Archive for category the kids

Monday Night Raw Tickets

December 29th, 2009 @ 2:14 pm - 2 Comments

If you read this little ol’ blog o’ mine, you probably have some sense of the downward spiral back into a mild interest in pro wrestling. It started early in 2009 when my son (now at just the right age for such shenanigans) began showing a passing interest when he’d catch WWE on TV. We decided on a whim to buy Wrestlemania in April and then used some connections to score freebie tickets to a Smackdown taping in May. That was all it took. My son was hooked. He now has a collection of WWE toys and evn my daughter has a passing interest. My wife and I used to be fans and…well…we have tickets to the next Monday Night Raw on January 4th. (courtesy of Santa Claus, of course)

Turns out that it’s going to be a pretty big show. TNA (a rival wrestling organization) is running counter-programming against Raw this Monday with the return of Hulk Hogan and WWE needs to pull out all of the stops on their end to compete. Raw should be a decent show with a couple of title matches and the return of Bret Hart to the WWE for the first time in 12 years. In fact, the Montreal Screwjob happened just a few days after my daughter was born. So while my wife and I get the significance of it, the kids are like, “Who the hell is Bret Hart?”

At any rate Santa hooked us up with decent seats. Section 219 (lower), Row 3, seats 1-4.

And knowing what Santa paid for those tickets (and the three hours of entertainment they provide), I still insist that amusement parks are a ridiculous value and most coaster enthusiasts have no sense of the cost of things…

…and I’ll continue to say it every chance I get.

Teaching The Future

December 14th, 2009 @ 12:46 am - No Comments

Time for a little more fatherly pride. My daughter brought an assignment home from reading class that had been graded and this was on the inside:

Turns out the teacher wants to keep it to show future classes what she expects when this specific assignment/project comes up each year. So that was pretty cool.

Even better was my daughter’s confession that she “just threw it together real quick the night before” it was due. Is it wrong that that half of the story makes me smile more than the first half?

The End Of An Era – Here Comes The Teen

December 2nd, 2009 @ 6:21 pm - No Comments

I just want public record of the fact that today – December 2, 2009 – is the day the transition from little girl to total teenager has happened in our home.

Today in response to my making a joking comment about my daughter forgetting her band practice time sheet and signing it and handing it to her I was met with, “I know, daa-aaad!”

…and she said it in that tone of voice. (you have it in your head right now – and you’re spot on)

So I egged it on a little by questioning her lack of practice and got my first bit of real-world first-hand “teen logic” about how she needs this program for her computer that I’ve been dragging my feet on getting because she’s not sure if she’s hitting notes right and practicing wrong develops bad habits and wonk wonk wonk – essentially it was my fault she doesn’t practice enough. (not snotty about it, mind you, but definitely the twisted logic that we use with our parents at that age – and I’m sure it made perfect sense to her as she said it.)

Like I totally stepped out of body for the 45 seconds the whole conversation took and I could see the scene from above – a legit out of body experience! And I’m telling myself, “Holy shit! This is the moment. This is the first toe being dipped into the cold swimming pool. This is the beginning of the teen years coming on. At first it’s just a glimpse here and there. Then patterns develop. Then it’s more common than not. And before you know it – you have a fucking teenager.

It was truly a moment that made me both chuckle and feel a little sad at the same time.

I just want a written record of this moment. Definitely for posterity, but also so I can come back and read this a few years down the line when I can’t figure out why my kid seems to have gone totally nuts and does only things that makes me want to smack her upside the head.

Last Football Thoughts For 2009

November 16th, 2009 @ 1:46 am - No Comments

When we last left the drama of the 2009 season, the boys in orange had lost a heartbreaker in Round 2 of the tournament. That loss stung and still feels like the better team got robbed to this day. (I know, I know – then you wouldn’t have lost to them twice…but, still…)

So as we had known the winner of our Round 2 game would face a losing team in Round 3 – and as expected the team that knocked us out defeated them handily in a 25-0 rout. Which meant they were now in the final four and one game away from the championship game. Who would they face in that game? Exactly who I suspected we’d be facing had we won as I expected – the team that we went toe-to-toe with in the final game of the season. I said then (in that post, actually) that if felt like our two losses on the season came to two of the best teams in the league. Turns out it was true as they were facing for a spot in the championship game.

Ends up that it was the team that beat us in week 8 of the regular season (not the team that knocked us out in Round 2) that won the game, 19-6. Which hurts even worse because we know we could hold our own against them from experience – we came within a hair of winning our regular season game.

So it turns out that those guys ended up winning it all this morning in the Championship game.

Ouch.

Our boys could’ve made a serious run at it.

Next year we move up to third grade and so do all the second graders, but the current division is first & second combined so you see how a team that’s strong in this division could drop off in quality if some of the skill comes from first graders. Luckily, it looks like we have a good deal of talent moving up. With three teams (Orange, Black, White) what happens if the roster runs too thin with the move up in age group is that the third team (usually the White team, I believe) is broken up and used to fill the Orange and Black team rosters. I hate to be too optimistic with 2010 practice still 8 months away, but these boys could remain one of the better teams in the third grade division (and beyond).

I know I sound like one of those sports parents and I like to think nothing could be further from the truth, but this year was a lot of fun. Here’s to 2010 football consuming my late-summer/fall.

Today Was A Good Day

November 6th, 2009 @ 12:58 am - No Comments

Not too often I sit back and smile and just think I had a good day. That’s not to say things suck, but as I get older the little victories mean less and it takes more to light up that inner smile. Also, it seems like everytime in my life when I sat back and thought, “You know, things are good.” it was immediately followed by my world crumbling around me. So much so that I’ve become a little superstitious about actually acknowledging it. So let me just add the disclaimer that I’d like the external forces that control the universe (particularly my corner of it) to know that I’m not gloating as much as simply relaying the events of my day. (awkward smile)

Today I was reminded how much my kids kick ass. Like serious ass. Like your kid sucks compared to my kid sort of stuff.

Today was parent/teacher conferences and report cards.

My son generally does well with the exception of reading – where he’s not failing or behind, but he has to work to keep it up. But every year without doubt we’re told how he is an example of what a student should be – hard working, willing to help, polite, well manner and behaved – just a pleasure to be around. Last month was his third consectuive year for receiving the ‘citizenship award’ that the school gives. He’s only been in school three years – do the math. How can that not make you smile? Add to that the fact that he’s a hardcore middle linebacker that will rip your fucking head off and you can’t lose. We always joke that he’s like my wife and he is – in almost every way. Just read the adjectives I used to describe him and you have my wife…except I’m not sure she ever played middle linebacker, but she will rip your fucking head off.

The other half of the joke is that my daughter is just like me – and it’s true. A lovingly cynical, over-talented cutie with a scathing sense of humor that is both quick witted and silly at once.

My daughter excels without having to put forth much effort. She’s ridiculously bright and has been a straight A student for as long as I can remember. She always test at advanced levels and finally with this meeting there was recommendation of moving towards getting her in the honors program now that she’s in middle school. Plus, she’s the one who always got into the extracurricular stuff ranging from student council to land lab to origami to band to whatever else she’s done. To make matters even worse, she’s popular. Walk down the hall with her in a mostly empty school and you’ll still hear a dozen hellos from students and teachers alike before you get where you’re going – and tonight was no exception. The theme of our meetings about her have gone from “great student, a pleasure to have in class” to “we have to make sure we find ways to keep this girl challenged” – I don’t claim to know how much of things is nature vs nurture, but again, I can’t help but smile.

Just the kind of day that makes you sit back with a kind of bewildered smile and think, “Damn, we’re doing something right.”

Plus, I went for a haircut this afternoon and got one of the girls I like with no wait on a walk-in. That was pretty sweet too.

12 Years Ago

November 5th, 2009 @ 1:42 am - No Comments

At this very moment 12 years ago I was at the hospital…mere hours away from officially taking a lifetime of responsibility for another tiny human.

Oddly enough, one of the things that sticks with me was that we had the TV on MTV and the only video I remember seeing that night was the Marilyn Manson video where he’s naked on the couch. What video was that?

Talk about time flying…

Halloween 2009

October 31st, 2009 @ 7:34 pm - No Comments

Vampires are in this year. My daughter was going with the classic vamp/goth thing. My son’s interpretation was rock star/clown vampire thingy.



Oddly enough, we didn’t buy a pumpkin this year and no one seemed to care. So no pumpkin picture. My kids are growing up too fast. This is probably my daughter’s last year trick-or-treating. She’s in 6th grade and turns 12 next week. Little man still has three or four years left to score the goods for the rest of us.

Speaking of which, apparently the cul-de-sac gets little traffic. This is our first Halloween here and it’s now 93 minutes into the 120 minute event and I’ve had just three groups (a total of 7 kids) stop. That sucks, I dig the kids coming around.

Heartbreaking Season Ender

October 31st, 2009 @ 11:55 am - 2 Comments

It was gray and dreary. It had rained all night and the field was a mudpit. The wind was relentless and the temperature was in the mid-40’s. It was football weather and our boys came to play…for a half, at least.

We dominated the first half. It wasn’t even a contest. It was as perfect as our team has been all year. At the level they were performing I have no doubt we’d have made a run at the championship against anyone. Not a single kid was off. There were kids who hadn’t done crap this whole year making key blocks and tackles. They were a machine and went into halftime with a 14-0 lead. I’d be lying if I said the parents weren’t already discussing the Sunday game. It was a sure thing. It was our game to lose.

Then in the second half, we stepped down a notch. I think the wet, the cold, the wind, the mud – it was slowly eating away at our boys. We held our own, but couldn’t quite reach the end zone. We played well, but couldn’t quite stop them. With 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter we had the ball on our own 35 and had a 14-12 lead. All we had to do was a clock eating drive and a score and we would have stood tall against the onslaught. We drove down field slowly, but steadily. 5 yards here. 3 there. 2 more for a first down. 6 yards around the end. 3 up the middle. Another push from the line and we got a first down. We drove all the way to their 10 yard line and were facing a 4th & 5 with well less than two minutes on the clock. It was intense.

We moved the ball 24 of the needed 25 feet on that fourth down play and turned over the ball on downs with little time left on the clock. It was up to the defense.

1st down. Stuffed. Offense hurries to the line.
2nd down. Stuffed again. Offense runs back to line up with just 14 seconds on the clock.
3rd down. Handoff. Sweep to the right. Nowhere to go. Ohh! A couple missed tackles. Runner cuts back all the way across to the right dodging and weaving – our kids slipping in the mud and sliding off the runner. He turns the corner near the sideline as the clock ticks down….7….6…5…there’s a pile of players on that side of the field…out of the confusion busts their back with everyone behind him. He crossed the goal line just as the clock hit 0:00 – a 90+ yard run.

We lost 18-14 on the final play of the game – a 90-something yard run where at least half of our team had their hands on the ball carrier for at least a moment.

Heartbreaking.

…

…

Sigh.

2010 practice starts at the end of July. (smile)

Tournament Round 1A

October 25th, 2009 @ 11:39 am - No Comments

So we’re still playing next week. Another easy win by 25 points (apparently that’s the spread against this team). We beat them 25-0 in week 7 and beat them 31-6 this morning.

Our round 2 game is next Saturday morning and should be interesting as we face the team that beat us in week 6. Should be a good rematch. Our boys know what to expect and redemption is always a motivator. Plus, this time we meet at a neutral site rather than us driving the hour and a half to their field – which doesn’t seem like much, but when you have to arrive at 9am, that means leaving by 7:30 which means getting up even earlier. Our boys end up being in a car on the road before they even have to be out of bed. Doesn’t seem like much, but I know the team feels it in that situation.

At any rate, we’re the only Beavercreek team in our age group (of three) to advance – the other two got bumped in round one – so it’d be nice to represent a little longer. If we get past next Saturday’s game we’re guaranteed a game against a team with a losing record on Sunday (not a guaranteed win, but you gotta feel good about that).

So yeah, Round 2 next Saturday morning and it’s gonna be a tough one.

Tournament Round 1

October 24th, 2009 @ 11:52 am - No Comments

We’re playing another game tomorrow morning. The boys came together and played this one like a team and won it with help from everyone, not just a handful of key players making big plays. The final score was 12-7. Awesome game with our defense just as responsible for the win as the offense – a few key stops kept us in the lead at the end.

Speaking of that defense, this past week the coaches made some big changes in who plays where and if today was any indication, it’s an improvement. My little guy now holds the middle linebacker spot – he may be the slowest linebacker in the history of organized football, but the kid is getting it done and is more excited than ever about playing. I think he contributed more today than he ever did on the D-line. For some reason he’s able to bust through in a way that he never seemed to be able to do on the line. Good stuff and he was in on a couple of big tackles and almost single-handedly stopped the one extra point the other team scored…almost.

Looking forward to tomorrow’s Round 1A game. I hate to take anything for granted, but we’re facing the team we spanked 25-0 two weeks ago, so I’m optimistic about our chances of making it to Round 2.

Tournament Time

October 22nd, 2009 @ 12:49 am - No Comments

Yeah, it’s another football post. Fuck you for asking.

The brackets came out on Tuesday. We have an away game against another 6-2 team that we haven’t faced in two seasons. We’ve played the other team (blue) from their town, but never this team (white). In fact, the blue team were the ones who knocked us out of the tournament in round one last year and the team that we beat 25-0 in week seven. So barring some major meltdown, if we win on Saturday, then Sunday should be solid.

That leads us to Halloween weekend where on Saturday we’d either be facing another 6-2 team that we haven’t seen this year or the team that beat us in week 6. Not sure what the odds there are or which way I’d like to see it go if we made it that far. But assuming a win on Halloween, then our All Saints Day game would be against one of four teams all with a losing record – the best of the four being 3-4-1. So that feels pretty good too. Almost like if we win our tough Saturday games, we’re given an easy sacrifice for the follow-up on Sunday each week.

After that it’s pure speculation who we’d face on Nov 7 in the final four game, but I see that one of the undefeated 8-0 teams could come down that bracket and that they don’t play a round 1A game. That could be ugly. Win the game on the 7th and you’re in the championship game played at Welcome Stadium – which is kind of cool for the kids.

So that’s where we stand. Five wins gets to the big game.

6-2

October 18th, 2009 @ 11:23 pm - 1 Comment

The boys ended the season with a nailbiter. The final score was 27-25. Basically, it boils down to 4 touchdowns each, but they scored 3 extra points to our 1. We had the ball at the end of the game, but with time running out on us, the kids were forced to hurry and got stopped inside the 10 with 7 seconds left and turned over the ball on downs.

6-2 is very respectable and looking at the final standings for the season, that seems pretty solid. The teams we lost to are among the best and it feels like we could hold our own against either of them in a rematch.

Not sure who we’re facing in the first round and I don’t want to curse things, but I think these kids could do pretty well over the next few weeks.

We’ll see, I suppose. From this point out, the season ends with a loss.

5-1

October 3rd, 2009 @ 2:04 pm - No Comments

Ahhhh, it had to happen eventually. I think finally taking a loss breaks a lot of the tension. We lost to a team that was every bit our equal (probably better) on defense, but with the most one-dimensional offense of any team we faced. While many teams employ the approach, nothing sucks worse than when there’s on kid who is just physically superior and the team opts to repeatedly give him the ball. That’s how we got beat today. One kid who just outmatched all of our kids. Plus, these guys really wanted it. We were the undefeated team rolling into their town and they (with only one loss) really wanted to prove they could take us down…and they did. You could just feel how much it meant to the kids, the coaches – even the parents on the other side. This game was a big deal to them and they did exactly what the hoped to do.

I dare say this was our first match-up with a team that could be considered our equal, so that was a bit of an eye opener.

Only two more regular games before the single-elimination tournament begins late this month.

Hardcore Football Action

October 2nd, 2009 @ 1:03 am - 1 Comment

You know I talk about my son playing football all the time but never have pics or video or anything. Truth is I prefer to watch the games – you know pay attention to life and live in the moment instead of endlessly looking through a lens trying to capture it. Luckily, there’s countless other parents (and hack photographers that try to sell to the parents) capturing the moment and at times those moments trickle my way. This is one of those moments:

Little man is dead center in that pic – the one who looks like he’s trying to touch his toes. That’s our vicious defensive line in action.

(my apologies for the photo quality – this is what happens when the pics don’t come from me, but instead come to me)

5-0

September 26th, 2009 @ 12:11 pm - No Comments

Total domination this week led to a 25-to-0 victory. By the end all of the big kids were riding the bench and the coaches were giving the younger, smaller kids all kinds of playtime.

My son landed a tackle right up front early on and had his name announced over the PA. He totally dug that, so that was fun.

Not much to say, these boys look really good this year.

4-0

September 19th, 2009 @ 5:28 pm - No Comments

Pulled out a 24-7 win against some of the most ridiculous referees I’ve seen in two years of this football stuff. We actually put the ball in the end zone 9 times total, but 5 were brought back. At first it seemed pretty biased towards us, but by the end of the game they were calling on both teams for the most mundane and ridiculous things and then getting the penalty distances wrong to boot. Really hardcore officiating for a game beteen first and second graders.

Very satisfying win in the end and my little man started to really click as part of the machine after getting his ass handed to him a few times early in the game. Nice to see it start to come together a little more for him.

Home game next Saturday morning.

Play Of The Week

September 16th, 2009 @ 12:35 am - No Comments

Just realized a play from my son’s football team was picked as week two’s “Play Of The Week”. This is from 2 weeks back. Can’t tell if my son is in on this play or not. If so, he’s on the O-line somewhere.

Play Of The Week – Week 2

3-0

September 13th, 2009 @ 12:14 pm - No Comments

Took today’s game with a final score of 12-0 in what was a surprisingly defensive battle. Kids at this age usually don’t play games like this – pretty crazy to watch. We secured the win with less than two minutes to go on a pass – another surprise for kids at this level.

We’ve already won as many games this year as we did all last season and last year’s team were pretty decent (3-3-2).

A Long Time Ago

September 11th, 2009 @ 2:25 pm - No Comments

Picked up my son from school a few minutes ago and we’re going through his folders and he’s telling me what he did today and he gets to this:

“Today was the day those airplanes flew into the building or whatever” and I didn’t quite hear him so I said, “What?” and he all impatiently says, “You know when the planes crashed into the buildings a long time ago!”

A long time ago. Sigh.

I imformed him that that happened just a couple of weeks before he was born and he blew me off by walking away with a, “Yeah.”

Which I guarantee was followed by a silent, “A long time ago.”

2-0

August 29th, 2009 @ 4:54 pm - No Comments

The boys won this afternoon’s game 24 to 6. They’re 2-0 so far. Next week is a week off. Next game is at home on the 13th.

I’d have liked to see my little guy with a little more playing time (like in the premier game), but I suspect it’s a combo of missing some time last week for the wedding, him lagging last week in practice and Coach Dickhead’s (that’s a-whole-nother story) influence over the main coach. With two weeks until the next game, maybe he can fight his way back into more game time.

They seem really solid. I have a feeling this is going to be an extended season for the team.