So this showed up on the Jealous Curator today. You can see more of where that came from here.
Brandon Vogel
A reckless number of interests carefully considered.
The best sports story of 2012
I know we’re only 11 days in but the best sports story of 2012 has already been written. It’s Thomas Lake’s profile of Clifton ‘Pop’ Herring for Sports Illustrated. Who is Pop Herring? The Wilmington, N.C. high school basketball coach who famously “cut” Michael Jordan as a sophomore at Laney High.
I, like Lake in the story, use “cut” because, as a child who was infatuated with Jordan and reading, I never really bought the story of how Michael Jordan didn’t end up on varsity as a 5-10 sophomore. He was a sophomore. He did grow eight inches by the time he went to college. There are any number of strategic decisions that would’ve made cutting Jordan feasible. I knew all of these things as a 12-year-old who adored “Come Fly With Me” and would regularly watch 70-plus NBA games a year, but needing a big man — the actual explanation — will never trump cutting the eventual best basketball player in the world. That’s a hook that will grab even non-sports fans’ interest.
That Jordan, the most ruthlessly competitive athlete we’ve ever seen, used the snub to become the greatest basketball player in the world also made for a convenient backstory. But thirty years on from when Jordan first emerged on the national scene as a freshman at North Carolina, nobody had ever stopped to ask one simple question: Was it actually true? That led to a better question: What ever happened to Pop Herring b.k.a. “The Man Who Cut Michael Jordan?”
It’s not a story, like so many sports stories, of an extraordinary triumph over unbelievable odds. It’s an ordinary story of an ordinary life the was, to this point, known only as a plot point in the vast machine-made mythos of Michael Jordan. That’s why it’s the best sports story of the year.
Things you can buy me for Christmas
Happy Black Friday, all. It’s time to start buying in the name of worldwide bonhomie/obligation. Should the Internet/Santa need some ideas here are a bunch of things most people wouldn’t think to give me. (Though I’m still all for well-conceived surprises.)
Bay State Tartan Scarf
I remember fondly my time in Massachusetts and nothing encapsulates this better than the official tartan of the Bay State. The blues are for the oceans, the greens are for some hills, tan is for Cape Cod beaches or something and red is for Curt Schilling’s sock. Quite confident that I’ll be the only person in Omaha with this scarf and, even better, it’s a steal at only $27.50.
Nebraska @ Michigan – Photos
Now that all the Big Ten road trips are done, I’d rank them this way in terms of desirability: 1) Wisconsin, 2) Michigan, 3) Minnesota (a narrow loss to the other UM), 4) Penn State. I’ll explain precisely why at a later date.
National Anthem
Northwestern @ Nebraska – Photos
Nebraska has had troubling home losses under Pelini before, but none of the previous five had come this late in the season. A crippling loss? Perhaps. Lot of Husker fans rooting for Hawkeyes this week. What is the world coming to?
Last stand?
Michigan State @ Nebraska – Photos
The 11 a.m. kickoff begat chili and cinnamon rolls. With apologies to the Runza – or all the various homemade iterations of the same (my grandma called them cabbage burgers) – I’m nominating the seemingly odd combination as the official foodstuff of Nebraska. As for the football, it essentially went like this: Nebraska’s season could have ended on Saturday. Instead it begins.
Chili & Cinnamon Roll at Memorial Stadium
The Worst of the Best of Big O Awards
All 320+ of the Best Steakhouses in Omaha
I have an on-going battle with Omaha’s potential. Will it ever be a world-class city? No. Will it ever be a hidden American gem of a city? Some would argue that it already is. The argument (and NPR trend pieces) typically involve the following words in some sort of order: Slowdown, Saddle Creek, creative class, NoDo, young professionals, Old Market, Bright Eyes, Cursive, indie, artists, Film Streams.
Those are the most widely known things and people making Omaha better. More importantly, they’re giving Omaha a distinct sense of self. They’re giving the city things that you can’t get anywhere else which, in the grand scheme of things, is why people love places like Austin, Portland, Milwaukee and Nashville, not to mention the already well-established “world-class cities” (Chicago, New York, San Franscisco, et al). They have things that are unique. There is a core group of people devoted to developing that in Omaha, but it’s hard work. As evidence of how hard it is, I offer you this:
According to the just-released, 11th annual Best of Big O awards the best steakhouse in Omaha is Texas Roadhouse.
