Behind door number twenty-two… a midnight run in Central Park!

Speaking of New Year’s Eve planning, one of my favorite uniquely New York traditions is the annual Midnight Run in Central Park. To me, that’s a hell of a lot more in line with my whole New York experience than the Times Square bedlam will ever be. Central Park, fellow runners, fireworks, plus a DJ, a costume contest, and champagne. What could be more New York that that? And the fact that it sells out every year indicates that lots of people feel the same.

[image from here]

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In typical NY media style, all of the local news outlets are totally overblowing the Jets and their chances this year… As with every year, the Jets get to one game over .500 and all of the sudden, “They’re for real” and the local media thinks of all types of ridiculous puns to use as headlines on the sports page.

But what the paper forgets to mention is that while the Jets beat the rival Patriots this weekend, they did so out of pure luck. A shoddy field killed a bunch of Pats plays, and the conditions made for a horrible day for the defending AFC champions, but the Patriots are still the team to beat. One win does not a champion make. A few other things that are completely ignored in these excited reports:

– Assuming the Patriots win the division, which is likely, the Jets would have some stiff competition for a wildcard spot, with Jacksonville, Denver or San Diego (whichever doesn’t win the AFC West), and Kansas City, all proven winners with more veteran players at their core.
– Forgetting about the Bears game this weekend, they still have some VERY tough matchups down the stretch, three of which are away against teams that don’t lose a lot at home (Green Bay, Minnesota, Miami), and two of which are tough divisional matchups (Miami and Buffalo).
– Miami, Oakland, and Houston are all resurgent and are insistent on “circling the wagons” and ruining other teams playoff hopes. I bet the Jets get caught looking past one or more of these games.

I am not saying that people should not be excited, and I am not even predicting that the Jets definitely won’t make the playoffs, but the NY media has a habit of over-inflating successes. Let’s keep it in perspective. This is not a deep playoff team… Not yet, at least. The next few years may be great, but let’s not fit the players for Super Bowl rings just yet. Keep it in perspective! They are one game over .500!

Photo courtesy of Jetscap.com

Sigh. Two NYC Marathons under my belt. And as I sit here typing, two trains of thought run simultaneously along the tracks of my mind:

1) What an awesome day that was!
2) I am never doing that shit again!
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About 37,000 people ran in the 37th New York City Marathon today, including our very own Chris Trent. (Yay, Chris! Can’t wait to read about the bleeding nipples and runners’ trots!)

It seemed sunnier today than originally forecasted, and warmer than yesterday. If I was sweating walking the barely half a mile from 1st Avenue to Central Park, I can’t imagine how I’d feel after running 26.

This was my second year watching the race, and it’s amazing how you find yourself cheering for these people you don’t even know, calling out their names or countries or whatever other random signage they have pasted to their chests. (You know you’re getting carried away when you start shouting, “Go Adidas! Yeah, go Nike! You can do it!”)

And while I’m all for as much cheering as posisble – heck, I appreciate it running my piddly 5Ks – please do it towards the runners and not right in my ear, woman-who-got-way-too-excited-to-see-“Pauly”-again.

Anyway, check out the offical site for winners and other news.

I’m pretty sure I have to blame the Mets for my extreme intoxication last night. Although I’m sure that had they won (which they should have) I would have been about eight times worse. I made it to the bar during the fifth inning, tied 1-1, it was unbelievably intense in there. I felt the need to play catchup seeing as everyone around me was drunk and rowdy. So I chugged. And I chugged. And I chugged. I think that by the time it went into 6th inning I was already on my third or fourth beer. The awesome “out of field catch” by Chavez called for a shot of Cuervo. The rest of the game become a bit of a blur for me, but I remember St Louis scoring and everyone in the place changing from happy drunk, to angry drunk. Shortly after, at games end, the place cleared. Two parties left without paying their tabs; at least one of them was $130 bucks. The bartender chased down one of the girls and got her to come back though. So I chugged down my last beer because the place was now almost completely empty, and walked home. I don’t remember this, but I know it happened. Anyways, good season Mets. At least they made it a lot further than the YANKEES!

Hello all,
I am your newest blogger… Hope you like my posts. If not, I’m cool with it.

– My favorite thing about this time of year is not the foliage or the holidays, as it is with many other northeasterners… For me, my favorite part is noticing other people’s choices of clothing. Inevitably in this city, there is a group of people who refuse to make the switch from shorts to heavier clothing. So, right on through Thanksgiving, you have those aloof, socially awkward dudes who are still wearing short sleeves and maybe even sandals around town, clearly cold as hell but trying their best not to show it… I love those guys! They keep me laughing until the spring comes again.
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This house is across the street from me in Williamsburg Brooklyn, and was decked out yesterday just in time for the game (which was later postponed until tonight due to rain and arguably the Lidle incident) I think it’s pretty safe to say they are the biggest fans on the block. At night they have orange and blue lights illuminating the facade.

More photos (including a funny close up of two cherubs in Mets hats kissing) after the jump…
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Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I flew into Detroit, which was perfect timing considering they just OWNED the Yankees. Sorry Yankees fans, but I’m not a fan. And Detroit is as hometown as it gets for me, so that made me happy. And Johnny Damon, you piss me off. You used to look like such a big badass man, but I guess the controlling YANKEES way really changed you- you look like a little girl now. I’ve lost total respect for him. But I hope that it was worth the few extra million he’s making.

…Mets fans in every borough chattering their teeth with fear.
On the forth of October, in aught six,
The Amazin’s rotation could definitely use a fix,
Thanks to Duque’s run and Pedro’s tears.
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NFL fans have their rituals. Starting with the teams they cheer on: the hometown team they’ve cheered on since forever, the team of the city in which they reside, and the team(s) in their fantasy football rosters. On gameday, those teams are represented, and represented with great enthusiasm with face paint, logo clothing, and increasingly hoarse shoutings of fight songs.

Another ritual is where the game is watched, if not at the preferred stadium. A friends house? A sportsbar? Circuit City on the best TV on the house? In Brooklyn, where I live, it is possible to find a bar catering to the randomest sports team imaginable, and hosting the intensely-attentive fans of that random sport (think: Curling). One problem I’ve found is when you go out in public in the colors or logo of the team playing against a New York team that day. Yes, let’s file that under “ill-advised”, shall we?

It doesn’t matter if a New York fan is fairly newly relocated from Podunk, KS or Whipporwhill, MI, they square off on New York teams as soon as they sign that lease. Giants or Jets? Much bonding with other fans shall soon ensue.

Because I am resolutely a fan of a non-New York team and totally obnoxious in my football watching, I stay home and order in some wings. Maybe I’ll search for other Brooklynite fans of my team, we could sneak around and cheer on our team together! Surely my team has an outpost bar in the City somewhere. Well, that’s a research assignment for me, but if you find yourself sitting alone and watching NFL Today, wondering “One of these things is not like the others..”, rest assured someone across town silently answers, “Joe Buck”.

Football! Chicken Wings! Beer! Yes, I’m a girl!