Here it is…

Ok, I just got done watching some kind of HBO Sports documentary of the 2001 World Series… it was the Arizona Diamondbacks vs. the New York Yankees, with the tragedy of 9/11 serving as a backdrop for the entire 7-game series.

The main theme of the documentary was that the terrorist attacks somehow meant that the World Series was the Yankees series to win, and that the Yankees not winning was a true shame and somehow paralleled with the terrorists somehow winning or prevailing over the spirit of Americans. The entire show disgusted me.

The fans, for one, were completely melodramatic about the sporting event. Granted, I sympathize with them in dealing with their losses… in real life. They lost friends and family members in the attacks and to slight that or malign that fact in any way would be out-of-line and heartless. But, one girl, whom Derek Jeter invited to Yankee Stadium after recieving and reading a touching letter sent from her, said after the Yankees game 7 loss to the D-Backs, “I didn’t wear green or purple for months” (green and purple are the D-Backs team colors.) Now, I can’t believe she said something this ignorant, and if this kind of mentality epitomizes all Yankees fans, then I could say, without remorse, that Yankees fans need to seriously get some perspective.

Again, I have to emphasize that I sympathize with Yankees fans in the fact that most of them were affected by the 9/11 attacks. That said, to this day, I have no idea why Yankees fans would hold that kind of personal grudge with the Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team; they are paid to play and win baseball games. Now, just because Arizona is nowhere near New York City or Washington D.C., this does not mean that Arizona was any less deserving of competing in the World Series.

Likewise, all Yankees fans celebrated their back-to-back, come from behind wins at the expense of D-Backs closer Byung-Hyun Kim. And you know what? Those kinds of storied comebacks are the things legends are made of. But, look at the series as a whole: The 2001 World Series (click the boxes on the side to see the box scores.)

Games 1 and 2 were domainted by the D-Backs offense. 15 hits and 13 runs in these games against the Yankees 1 run and 6 hits. Game 3 was more even, with the Yankees winning. The next 2 wins were flat-out miracles. 9th inning, come-from-behind victories in each game. Not 1, but 2 miracles. Then there was the ARI dominated game 6: 15-2. Now, it’s game 7. One come-from-behind rally by the Yankees got matched by a bottom-of-the-9th rally from the Diamondbacks. It’s all tit-for-tat, in my opinion. What’s good for the geese is good for the gander and all those cliches. The only difference this time was that it wasn’t the Yankees who had luck on their side. More to the point: the Diamondbacks had fewer “micacles” than the Yankees, and the Yankees still didn’t win. What’s my point? Simply this: in 2001, The Arizona Diamondbacks were the better team, and those Yankees fans that sulked their World Series loss should really try to realize that even a Yankees win wouldn’t have drowned out all the depression of the attacks. Sure, a Yankees victory would give them all a temporary feeling of ecstasy, but that’s all it would be: temporary. The Yankees winning would not bring back the fathers, mothers, brothers, uncles and friends lost in the attacks, so maybe they shouldn’t hold the Arizona Diamondbacks personally responsible for doing their job by beating “America’s baseball team.”

That said… I end this blog entry with the following quote: “The Yankees HAD TO win those three games in New York – otherwise, it would have been wrong.” — Curt Schilling

“Wrong”. Okey-dokey.

Ok, so a couple of days ago, a representative from Papa John’s rings my bell and shells out a coupon book for free pizzas. It costs $25, but it provides for $200 worth of free pizza. Almost all of it requires the purchase of a large, 1 topping pizza. But 2 of them don’t require a puchase. The catch is, these 2 coupons specify pick-up orders only, not delivery. But, these savings make up for the money I spent on getting the book. So, I’d say it was worth it.

Now, tonight, by my lonesome, I decide I want to get a pizza. More specifically, I want to get a free pizza. So, I call Papa John’s and tell them I want a large, peperroni pizza, and that I have a coupon so that it’s free. As I expected, I have to pick it up. Luckily, their address is on the cover of the coupon book, so I Mapquest it., print out and leave campus in search of free pizza.

The directions are simple enough, except for the small part where it says to stay on a road, and then that road forks, the signs don’t match what MapQuest says, and I’m thrown for a loop. The result: Joe looks for Broad Road for a half hour since he had to abandon MapQuest when the road forked. Granted, I knew the road was off of the road I was on. The only problem was I didn’t know in which direction, and how far.

So after that, I finally find Broad Road, and follow the directions again. Going down Broad Street, I turn down Robinson Street, the road where Papa John’s is supposedly located. However, a new problem arises. I arrive at my destination to find apparently NO PAPA JOHNS at that location. All I see it a Giant supermarket, a CVS and a KFC across the street. Going down the street, I see some residential areas. No Papa John’s. Go back the other way, same thing. Now, it’s been just about an hour since I placed my order, and I’m hungry as all fuck, I can’t find this place and MapQuest has apparently failed me.

In my exasperation, I go into the Giant supermarket I passed by eariler and ask if there is a Papa John’s in the area. To my great surprise, there’s a sign right inside pointing to the back area of Papa John’s. I follow the sign, see that the back area is closed off, and notice another sign directing business to go through the front of the store. So I exit the store, confused, still hungry, but with a sense of direction now. Exiting the store, I see the entrence to Papa John’s on Broad Street. I guess the building’s address is considered Robinson Street, but the store faces Broad Street. That’s mad misleading.

So I go in, and get my pizza. The guy behind the counter compliments my Homestar Runner shirt (and let’s be honest; it’s an awesome shirt) and I make my exit, pizza and all.

So, the moral of the story: if anyone wants a ride to Papa John’s, I have plenty of coupons (buy 1 pizza, get something else free (either another pizza, breadsticks or soda)