… has hit a lot of people in the circle of bloggers that i follow… not everyone, though. Amy is walking us through her Birthday Celebration Week (happy birthday Amy).

But I guess i’m in the group that doesn’t have much to say right now. The holidays were alright. I enjoyed some of it and didn’t enjoy some of it… so that’s that. I DID receive my World Civ book on tuesday and finished up the first assignment about two hours ago… class is in 1.5 hours so I’m set…

Oh, and for some reason I started another blog so i can talk about non-interesting stuff that used to go here but no longer does… it’s called “All The Balls“… so i guess you could say “Jeremy has All The Balls” and it’d be a true statement, people might just look at you funny. In the meantime Jaybrams will remain your primary source of inspiration and updates as far as my family, spiritual, worship, school, etc life goes… If you aren’t sure why I’d start a site which sole purpose revolves around balls, you need to get your head out of the gutter and check out the introduction post here.

Thanks for noticing.

Are you kidding me??

74-62

Despite the striking resemblance, that is NOT a college basketball score.

My first Division 1A game has come and gone with a happy ending: A 31-21 win for UNT, their first of the year and the first of the Todd Dodge era. I got a nice view of the whole tailgating scene… games of bean-bags, washers and parking lot football, grillin’ and beer bongs on the frat side of the parking lot. Country music, families, and canned beer on the alumni side. After about 45 minutes of walking around in the lot, we headed into the stadium to find a nice first-come-first-serve 10$ general admission seat on the fifty yard line… Not a bad deal really. A college football game for 10$ and you can sit basically anywhere you want other than the season ticket seats or the student section.

After a pretty boring first quarter, the second brought two interceptions returned for touchdowns and an amazing two yard pass that turned into a 100 Yard touchdown reception. Pretty sweet quarter. The rest of the game was pretty competitive, and UNT’s Defense actually turned in a very good performance. If “our” defense continues to play this well perhaps Dodge can have a respectable season after all… well, respectable in the sense that they win more than just one game…

All I had was my camera phone, and i couldn’t get any good shots… so, here’s the only three that were even halfway decent. But hey… It was dollar hot dog night.

Goodbye:

… the image is right… it “was here,” but its gone now…

UK Tops LSU… awesome.

Tomorrow I am going to my first Division 1A College Football game… oh wait… now its called the “Bowl Championship Division”or some such … goofy… so… here it is:

CLICK AND BE AMAZED!

Okay, so it’s not Texas A&M v Texas Tech, or LSU v UK, Or Stanford v TCU even… but, its still Div 1A dang it! Barely. I know … but don’t rain on my parade alright?

Go Mean Green.

Originally submitted September 9, 2007 for ENGL 1310 @ Dallas Christian College. Emphasis added for website, copyright follows guidelines at bottom of the right sidebar.

There exists an odd phenomenon between American Football (hereafter referred to as “football”) fans and World Football (henceforth “soccer”) fans: Both feel their style of football is more the “real” sport, and both fail to realize that the sports share common roots. The inventor of American football, Walter Camp, was strongly influenced by William Ebb Ellis who commonly is credited with creating Rugby, a sport birthed directly from soccer (Bellis). Which fans, then, have a stronger argument for their beloved sport?

While most fans understand the differences of how the game is played, there are a few commonalities that are often overlooked. Both sports require eleven men on the field at all times with one team attempting to advance the ball beyond the defending team’s goal line. Both games allow for points to be scored by kicking the ball past the goal line and in between two goal posts.  Beyond these factors, the likenesses come to a screeching halt. Rather than discussing the commonly understood disparities in the rules, let us instead contrast the concepts and results of the games of each sport.

Football is generally known for its high-scoring games, while soccer competitions are often played to nil-nil (0-0) draws. At first glance, football is seen as the more exciting sport because the numbers on the scoreboards regularly reach the twenties and thirties for both teams involved. However, the blowout is far more common in football than it is in soccer. The majority of sports fans would rather see a competitive game from start to finish rather than the game that is as good as done by halftime. Another point to consider concerning football scores is the inclusion of the field goal, which allows teams to put points on the board without fully completing a successful drive (touchdown). Soccer does not have an equivalent play. And while a touchdown in football is worth seven points, a goal in soccer is worth only one. A soccer game ending with a score of 3-2 is, at the very least, equivalent to a 21-14 final in football. The gap in scoring between the two sports is a valid argument for American Football, but it is a gap that is not nearly as wide as believed.

This equals out to a grand total somewhere between twelve and seventeen minutes of live football action per game

A common complaint against soccer by the average American football fan may sound something similar to “soccer is boring because nothing ever happens. They just kick the ball back and forth.” Yet the average football play takes six to eight seconds and each four-quarter game includes around 125 plays between the two teams. This equals out to a grand total somewhere between twelve and seventeen minutes of live football action per game. Soccer, on the other hand, is truly non-stop action with no commercial breaks during the halves, no timeouts, and only three substitutions allowed per team per game.

The six seconds of action do have an element that is missing in soccer: amazing individual athletic feats. There is little in the sports world that is more exciting than watching a great athletic catch or a running back juking, spinning, and diving his way past defenders. While soccer players are incredible athletes and are more conditioned than nearly every other type of athlete, their moves on the field are more about finesse and control. Along the same lines, football is more about reaction while soccer is more about precision and thought. The mind game of soccer has its appeal, but there is a strong attraction in watching the response-based plays of football that soccer tends to lack.

I have found both sports to be highly entertaining, and I have no problem with the product on the field. However, when we move beyond the game and into the external factors surrounding the sports, we will find the determining factors for why I defend soccer over football. Football, like most American based sports, has morphed into a product that feeds our narcissistic culture. The media idolizes individual accomplishments and downplays teamwork. It is true that football is a team sport which requires all pieces working together, but we often find ourselves belittling the importance of many position players. It is not uncommon to see punters and kickers ostracized from their teammates, and most fans would struggle to name their own team’s offensive line.

Soccer, on the other hand, is widely accepted as the ultimate team sport in which all eleven players must play as a unit, none taking more credit or responsibility than another. This is not to say that the individuals within soccer are not praised or put on a pedestal, but each position is recognized as equally important. Some of the greatest players in soccer rarely score; they instead use their abilities as set-up men in the midfield or defenders aiding their goalies.  Selflessness is more highly regarded in soccer than it is within any other major sport in America.

The debate between football fans and soccer fans will never cease, yet I highly doubt soccer will ever come close to drawing as many fans in America as football does. I, for one, will continue to enjoy both sports as entertainment. However, as a parent and an individual who is growing tired of the narcissism in our culture, the unselfish play surrounding soccer has won my respect… and effectively emptied my wallet.

Works ConsultedBellis, Mary. “History of Football.” About.com:Inventors. 9 Sept 2007. <http://inventors.about.com/od/fstartinventions/a/HistoryFootball.htm>.“Football.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 9 Sept 2007. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_football>.

I have never seen anything like that in my life…. what an insane football game.

25-24… Boys win…

I’m not going to say much… but i’m a man of my word… so there is the stupid bird.  Check facebook to see the ugly face i’ve gotta look at for the next three weeks until UK wins again…

 Rick is under the impression that USC played well last night. but I will take the typical fans stance and say we gave the game away… Woodson disappointed quite a bit… After setting a record for most consecutive passes without an interception, he had 3 turnovers last night leading to 21 points (2 fumbles and and an absolutely brutal interception)… yet in the fourth quarter had the defense made ONE stop, they’d be in position to tie the game at the end…

In other words, if as rick says “it was just kentucky” than he oughta be shakin’ cause USC didn’t exacly look sharp either.

I still think UK’s offense is pretty darn good, Woodson just crumbled under pressure… But geeze, their pass defense is horrid.

Little history lesson for you about my life… I’m just now in college (if you’re just figuring that out, you don’t read the site enough). So, my college teams of choice vary from sport to sport and from year to year. I’m the ultimate bandwagon fan when it comes to college athletics and I’m proud of it!

The University of Kentucky has long been one of my favorites in basketball. This was ingrained in me from my father who grew up in Kentucky. I’ve never had a reason to cheer for them in football until this year. They are ranked in the top 25 for the first time since 1984 ( I was 3 ) and in the top 10 (currently #8) for the first time since 1977.

Led by Andre Woodson, who Steve Spurrier recently compared to THE USC great Carson Palmer, UK has one of the most impressive pass attacks in the nation, but to this point they haven’t played any solid defenses. This week, they face the #1 Pass defense in the nation in Spurrier’s other USC… the Gamecocks of South Carolina. Which just happens to be blogging buddy Mr. Stillwell’s alma mater… well well well… time for a little wager…

If, by some chance SoCAR pulls off an upset, I will begrudgingly display the ’Cock’s logo (see below) on this site. However, after UK humbles good ol’ ball coach and crew… rick will replace “jeeves” (his mini cooper) with the UK version. Here’s the kicker… The loser must keep up the winner’s logo until the loser’s team finally wins… Rick is definitely taking much less a risk because his ‘Cocks play a pansy UNC team next week, while UK will face LSU followed by Florida. In other words if UK loses tomorrow I’ll have too keep this stupid bird on my site until 10/27 when they play Blake’s Bulldogs… Here’s to the Wildcats!

You may need to pick up some safety goggles soon… wouldn’t want all the dust we’re about to leave you in to get in your precious little eyes.

FC Dallas has signed Denilson…. heck yah. No need to google search him, just watch below. He’s arrived and is ready to start training and is just waiting for his work visa to go through before he’s on the pitch. I’m excited…