Have some integrity and learn to enjoy life. A few days later we won the raffle for Super Bowl tickets and although everything on the planet told me to go, I knew I had to watch the game with my dad. Tired, quiet, but smiling, my dad and I's last football game together was a Seahawks Super Bowl win. It might sound stupid to some, but that made me feel a whole lot better about my dad.

I got emotional over this thought when I turned on our first pre-season game on the tv, but as I think about this Thursday when my brother and I are going to be in the stands watching the Super Bowl banner be revealed, I can only imagine how many tears I'm going to shed. Forget the fact that it's a long overdue championship for my team, it signifies so much more than that to me. It literally is a way of life. My fathers.

I have a 2 1/2 year old daughter and she screams Seahawks with a huge smile every time football is on TV and I plan on using football to do exactly what my dad did, teach her how to enjoy life. 

Love/hate relationship with my first true love, football... Renton, Wa

Well, it's late August and today is the final game of the NFL pre-season. Rosters are being finalized, responsibilities are getting re-prioritized in homes across the country and if you haven't drafted your fantasy team yet, you will be any day now. Football season is unlike any other part of the year. It's a love and passion that is hard to duplicate and it's a contagious positivity when your team is winning. I believe it's safe to say that I respect the game.

What I don't respect is the bureaucracy bullshit that happens throughout the league. Rules and regulations are established by the players and administrators of the league to protect each other and the integrity of the game. But so often when a questionable issue arises where a player may be getting the short end of the stick, commentators say things like "They lost this battle at the bargaining table." This is in reference to the Collective Bargaining Agreement that is revisited every handful of years. Player and league representatives basically draw up a "constitution" that spans for a set period of time that will be the rule book for governing the league. Just yesterday after a decision was made by the league to ignore the appeal of Cleveland wide out, Josh Gordon for failing a drug test I realized how obtuse the league really is.

This is Gordon's second failed test in 3 years, but admittedly the traces of the drug were so low, it'd almost be improbable for it to be from direct consumption. But a failure is a failure is a failure. I don't necessarily disagree with the way the drug program is setup in the league; Each failed test elevates your status in the program which in turn creates harsher punishments for each following offense. OK, fine. Get caught with steroids in your system once, 2 game ban. Twice, full year ban, and so on. But smoking marijuana? Hardly a drug that affects games like steroids do.

But how is it that smoking pot, which is legal in 2 of the 20 something states that the NFL operates in, gets you suspended for the year and being caught on video knocking your fiance out is only getting you suspended for two games?? I understand this was not Josh Gordon's first offense where as Mr. Ray "Not Nice" Rice had never gotten into any trouble prior to the KO of his now wife, but c'mon!

A handful of years back, Donte Stallworth who I believe was also playing for the Browns at the time hit a pedestrian in his car while drunk driving... That man died. Donte got the same suspension as Gordon. I'm sure if OJ was still in good shape, Goodell would consider his re-admission into the league. I'm dumbfounded.

Understandably I'm not the only person who thought this was the stupidest shit ever, so people complained about Rice getting off so easily. Rightly so, the NFL announced a new rule today specifically for domestic violence. For your first offense, you get a 6 game suspension; for a second offense, you're banned for life. At the surface, that makes MUCH more sense. We don't want some asshole who is built to punish the physically elite of the world, able to punish his partner (man or woman) without serious recourse, but now my concern falls into a deeper category. One that exists commonly in rape cases.

Let's be clear here, I DO NOT CONDONE RAPE. Not even a little bit. My concern is that our society treats the issue with such ferocity that sometimes an accuser doesn't even need any evidence to drag someone's name through the mud first. Then even worse, if they were to create some public spectacle only to later admit to lying, there is little to no recourse for the slandered victim. So essentially a woman could say "Why not, what have I got to lose?" And it's a shame because that takes an egregious act in which a person should be protected at all costs and makes people like myself start with a little skepticism rather than support. To this day, I think Kobe got fucked over. It's not a popular stance, but it's reality.

 It's not just athletes either, it's any entertainer that is at risk to be falsely accused. Women see women profit with settlements out of court and it no longer is a way to prevent the terrible act from happening again, it's a way to make some money; It could literally be your career. I bring all of this up to support the idea that the NFL is perpetuating a faulty system and while they continue to get richer, their commodities continue to lose value. Here is a particular scenario that I believe could be problematic given the black and white perspective the NFL currently holds.

Imagine a young man like Johnny Football coming out of college. Barely 21, so physically gifted that they never really intended to finish college, just get to the pro's and start signing contracts. There is nothing wrong with that; People forego school to jump into their profession every day, this should be no different. These kids go from broke students to millionaires over night and these same kids are going to make mistakes.

So one drunken night in Vegas a fight breaks out on the strip and everyone is trying to hold everyone else back and all of the sudden said rookie instinctually (but accidentally) pushes a lady down in the melee resulting in a severely bruised arm/leg/face/whatever. The act itself was not intended to harm the female, rather it was a matter of a legally drunk kid making a mistake that left someone (who may not be all that innocent in the first place) in pain. Since the woman knows he's a pro football player and has money, she decides to press charges. STRIKE ONE.

[disclaimer: if you honestly think I'm making these terrible types of people up, you are too naive to understand my argument, so you may stop reading now]

Now, for the rest of his career, this same player has to walk on eggshells in public and potentially isolate himself to avoid a second strike that could take his livelihood away. Not in a manner of 'staying away from violence' but having to avoid new people because he's worried he could get screwed. Forget the fact that this is a common bi-product of being famous, but imagine the mental impact of having to remain that guarded in order to stay employed the only way you know how. Now consider said player meets a girl while out with friends. She seems nice and sweet; This girl could come on to this player, take him to his or her room and instead of crying rape, she just has to wrestle with the guy enough that he accidentally gives her a big enough bruise that she could extort him. Seem implausible? Again, read the disclaimer above the last paragraph.

I say this all to draw the line that if the NFL is so black and white about their policies that a player who killed a man while drunk driving gets the same punishment as a man who possibly smoked a plant that is responsible for zero deaths or diseases (in fact, quite the opposite) and is far from performance enhancing, what kind of trouble will be created from this new domestic violence "fix"?

How about instead of letting Roger Goodell (who made 35 million in salary last year) be the fucking Pope of all things pigskin, you hire a panel of people like you would in a regular court room. Literally, Josh Gordon could invest $100,000 in a legal team that pulls experts and depositions from witnesses to defend himself and Roger Goodell can just look at it and say "Ehhhhh, nah. Suspended." I'm dumbfounded.

Furthermore, with all this bullshit about player safety being the new fad among the higher ups in the league, how is it that you treat someone who failed multiple drug tests by isolating him from his support system? A kid who has spent his whole life playing football trying to get to the big stage, makes a few mistakes off of the field and the teammates and coaches that helped support him through the hard times and celebrated him during the good times are no longer accessible to him? Do you honestly think that is helpful?

You're concerned about concussions because you don't want to get sued by the players and you don't want your sport to suffer. It has nothing to do with player safety. If it did, people like Wes Welker who has had more concussions than playoff appearances would not be allowed to play. If player safety was really a major concern, then you would spend some of the billions in UNTAXED revenue that you make each year (yes, the NFL is considered a non-profit organization because of the way the money is distributed, so they are tax exempt) and setup a program for these people to be cared for and guided. What is wrong with Josh Gordon coming to the building every day and practicing with the team? Learning to work hard without the payoff of playing in the games builds character.

The punishment is that he cannot make his salary (fair) and not participate in games that could also lead to future revenue of some kind (still fair), but what about the well being of the player? Should he lose a year of practice with his team? Should the team lose a leader because he made a mistake? I'm just fucking lost. How is it that nobody is up in arms about this? Can you lead a revolution against a company like the NFL? They know people won't boycott their product, which means sponsors will always be available, which means the cogs continue to turn regardless of how things are currently running.

Beyond the fact of all this non sense, the NFL is hands down my favorite thing on the planet to be entertained by. By the numbers, there is far less Tom Foolery happening in the league than there is good old fashioned football, but when the league is such a money maker, they tend to push their own agendas and the integrity of information and entertainment are ultimately compromised. This Josh Gordon/Ray Rice issue is just a symptom of a bigger problem and unfortunately I feel like it won't be addressed. The NFL released this new domestic violence rule as a way to "fix" the problem... Well good for you, you just took Nyquil to help you sleep but you still have a cold. It's just exhausting to love something when you know how broken it is. It makes you feel a little dirty when you think about it long enough. But it's a machine I don't think we can stop and they know it...

So as the NFL grows, it is becoming self aware. And if you ever saw any of the Terminators, that's never a good thing.

National Dog Day

Apparently today is National Dog Appreciation Day. My initial reaction to hearing this was 'Even dogs get a holiday?' Then I jokingly pictured a bunch of single women with trust issues at some community event at the park with their dogs, in matching outfits, legitimately celebrating the holiday. But after all my cynicism subsided, I thought "Well shit, what am I going to do for Dakota?"

We've had our salt 'n pepper Miniature Shnauzer for almost 7 years now. I had never owned a dog before and my then girlfriend had grown up with a Miniature Shnauzer. Naturally she pulled her mental ninjitsu and convinced me to get a dog the size of a large cat that required haircuts. Having grown up with cats in the house, a dainty pet was hardly new to me and when the people selling her pulled into the parking lot of our condo, I fell in love.

No bigger than a squirrel, this puppy was gently put down onto the concrete about 20 feet from me and like she already knew me, she sprinted across that wet pavement and immediately began smelling my pants and giving me those little puppy barks in excitement. This was foreshadowing at it's most subtle. The people came in and "interviewed" us while my girlfriend and I played with her on the floor next to the fireplace. My two cats steered clear, but when they did see the new family member they basically mean mugged, then went on about their night. It was instantly clear that this dog was going to fit in just fine.

We named her Dakota.

I happened to have gotten laid off a month or two prior to getting her, so it was just me and her for the bulk of the day for the first few months. It was as stressful as watching a child all day at some points, but we built a bond of playfulness and trust while I pretended to look hard for work. If you've got a soul and like animals, the interaction with your pet is typically pretty easy, but it's equally as easy to take for granted what they actually mean to you.

As I type this, Dakota sits there at attention on the carpet looking at me while one of my cats licks the side of her face. Not staring in a creepy way, but in a manner I've had to grown acustom to. I think it's a mix of not wanting me to go do anything fun without her, partly watching in hopes that I will have sneaked a snack by her that I may also drop on the floor. But I also like to think she is protecting me in some manner. I'll be the first to say that my dog is among the smarter dogs I've ever encountered, but she is an emotional wreck. So by saying 'protect', I really just mean she'd be the friend at the bar to just yell "look out" as a dude came barrelling across the room.

She is smart enough to master a dozen tricks and hand signals. She's smart enough to have graduated obedience school and continue into the advanced classes. She is however is so bad at managing excitement that we got expelled from the advanced course of obedience school. And if our daughter is asleep and anyone (my wife and myself included) is going to come in the front door of our house, they must first text whoever is expecting them to deal with the dog appropriately. Once she calms down, she's as normal as they come, but as she made clear in the parking lot of our condo so many years ago, new people get her excited!

But you know what? With all of her quirks, I wouldn't trade the little monster for the world.

She would follow me into Moridor, she doesn't take off if given free reign and no matter what happened that day, when I got home she is always happy to see me. She cuddles with everyone in the house including the cats. I recently saw her first hand defend one of my cats. Literally scared the piss out of a neighbor cat that was trying to flex in our front yard. She is a trooper when you go for a walk or jog. She will walk at your pace the entire time and when she gets home, she walks straight to her water bowl, re hydrates, then finds somewhere to collapse for a while.

I take her for granted some times when I really shouldn't. Dogs may not give you an intellectual stimulation of any kind (except when you're trying to figure out how the hell they got out of their pen), but they will teach and condition a number of your emotional cues on a regular basis. That's an underrated quality of a pet. Dogs are empathetic and are typically very sensitive, so it's good for people to interact with their pets. I think the one thing everyone has to remember about their pet is that they have a few fundamental rights as your pet.
-They deserve to be fed and sheltered (Don't get one if you can't afford one) (That goes for kids too)
-They deserve exercise and attention. If you're going to get a Pit Bull, don't make him live in an apartment.
-They deserve your protection and love. Hot cars, kennels for long periods of time, ignoring. All bad.

Typically if you get a pet, I'd like to think your intention was to care for it and hopefully you all are. But for those of you that love your dogs every day, remember to give 'em an extra belly rub and a milk bone tonight. They spend so much of their time trying to love you, it's time we repay the favor. And although I sort of despise another "holiday" because I know each new celebration is tied to revenue in one way or another, I am not afraid to find the silver lining in anything silly.


Follow my blog with Bloglovin