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sgtwolvehttp://blog.burrillstrong.com/

Busy football weekend

1)Raindrops keep falling on my helmet
On Saturday, Michigan played Central Michigan at the Big House, and the game made history.  Rather, the skies made history.  In the middle of the first half, a thunderstorm caused the officials to halt the game and send the teams to the locker rooms.  Believe it or not, according to the University of Michigan, a weather delay has never before happened in over 75 seasons of football at Michigan Stadium.

Really, as thunderstorms go, the electrical side of it wasn’t very severe.  The rain was heavy, but the lightning wasn’t too bad.  But college rules are similar to Michigan high school rules: a lightning strike in the area requires officials to suspend the game, and the game cannot resume until 30 minutes after the last lightning strike.  Fortunately, the storm passed quickly, and the delay lasted only about an hour.

However, when the heavy rain hit, it became abundantly clear that a true emergency at the stadium would result in complete chaos.  The stadium announcer told the crowd to seek shelter, and most complied (probably because they wanted to get out of the rain, not because they were concerned about lightning) … at least, they tried to comply.  But with so many people trying to leave at once, the exits were the equivalent of the city streets during the getaway scene in The Italian Job when they’re changing all the traffic lights to cause problems.  The stadium has enough trouble with normal traffic in and out; with everyone trying to leave at once, it was even worse.

It was bad enough that I saw two choices: I could sit in my seat and get wet, or I could stand in line to leave and get wet.  If I stood in line, my seat would also get wet; if I stayed, at least I’d have a dry place to sit after the storm.  So I stayed.

Some thought I might have been one player short of an offensive line as I watched a thunderstorm … from the top row of the stadium … wearing a metal helmet.  But my helmet was keeping my head dry, and around the rim of the stadium there were a number of flagpoles to distract the lightning.  In the end, the lightning looked the other way, and I just got wet.  But my clothes dried by the end of the game, so that wasn’t a big problem.

However, even with all the excitement and history of the day, Michigan still failed to cover the spread.  Amazing.

2)So close!
I am always hoping to have a perfect football weekend, during which the teams I follow (Chelsea [freshmen, JV, varsity], Michigan, Detroit) go 5-0.  This weekend was within a couple plays of happening.  Chelsea went 3-0 against Tecumseh and Michigan beat Central, and the Lions and Seahawks were tied at 6 with time winding down in the fourth quarter.  But the Lions couldn’t make one more stop, and as time expired, Seattle hit a field goal to win the game 9-6.

Ah, well.  There are six more weeks to try for a perfect football weekend.

(But this coming weekend does not look good, since Adrian is always a struggle for all three Chelsea teams, Michigan plays Notre Dame in South Bend, and Detroit has to play the Bears — coming off a shutout of Green Bay at Lambeau — in Chicago.)

In every game, be this our aim, V-I-C-T-O-R-Y: Week 3 vs. Tecumseh

Chelsea High School Football record through week 3: 7-2 (3-0 week 3; 5-1 SEC).

Not much drama this week, as Tecumseh is enduring a serious down cycle right now, while Chelsea is enjoying a serious up cycle; all three levels defeated the Indians fairly easily.

Troubling: the varsity played a sloppy game. I know it was not expected to be much of a contest, so I can see why they might have played a bit loose. But Adrian is next on the schedule, and Chelsea can afford no serious mistakes against a team like Adrian. I hope their Tecumseh game habits don’t carry over to the next game.

Amusing: McClendon nearly broke one kick return, but on his way to the end zone, he was caught inside the 30. The tackler poked the ball free … and Connell picked up the fumble and took it the rest of the way.

You’re smelling quite Christian today

The Detroit News published an informative article last week.

At the International Christian Retail Show, companies hawked products like Follow the Son flip flops, which leave a “Follow Jesus” imprint wherever they go, Christian Outdoorsman’s camoflauge baseball cap with a cross on the front, and Revelation Products’ Gospel Golf Balls.

Among all those relatively pedestrian products bound for religious bookstores, one product was particularly eye-catching.  Or rather, nose-catching.

Christian perfume.

The new fragrance, called Virtuous Woman, is intended to be a tool for evangelism, according to Milton Hobbs, the man behind the smell: “It should be enticing enough to provoke questions: ‘What’s that you’re wearing?’  Then you take that opportunity to speak of your faith. They’ve opened the door, and now they’re going to get it.”

There are countless jokes to make based on that product, and I’m sure most of them have already been used.  I’m not looking to make jokes; I’m just wondering if there is any way to make this sort of thing stop.  I’m tired of seeing products best suited for a Saturday Night Live spoof commercial marketed instead as a serious product; I’m tired of fighting through a river of what some call “Jesus Junk.”  I just want to be Christian without being told to buy Christian.  I want to be able to say the word “Christian” and have it mean people, not things.

I do not want to look, sound or smell Christian; I want to BE a Christian.

Out on a called strike

Update: the Detroit teacher strike continues, and the district has elected to cancel school until the dispute is resolved.  Obviously, nobody is particularly happy about it.  Here’s my current thought: there is no possible way this situation can be justified as being for the good of the students.  None.  It has been a while since I have seen anyone trot out that line (like “this isn’t about money; this is about educating the children”); if anyone tries to say this strike is about the children, that person should be laughed out of town.  This strike lost all student-related justification the moment students became unable to go to school.

It is worth noting that there are other area districts that have not yet settled on a contract, but they have reported to work.  Those teachers have shown that they value students over contracts; Detroit teachers have demonstrated the opposite.

“Really good karaoke”

I was angry this morning.

Most mornings, I am too busy not sleeping to entertain real emotions; I try to save those for later in the day. But this morning presented a significant exception.

As usual, the radio was playing in the background as I was eating and preparing for work; this morning, it was tuned to WMUZ, and they were playing their usual assortment of songs. And then I heard a new one.

Well, at first I thought I was actually hearing an old one, but I knew that couldn’t be the case. I thought I was hearing Jeff Buckley‘s Hallelujah, a song written by Leonard Cohen, but I knew there was no chance WMUZ would ever play Hallelujah. Upon a closer listen, I discovered I was hearing Hallelujah … but I wasn’t. I was hearing Lincoln Brewster‘s rewrite of the song, called Another Hallelujah.

As I listened to the song and discovered that he had almost completely rewritten the song — retaining only one or two lines and the chorus of a repeated “hallelujah” — I became angry. I was angry because he had blatantly taken a beautiful, haunting, compelling song and turned it into a sanitized church-ready song.

If there were to be anything positive in Brewster’s song, it would be his efforts to make the song sound like Buckley’s performance; for most of the song, he continued those efforts. But my anger increased toward the end of the song, when he abandoned the quiet, haunting sound of Buckley’s Hallelujah in favor of a full rock band conclusion. It was not just that he failed to stay faithful to the song he hijacked; it was also that the high-energy conclusion failed to fit the mood of the rest of the song. Following the song, the WMUZ morning hosts confirmed that I was not the only one to feel that way, saying a caller complimented the song but expressed dismay at the mismatched ending.

For the most part, my anger has subsided, but I continue to consider Brewster’s rewrite to be utterly outrageous and ill-conceived. Religious music already has its critics, and Brewster carelessly handed a substantial grenade to those critics. Cover the existing song as it is written or write an entirely new song, but please, don’t rewrite an existing song to make the lyrics work for religious radio. To do so is a sad display of some of the biggest faults of — and restrictions on — the creative culture within the Christian community.

Lincoln Brewster, and others: instead of redecorating other songwriters’ houses, please, build your own musical houses.

This and that

1)Lucky Strike Makes Fine Tobacco
Today is the first day of school in Detroit; the teachers are still on strike. The schools are being staffed by a minimal crew of adminstrators and volunteer parents. Yes indeed, it’s all about educating the kids … for the people who are in the classroom right now.

2)The University of Michigan announces change of school colors; the new scheme will be pink and white
No, that’s not a real announcement. But at Saturday’s game vs. Vanderbilt, I saw a woman wearing a pink and white Michigan shirt. What is the problem with wearing actual school colors? If you’re going to go to a Michigan game wearing a Michigan shirt, make it blue and yellow. Otherwise, just wear a blank pink shirt.

Related question: do any women’s professional sports teams have pink as a color? I’m curious.

Also eye-catching on Saturday at the stadium was the man wearing an original Buffalo Sabres jersey. Throwback out-of-town hockey jerseys are an uncommon sight at a Michigan football game.

3)The stress makes the day more memorable, right?
Weddings are exhausting, and they can be so even for those who are not deeply involved in them.

And that, as they say, is that.

In every game, be this our aim, V-I-C-T-O-R-Y: Week 2 vs. Bedford

Chelsea High School Football record through week 2: 4-2 (2-1 week 2; 2-1 SEC).

On Thursday, the freshmen lost at home against Bedford. In a stark contrast to the Novi game, they were tied at halftime, and the final score was 20-12. A late drive was thwarted by penalties, and by the end of the game. Still, an improvement over the previous week.

In another exciting game, the JV went back and forth with Bedford, trailing by 14 before returning a kick for a touchdown to gain momentum. They found themselves down midway through the fourth quarter, and with just over a minute left in the game, they found themselves facing a fourth and 7 inside the Bedford 20. The pass was deflected at the goal line, but the alert receiver managed to grab the ball just before it hit the ground, giving Chelsea the lead for good. (Those with a better view of the play than I told me it was not controversial, and that it seemed pretty clear that he caught the ball.) Final score: 36-33.

The varsity faced a bit of a struggle early with a strong Bedford quarterback, but as time went on they found their rhythm, and they left with a strong 31-7 victory. The offense again showed serious ability to gain yards and score points.

Eye-catching: varsity running back Nick Hill, a freshman, continues to be one of the most eye-catching elements this year; he started with a 45-yard run against Novi, and he did not slow down against Bedford. On an offense loaded with talent, he is carving out a place for himself among the upperclassmen. He is one to watch.

Also eye-catching was the JV receiver’s winning touchdown catch. Excellent awareness on a deflected pass, and a good catch.