Hitsville, U.S.A.

Magnet #1049 - Hitsville, U.S.A.

According to my parents, I've been to Detroit. Being as I can't remember it, I'm guessing it doesn't count.

But, my friend dropped by Detroit on a work roadtrip to Canada, and brought back a magnet set for me from the Motown Historical Museum.

The museum's housed in the original building where Berry Gordy, Jr., began Motown Records, the label that gave us greats such as the Temptations, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Diana Ross and the Supremes, and the Jackson Five, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder.

Sounds like a pretty cool place to visit, because you can see visit the control room and the echo chamber and the infamous Studio A. Talk about standing where greatness stood!

We are Carolina

Magnet #410 - Michigan state, with a little Tar Heels on top

Talk about leaving your mark...

Carolina 89 - Michigan State 72.

And, here's the video of Franklin Street, because you know they've gone insane down there, closing off the street, crowded as hell, bonfires and all. See?

What?

It's what we do. It's who we are. We are Carolina.

The funny thing is how much we underestimate or take Carolina for granted, both the school, and the basketball.

To wit: Before going, I never thought of UNC as a particularly great school. But apparently, it is. It's a state school. Practically half my high school went there, so it never dawned on me that Carolina was a hard place to get into. It was the only school I even applied to. (It was that, or join the Air Force, but that's a whole other story - let's just blame Algebra, shall we?)

It's also never dawned on me that basketball wouldn't be a big part of someone's college years. I have never understood people who don't have a huge attachment to their college sports teams as we do. But, then I remember, ah, it's because we grew up on Tobacco Road.

Finally - and I swear this will sound cockier than I actually mean - but, we tend to take it for granted that our team will be awesome. I mean it. When we aren't good, we're actually surprised.

But, there's a reason we're good. Great kids, great coaches. It's our history we compete with the hardest - the great coach and great kids who came before.

As my sister (a Carolina alum, but unabashed Dook fan, don't hold it against her...really) put it: "You just forget. You just forget how good it is. You just assume that every other school is just as good."

No truer words.

By the way, no, that's not photoshop work up there on that magnet - I always keep a stash of Carolina stickers. You never know when you need them.

Well done, boys. Well done. No practice tomorrow.

eta:
Back in '93 (yes, showing my age), before I was allowed to head over to Franklin Street with a bunch of my friends, the boys made me go back to my dorm room and pull out my favorite sweatshirt - a very sacrilegious, but so damn cute, Dook sweatshirt. And, as I watched, the boys literally tore it to shreds and used it as fodder for the bonfires. Bonfires, like the ones in this slideshow from the Daily Tar Heel.

Methinks it was a worthwhile cause.

Get your motor running

Magnet #21 - Motown

I've not been to all of the places that my magnets are from - it's because I've roped people into bringing me magnets from the farthest corners of the world.

Ok, so Detroit doesn't count as a farthest corner (and I went through there as a child), but you get the picture. This one was from a friend who went to Detroit for focus groups. (I've learned that some focus groups can sometimes get you to fun locations, but mine always land me in Jersey...that's another story.)

I almost made it to Detroit this year for the car show, but that didn't happen due to some moral turpitude (not mine). I'll eventually get there - I must, because apparently, some of the motor giants actually give tours! Hah, I don't even own a car, but I still would love to tour the facilities. And, there's even a Ford house to tour. And, OMG, there's even a MotorCities Automotive Heritage Area! And, I haven't even touched on the music - because half the itinerary would have to be for the music studio tours.

Yeah, I'd tour a bathroom if there was a tour guide.