tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post7645560938163993637..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Outdoor football -- you gotta love itBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-41034041280405405732022-01-18T16:41:55.838-08:002022-01-18T16:41:55.838-08:00Am I wrong or was there a brief attempt to have a ...Am I wrong or was there a brief attempt to have a Cheers Resteraunt and Bar chain. I seem to remember one in an airport (Minneapolis?) where they had robot Norm and Cliffs.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11777496001166356949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-51598795990440626652022-01-18T04:34:45.200-08:002022-01-18T04:34:45.200-08:00“How could you not, I loved the name "Fearsom...“How could you not, I loved the name "Fearsome Foursome" and the fact that they had a quarterback playing in the Coliseum named ‘Roman Gabriel’.“<br /><br /><br />For a brief second—when fourth-billed in a John Wayne western—he was the biggest Philippines-American film star. And earlier, a bit player in Skidoo, Groucho’s swan song— a movie with more Batman villains (4!) than many a Batman movie.T Orlandohttps://www.nitrateville.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-81084233036793366512022-01-17T19:59:12.870-08:002022-01-17T19:59:12.870-08:00I don't know if two comments are allowed, but ...I don't know if two comments are allowed, but I forgot to mention that watching football in cold weather rocks. I am in Florida now, and if we're lucky and have a night game in November, we might get something approaching what would be a balmy day up North but that is downright frigid for us. I miss those snowy, biting times in the stands at Pitt games and games at my little college in western PA.<br /><br />I've never been colder than when I was taken as a surprise to a Bears game at Soldier Field near Thanksgiving time. I borrowed every garment I could to supplement my wool overcoat, including a ladies' hat. I didn't care, because I knew--or thought I knew--how bad it was going to be. When finally returned to a warm apartment, I literally shook for an hour while trying to revive myself. How awesome. I wouldn't trade that experience--though I would happily relive it with some layers of fleece and down. Peternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-9523008798935875942022-01-17T18:14:46.860-08:002022-01-17T18:14:46.860-08:00bmfc1
Glad I am not the only one whose memories a...bmfc1<br /><br />Glad I am not the only one whose memories are violated when I have to listen to the Cheers theme being appended to Applebee's. Applebee's is the pinnacle of mediocrity, the height of average, bland, strip mall faux-personality, a generic so generic that it becomes specific in its genericness. It is soul-emptyingly bland, from its food to its decor to its corny, focus-grouped name (Applebee's? just who is or was Applebee? was it a restaurateur who lived in a gated subdivision with Bennigan and Houlihan and Friday and Fuddrucker?). <br /><br />But Cheers--Cheers had verve, wit, specificity in its ensemble cast. And when the cast grew, with Frasier Crane and Lilith and Woody and Rebecca Howe, it didn't just plug a hole or slot in a sorta replacement but damn well added a new dimension to the whole group. And it was important to me. During its early run, I was in law school in DC, filled with stress from competing with truly brilliant people and lonely from living in a new, unfamiliar city. I had friends, amazing people, but they were being pummeled in law school as I was, and the topics came around to law again no matter how far afield they'd ventured. <br /><br />I would come home from hours of poring over the books in the law library, my head simultaneously whirling and bursting with res ipsa loquitur and race notice and mens rea and res jusdicata and in re and a hundred other terms that included a "ray" syllable. And, I'd get off Pentagon City at the end of my ride on the Metro, with all its dead-eyed commuting bureaucrats and soldiers, and if I got home on time and the night happened to be the right one, I'd turn on my little TV, my first color model, and that opening theme would wash over me like a warm bath. Or maybe I'd be invited have dinner with odd, chronically out of work Jerry from my apartment building, who introduced me to Cheers, and we'd watch together. These characters were my fantasy friends, and I was privileged to spend a golden half hour with them; I wanted to walk into a bar where everybody knew *my* name. <br /><br />So, my indignation is surely self-righteous, but it comes from seeing something trivialized that I loved and held in memory as part of a major turning point in my life. Yeah, it's just a stupid TV theme song, but it means something to me. Peternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1948089703970728112022-01-17T17:43:26.776-08:002022-01-17T17:43:26.776-08:00Football in the snow. Nothing better.Football in the snow. Nothing better.stephen catronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17879615896830957479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-29438230258247707942022-01-17T15:56:20.371-08:002022-01-17T15:56:20.371-08:00(Cheers theme to sell Applebee's...) Tony Korn...<br /><i>(Cheers theme to sell Applebee's...) Tony Kornheiser was indignant. (Someone compared it to using "Revolution" to sell sneakers.)</i> <br /><br />Indignant! Whatever. <br /><br />Hard to say who (as a class) is more self-righteous about the trivial - sports writers or sports fans - pick 'em. This time, however, it’s songwriters and how they make a living who garner the wrath from the peanut gallery. <br /><br />Thinking back to my days-of-innocence.... "Anticipation" was the Hunt’s Ketchup Theme – to further misuse the term (in its current de-valued sense) the image of a close-up ketchup bottle with red blob falling out is “iconic”. Only later did I find out that Carly Simon wrote the song – and sold it use to HEINZ (not Hunt’s). <br /><br />What’s the BIG (REALLY big) difference between the Cheers and Revolution? The number of zeros for the “rights”. <br /><br />Matt Weiner, one of the best “apologists” for Mad Men, stated that the fee for <i> Tomorrow Never Knows</i> (Last Track, Side One, REVOLVER) was a cool quarter-million. And he only used about one minute of it. <br /><br />Jahn Ghaltnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-4808602749808988322022-01-17T15:31:14.720-08:002022-01-17T15:31:14.720-08:00You couldn't pay me to go to a football game [...You couldn't pay me to go to a football game [well....you could if it was equal to what a football player makes per game] even if it was a sunny 70 degree day. I have as much interest in the NFL as I do of getting kicked in the crotch by someone wearing spikes on the top of their shoes. I won't even waste my time watching a game on TV. Grew up in an area of Florida that had no football team till well after I had moved away so never learned or cared about it. Now the REAL football game [soccer]...I've actually sat through remnants of a hurricane to watch a game, sat through a near blizzard, PLAYED in a game when there was about 2 inches of snow on the ground [my feet were purple by the time the game ended], went to games that ended up being cancelled just before it was supposed to start because it rained so hard that the field couldn't drain fast enough and the water was over players ankles, sat through games were it was so cold that kicking the ball was more like kicking an anvil and by the time I got back to my seat with a hot chocolate in an insulated cup it was ice cold. And went to a game where it turned out to be the hottest day of the year [over 95 degrees but the field temp, because of astro-turf, was 120 degrees. I stood in a puddle of water to cool off my feet, shoes and all.<br />I think they showed some Browns games on TV even if it wasn't sold out. I believe they classified it as a horror show to get around the NFL rules.<br />YEKIMIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01921751875397071034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-69668373178911975992022-01-17T15:30:17.325-08:002022-01-17T15:30:17.325-08:00Remember, the Los Angeles Chargers existed in 196...Remember, the Los Angeles Chargers existed in 1960 -- the AFL's initial year -- sharing the Coliseum with the Rams, Dodgers, SC and UCLA football. (Hope the groundskeepers got overtime pay!)<br /><br />This native Syracusan recalls the glory days of SU football at venerable Archbold Stadium (1907-1978), now the site of the Carrier Dome. Since the college season ended in late November, snow games at Archbold were relatively few -- but the cold made for great conditions for classic running backs like Jim Brown (I <i>hate</i> the G.O.A.T. term, which curiously is never applied to baseball, but he deserves it more than any quarterback), Ernie Davis (who led the Orange to the 1959 national title and became the first black Heisman Trophy winner two years later), Floyd Little and Larry Csonka. Rushing football -- that's <i>real</i> football!<br /><br />And speaking of blackouts, I remember an episode of the short-lived CBS DJ sitcom "Good Morning World" (which featured a pre-"Laugh-In" Goldie Hawn in a supporting role just before I hit puberty and could lust after her), where the jocks wanted to see a blacked-out Rams game at the Coliseum and decided to drive up the Coast to watch it at a motel. (Sorry, folks, but I preferred the royal blue and gold Rams jerseys from earlier in the '60s.)<br />VincentPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10905736830049897892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-10158131616192576302022-01-17T15:17:17.380-08:002022-01-17T15:17:17.380-08:00Since the team I’ll be rooting for next week will ...Since the team I’ll be rooting for next week will be playing at Lambeau field on Saturday (night for godsakes!) I’m not feeling so good about watching from much warmer NorCal. Whatever slim chance we had against the anti-vax Pack will evaporate the way hot water turns to snow when thrown in the freezing cold. <br />When I saw those Applebees commercials I immediately wondered what you thought about them, so looking forward to you post tomorrow. <br />iamr4manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03886388328762709050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-51414739134737472612022-01-17T15:09:33.905-08:002022-01-17T15:09:33.905-08:00I was at the Eagles/Falcons NFC Championship game ...I was at the Eagles/Falcons NFC Championship game in January 2005. It was 17 degrees with winds over 20MPH. My Eagles won, but I barely recall anything because I was so cold I don't believe my brain was capable of creating memories.<br />I haven't been to a game since..I think I just thawed out last August.Dave Wrighteoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10029257345313166383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21201017177434191852022-01-17T15:01:42.615-08:002022-01-17T15:01:42.615-08:00To Roger Owen Green
Nike did use Revolution to s...To Roger Owen Green <br /><br />Nike did use Revolution to sell Nike shoes in 1987. However this was not the 3 remaining Beatles idea. They did sue and the case was settled but the details are still not known. Harrison thought it was a terrible idea. Yoko Ono had something to do with the deal as she did have some say in songs being used commercially. She thought it would be good to introduce the current generation at the time. I highly doubt any one even today does not know who the Beatles are. Here is what is considered the ten best uses of Beatles music in a movie. https://screenrant.com/best-movie-scenes-featuring-beatles-music/ Number one was pretty obvious.sanfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06580867647162091670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-87195601683399272922022-01-17T14:30:42.019-08:002022-01-17T14:30:42.019-08:00Good to know that Dick Enberg was not only unfaili...<br />Good to know that Dick Enberg was not only unfailingly gracious - but also a POET<br /><br />(iced coffee with no cubes - good one) <br /><br />As for "the elements" recall that the various Minnesota teams have had climate-controlled venues financed mostly by non-fans. This had some undesirable side effects - career-ending knee injuries and ping-pong outfields (along with two 'Series wins). <br /><br />When did the No-Fun-League go to seventeen games? "Pre-Season" doesn't wear so much on every-day players - so we may count only one extra game for starters on the eighteen non-playoff franchises. 4 (plus 6-7ths) playoff rounds adds up to 21 or 22 games for Super-Bowl teams - with 2 or 3 "off-weeks". <br /><br />(for others it adds up to 18-21 games with 1 or 2 weeks off) <br /><br />That's even less fun than it used to be. <br /><br />"Las Vegas Raiders" - sure sounds strange - even more than "Los Angeles Chargers" - though "Washington Football Team" still takes the cake. <br />Jahn Ghaltnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-79426776667469090062022-01-17T14:13:09.929-08:002022-01-17T14:13:09.929-08:00Didn't THE SIMPSONS do a winter football episo...Didn't THE SIMPSONS do a winter football episode, or am I confusing it with the baseball show?Lemuelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-15106325529942182222022-01-17T14:07:55.735-08:002022-01-17T14:07:55.735-08:00The only live football game I've ever been to ...The only live football game I've ever been to was in MA in a blinding snowstorm. I don't know who was playing anymore. I'm not sure any of the players were sure as I doubt they could see any better than I could.<br /><br />If football was made for TV, baseball was made for email.Eric Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10639837826294361383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-31463875996466581042022-01-17T13:59:25.235-08:002022-01-17T13:59:25.235-08:00<<>> Admittedly off topic:
@sanford -...<<>> Admittedly off topic:<br /><br />@sanford - I'm just afraid that we'll be seeing/hearing more questionable companies (TM) attaching themselves to iconic songs now that David Bowie, Neil Young, Springsteen, etc. have sold their children, I mean song rights, off to even more Questionable Companies.<br /><br />I understand there are estate issues and there were many equally gifted talents from the generation behind them who were not fairly compensated and/or received poor financial advice. But has -any- star with Springsteen's catalog and pedigree simply said "No thank you" to one of these offers?<br />Douglas Trapassohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18348522207945522495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-25774662116389012342022-01-17T13:12:45.650-08:002022-01-17T13:12:45.650-08:00Are you sure it was Jack Buck and not Ray Scott? G...<i>Are you sure it was Jack Buck and not Ray Scott? Green Bay in '67, Scott called most of the Packers games on CBS</i><br /><br />According to Wikipedia, Scott called the first half, and Buck the second. Gifford was the color commentator; Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshire were the sideline reporters.DJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-44005333582758326272022-01-17T12:54:06.008-08:002022-01-17T12:54:06.008-08:00Ken - the obvious FQ. What do YOU think of the use...Ken - the obvious FQ. What do YOU think of the use of the Cheers theme for the Applebee commercial? Tony Kornheiser was indignant. Someone on his show compared it to using the Beatles' song Revolution to sell sneakers. https://www.ispot.tv/ad/OlL7/applebees-welcome-back-song-by-gary-portnoyRoger Owen Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05298172138307632062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-72650763366863128602022-01-17T12:36:45.038-08:002022-01-17T12:36:45.038-08:00I live in Southern California now, but grew up in ...I live in Southern California now, but grew up in NYC. So during that era, football to us kids was all about bad weather, so when it snowed, we'd occasionally play football in deep snow or while it was snowing. With all the layers of clothing and the cushion of the snow restricting movement and running, we didn't have to wear any protective gear!<br /><br />As kids, of course, snow is fun. This mindset carried over a little into my adult life--though I didn't learn to ski until I lived in California, one of my dreams was always to ski while it was snowing and got my wish years ago at Mammoth. Between the falling snow and fog, visibility was literally just a few feet at times, but it was great fun skiing through fresh knee-deep snow. We were there with a number of people sharing a rented house and only about half of went out, the rest deciding it was too cold and/or risky to go out. Some of my happiest memories!Randy @ WCG Comicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08105266129029859540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-28136477369196379862022-01-17T12:18:24.315-08:002022-01-17T12:18:24.315-08:00I agree with you, Ken. While Los Angeles doesn...I agree with you, Ken. While Los Angeles doesn't have terrible weather (usually), tonight's RAMS game would be more entertaining if it was being played at the coliseum. A little rain, a little mud, a slippery ball, all add an element of unpredictability to the game. That's one of the things I dislike about SoFi stadium. Too sterile. And how could a city like L.A. NOT have a natural grass field? Even the Las Vegas RAIDERS have found a way to have grass indoors.<br /> <br />Speaking of the RAIDERS, back when they were still in town my friends and I went to a game against the BRONCOS. It was raining pretty hard that day. I had on my rain gear, but others didn't. They wound up wearing plastic garbage bags as raincoats. Don't remember if we won or not. <br /><br />Speaking of Denver, Mile High Stadium has, or used to have heating elements under the yard markers. The entire field would be covered in snow except for the yard lines.<br /><br />GO RAMS!!<br /><br />Off Topic: Did you know L.A. radio personality Michael Jackson? I remember when singer Michael Jackson died people put flowers on the other M.J.'s "Walk of Fame" star by mistake.<br /><br />Did I say GO RAMS!!? <br /><br />M.B.<br /><br />Mike Bloodworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04755626259169126800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12371011539632719032022-01-17T11:50:45.635-08:002022-01-17T11:50:45.635-08:00I heard Kornheisers podcast this morning. I am no...I heard Kornheisers podcast this morning. I am not sure if he more upset with Appleby's or who ever they paid for the right to use the Cheers theme. And it is not like songs have been sold for television commercials. I would think Appleby paid a fair amount of money to use the song.sanfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06580867647162091670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-53855478651168773812022-01-17T11:37:48.406-08:002022-01-17T11:37:48.406-08:00Are you sure it was Jack Buck and not Ray Scott? G...Are you sure it was Jack Buck and not Ray Scott? Green Bay in '67, Scott called most of the Packers games on CBS. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07040170863561984388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26685968653710130232022-01-17T10:25:49.463-08:002022-01-17T10:25:49.463-08:00I can top Dr. Enberg. The Ice Bowl in 1967, Dallas...I can top Dr. Enberg. The Ice Bowl in 1967, Dallas at Green Bay. Frank Gifford was doing color and, off the air, turned to the play-by-play man, Jack Buck, and said, "Can I have a bite of your coffee?" Buck replied, "Yeah, but it's vodka."Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01998867386294693956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-4977221817356316602022-01-17T10:23:44.019-08:002022-01-17T10:23:44.019-08:00I've lived in Chicagoland since 2000, and I ha...I've lived in Chicagoland since 2000, and I haven't been to a single NFL game during that time--mostly because Bears tickets are too expensive, even on the secondary market.<br /><br />Before that, however, I lived and worked in New York, where I got freebie tickets all the time. (I worked in the publishing industry, and printers gave out tickets to sporting events frequently.) I used every baseball ticket I could get--even for Yankee games, which as a die-hard Mets fan, wasn't easy. But I had specific rules for football games:<br /><br />1. No games after mid-November, unless they were playoff games. The weather was too unpredictable.<br />2. No 4 PM games (New York had plenty of these since they had two local teams that shared a stadium and couldn't play at the same time because of television, plus there were no Thursday or Sunday night games at that point). Fans would gather in the parking lot starting at 9 AM to tailgate; by 4 PM they were loaded and obnoxious.Curt Alliaumehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05875046706746482871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-79544934943502962612022-01-17T10:23:06.557-08:002022-01-17T10:23:06.557-08:00I'm going to the Rams game tonight. It'll ...I'm going to the Rams game tonight. It'll be 60 degrees with a 40% chance of showers. Wish me luck!Kevin Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-18562756807244565352022-01-17T09:29:30.162-08:002022-01-17T09:29:30.162-08:00As a current midwesterner who basically lived 50 y...As a current midwesterner who basically lived 50 years in So Cal, the cold is over hyped. There are outlier games, like the one in Buffalo, and probably the one next week in Green Bay, but the Bengals game was played in 32 degree weather, which sounds frigid if you are from LA. But all it takes is a few layers of the proper clothing, and the only thing that even feels the cold when it is above 20 is your exposed face. Then a covid mask comes in real handy! In other words, most "cold" games are not as cold as they look on TV, while viewing at 70 degrees.ventuckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09294925035523816023noreply@blogger.com