Born to fight

Magnet #1244 - Muay Thai Boxing

How freakin' cool is this magnet? Remember my friend who went off to conquer Asia last year? Well, like Thai folklore legend Nai Khanomtom, my friend is totally kicking ass over there, and loving life. And bringing me back supercool magnets, to boot.

So proud of her, and from how fabulous she was last night, I sincerely hope that she's the other possible future that I saw last night in the bar, besides the old lady from yesterday's magnet.

Legend had it that Nai Khanomtom was this Thai dude who was handpicked to fight a Burmese fighter, and he was such a whirling dervish that the Burmese said that their fighter was too distracted by the dancing to fight and win.

The king said, fine, Nai Khanomtom, would you fight nine more dudes? And he said, sure thing, and kicked their asses, too.

Duly impressed, the Burmese king granted him riches or two wives - Nai Khanomtom supposed picked the two wives, saying money was easier to get. So funny.

Anyway, supposedly that's why the Thai celebrate March 17th as Boxer's Day, and why Muay Thai is the national sport of Thailand.

Pretty cool, huh? But no, now look at the magnet. Close. Closer. I love how it looks like they're both missing one of their feet. Hah!

Texas, for...five years

Magnet #1159 - Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Can't Lose!

Been holding on to this magnet for a while now, waiting for the inevitable bitter end. And, much as I was loathe to, I ended up finishing up the last four episodes of Friday Night Lights today on the train.

I'm so very, very sad that it's over. Let's face it though - when the show first started five years ago, no one thought it was gonna last.

Sure, critics loved it, fans loved it, but no one thought it was gonna come back. So technically, each season has been such a wonderful gift, we can't really be greedy, methinks. Still. I will miss this show ever so much.

Anyway, since the woman beside me here on this train didn't realize I was watching the very. last. episode. ever. and was subsequently spoiled (like crazy), I'm feeling especially sensitive to not loading this post up with any spoilers. So I won't.

But, here's what I will say that IS spoilery.



Stop reading now if you DO NOT WANT to be spoiled.



This is your last warning.



I mean it. I'm warning you.



Really. Stop now.



Did you stop?



Be sure now.



Ok. Here goes.


I didn't think it was possible for Kyle Chandler to look hotter than when he wore his Dillon Panthers Blue golf shirt and hat out on the field. He was so darned pretty in that color.

Then he donned the East Dillon Lions Red and Black. And he was even hotter in black that golf shirt out on the field.

And by goodness, ya'll, I honestly didn't think he could get hotter.

Until he put on that Pioneer Green.

Holy freakin' cow does that green bring out the color in his eyes.

What?

Happy Opening Day!

Magnet #1133 - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

What?

Ok, ok, wrong sport, wrong country.

Still, a world-class stadium.

Built in 1999, the Millennium Stadium seats 74,000 and was the first fully-retractable roof in the UK. They've hosted everything from Rugby World Cup finals to large-scale musical concerts to motorcup events. And they're going to be the football venue for the London 2012 Olympics.

Yet, somehow, I missed seeing this giant stadium on my Cardiff daytrip a couple of years ago. I know! It's one of the most iconic buildings in Wales, and somehow, I missed seeing it. Not only that, but I just looked at an aerial shot and it's seriously right across the street from the train station I came in through. I remember seeing the supercool spires poking up through the skies, and a lot of light around it, but somehow, somehow, I missed the building itself. It's why I bought the magnet, really, because I knew I'd missed it - plus, it's just a really cool magnet to have, all 3-D (2-D?) perspectivey and whatnot.

It's ok, though, because we have Cardiff back on the dockett for the June London trip - of course - we can't not do another Doctor Who/Torchwood walkabout, so I'll get a chance to earn this magnet for real. I was hoping we could see an actual Rugby match with some actual rugby cuteboys, but it looks like the timing won't work out. I mean, shoot, we're even 2 days late for Take That.

What?

THE DECISION

Magnet #867 - Sports Legends Joy

Yeah. You know why I'm using this magnet. What a silly 35 minutes that was.

On our impromptu visit to Baltimore, we opted to forgo the Sports Legends Museum, but I bet it's awesome. And I bet LeBron's up in there, too.

Whew. Now. Aren't ya'll glad we have the answer to that burning question?

Hah. Burning.

Hah. Heat.

Geddit?

Tennis is crazy*

Magnet #854 - Wimbledon

My sister brought this back for me from her tour of Wimbledon a couple of months ago. How timely.

Seriously, boys. How do you play for eleven hours, five minutes. Across three days?

Never-ending tennis. They broke pretty much every record in tennis you could think of.

Though, really, all I thought of, after he got off the court was, whoa, that John Isner is hot.

And he has to play again. Today.

Sheesh.

*Live quote from said BFF of the BFF Babymoon Over the Confederacy Roadtrip

For the game. For the world.

Magnet #850 - Rio de Janeiro

My client brought this supercool magnet back for me from her trip to Brazil.

I dunno why I've never been to Brazil. It keeps popping up in odd ways for me.

Embraer, the Brazilian jet manufacturer, was one of my first advertising clients. (Right? You'd think I'd have finagled a trip those three years.) Instead, I had a friend/colleague who traveled down and through Brazil on the Amazon. I had a former author ask me to help edit her book - and it was set in Brazil (and it was fabulous). Even my other clients keep going down there for work and play.

And, still, I've never been. A shame, really.

I picked this one for today, in honor of the Brazilians beating Cote d'Ivoire 3-1 in #WorldCup soccer yesterday.

Oh, I'm not a soccer fan. Other than one fun semester in college living on the soccer floor at Carolina, I really don't follow soccer. Yes, I know Carolina women's soccer is as storied a soccer program as you can get. But, it's not really anything I grew up with. Plus, any game that allows ties is suspect to me. Heh.

However. I do love the World Cup. Doesn't everybody? Actually, I don't love the dang vuvuzelas constant buzzing, so I tend to watch on mute. But, the two things I love about it...

The cuteboys. The cuteboys with the penchant for taking off their shirts the second the game ends. That's nice.

The second thing I love more, is how - even more so than the Olympics - how the world really seems to come together to cheer on their country. And cheer on other countries, too.

It's awesome that no matter where you are, or who you're watching with - everyone's cheering. But it's not only where you are, it's everywhere. One big Goooooooaaaaaallllll! and the streets outside are cheering. The thunder resounds up the concrete canyons here in New York, and it's just amazing.

For those few hours during the day - a couple times a day, for several days in a row, the world is a happy place. Or not, depending on which side you're on.

It's like FIFA's tagline on the field barrier says:

For the game. For the world.

Thhhhe YANKees WIN!

Magnet #813 - New York Yankees

Ya'll know I loves me some cute boys. Ya'll know I loves me some navy and white. So, put the two together, plus free tickets, and yeah, I'm there.

I'm not affiliated with any pro team. I mean, I grew up in North Carolina, so the only team we had remotely near us were the Braves, and even then, I didn't pay attention to them until college. And even then, only because the boycrowd I hung around liked 'em.

But that doesn't stop me from appreciating an MLB game, especially in one of the new stadiums in town. I mean, really, who doesn't love a gorgeous day in a ballpark. And I had so wanted to visit the park that's caused such a stir over the last few years.

Despite their still not being able to fill the seats, particularly in the lower levels, Yankee Stadium is fabulous. Even if you miss the old school feel of the old house, this one makes Baseball feel more like an Event. The concourse is wide and long, and every turn yields a new corporate sponsor or restaurant, or both. The grandstand seats were pristine and comfy. The views were spectacular. And, in its second year, it still has that new [insert cracked joke here] cement feel.

My only complaints were the extremely slow cashiers waiting for French fries to cook (really? bottom of the 2nd to the top of the 5th? really?), and the fact that if you're building facilities in the year 2010 for the self-professed best team in the history of baseball, the restrooms should be 100% sensored and with like a field of stalls. I mean, really.

But, all in all, it was a great day with good company, and even better, the Bronx Bombers kicked the snot out the Minnesota Twins - 7-1. Yay!

Next stop: CitiField.

What?

eta:
In a totally shallow note, how pretty is this bottle-opener magnet, particularly on this green background?

Just the two of us

Magnet #722 - Cyprus

A friend of mine had her friend bring this back for me from their travels to Cyprus. It's so pretty and blue. Mind you, it took me forever to realize that it was Cyprus, and not Ceylon/Sri Lanka. I was all excited because I was like, hey! Duran Duran filmed videos in Sri Lanka!!!

Anyway, so Cyprus used to be a British protectorate, and is basically an island skirmished over by the Greeks and the Turks.

Cyprus is located in the Mediterranean, something like the 3rd biggest island (after Sardinia and Sicily) in the sea...and at that, it's still only a sixth of the size of Connecticut! So small!

They have a few archaeological digs there, along with a ton of superold sites, such as the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the "Tomb of the Kings," which dates back to the Hellenistic/early Roman period. It's amazing how islands date back this far, makes you wonder how many uncharted islands out there have history even further back.

So far, this is one of my most exotic magnets, so I'm happy to count it as one of my own. I picked it for today, because I saw it and wondered if the Cypriots were fielding an Olympic team. And they are!

Check it out! Two Alpine skiers, Christopher Papamichalopoulos, and his sister (!!!), Sophia Papamichalopoulos.

Of course, I haven't figured out where they train, but dang, that's pretty cool. I wonder if they have to room together.

Toro, toro, toro!

Magnet #703 - Bullfight Poster

My friend brought this back for me from Barcelona a while ago, and I had to do a little research to figure out what it was, besides a vintage bullfight poster, and a cool one at that.

Here's what I found: Plaza de Toros Monumental is a bullring in Barcelona - and it's gorgeous! Built in 1914, it seats a good 19,500 people. I saw somewhere that the city of Barcelona is officially against bullfighting, and this ring is the only place you can actually see a bullfight in town.

While you're there, you can check out the Museum of Bullfighting as well - apparently, it's filled with costumes and heads of famous bulls (sniffle) and various bullfighting paraphernalia, like tickets and posters, etc.

This vintage fight poster actually calls out one of the greats in the sport, Sebastian "Palomo Linares" whom you can see here, later on in life, I believe.

Even though bullfighting can trace its roots back to prehistoric times, I really can't figure out if it's something that I'd want to see in person or not.

First, when it comes to dangerous sporting events, I'm a chicken. I can't even watch divers in the Olympics anymore, thanks to Greg Louganis. (I was totally gonna link that infamous dive, but I couldn't stomach watching it again.)

Second, while I'm sure it takes great skill to avoid being gored by the bull, it always just seems really mean to be tossing that red cape in front of them, trying to get them to charge. I can't guarantee that I wouldn't be on the bull's side, ya know?

Still, today's magnet is supercool, and now I've learned a little bit about the sport. That's probably for the better, given that all I really knew about bullfighting, I learned from Harvey Korman in Herbie Goes Bananas, circa 1980, where Herbie finds himself smack dab in the middle of a bullring in Mexico, trying to fend off a big bull, and the bad guys, all at once.

Such a great movie! Oh, I know Bananas is one of the most deplored of the series, but it's still one of my favorites.

And, c'mon. Who doesn't love a good Herbie movie?

It all seems so unfair! Just when I found you, I lost you!*

Magnet #371 - Sports Museum of America

Noooooooooo! They closed the Sports Museum of America! Nooooooooo, say it ain't so!

I'm so freakin' devastated by this news, you have no idea.

To be fair, I have to admit that when I first saw the advertising for it last year (what little there was of it), I wasn't all that interested in going. Then I saw that the asking price was $27, and I was totally not interested.

While I love going to games and watching boys play sports, or staying at home and watching boys watch boys play sports, I'm just a Carolina basketball fan. The rest of sportsdom (outside of the Summer Olympics, and [shirtless] Karch Kiraly and his volleyball playing/judging/commentating), I'm just not a huge sportsfan.

But, upon watching their sizzle reel (I swear, who thinks sizzle reels don't work?) my sister insisted on going, and they had dropped their prices down to $16, and it was in the Standard Oil building (which I love), so we went.

And (second to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex) the SMA became one of my favorite museums in Manhattan. I freakin' loved this museum. We went on a Thursday, and we were the only ones there - which should have been our first sign. We literally saw maybe ten people during our three hours there.

But what fun did we have. Seriously. We got to:

• hog the Heisman Trophy all to ourselves.
• watch their opening video of the greatest moments in sports history twice. And alone. Great video, but Jenny was mad that they didn't include the stupid 2.1-seconds left historical shot that Christian Laettner made to win that Kentucky game, which I saw at the Carolina student union, booing the whole way through. I mean, even Ashley Judd (who, by the way has a great quote about being an obnoxious UK fan under the UK exhibit), has to admit, it was a sweet shot.
  
• play the interactive soccer game. Twice.
• hold ARod's bat. Now we understand why the steroids. I hadn't a clue bats were so heavy.
  
• pretend to be a hockey player on the ice.
• compete in an interactive round of sports trivia.
  
• see a ton of Olympic medals and memorabilia.
• see a ton of just superdupercool general sports memorabilia.
  
• timed ourselves on a balance board, to pretend we were skiing.
• touch basketballs in rapid succession to test our reaction times. I'm awesome, in case you ever want to play one-on-one.
  
• practice our balance beam routines, just like when we did them across the folded blanket and/or sofa for the 84, 88 and probably 92 Olympics.

But the best thing we got to do (made even better because no one was around) - we got to put on the headsets, roll the videotape, and call one of the greatest games in history - Joe Starkey's Call of the 1982 Cal/Stanford Big Game:

Alright here we go with the kick-off. Harmon will probably try to squib it and he does. Ball comes loose and the Bears have to get out of bounds. Rogers along the sideline, another one...they're still in deep trouble at midfield, they tried to do a couple of....the ball is still loose as they get it to Rogers. They get it back to the 30, they're down to the 20...Oh the band is out on the field!! He's gonna go into the endzone!!! He got into the endzone!! Will it count? The Bears have scored but the bands are out on the field.

...The Bears, believe it or not, took it all the way into the endzone. If the penalty is against Stanford, California would win the game. If it is not, the game is over and Stanford has won. We've heard no decision yet. Everybody is milling around on the FIELD!!! AND THE BEARS!!! THE BEARS HAVE WON!!! THE BEARS HAVE WON!!! Oh my God, the most amazing, sensational, traumatic, heart rending... exciting thrilling finish in the history of college football! California has won...the Big Game...over Stanford. Oh excuse me for my voice, but I have never, never seen anything like it in the history of I have ever seen any game in my life! The Bears have won it!

I have never had so much fun at a museum in my entire life. Seriously.

Which is why I'm taking the news about its demise so badly. Do you know that the very next day, I went to work and told at least a handful of boys to go visit it. And now they're closed!

I know it's expensive - it had to be, they spent $93 million to build it! I know it's a crap location, I know there was no advertising (heh, the founder said their crack ad campaign resulted in 95% of NYC residents not knowing about it), but people! Come on!

This is a museum devoted to most of America's national pasttimes!!! Without regard for collegiate or pro, bowling or soccer, NASCAR or Tobacco Road basketball, male or female. How can you not visit - it's practically unAmerican!

Or course, I'm not going to lie, there are things that I would change.

• The cost. It was good they brought it down to $16. It's still a little steep.
  
• The location. Even though I love the wonderfully designed Standard Oil building (curved at the base, but with a tower that was designed to be in line with the Broadway skyline in order not to mess up the sightlines), its location at the tip of Manhattan across from the Charging Bull, is just not the best location ever.
• The signage. Because you're in that gorgeous Standard Oil building, you can't mess it up with supercool signage. No one knows you're there! SMA's the most undercover museum I've ever seen.
  
• The displays. They need to run in there and actually look into some of the displays - some of the wallpaper was falling down.
• The swag. Ok, that's unfair. They have some great swag. I was just sad that this wasn't a real magnet.
• The marketing. I'm a NYC resident and I just happened to find out because a taxi drove by me while I was on a bus. The boys I mentioned it to - boys, mind you - didn't even know of such a museum. Come back, I'll work on your ad campaign for free.
  

Please, oh, please, I just hope some private investor (like I dunno, any ten of the people whose medals and memorabilia are actually featured in the museum) comes to save the day. It's such a fantastic museum, it's a shame to see it go the way of Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium the dodo bird.

*Kudos to those who actually get this obscure reference to one of my favorite movies of all time. Shut it. I write a blog on magnets. Really? You're judging me for what's behind this link? C'mon. (6:04 for the beginning of this song, but 8:10 for the actual reference to the title. And yes, as soon as I find an appropriate magnet, there will be bloggage on that movie.)

There'll be another Carolina victory

Magnet #346 - Basketball Hall of Fame Joy

So I tried to look up who had more folks in the Basketball Hall of Fame - Carolina or Duke.

Then I saw this headline from SI.com, and thought, eh, who cares. Hehehehe. In the words of one of my guys at work, good win.

Of course, it's that same guy who faithfully reports the Carolina scores to me after every game. I always feel bad, because I'm a big Tar Heel fan, but I rarely watch the games.

Here's why: When I started watching the game, the score started to plummet, and Dook was up at the half. Then I skipped the rest of the game, and we won 101-87.

See how much power I have? I know! So, that's me, takin' one for the team.

If you have a chance, definitely head up to Springfield, MA, for the Hall of Fame. It's a terrific building, but also, a really great set up. It's kinda like the Guggenheim - you just take the elevator up to the top, and the work your way down the chronological order of the inductees. I love looking at the memorabilia from the players and coaches. Make sure you go with enough time to spend, and with no kiddie distractions.

A bit pricey, but worth going if you're at all a basketball fan.

Oh! And since you're in the neighborhood, definitely check out the nearby Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden and the museums surrounding it.

Way to go, Steelers! Way to go!

Magnet #346 - Black and Gold Smiley

'Nuff said.

What? Work with me. How many Steelers magnets did you think I would own?

Head over to Cotter's Steelers blog for all of the highlights.

Though what a freakin' amazing game that was.

Congrats, Steeler Nation!

Here we go, Steelers! Here we go!

Magnet #345 - Pittsburgh Steelers

Yep. Game Day.

My best friend's husband is the biggest Steelers fan in Salisbury.

North Carolina.

Which means that whenever you see his giant gold truck tearin' around town, with the license plate Blitzburgh, you know it's him. I think he bleeds black and gold. And, it's funny, because my BFF wasn't ever a big pro ball fan, but now, she's built up quite a collection of Steelerwear, so that she'll be just as tricked out as he is on game day.

So, of course, I thought of them when I was lucky enough to snag my friend's season tickets a couple years ago.

They met me in Pittsburgh, having driven all night in the snow to get there.

I don't know why none of us thought about it, but halfway through our day roaming around Pittsburgh, we sort of realized that we were shamefully unprepared for any sort of tailgating. Which meant that we spent a good portion of the night before looking for what we could take with us the next day. At some point, we were debating tracking down a Kmart or Target to find a hibachi grill. Thank goodness we didn't. Instead, we headed for the first liquor store we could find, and managed to find whatever liquidstuffs would keep us warm at gametime.

The next morning, we managed to find a great place to park, and then wandered into the parking lot. OML, I don't think we were quite prepared for the level of Steeler-crazy tailgating. Jeez, those people know how to tailgate. Seriously, they don't play. Loud music, plenty of booze and food, and tons of black and gold.

Watching my BFF's husband roam around the parking lots, it was like he had found his people. Very sweet. Meanwhile, my BFF and I sat in the truck, guzzling as much liquor as we could to fortify ourselves for the weather. It was snowing. It was cold. And I could not tell you about the second half. All I know is that we lost. And that perhaps finishing off a bottle of that girly Alize blue stuff was probably not a good idea.

Nevertheless, totally a fun weekend in Pittsburgh.

Let's hope they turn Tampa upside down today.

Anyway, real pretty Steelers magnet, huh? But for the real scoop on the real Steelers, check out Cotter's real Steelers blog.

eta:
My sister reminded me yesterday of one of my favorite Loveswepts (ok, I admit, they're all my favorites). But this one was about a couple - both Steelers fans - that get together, so that they could win Steeler playoff tickets. I'd forgotten about it, but looks like the Smart Bitches, Trashy Books blog didn't.

I suppose Donna (and us, her editors, copyeditors and proofreaders) got some of the football stuff wrong, but c'mon. You gotta give it to me for a fantastic cover.

Home is where the Steelers are

Magnet #344 - Heinz Field

Wherever I go, whenever I can fit it in, I love taking stadium tours. My only true allegiance is with Carolina Tar Heel basketball, so it doesn't matter what team or sport the stadium is for, I just love touring the venues.

There's something majestic about quietly standing in the stands without the loud cheering crowds, while looking down at a field without a single player. And, it's way cool to stand on the 50-yard line even though you can't catch a football, or be in the locker rooms without the boys in it (though, I wouldn't mind if the boys were in it), and hang out in the press boxes or private boxes to see how the other half watch the games.

Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, has one of the best tours out there. Highly recommended - no, it's not Three Rivers, but even if you're a sometime fan, you can still feel the history of Steelers past on this site.

They traipsed us all over the stadium grounds - it was fantastic. We totally weren't allowed on the field - our tour was during the season, so they didn't want a bunch of tourists messing up the grass. But, I still managed to steal a couple of blades of grass for a friend of mine - that's me, the rule-breaker. Heh.

They also walked us under the giant ketchup bottles, which reminded me of the giant Coke bottles over at Turner in Atlanta.

Still, we were up in the private boxes - cushy-cushy snap, it's a great view from up there. And in the private lounge areas, and just above their little players private dining area. We went into a couple of famous people's boxes, and the real Steelers fans that we were with, were completely bowled over by being allowed in. I'm not gonna lie, while I was excited for them, it totally flew over my head.

At least until we went through their Steelers hall of fame area, where we were able to take time to look at the memorablia and read about the great players and coaches. Totally learned a lot more just wandering through there. And bonus, we were with maybe 15 people, rather than 15,000.

Oh, and the little shop! Dudes, how fun to run around and pick up tons of Steeler stuff without having to fight your way through mobs of people! Somehow, even though I myself am not a huge fan, I ended up dropping a ton of money anyway. Heh, I even picked up a Terrible Towel for my boss, not knowing the significance.

WHAT? I said I wasn't a huge fan! And now I know, okay? Now I get it.

Well, I know enough to theme this Superbowl weekend with Steeler magnets, anyway.

But, for the real scoop on what's the haps with the Steelers, definitely check out Cotter's One for the Other Thumb blog. He'll get ya educated.