little has gone right,
very little … what’s gone wrong?
multifaceted!

In his 1965 book, The Hustler’s Handbook, Bill Veeck (as in wreck) writes about the New York Mets:

The Mets established a certain stature from the first. They were, after all, the team that was on its way to losing more games than any other team in the long and meticulously recorded history of baseball. You weren’t just shuffling around rooting for a lousy team — which anyone could do — you were rooting for the most goshawful team ever.

According to the article in the Guardian today, The Pistons’ dismal journey to become the NBA’s worst-ever team” by Alex Kirshner, “The Detroit Pistons finally, formally made history on Tuesday night. Detroit lost their single-season record 27th consecutive game, the latest coming at home by a 118-112 score against the Brooklyn Nets. By falling to 2-28, the Pistons built more cushion in a perhaps inexorable quest to become the worst team in league history.“

The City of Detroit has experienced this sort of streak with all its professional sports teams.

The fans of the professional sports teams of the City of Detroit have lived through this before.

There is a word for it.

Infracaninophile.

Infracaninophiliac.

Infracaninophilism.

One who loves and roots for underdogs.

Veeck continues on the Mets, “The beautiful part of it is that once this kind of thing picks up momentum, every failure becomes an asset. Once you’ve got everybody in the frame of mind where they’re expecting something ridiculous to happen, then ridiculous things have a way of happening.”

I don’t understand how any team can manage to lose 27 games in a row.

Once you’ve got everybody in the frame of mind where they’re expecting something ridiculous to happen, then ridiculous things have a way of happening.

Even you tried to lose, it seems you couldn’t lose 27 in a row.

Once you’ve got everybody in the frame of mind where they’re expecting something ridiculous to happen, then ridiculous things have a way of happening.

Mr. Kirshner writes, “The The Pistons are 2-28 because they have been cartoonishly, cataclysmically bad on the margins.”

Cartoonishly, cataclysmically.

Typically, even the worst team in such games wins 25 or 30% of them, but the Pistons cannot buy a victory in crunch time. Arithmetic and spirituality suggest that the Pistons eventually get a break when it matters most, but faith is hard to come by.

Arithmetic and spirituality.

If you could string that all together because once you’ve got everybody in the frame of mind where they’re expecting something ridiculous to happen, then ridiculous things have a way of happening, what would you get?

Cartoonishly, cataclysmically, arithmetic and spirituality what would you get?

Infracaninophile.

But faith is hard to come by.

there is no hero
more important than the goat
triumph and defeat

Adapted from the paragraph:

Yet the heart of the gig is straightforward. “It’s storytelling,” Esocoff says. “My job is to make the audio and the video match as closely as I can.” He clings to pillars of classic narrative: cause and effect, triumph and defeat. “If the QB hits the receiver for 75 yards up the seam, it’s probably because he had plenty of time to throw. So we’re going to find a shot that shows you the pass protection. You want to show both sides of an event. I always say, the hero on a play is no more important than the goat.

From the article, Behind the Scenes of the Most Spectacular Show On TV by Jody Rosen, in the New York Times on Dec. 2. 2023.

The most spectacular show is Sunday Night Football for those too young to remember Monday Night Football or the College game of the week when only ONE game was on.

But the rule stays the same.

For every winner, there is a loser.

Despite the little league participation trophy, some one goes home unhappy.

Sometimes I think this might be a better place if this was held to a little more often of late.

Sure sure Bobby Thompson hit the home run that led to the famous radio call, ‘the GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT – THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT.’

But it was Ralph Branca who through the pitch that led to the home run and took the Brooklyn Dodgers out of the World Series.

I am reminded of a story that I cannot find, that Bill Veeck always wanted to have an old timers game and arrange for Bobby Thompson to face Ralph Branca one more time.

Veeck said he wanted to do it just to see if Branca would bean Thompson.

Talk about must see TV.

the bummage is a
more dramatic picture than
the celebration

From the paragraph:

Yet the heart of the gig is straightforward. “It’s storytelling,” Esocoff says. “My job is to make the audio and the video match as closely as I can.” He clings to pillars of classic narrative: cause and effect, triumph and defeat. “If the QB hits the receiver for 75 yards up the seam, it’s probably because he had plenty of time to throw. So we’re going to find a shot that shows you the pass protection. You want to show both sides of an event. I always say, the hero on a play is no more important than the goat. So right away I’ll be in the ear of my cameramen: ‘56 blue is the goat.’ A word I use a lot is ‘bummage.’ I want to see the bummage. Because a lot of times the bummage is a more dramatic picture than the celebration.”

From the article, Behind the Scenes of the Most Spectacular Show On TV by Jody Rosen, in the New York Times on Dec. 2. 2023.

I loved this article and as anyone who remembers the glory days of Monday Night Football, it sounds very familiar, especially the line, I want to see the bummage. Because a lot of times the bummage is a more dramatic picture than the celebration.

This thought was made famous by the famous camera shot of Joe Namath showing exteme bummage.

According to legend, the shot was called by the man who invented Monday Night Football, Roone Arledge, who happened into the control truck at the moment and called for the camera …
Maybe it happened that way.

Maybe it didn’t.

But I’ll hold with it.

And as I life long Detroit Lions fan, I know bummage when I see it.

bury Michigan?
when they closed coffin, there was
someone else inside

Inspired by Bob Ufer as he said on the radio on November 20, 1976.

“Ohio Came To Bury Michigan, All Wrapped In Maize And Blue
The Words Were Said, The Prayers Were Read And Everybody Cried
But When They Closed The Coffin, There Was Someone Else Inside!

The Bucks Came To Bury The Wolverines – But Michigan Wasn’t Dead,
And When The Game Was Over, It Was Someone Else Instead.

Twenty-Two Michigan Wolverines Put On The Gloves Of Gray,
And As Cavender Played “The Victors”, They Laid Woody Hayes Away!”

I was raised on Woody Hayes.

Woody Hayes lived under my bed and if I got out of bed in the middle of the night, Woody might grab me and take me off to Columbus.

Now I live in Carolina.

And nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina and write silly things about a football game up North.

But who cares.

Michigan has now won one thousand and one college football games.

A Roman using roman numerals would add it up like this, MI.

As in Michigan.

As in Mike.

I’m good with that.

those whom God wishes
to destroy, he first deprives
of reason, makes proud

Readers of this blog with know that 1) I am a fan of the University of Michigan Football team and 2) I have been tracking the accumulated wins of the football program to 1000 wins for some years.

I predicted this win would come in 2023 but along came Covid.

No matter, I figured nothing could stop the wins from piling up until Michigan was the first team ever in organized american football to win 1000 games.

Never did I imagine that HOW they won those games would be called into question.

Quos Deus vult perdere, prius dementat.

The saying is Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.

Literally from the Latin it can be translated as Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first deprives of reason.

Boy howdy but does that seem to fit the bill.

The Coaching staff at Michigan had to have lost their minds and all reason to embrace and allow such a nutzo-dumbo scheme for stealing signs from other teams as is being documented in the newspapers daily.

I keep asking why?

Then I remember how Tom Clancy adapted the phrase.

He wrote, “Those whom God wishes to destroy … he first makes proud.“

There it is.

Caught with no alibi and no explanation.

Proud.

Pride.

So dumb.

I have been waiting for this day for years and it’s dead sea fruit that turns to ashes in my mouth.

At one point in my life we lived across the street from Dr. Julius Franks who was the first All American Football player at Michigan who happened to be black.

I was despondent after a game that Michigan lost one weekend and he looked at me and said, “None of that. No time for that. Got to get back up. Got a game next week. No time for that.”

As a side note, Dr. Franks once took me and my sons to a Western Michigan Football game (where he was a Regent (ex-officio) and on the drive we talked about everything under the sun.

Without warning, I changed the subject and asked, “How did your team do against Notre Dame?”

Remember this was on a long drive on a fall afternoon and we had been talking about everything under the sun.

“Beat them!“, Dr. Franks responded without hestitation, “We went down there and Beat them!”

It had been more than 40 years ago.

So Michigan has won 1000 games.

It isn’t the way I planned to feel.

It isn’t the way I wanted it to happen.

But no time for that.

Nope, none of that.

So for me and the boys of 811 Packard in Ann Arbor.

And for the years of living with 4 guys in a 2 person apartment.

For all the blue books and papers.

And all the memories of what has gone on before.

And all the memories of what has gone on since.

Michigan has won 1000 football games.

I have been lucky to be a part of it.

Go Blue!