My Sports Teams, My Friends

I logged a whole bunch of pressure washing hours today. There are 3 bad things about pressure pressure washing:

1. You're in the same slightly bent over position for hours at a time.

2. Your arms are constantly shaking / vibrating.

3. You're smelling the gas fumes for the pressure washer the whole time you work.

With that said, today I started thinking about all the sports teams that I am a fan of and how my level of loyalty is different for each of them. I then decided that this was kind of like different levels of friendship. So, in my stiff, shaky and stoned state...I came up with this.

Seattle Seahawks The Seahawks are the person that you spend the most time with. Not necessarily my best friend...but in your fave five for sure. You can invite yourself over to this persons house. You can tell them the truth...whether good or bad. On a Sunday its assumed that you're gonna be hanging out after church. Everyone knows that you two are tight and wouldn't dare try to interrupt. If you want to hang with me...then you better be ok with hanging with the Hawks.

Seattle Mariners The Mariners are like a friend that you hangout with seasonally, but when you hang out...it comes in bunches. I don't pretend to be a huge baseball fan. Me being a B- level fan is still higher than most. But, I don't really live and die with this team. I will hear about trades and signings in the offseason and just acknowledge them and move on. Then the season starts and I'm really into it for a couple weeks, then the NBA playoffs get going and I forget about them for a while. Then they win 5 games in a row and I'm paying close attention again. I suppose we could compare this to an old high school friend who you hang with a ton when they come back from college at Christmas, spring break and for summer.

Seattle Sonics This is like an old buddy from the youth group who isn't serving God anymore. We have alot of good memories together. Loads of funny stories. But now he's moved to another state and is working at Arby's. You still love the guy unapologetically...but you wish he'd come home. When you hear news about him (via FaceBook or a friend) you get excited, and then think of what could have been. The Sonics are like this to me because when I see how bright the future of the Thunder is, I get excited and then realize they aren't close anymore. But one day, hopefully soon, we'll be getting another NBA team in town.

San Antonio Spurs The Spurs are like my best friend. They've been with me for a long time. We never argue. Never bicker. Rarely complain. We can go a few months without talking and pick right back up with no awkwardness. Win or lose...we're still gonna be best friends. The Spurs, to me, are like a best friend because I'm not afraid to take them anywhere. It's like this: if someone is really your best friend then they can hang out with any of your other groups of friends and you're not embarrassed by them. You can bring them to play volleyball with you, and even if they suck, you don't care. You can bring them to dinner with a bunch of people they've never met, and you don't feel like you have to entertain them the whole time. Not everyone will like your best friend. But thats why they're YOUR best friend. Hardly anyone else likes the Spurs...but they are MY best friend.

University of Washington Football This is the friend that was really cool in high school...then became a loser (0 and 12)...but they still make you laugh so you keep in contact. You hope that they get their life back in order. You know that then everyone would be their friend. Until then, you think about them every couple weeks or so. I believe that UW Football is on the rise. Pac 10 Champions 2011!

University of Washington Basketball This is the guy that you befriended long before he was cool. He had an ugly haricut, bad acne, smelled a little funny and wasn't good at much. Then, he hit a growth spurt and got good at sports, finally found out that Supercuts was a bad option, discovered deodorant and kind of came out of his shell. Now everybody is friends with him. You feel a bit cheated that others are digging this guy now. You had his back through this whole process. I can't stand the people who all of a sudden jumped on the Husky bandwagon when they won the Pac 10. Did you even know there who Jon Brockman was 6 months ago? Do you think that Justin Dentmon was always this good? Wait, you think that this Isaiah Thomas is the other ones son?

Seattle Sounders The Sounders are like the guy who just moved into town that it seems like you should be good friends with. You have alot in common. Everyone is quickly becoming friends with this person...but you remain a bit skeptical. You hang out with this person at parties and in big groups. But would almost dread hanging out alone. The Sounders are the new hotness in Seattle right now. I am pacing myself and trying to see if soccer can hold my attention. I don't want to adopt the Sounders and try and convince everyone that I've always loved soccer. I haven't. But I am giving them a chance. I'm not sure it will work out. But maybe the Sounders will fold in the meantime.

Duke University Basketball This is the friend that you know gets on other peoples nerves. They have a stigma about them. A little swagger that rubs people the wrong way. Either you love this person or you hate this person. I LOVE Duke basketball. I keep up with recruiting and will rub it in if Duke beats your team. I will argue Duke vs. North Carolina ALL DAY LONG! Coach K is one of my heroes. He could be linked to Michael Vick and dogfighting and I would still stick up for him. Being a friend of Duke comes with its difficulties. But Duke is one of my guys.

Gonzaga University Basketball The Zags are like a friend of a friend that you've gotten to know pretty well. You have become friends by association. You have mutual hobbies and interests, but you still aren't that close. You've never been over to their house (never been to Spokane), you don't know their middle name, and they seem to have a little grudge or something that hangs over the relationship. You both like each other...but probably won't invite them to your birthday party.

Bellevue Christian Basketball BCS Basketball is like a brother. If you're gonna talk smack...you're gonna get smacked. If you diss BCS hoops...I'll diss your mom. There is no room for error on your part. Nothing is coming between me and BCS basketball. I would gladly give up any of my other friends (sports teams) to keep the Vikings. I live and die with this team. Nuff said.

I love all of my sports teams...just to different degrees. It's not a pecking order kind of thing. It's just that each team has a specific role in my life. Just like my friends do. For each of these teams I can think of an actual friend who matches the description. To evade embarrassment, I will not tell you who they are. Just know that all of these teams / friends have a close place in my heart.

10 Things We Learned During The 2009 NBA Playoffs

Things didn't end up the way I wanted them to. Actually, it was more like a nightmare in that everything was opposite of how I would have like it. However, I did learn these 10 Things During The NBA Playoffs:

Honorable Mention:

-Stan van Gundy is the only NBA coach who owns turtlenecks.

-The Portland Trailblazers weren't quite ready.

-The NBA has like 14 different types of fouls.

-The 'Redeem Team' made the NBA 10 times more competetive.

-Dwight Howard doesn't have post moves.

-"The Birdman" gets higher (pun intended) than any other white guy.

-Puppets are cool.

-Jeff van Gundy is hilarious.

10. Chauncey Billups is a force in the locker room. When Denver traded Iverson away to bring back the hometown boy in Billups I was skeptical. Billups is aging just as much as Iverson and I always thought Billups was just an equal piece on the Piston teams. Billups proved himself to be a magician in the locker room. He had to deal with CRAZY ego's. Kenyon Martin, JR Smith, Carmello, Chris 'The Birdman' Anderson, Nene (yes he only goes by one name...like Madonna) and George Karl. Somehow, since he showed up, the Nuggets played like they were the second best team in the NBA. Well done Chauncey.

9. Tattoos are half price in Denver. Just came up with this joke: What's half black, half white and has red lips? Kenyon Martin's neck.

8. Dos Equis now makes the best beer commercials. I had never even heard of Dow Equis until like 6 weeks ago. Now, I tell end conversations with, "Stay thirsty my friends."

7. Greg Oden is a bust. He's terrible. His nickname should be "The Human Foul". It turns out that the movie Benjamin Button was actually based on his life.

6. Derrick Rose will be a super-duper star. He's got the swag. He's got the skills. He knows how to cheat (stay tuned to hear more about how someone else took his SAT's for him).

5. The Spurs dynasty may have come to an end. Hold on, let me grab my Kleenex. (sniff sniff). Ok, they may have one more run in them. But, I doubt it. You can't pick at the bottom of the draft for a decade and continue to play at a championship level. In the past 11 seasons the Spurs have 4 titles and the Lakers have 4 titles. It was a great run. Tim Duncan...you've been good to me.

4. The Lakers own a very big bandwagon. Where were you during the Nick van Exel / Vlade Divac days? Didn't you hate Derek Fisher when he left LA for more money a few years back? Have you completely blocked 'Kobe In Colorado' out of your memory? How can you root for a coach that looks like Colonel Sanders?

3. Hedo Turkoglu is the ugliest man in the NBA. I feel bad for his dopplegangers.

2. Kobe Bryant is one of the top 10 players of all time. I'm man enough to admit it. The other 9 (no particular order): Jordan, Shaq, Bird, Magic, Duncan, Russell, Wilt, West, Oscar.

He's also on the top 10 sleazy list. Right behind Howard Stern, Monica Lewinsky and Jon from Jon and Kate Plus 8.

1. LeBron needs more help. It's way to difficult for him to score 40 every night. By the end of the series with Orlando he looked like he was in a coma.

Side Note: What's worse? Spending 6 months in a coma or spending the rest of your life in Tacoma. You choose!

Ok, back to Lebron. He needs a sidekick. Mo Williams is a GREAT #3 option. He' could easily fill the role that JR Smith, Rashard Lewis and Lamar Odom did for their teams this post season. The Cav's are just missing that one piece. I don't like this talk of them going after Shaq. He's too old. They need to find a guy who is a go to scorer on a bad team right now. Maybe an Antawan Jamison, a Vince Carter or a Richard Jefferson. All of those guys can create their own shot and having them on the court with Lebron would create nasty matchup problems.

Anyways, even though this years NBA season turned out terrible, it was very entertaining and I will miss it. I'm glad that we all learned so much throughout the playoffs this year. Just remember, "Stay Thirsty My Friends".

Ford Zone

One of my favorite questions of all time is this:

If you could only listen to one band for the rest of your life...who would you choose?

There are some important factors to consider here. Would the lead singers voice get annoying after a while? (The Fray) Do all of the songs sound the same (Bob Marley) Do you really like hip hop that much? (Kanye West)

This leads to a correlating question:

If your church only played music from one worship group...who would you choose?

After people think about this question for a while they usually land, reluctantly, on Hillsong. I say 'reluctantly' because most people think that it's a boring answer. The bold out there would go with Jonathan Stockstill, Planetshakers or Kim Walker (for the women activists).

Hillsong has reached an interesting level. I'd like to call it the Ford Zone. This is named after Harrison Ford. Let me explain. Hillsong has been pumping out CD's so often and for so long that they have become almost commonplace. We get excited when a new CD comes out and we want to get it fairly quick. But, when someone else asks, "How's the new Hillsong CD" The response is usually, "It's pretty good". However, when Kim Walker puts out a new CD people freak out, listen to it on repeat for days and think all we should sing in church is Kim Walker. Don't get me wrong, I love Kim Walker's music...but she doesn't nearly approach Hillsong on any level.

Here is where Ford comes in. Let's take a look at the movies he pumped out since his career began in 1966 (I didn't even know movies were around back then):

-3 Star Wars Movies

-4 Indian Jones Movies

-Air Force One

-Clear and Present Danger

-The Fugitive

-K-19

-Patriot Games

Think of those movies and the roles that he's played. Could anyone else cover all of those? How would you feel if Nicolas Cage was the President and took down terrorists aboard Air Force One? Are you not cracking up if Jon Travolta is running around with Chewbaca? What if Emilio Estevez was showing Shia Labeouf the ropes in the newest Indiana Jones?

Harrison Ford may not be as epic as Mel Gibson, not as lovable as Tom Hanks or as cool as Tom Cruise. And some of those guys may even be more versatile than Ford. But, Ford consistently put out great movies spanning 4 decades. Hillsong hasn't quite been around that long but they are undoubtedly the longest standing player in the worship scene.

I think that Hillsong has been so good for so long that they have entered the "Ford Zone" where you are under-appreciated. Their newest CD (Hillsong United - Across The Earth / Tear Down The Walls) came out a few weeks back and I'm sure that most of you have it. None of the songs have made me tear up while listening to them. It isn't the most epic CD, I don't LOVE every song on the CD and it may not be as edgy as a Planetshakers album. But it's solid. Actually, more than solid. I've been listening to it alot while working, driving and studying and it's still growing on me.

I'm not saying that we should abandon all other worship music besides Hillsong. Our worship times would fold like a lawnchair. And I'm not saying that everyone must esteem Hillsong as a notch above any of the other bands mentioned. I just think it's cool that they have been puting out rad music for so long and they keep doing it.

I suppose at some point when Harrison Ford dies people will look at his career and think, "Wow, Ford really put out tons of great movies!" I think this is what we will do with Hillsong years and years from now.