Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Nummer Eins - Ein Deutscher Anlasser
Hallo! Ich heiße Blaise. Ich bin ein Student an der Uni Stephen F. Austin State Universität. Ich studiere Politikwissenschaft. Ich komme aus Houston, Texas und ich bin dreiundzwangig Jahre alt. Ich liebe Fußball speilen! Ich bin Eintracht Frankfurt-Fan. Ich koche nicht so gern. Ich habe einen Bruder. Er heißt Tyler. Meinen Vater heißt Allen und meine Mutter heißt Evelyn. Wir sind aus Louisiana, originell. Ich möchte in Louisiana später wohnen.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Go Marching In
The Saints are going to the Super Bowl. WHO 'DAT?
I've been a Saints fan since as far back as I can remember. We used to be known as the team anybody would want to play, simply because everyone could half ass it and still beat us. Not anymore, this past season The Saints were considered one of the best teams in the NFL. For people like me, we're finally getting what we wanted, a trip to the big one.
However, on this joyous occasion, it brings to mind a few things I don't like about the NFL.
Firstly, here in America people tend to call the winner of the Super Bowl the "World Champion." On what world level did they compete? At least sports like Hockey and Baseball include some teams in Canada, but the most the NFL does in any kind of "worldly" sense is host one game over in London. There are (that I know of) European and Canadian leagues, and though I know they would never stand a chance at beating even the worst of America teams, to be able to call yourself World Champion you would have to at least play these teams. I'm just saying.
On Sunday, I watched the Saints almost lose to the Vikings (which probably would have been the outcome if the game was longer). The Saints held off the Vikings and took the game into overtime. What happened next blew my mind. The referee explained the overtime rules of the NFL to each team captain. The rules were that the first team to score was the winner. In what way does this reflect any of the hard work put into this game (or any other for that matter) by either team? The Saints marched down the field and kicked a 40+ yard (very impressive I might add) field goal to win the game 31-28. Don't get me wrong, I love the outcome, but at the same time, it was all just anti-climatic.
College football rules on overtime are slightly better, but not really. Each team gets the ball to start on the opponents 25 yard line. They then attempt to score. When each team has been given its chance, the team who gained the most points wins. If it is still tied, the game continues with these overtime rules until a winner is reached.
What I don't get is why is it so hard to just play another freakin' two quarters of football, maybe even at a reduced time (say 7:30, half of an original quarter) and declare a winner at the end of that. That way each team has a fair chance to win the game based on the original rules in which the game was written. Simple. Then maybe, MAYBE, at the end of those two quarters if no winner is determined they can move to the shootout style of the college system... maybe.
All in all, GEAUX SAINTS!!!
I've been a Saints fan since as far back as I can remember. We used to be known as the team anybody would want to play, simply because everyone could half ass it and still beat us. Not anymore, this past season The Saints were considered one of the best teams in the NFL. For people like me, we're finally getting what we wanted, a trip to the big one.
However, on this joyous occasion, it brings to mind a few things I don't like about the NFL.
Firstly, here in America people tend to call the winner of the Super Bowl the "World Champion." On what world level did they compete? At least sports like Hockey and Baseball include some teams in Canada, but the most the NFL does in any kind of "worldly" sense is host one game over in London. There are (that I know of) European and Canadian leagues, and though I know they would never stand a chance at beating even the worst of America teams, to be able to call yourself World Champion you would have to at least play these teams. I'm just saying.
On Sunday, I watched the Saints almost lose to the Vikings (which probably would have been the outcome if the game was longer). The Saints held off the Vikings and took the game into overtime. What happened next blew my mind. The referee explained the overtime rules of the NFL to each team captain. The rules were that the first team to score was the winner. In what way does this reflect any of the hard work put into this game (or any other for that matter) by either team? The Saints marched down the field and kicked a 40+ yard (very impressive I might add) field goal to win the game 31-28. Don't get me wrong, I love the outcome, but at the same time, it was all just anti-climatic.
College football rules on overtime are slightly better, but not really. Each team gets the ball to start on the opponents 25 yard line. They then attempt to score. When each team has been given its chance, the team who gained the most points wins. If it is still tied, the game continues with these overtime rules until a winner is reached.
What I don't get is why is it so hard to just play another freakin' two quarters of football, maybe even at a reduced time (say 7:30, half of an original quarter) and declare a winner at the end of that. That way each team has a fair chance to win the game based on the original rules in which the game was written. Simple. Then maybe, MAYBE, at the end of those two quarters if no winner is determined they can move to the shootout style of the college system... maybe.
All in all, GEAUX SAINTS!!!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Introductory Rites
Since this is my first blog, I figured I'd explain a little bit about not only myself but the reason I'm actually doing this thing. Firstly, this is a blog for my German class, hence the German name. No I'm not from Germany. Yes I am part German. No I'm not from an area of the United States known for it's heavy German population. I'm from a small town called Gonzales, Louisiana, it's right outside of Baton Rouge...kinda.
Our professor, Dr. Stoehr, decided on having us do blogs this semester as part of our German class, so this blog will be written partly in English (as I intend to keep it after the class) and partly in German, perhaps with an English translation for those who saw the practicality in taking Spanish.
A bit about myself, I'm the kind of guy who can light up a room just by flicking a switch (thank you Unknown for that quote). Generally, I'm one of those consistently quiet until you know me kind of guys. I'm also one hell of a sarcastic s.o.b. so maybe you don't want to get to know me. I love Football, the European kind. Don't get me wrong I love the American stuff too, being American and all, but the European kind (Soccer as the States call it) is just a different kind of game.
I love to talk about things nobody wants to ever talk about, politics and religion. The reason I like these topics is best summed up like this: The only thing that sustains one through life is the consciousness of the immense inferiority of everybody else, and this is a feeling that I have always cultivated. -Oscar Wilde
I find that the more I debate people on these two topics, the more I find people to be... whats the word? Stupid? Yes. Uneducated, stupid, ideological, etc. Speaking of politics though, it must be mentioned that I'm a Political Science major and that I plan to live in a box with the piece of paper that is my degree continually cursing the masses of voters who choose not to learn.
Moving on, I believe I need to suffice an explanation to my America readers (whoever you may be) about the name of my blog, why you can't read it, and why Google Translate won't help you. The name of it is in fact German (fancy that). It means "The Eagles Fan." For all of you holier than thou Dallas Cowboys fans, my blogs name is in no way a reference to a game played quite like rugby but with less action and more pads, the team that plays that game, the league they play in, or anything in this Hemisphere for that matter. The name derives itself from the Football (Soccer, yanks) team Eintracht Frankfurt. One of their nicknames is "The Eagles." So that is my explanation for that. You could not (until very recently) read it because you've probably never taken a German class. In fact, you probably still can't read it, you can just associate the image it is with it's meaning in English. You might also believe (depending on if you're a history major or not) that America officially kicked Germany's ass in two wars. You may also view Germans as rigid, angry, beer drinkers who generally hate other people. Should these be your views, I invite you to enroll yourself in your nearest high school and finish your education. Then maybe you can go to college, but maybe not. Google Translate won't help you because... well it just won't. I believe that's settled.
Anyway, like I said this is the first time I've ever done this, so we'll see how it goes.
Our professor, Dr. Stoehr, decided on having us do blogs this semester as part of our German class, so this blog will be written partly in English (as I intend to keep it after the class) and partly in German, perhaps with an English translation for those who saw the practicality in taking Spanish.
A bit about myself, I'm the kind of guy who can light up a room just by flicking a switch (thank you Unknown for that quote). Generally, I'm one of those consistently quiet until you know me kind of guys. I'm also one hell of a sarcastic s.o.b. so maybe you don't want to get to know me. I love Football, the European kind. Don't get me wrong I love the American stuff too, being American and all, but the European kind (Soccer as the States call it) is just a different kind of game.
I love to talk about things nobody wants to ever talk about, politics and religion. The reason I like these topics is best summed up like this: The only thing that sustains one through life is the consciousness of the immense inferiority of everybody else, and this is a feeling that I have always cultivated. -Oscar Wilde
I find that the more I debate people on these two topics, the more I find people to be... whats the word? Stupid? Yes. Uneducated, stupid, ideological, etc. Speaking of politics though, it must be mentioned that I'm a Political Science major and that I plan to live in a box with the piece of paper that is my degree continually cursing the masses of voters who choose not to learn.
Moving on, I believe I need to suffice an explanation to my America readers (whoever you may be) about the name of my blog, why you can't read it, and why Google Translate won't help you. The name of it is in fact German (fancy that). It means "The Eagles Fan." For all of you holier than thou Dallas Cowboys fans, my blogs name is in no way a reference to a game played quite like rugby but with less action and more pads, the team that plays that game, the league they play in, or anything in this Hemisphere for that matter. The name derives itself from the Football (Soccer, yanks) team Eintracht Frankfurt. One of their nicknames is "The Eagles." So that is my explanation for that. You could not (until very recently) read it because you've probably never taken a German class. In fact, you probably still can't read it, you can just associate the image it is with it's meaning in English. You might also believe (depending on if you're a history major or not) that America officially kicked Germany's ass in two wars. You may also view Germans as rigid, angry, beer drinkers who generally hate other people. Should these be your views, I invite you to enroll yourself in your nearest high school and finish your education. Then maybe you can go to college, but maybe not. Google Translate won't help you because... well it just won't. I believe that's settled.
Anyway, like I said this is the first time I've ever done this, so we'll see how it goes.
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