Tag: Sports

Coffee Talk #603: Sports Jerseys, Bars, and Racism

After Vapetoberfest Saturday night, RPadholic N8R and I went to a bar to catch up with some pals from Vaping Ape LA. I was wearing a Yankee jersey for the day’s shoots and didn’t have time to change. The bouncer checked me out and asked the manager if it was okay to let me in. I had no idea what was going on. The manager scoffed at the bouncer and said, “This guy’s cool as sh*t. He’s probably never been in a fight in his entire life.” I still had no idea what was going on, until Nate explained it to me…continued

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, forgetting Japanese Kit Kats for a beautiful woman, people that have rats for service animals, or HTC claiming that its upcoming tablet will be disruptive, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

After Vapetoberfest Saturday night, RPadholic N8R and I went to a bar to catch up with some pals from Vaping Ape LA. I was wearing a Yankee jersey for the day’s shoots and didn’t have time to change. The bouncer checked me out and asked the manager if it was okay to let me in. I had no idea what was going on. The manager scoffed at the bouncer and said, “This guy’s cool as sh*t. He’s probably never been in a fight in his entire life.” I still had no idea what was going on, until Nate explained it to me.

Apparently it’s a thing that you can’t wear sports jerseys in bars — or at least nice bars in California. When I was a drunkard in New York, I spent most of my time in Irish pubs (dress code was never an issue). Since I’ve moved to California, most of my drinking has been at posh parties thrown by videogame publishers (wouldn’t wear a sports jersey to one of those) or dirty bars in San Francisco Chinatown (clothing optional). Nate explained that a bouncer friend of his said it was basically to keep certain African-American patrons out of bars. The thinking is that if an African-American wears a sports jersey to a nice bar then he must be some kind of gang banger. The manager essentially said to the bouncer, “He can wear a sports jersey in the bar because he’s Asian-American.”

While I was happy that I got into the bar so that I could see my friends, I couldn’t help thinking, “That’s f*cked up.”

I felt sheepishly ignorant that I’ve never heard of this sports jersey rule. Now that I’ve learned about it, I can’t stop thinking about how messed up it is. With that in mind, I wrote today’s column to see if you’ve encountered the “sports jersey deterrent.” Does it happen where you live? What do you think of the practice? Do you think it’s messed up? Or is it smart for bars to do this in order to keep out a certain element? Share your thoughts on sports jerseys, bars, and racism in the comments section (please!).

Alex Rodriguez Fans Are Stupid (Hispanics Across America)

I would like to congratulate Hispanics Across America for being one of the dumbest organizations in the United States. According to ESPN, the group is the driving force behind the candlelight vigil held for New York Yankees steroid abuser (and also third baseman) Alex Rodriguez. While the punishment handed down by Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig is arguably excessive, I hardly think A-Roid needs or deserves a candlelight vigil. He’s a known cheater that has made hundreds of millions of dollars playing a game. There are better causes and better people to support. In pro-wrestling terms, Hispanics Across America is doing this to get “the rub” from A-Fraud.

Already a delusional egomaniac, Rodriguez is being enabled byHispanics Across America. The group has gotten people to show love and support to an unrepentant cheater that doesn’t give a rat’s ass about them. This is a man that has kissed a mirror image of himself for a magazine cover, blasted his best friend in magazine, (allegedly) has a painting of himself as a centaur hanging in his mansion, has taken performance-enhancing drugs, said he was longer on performance-enhancing drugs, and has been caught taking them again.  Why the hell does A-Rod need a candlelight vigil?!?

There are people in America that don’t have enough food. There are people in America without homes. Due to the country’s for-profit healthcare system, there are many people that have had to declare bankruptcy because of medical costs. The unemployment rate is awful. Hispanics Across America should be helping people with those problems. Instead it’s trying to make a name for itself by supporting a millionaire cheater.

As someone that spent a lot of time and energy participating in and creating ethnic organizations, I’m embarrassed by Hispanics Across America. The group is headed up by a misguided idiot, Fernando Mateo, that’s making minorities look silly. Then again, perhaps I’m simply expecting too much from a group that has this logo on its front page.

Hispanics Accross America

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Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter Pull Mariano Rivera

Here’s an awesome video of Mariano Rivera’s last game at Yankee Stadium. Manager Joe Girardi sent Rivera’s longtime teammates Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter out to the mound to pull him from the game.  Rivera initially reacted with an amused smile, but was quickly overcome by emotion. He has spent more than two decades in the Yankee organization, including minor league stints with Jeter and Pettitte. Knowing that he has thrown his last pitch in the Bronx and seeing two people that were with him every step of the way hit him harder than his vaunted cutter. The smile quickly turned into long hugs and lots of tears.

This was an awesome baseball moment. If you disagree then you’re either an irrational Red Sox homer or completely heartless. Watch the clip (please), love it, and get misty.

Watch Metallica Play “Enter Sandman” For Mariano Rivera

Watching Metallica play “Enter Sandman” for Mariano Rivera at Yankee Stadium was one of the few highlights for New York Yankee fans in 2013. Between the numerous injuries, mediocre play, A-Rod being an a-hole, and my dear Captain‘s perforated ankle, there hasn’t been a lot for Yankee fans to be happy about this season. The Mariano Rivera retirement tour has been a bittersweet event to follow. It’s awesome seeing how respected he is throughout Major League Baseball and it’s fun seeing the farewell gifts teams are giving him, but it’s sad and scary that the Yankees are losing the greatest closer of all time. For a brief moment on Sunday, the Mariano Rivera tour was frickin’ cool thanks to Metallica and an excellent Yankee Stadium crowd.

Seeing Yankee greats from the recent Yankee “dynasty” teams was awesome. Bernie Williams, Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez, David Cone, Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui, and others were on hand to celebrate Mariano Rivera. It was cool seeing them on the field again, but it was funny when many of them whipped out there mobile phones to record Metallica’s performance. Hopefully Lars Ulrich doesn’t sue them for posting their clips on the Internet.

As for the band, they were expectedly solid. Unlike Mariano Rivera, Metallica hasn’t aged well. Lars’ receding hairline had his head in danger of massive centerfield sunburn. Kirk Hammett was either too scary to show on camera or wasn’t there. I would never have guessed that James Hetfield would have aged more gracefully than his bandmates. I thought Kirk’s Asian genes would have preserved him better, but his Irish half seems to have won out. They’re pros though and did a fine job rocking at a respectful level for Mariano Rivera and the fans at Yankee Stadium.

Check out the clip of Metallica performing at Yankee Stadium for Mariano Rivera Appreciation Day and share your thoughts on the joyous occasion (please!).

Why is Bruno Mars Singing at Super Bowl XLVIII?!?

The National Football League announced that Bruno Mars will be the featured halftime act at Super Bowl XLVIII. That’s right, for the Super Bowl in New Jersey, the NFL signed that dude from Hawaii to sing. Last time I checked, Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi are alive and able to perform. Wouldn’t it have made exponentially more sense to get a legendary New Jersey act to perform at Super Bowl XLVIII?

Don’t get me wrong. I totally respect Bruno Mars. The man has an amazing voice and sings some catchy tunes. He has an impish appearance that most Americans find non-threatening. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, it’s that America accepts non-threatening brown people far easier than say…Chris Brown people.

I’m sure that the Bruno Mars Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show will be good, at the very least. His music is popular and he can put on a flashy show. Plus, the kids love his goofy hats. Since the death of Don Ho, Bruno Mars has been Hawaii’s pride and joy — much respect for that. My brother is a musician in Hawaii and from talking with him, I get the sense of how proud the locals are of Bruno Mars. That said, I have to dock him a coolness point for investing in a crappy e-cig company instead of a good one.

Anyway, here’s a clip from the official announcement for those of you not familiar with Bruno Mars:

Bruno Mars is a critically acclaimed singer, songwriter, producer and musician. The 14-time Grammy Award nominee and Grammy winner has sold over 115 million singles worldwide. His current album Unorthodox Jukebox and his debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans have a combined certification total of 60x platinum worldwide. According to Billboard, Mars scored his first five “Hot 100” No. 1s faster than any male since Elvis Presley. As a singer, songwriter and producer, Mars has an impressive catalog of 22 “Hot 100” hits. Currently, Bruno Mars and his eight-piece band The Hooligans are on a sold-out, 91-city world arena tour.

Help me understand why the NFL chose Bruno Mars to sing at Super Bowl XLVIII (please)!

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