View My Seats

At the Intersection of Sports and Culture

Photo Credit for Header: Alex Foucre-Stimes

A Morning of Thanks and Appreciation

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Last night, the #1 ranked team in college basketball lost for the first time all season. Usually this would be the lead story on most major news outlets and sports blogs.  But not today.  No today is a little different. Following the moving tribute by the President and others last night, today is all about remembering those we lost in the horrific shooting in Tucson last Saturday. It’s also important to keep our thoughts with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and all  others injured who are currently fighting to stay alive.

Sports continues to be the ultimate form of escapism for Americans.  We look to sports as a release from the daily grind of our jobs and responsibilities.  The never ending cycle of breaking news and commentary will continue to roll along. But sometimes, like this morning, we should all step away from our iPads and twitter apps and take a second to appreciate what we have and how fortunate it is to be alive.

view of FSU/Duke courtesy of @smar1e

A Seattle High Five with The Boz (No not that one)

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As Jerry Seinfeld once said: “Slapping hands is the lowest form of male primate ritual.” We here at VMS fully support the high five and believe it has a clear and important place in this world.  In our latest set of 5 questions, we asked close personal friend, and Seattle native, Ben aka “The Boz” what he thinks about his Seahawks and their glorious run to second round of the NFC playoffs.

VMS: On a scale of Nirvana “Nevermind” down to Mudhoney “Superfuzz Biggmuff”, where does the Seahawks playoff victory over the Saints rank on your all time list of Seattle memories?

The Boz: Really high.  I honestly think this was a solid Pearl Jam “Ten”.  Ten was a seminal, accessible album for the Seattle sound, and is a real classic – plus it was during Vedder’s pre-soapbox years, so that’s an immediate plus.  Saturday’s moment wasn’t quite “Nevermind” (doesn’t yet have the depth of 2005, 1983, 1995 Mariners), but still an epic moment which everyone outside of New Orleans loved, and it will be remembered for a long time by ‘Hawk fans.  Far above Superfuzz Bigmuff – but I’ve only heard that album once.

VMS: Did it take much to convince your wife to name your next child “Marshawn”?

The Boz: I think she was so excited to get me off of “John Cougar” that “Marshawn” was a relatively easy sell.

VMS: Tell the truth, part of you is kind of hoping Charlie Whitehurst has another opportunity to “resurrect” the Seattle offense.

The Boz: No way. Not this season, and maybe never.  Clipboard Jesus may be the next great ‘Hawks QB, but I kind of don’t think so.  He managed the Rams game semi-competently, but anyone can look like Joe Montana when they actually go to their checkdown instead of floating balls into double coverage, which was Hasselbeck’s M.O. for the 10 weeks preceding Saturday’s unconscious performance.

Either way (and this may not be a popular opinion right now), I think it’s time the ‘Hawks pull a Dave Krieg on Hasselbeck and let him walk before the wheels start coming off the bus.  It sucked to see Krieg in a Chiefs uniform in the early-90s, but we had to pull the band-aid off.  It feels like we’re getting there with Hasselbeck.  I’m hoping that by some miracle we can land Andrew Luck in the 2012 draft.

VMS: If the Seahawks lose to the Bears this Sunday, does their playoff run still take some of the sting out of the SuperSonics departure to Oklahoma City in 2008?

The Boz: No. I can’t go too far down this road because it’s still really soon, but suffice it to say that losing Seattle’s longest-tenured professional sports franchise was a bitter pill.  I refuse to acknowledge the existence of the Oklahoma City team, and I barely acknowledge the existence of Oklahoma City itself.

VMS: Last question, Seattle weather….bad as advertised?

The Boz: I don’t believe so.  Rainy winters, but the summers are nothing short of glorious.  Just got back from a 10-day trip to the Emerald City, and there was measurable precip 7 out of 10 days, Dec. 20-30.  So there’s your objective metric.  Not too bad, but definitely not sunny and nice either.

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There you have it.  Thanks to the Boz for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions.  He has promised VMS a free month of fresh/hot hand delivered coffee if the Seahawks pull off another miracle and beat the Bears this weekend. Go ‘Hawks!!!

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view of the Jon M. Hunstman Arena courtesy of @erikzeiner

“Grab a Beer. Don’t Cost Nothing”

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So as it turns out, Qwest Field, and the Seattle Seahawks, have been doing what most fans have already assumed which is overcharging for alcohol at stadium concession stands.

I don’t have all that much sympathy for the fan who is spending $7.50 on a domestic beer.  At those prices you are getting what you deserve. Most people know that stadium beers are a rip-off to begin with which is why so many football fans tailgate/drink too much before heading into the stadium.

Here’s an idea, if you wanted to satisfy the fans demand for booze while at the same time cut down on public intoxication/drunk driving, why not charge LESS for a beer? Think about it like this, if I’m going to a football game and I know that the beer at the concessions stand costs me less money than at a package store, I am going to wait to buy until I get into the stadium.  I am also going to make sure to get to my seat nice and early, which has been a problem for a lot of NFL teams this season (see: NY Jets) who have kicked-off in front half empty stadiums, presumably because people are still out drinking in the parking lots.

So under this proposal, stadiums sell a higher volume of beer (because it’s cheaper) WHILE lowering the risk of drunk driving/other debaucherous parking lot behavior (because fans are no longer stuffing their cars full of Bud Light pounders).

Pie in the sky? Perhaps. But consumers are no longer going to allow themselves to be taken advantage of by stadium concessions. Or will they…

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view of Coors Events Center courtesy of @Mediamum

An Interview With a Tree

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Ben Cortes is living a double life.  By day, Ben is an unassuming Stanford University senior who enjoys international travel and playing the drums. But at night, he likes to dress up. As a tree. That’s right, Ben Cortes is the Stanford Band mascot. A few weeks back, Viewmyseats was fortunate enough to ask The Tree a few questions. What follows is not official Stanford University dogma.  Our “fireside chat” is meant only to show sports fans around the country that mascots are real people too.

view of Maples Pavilion courtesy of @zoedunning

VMS: You did a lot of crazy stuff to earn the right to be the Stanford Tree. Tell us, how many other jobs would you be willing to draw blood for?

Tree: Any job that pays. Cash rules everything around us, right? But I’d prefer something that also entails a steady stream of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll.

VMS: Does your view from the game allow you to enjoy the action on the field/court or are you too busy shooting t shirts from a cannon?

Tree: I’m actually in a primo position to watch the games. One member of my protection detail (T.P.S. – Tree Protection Service) caught an overthrown football when we played U.S.C. And the Stanford administration doesn’t even trust me with a beer when I’ve got the costume on – they’d never let me anywhere near a cannon.

VMS: The Stanford football team is preparing to play Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl on January 3rd. Tell us, what’s your strategy heading into the big game?

Tree: My conditioning mostly consists of tanning beds and watching Scarface on repeat. For game day, I’m going to upgrade the costume with something that should bring the best of Bay Area culture to Miami. I have no idea what the team’s strategy is going to be.

VMS: What advice would you give to high school students who one day aspire to become a college mascot?

Tree: Study hard and get used to sweating. And you’d better like kids, because they’ll freaking love you.

VMS: More intimidating Pac-10 mascot: Puddles the Oregon Duck or Traveler the USC Horse?

Tree: Well I hate both of those creatures so damn much, I’ll have to rephrase the comparison in the negative: Puddles is such an astoundingly unassuming opponent that he somehow manages to be less intimidating than Traveler, a mascot so stupid that it still walks on four legs and poops in public.

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Thanks again to Ben for being such a willing participant. Good luck to Stanford in the Orange Bowl. Hopefully The Tree won’t get lost in all the debauchery on South Beach. Remember, Tony Montana is NOT a real person.

Guess the View: You Put Those Benches Back Where They Belong!

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Hopefully everyone was able to pick up the the subtle Ty Webb/Judge Smails reference in the post title.

I visited Nashville about 6 years ago and loved most things about the Music City. Loved the Honky Tonk’s and the live music. (Musicians who play the downtown bars put all other “Open Mic” nights to shame.) Loved the cheap beer. (In fact, Brooklyn, you can thank Nashville for making Pabst Blue Ribbon so hip and trendy.  PBR never went out of style in Tennessee.)

Also, loved my tour of Vanderbilt University.  My grandmother was from Nashville and growing up, my dad was always telling me about the city and university.  He called Vanderbilt the “Harvard of the South”, which put the school way out of my league when I was applying to colleges.

My favorite experience while on the campus of Vanderbilt was the “access” I was given to the athletic facilities.  It was the middle of the summer so school was not in session and there did not seem to be many athletic personal patrolling the facilities.  I unassumingly walked up to the doors of Memorial Gymnasium, which were unlocked, and made my way directly for center court.  Not a sole was their to stop me from walking up to the baseline, pick up a basketball and begin working on my mid range game.  It was one of the more surreal experiences of my adult life. Here I was, all alone in the middle of an enormous SEC gymnasium and nobody was there to stop me from perfecting my low post moves. It’s really too bad a Vanderbilt assistant coach wasn’t on hand because I couldn’t miss a shot that day and they probably would have been interested to know that I still had a few years of eligibility left.

Today, I love watching basketball games from Vanderbilt. Every time I see that court it brings me back 6 years to when, for a precious 15 minutes, I owned that court.

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view courtesy of @RyanSisson