Pardon my absence, but I was busy experiencing the most Magical Place on Earth for the very first time.
Yes folks, I’d made it 30 years on this planet without having ever been to Disney World. And yes, I was missing out on a very cool experience. And yes, I don’t need to go back for quite awhile. It was an amazing week, but I don’t think I’ve ever been so tired in my life. I knew I’d be walking a lot, but holy smokes I think I hit over 12,000 steps every single day. What surprised me more than anything was how much of my week was spent waiting in line for experiences that often lasted less than three minutes. Was it a little disappointing? Maybe. That being said, the Stars Wars part of Hollywood Studies was outstanding and easily my favorite part of the trip. I’m not even a huge Star Wars fan and I was blown away. The only part I didn’t like was me getting pretty severe motion sickness on the Smugglers Run ride. Like, I couldn’t walk when I got off and my boyfriend was literally propping me up while we exited the ride. Pro tip: if you get motion sickness, don’t be the pilot. Chewbacca would’ve been super pissed if I’d have yakked in the Millennium Falcon…
Anyway, I haven’t watched a lot of sports in the last ten days. I caught a quarter or two of football and a few innings of baseball, but that’s it. I was too tired in the evenings to watch anything and fell asleep before 10pm almost every night. So, that being said, there won’t be a whole lot of sports analysis in my post today, mostly just a few thoughts and reactions from the last ten days…
The World Series match-up is set!
There was a point last week where I was really nervous we would have a Dodgers-Red Sox World Series and I was fully prepared to have an epic meltdown on Twitter. Thankfully, and much to my petty glee, both teams completely melted down in spectacular fashion. I don’t hide my distaste for the Dodgers, AKA the arch enemies of my pathetic Diamondbacks, so I am thrilled they won’t be winning the Fall Classic this year. And beyond that, it’ll be very interesting to see what they do in the off-season, as many of their main pieces are free agents (including aces Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw). I’m also happy the red-hot Red Sox quite literally shit the bed against Houston and came back down the earth. Now, we get to enjoy the Braves and the Astros in the World Series, and y’all already know I’m rooting for the Braves. My step-grandparents live just outside of Atlanta, so I do have a small rooting interest. Mostly, I just want to see Joc Pederson and his pearls win.
The Bengals are delightful
Did I have the Cincinnati Bengals starting the season 5-2 on my 2021 bingo card? Absolutely not. As of this writing, they are the number one seed in the AFC. You read that correctly. Perhaps that’s more of a testament to how much worse the AFC is than the NFC, but my goodness I am very much enjoying watching the Bengals this year. I loved Joe Burrow in college and am so happy to see him putting together a nice season after last year’s rookie campaign was cut short by an injury. Rookie WR Ja’Marr Chase has also been incredibly fun to watch and I hope they can keep it up, because I am nothing if not a sucker for an underdog storyline.
My Arizona Cardinals are STILL undefeated
And I probably just jinxed it. They are in the middle of playing the Texans at home, so they are probably going to find a bizarre way to lose to one of the worst teams in football. I am also giddy about the trade they made for Eagles tight end Zach Ertz, who’s already making plays in his first game with the team:
I’m riding this train as long as possible, because it’s all likely going to come crashing down in a spectacular way. It’s not that I don’t think this team is good, because they really are, but as an AZ sports fan, I’m just trained to expect the worst all the time.
Anti-Vax protests have started in Brooklyn
When Kyrie Irving decided to be a knucklehead and refuse the COVID vaccine, we all knew the crazies would come out. Folks who don’t give a damn about basketball and probably wouldn’t even recognize Kyrie on the street are busy protesting at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
I’m knew this malarkey would happen, but it’s still beyond frustrating. People can do what they want with their bodies; get vaxxed or don’t, that’s your right. But actions have consequences, and Kyrie not getting vaccinated means he can’t play in home games, and his team very fairly decided they don’t want a part-time player on their roster. My mom works in a hospital in rural North Carolina and at the end of the month her hospital system is firing those who aren’t vaccinated. She’s very concerned with how many nurses they will lose because they don’t want to get vaccinated. What a stupid hill to (possibly literally) die on. Hospitals are still inundated with COVID patients, and my mom told me infected couples are having to share ventilators because the recent surge in her town has left the hospital totally strapped for resources. It’s mind-boggling how medical professionals can see that and still think to themselves “nah, I’m gonna take my chances with this horrible virus and lose my livelihood while I’m at it”. So sure, protest Kyrie Irving’s inability to play, but remember it’s his choice and you shouldn’t feel bad for him. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
Washington State football head coach Nick Rolovich loses his job
And can you guess why? Because he’s a state employee who refused to get vaccinated and he was terminated because the state of Washington put a vaccine mandate in place. HE GAVE UP OVER $3 MILLION A YEAR BECAUSE HE DIDN’T WANT TO GET ONE SHOT. Can I have his forfeited salary? Or better yet can we get it donated to families in the state of Washington who have lost family members to COVID? Can you tell how annoyed I am with folks who are refusing these vaccines?
There were other stories that warrant mentioning, particularly the Ben Simmons saga in Philly. I want to reflect on that more, but I want to get a little more information before I start spouting off my own thoughts and opinions. And I know my dad and sister have a vested rooting interest since they reside in Philadelphia, so I want make sure my facts are straight. Maybe later this week I can put something up, but at this rate some other wild story will likely come out and I’ll have a reaction to that, too. Sports news seems to be breaking left and right these days!