Back to the future (a retrospective and an introspective)

Bumped from the Diaries. -- HS

If we could take a moment, slip into the deLorean, generate the required 10.21 gigawatts (jiggawatts?, did Jay-Z produce that movie?), and race back in time approximately 4-9 years; we might find a younger, more emotional (disconnected?) fan.    

A less reflective fan.  A more immediately reactive fan.  

A man (boy?) not weathered from actual life stresses and non-university bosses (mostly wife and corporate bosses).  

A boy living in Iowa City.

A boy who had no problem screaming obscenities at ISU students, alumnus, toddlers, et al.  

A boy who once threatened suicide to Hawkeye State if the Chicago Cubs lost a regular season July game they had been listening to on the AM radio 800 (thankfully they pulled it out).  

A boy who once had no problem drinking a 2 day old, flat Busch light from a milk jug, from a leftover keg from a party with a Nintendo played on the front lawn (dirt?), with a deep fryer making wings (acquired from the transfer of ownership of the Field House Bar and Grill) on the porch, and a one Dave Zollo living down the street not getting set up by the ICPD.  

A boy learning  the nuances of extreme fishing (drinking said milk jug beer, swimming, fishing, and smoking Camel Lights simultaneously).  

A boy who ran across a golf course without clothes to unsuccessfully evade Waterloo’s finest after breaking into a public pool after a Hello Dave concert.

It was a simpler time.

Music was simpler.
Less Elliott Smith.  More Hello Dave.  Less Bright Eyes.  More Dave Matthews Band.

Travel was simpler.
Less London, England.  More Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri.  Less Tokyo, Japan.  More Keithsburg, Illinois.

Drinking was simpler.
Less 1994 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon.  More Franzia Chillable Red.  Less Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.  More Keystone Light.

Relationships were simpler.  
Less marriage and children.  More bars and after-hours.  Less feelings and future.  More hotties and hookups.

Finances were simpler.  
Less 401k.  More credit cards for discretionary spending.  Less paying for booze.   More befriending bartenders to get free booze.

Sports were simpler.
Less Kyle McCann.  More Brad Banks.  Less Nathan Chandler.  More Drew Tate.  Less Augie Ojeda.  More Sammy Sosa hit the weights hard in the off season to get that huge.  Less Alex Gonzales biffed a routine double play. More Bartman and Bernie Mac cursed the Cubs.

Back to the near Future:

Music is more complex.  
Travel is more complex.  
Drinking still occurs, but is much more expensive.  
Relationships are fewer, but more valuable.
Finances are greater, but more stressful.

And sports...well sports seem less certain.

Am I a better adjusted man (boy?)?  Am I more isolated (due to the Space Needle’s inability to stream the Dolph)?  Or have I just hit a drought in the sports weather pattern?  

Recently I’ve found myself getting very into the recent Cubs surge ( I know, I know, fool me 99 times shame on you...).  I’ve also found extreme anger following threads about other B10 teams stupidity, and I’ve found a passing interest in the success of the Iowa Basketball team (is that more or less than previous interest?  Not sure).  

It is a renewed surge in Midwestern sports enthusiasm I have not had since I’ve left.  

But at the same time I keep a perspective I most likely never had before.  

Surrounding yourself with addicts (sports and otherwise) is either extremely lucrative (we share the same values!) or extremely detrimental (we share the same values!).