Understanding Fans, or Trying to

You ever wonder what happens when a fan base for a certain team gets so used to winning that the thought of losing turns them on one another and, even worse, on their team? 

We heard a story in class today about the first ever professional baseball club, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, that rivaled some of the fan sentiment from today and even outdid some of the extreme nature of fan behavior present in todays society. A little background, in the mid 1800s, baseball was taking off and truly becoming our nations pastime as men, and women, all over the country were playing the exciting new game. No city took to the game more than that of New York, with over 50 teams competing against one another in 1858. The popularity of the game even grew throughout the Civil War as men on both sides were playing constantly. One of the main rules set up as baseball was founded, though, was that of it always remaining an amateur game, meaning, the founders of baseball never wanted their players to be paid. This all changed in 1869 when Harry Wright founded the Red Stockings and begin paying his players, many of whom were from the New York area. His investment in players paid off as they won all 65 of their games in the '69 season, they even turned a profit on the season for their investors of $1.39. The roll continued as the next season began and they won their first 27 games, beating teams on either coast with help from the intercontinental railroad. It wasn't until a matchup in front of 20,000 spectators in New York, playing against the Brooklyn Atlantics, that the Red Stockings first tasted defeat, an 8-7 extra innings loss. The Cincinnati fans took this loss so badly that many refused to show up for future home games and eventually the team was disbanded. All based on ONE loss!

Talk about fans not putting up with losing. I have seen this scenario play out more times than I care to count, though not as extreme,  in recent memory with not only my alma mater, The University of Texas, but also with some of the other teams I pull for, the Texas Rangers, Dallas Cowboys and even Manchester United.

All of these situations have their differences, but the long and short is still that winning and being competitive in your league has fostered a sense of entitlement in the fan base to where the slightest hiccup causes massive uproar. Don't get me wrong, there are issues at hand with all of the aforementioned teams, but is it really the worst of times as some would have us believe?

For example, when the Rangers lost game 163 this year to the Rays, I was as disheartened and bummed as any Ranger fan. I wish we had done more to solidify our spot in the postseason and given ourselves a shot at another World Series run. The unfortunate part, though, is that we didn't. We lost our way mid-September and without a furious last week of play, wouldn't have even had the shot at game 163. Yes, there are some changes that need to be made, but if you had listened to some of the venom  being spewed after that loss, you would think we had lost every game along the way. Some of it was pretty brutal. The other end of the spectrum is the "well, at least we made it this far" fan that's okay as long as their team plays well and always wants to keep everyone around because of the good ole days.

A lot of both is going on down here in Austin with the sometimes scuffling, always confusing 2013 version of the Texas Longhorns football team. One week we suck and need to fire Mack, the next week we are better and turning the corner, the next we win, but sucked doing so and probably got lucky so Mack needs to go again and the next, we do the improbable and win a game that we probably shouldn't have and maybe all is well. Who really knows? I know I don't. I know there have been times where I've sung the praises of these kids and other times where it wasn't fun at all and I would rather not watch the game at all.

When you talk the Cowboys... on second thought, I'm not gonna address that here. I have my own opinions that some others share and many others don't about what is going on with those guys. I get really more frustrated with talking Cowboys than anything else I talk about, mainly because I do feel so strongly towards how a certain player performs versus how many within the fan base of those cheering view him.

All in all, if we view fandom as a spectrum, where one end is the 'Chicken Little sky is falling end' and the other is the 'Never change the good ole days end', I fall somewhere in the middle. I like nostalgia and longevity but at the same time, when something is broken, it needs to be changed. That's where I am on Texas football. I know we are playing better and our kids haven't given up on this season and still DO have a lot to play for over the remaining 6 games, but I think it's time for a change at the top and time for a new voice to be heard in the room. Not to disparage what Mack has done for the profile and strength of the program, but the time has come if you ask me. My hope for the rest of the season? That we win out! Win the Big 12 and play in a BCS bowl and win it and allow Mack to step aside a winner, like he wanted to do after 2009.

As for the Rangers, I don't really know what I want. I do know I wish they were on the verge of their third World Series matchup in 4 years and a chance for revenge against a team that sometimes makes it hard for me to fully trust baseball again. Many people have had this phenomenon after getting their hearts broken in relationships, mine is still mending two years later after the blow the Cardinals laid on me. Instead we are home, watching other teams get their chance at glory, figuring out how to take that next step back into the fray. I have utmost faith, though, that the right moves will be made to make sure that this thing heads in the right direction, though. 

The Coolest Job in Music

Movies and music go hand-in-hand if I am the one who gets to make the call. The right song at the right moment can make all of the world of difference in how you feel towards a character or react to what's going on in a particular scene. Ryan Phillippe waits for Reese Witherspoon at the top of the escalator in Cruel Intentions and "Color Blind" by the Counting Crows drags you into the moment, allowing you to share that intense, emotional meeting that is a turning point in the entire film. Same with the first time Natalie Portman and Zach Braff meet in Garden State and she changes his entire life with one Shins song or the closing scene of Fight Club where Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter have front row seats to the apocalypse, his face half blown off, buildings collapsing around them all to the beat of the Pixies "Where is My Mind." That Pixies tune is the only one on the whole soundtrack not written and produced by the Dust Brothers and has become synonymous with the movie itself. There are so many more songs that define movies that I could write a daily blog about a different one for a year.

Music can dramatically altar everything in your life, and never more so than in a movie, if you ask me. Gonna try a new thing this week and add links as we go. Disregard the subtitles if you would.

What I have started to become more cognizant of, though, as I consume movies is the trailers. I mean, yes, I have always loved them and then once I had friends who were in the business of turning movies into trailers, I found out the level of work it takes to take a two hour film, make it into 3 minutes and don't give away the ending. The job I want now, though, is not that job, but the job of picking the music to accompany the trailer. I feel these guys are doing masterful work picking the right tune to portray the tone of the movie and are really thinking outside the box. My two favorite trailers that fully exemplify this that are out currently are for the upcoming Leonardo DiCaprio flick The Wolf of Wall Street and the Ben Stiller fantasy tale The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I don't know if I love the trailer because they feature songs I really enjoy or what, but I want to see these movies so badly. The former features a really poorly named Kanye West tune "Black Skinhead" and the latter gives us "Dirty Paws" by Of Monsters and Men. I will leave it up to the psychologists in the group to determine what level of Pavlovian response I have had that has made me gravitate towards these two movies in particular and why I can remember their trailers more than any other out right now save Gravity, which is funny given the concept of this blog. Gravity sticks out to me because of it's general lack of music in the trailer save a few piano chords and short violin stroke.

Anyways, enjoy the clips, go see some movies this week, support the artists in your town, turn off the tv and watch some of the iTunes Festival while it's still available for free on your iTunes. Next week is coming in hot with probably 10 album reviews including the second part of Justin Timberlake's 20/20 Experience, new MGMT, Grouplove, Avicii, Lorde and more! There will also be playlist under the last movie clip of some of my favorite movie songs and songs from movie soundtracks. Thanks as always for your support!

Quick Breakdown:
1. Slow Wave from Pump Up The Volume
2. Stuck in the Middle from Reservoir Dogs
3. Pretty Woman is pretty self-explanatory, no?
4. Tiny Dancer from Almost Famous
5. Afternoon Delight has been in a ton of movies, probably most famously for the Channel 4 News Team's rendition in Anchorman
6. Lookin' Out My Back Door The Big Lebowski
7. In the Air Tonight is another that has been all over the place, but will forever be linked to The Hangover
8. Take My Breath Away from Top Gun
9. And Back to the Future's Power of Love

This is a super quickie list of songs that came to mind as I thought about movies I had seen in the past few months. I'm going to continue to add to this list and if someone knows how to become the guy that puts movie soundtracks together and/or gets to choose the songs for trailers and seminal moments in movies, holla at your boy!!

The Overreactive Subculture of Sports and Society

Today I am writing tired. Not physically tired, mind you. I have been getting my 6 hours or so of sleep each night like a good little boy. I am mentally tired, though. Why, you ask, am i mentally tired? Must be from the juggling of two jobs and school and the relentless pursuit of fitness, right? NOPE!!!! It's from the constant and consistent overreaction to every minor detail of every football game that has happened over the past two weeks. That's right, I'll say it. We are two weeks into football season and I am already over it. I understand I am may be a little more sensitive to this than most after years of working in bars which caused me to make small talk with complete strangers and having a lot of that talk be sports related. I am probably overly optimistic when it comes to my teams and honestly, at the root of things, I just want to be entertained and if my team wins, even better.

Fair warning, this is going to be my rant blog tonight so if you don't want to read me be super grumpy, stop reading now because here goes nothing:

• The Longhorns are not the worst team that has ever played football. Yes, they sucked real hard Saturday night and deserved to lose and, in all honesty, Manny Diaz deserved to lose his job. Whatever he has been doing since his arrival has been subpar and a change needed to be made. What pisses me off to no end, though, is the endless stream of comments I've read railing against David Ash, UT's quarterback. Did he have the best game ever? No. Did he cost the Longhorns the game with a lack of effort and excess turnovers? HELL NO! While his defense was allowing a school record 550+ yards rushing, David was a modest 19 of 34 for 251 yards through the air and two touchdowns with no turnovers. He also ran for 34 yards before leaving the game in the 4th quarter with a concussion. Was he the problem? Not even remotely. Did I still have to read on my Facebook wall about how much McCoy should be in and not him and then listen to it all morning at the bar Sunday? You know it. 
• Another topic that burns me up is this notion that every kid in the state of Texas wants to come play football here and that Mack Brown has done a lousy job of getting talent to this school. A lousy job of developing the talent? I could stand to be persuaded that that is the truth. The fact that there isn't talent here is asinine to think. People can bitch all they want about RG3 or Andrew Luck not coming here but you know what? When they were being recruited, we had the number 1 recruit in the nation on the way to play quarterback in Garrett Gilbert. He is from Austin, was winning championships, son of a former NFL QB, running our offense and the consensus number one QB recruit in the nation. Every school in America wanted him and if you think i'm lying, you're kidding yourself. So, is it out of the question at that point to offer smallish track star RG3 a scholarship as a wide receiver?  I would think not. Same with Luck. These guys all want to play in the NFL so why would one top recruit follow another top recruit to a school when another school is offering him a chance to play right away? Johnny Football? Yeah, we didn't offer him a scholarship, but it doesn't surprise me either after the fact. Mack Brown is, and always has been, a man that teaches respect of others and, as the story is told, he had issues with Johnny's personality so he didn't offer him a scholarship. Should he have? Would you date a girl/guy with a shitty mindset that treated people poorly just because they were hot or wealthy? Same story. We have 85 total scholarships to give to members of the football team. 85. In 2011, the state of Texas produced 345 division 1 football players of the 161,000 kids that participated in High School football. Put simply, if Texas, A&M, Baylor, Tech, and TCU took 25 each of these kids, that's 220 for the rest of the nation to choose from. My point is that sometimes you're gonna hit, and sometimes you're gonna miss. Also, and not to pick on Johnny Football, but if he was such a great recruit, wouldn't the likes of Baylor or TCU have offered him a scholarship? At the time, they were better off football-wise than the Aggies so it's not like they wouldn't have tried to get him, right?
• Now onto the Cowboys. I love Tony Romo. I think he's downright awesome and it was such a wonderful and welcomed sight watching him not have to completely run for his life last night and get to work in the pocket. I'm sure it was as alarming to him as it was to me. I am sick and tired of listening to people say that this team will never win with him at quarterback. There are so many points to be made that I don't feel like typing right now because it makes me feel like I'm taking crazy pills that I am seeing this while everyone else misses it. It has gotten so bad for me that last night, when his right tackle Doug Free got bum-rushed and pushed on his fat ass, and then Tony got leveled and stayed down and eventually was pulled from the game that I wished he would be hurt for the whole season. I wished this not because I think anyone else could do better, quite the contrary, actually. I wished that so that people who cheer for this team can see just what he means to this team and learn to respect the job he has done year in and year out with the substandard support staff that has been provided to him. I would forfeit the whole season just so Tony could get the respect he deserves.

I'm done, I have so much more to say but don't want to get too worked up before bed. Have fun out there. Hate what I said or love it, I don't care, just pay attention to what you're watching. It should be fun. It should be a respite from a long day's work, or a time to meet and hang with friends. 

Who Knows Why?

Who knows why things happen the way they do? Who knows why we experience life the way we do? Who knows why we see certain things and not others, why we feel certain things at certain times and nothing at others?

People say things all the time when things that affect them happen - "Because of (blank), I will no longer do (blank)" or "After seeing that, I will no longer do this", etc. The problem with these statements is that life goes on, we revert back to our normal habits, and until we are reminded of the event again, we haven't changed a thing.

Well, sign me up for that list after what I saw today, the first one and hopefully not the second one. As many of you may have seen on my Facebook today, I was on the scene of an accident today in which a young lady out for a morning jog downtown was struck by a vehicle while crossing a street. She was probably no more than 50 yards in front of me when this happened and had been standing right next to me at the previous stoplight.

I did what any normal person who saw this happen would do and, along with about 10 other people, called 911, calmly explained what I had just seen happen and requested assistance and stayed on the line until help arrived. I was asked by the operator to see if there were any noticeable injuries and to check and see if she was awake so I had to actually walk over and look in this poor girls face. She was awake, crying and breathing hard, no external injuries present. As I found out after, one of the gentlemen that had stopped to help was Austin City Council member Mike Martinez, who is a former fire fighter.

The person that had hit her pulled over immediately and was still there when I wandered off towards my appointment. I wish I had done more to see if they were alright too, but I didn't.

I will never forget the sound that was made when that car struck that young lady, nor will I forget the look in her eyes as she looked up at me. She was terrified and in shock and I can't say that the look I gave her back was any different.

Who knows who was at fault, really? From what I remember, she was crossing at a don't walk and the car had the green but from info I gathered from others on that street corner, the car was behind a bus and apparently got tired of waiting for them to load and pulled out from behind the bus and accelerated to make it through the intersection. She never saw them coming.

As a runner, this terrified me to no end. I have crossed so many streets, earbuds blaring, having scanned the intersection a few strides out to make sure I was safe moving forward, just like she did. It's not like I have survivors guilt and wonder why this happened to her and not me or anything like that. It's just scary because I can admit to having been less than cautious from time-to-time, more worried about my pace as opposed to my safety. Side note: she is apparently doing well, no life-threatening injuries, etc which is great news.

As a driver, and in my opinion a pretty safe one, I can guarantee that I have allowed a deadline or timeframe affect how I acted behind the wheel. I have sped up to make intersections, I have cursed those cautiously moving through the streets, I have texted while driving or been more worried about the perfect song playing, I have been that asshole, and I'm not too proud to admit it.

After getting my last DWI, I told plenty of people that I would gladly accept all three of my DWIs so that no one else I knew had to experience that 'pain'. I wanted to let others learn from my mistakes and that's why I have let my struggles be widely known and have attempted transparency with anyone who has asked me about my situation. I feel as if I know enough people that I can help keep others out of jail.

Anyway, I use that metaphor to illustrate my point for today. I plan to learn from what I witnessed today. A lot of times, people like to close their eyes in the face of things that scare them or when things make them uncomfortable and as much as seeing this today kind of ruined my day, if I learn something from it and can change the way I live because of it, then I will accept it. How, you ask, do I plan on changing my day-to-day operations based on an accident and nothing more? Glad you asked!

When running, I will:

• Obey any and all don't walk signs, even if there are no cars in sight
• Never have my music up so loud to where I have drowned out everything around me.
• Attempt to run in areas designated for running only, like the multiple trails provided in town. I understand the fun of going on a city run, but is the risk worth the scenery?
• Always wear my RoadID in case something like this were to happen to me. 
• May even start running with my phone, although that may take an act of Congress.

When driving, I will:

• Be mindful of all intersections, especially in areas populated with many pedestrians
• Be courteous to other drivers and make a concerted effort to maintain calm behind the wheel, especially when up against a deadline. If that means leaving my house 15 minutes early, so be it.
• No longer look at my phone behind the wheel of a car, not for music, not for a text message.

What I saw was nothing more than an accident and I will pray for the young lady who was struck as well as the person who was driving the car. I wouldn't have wanted to be either and am not sure how I'd be dealing with things had I been behind the wheel of that car. I feel blessed that she wasn't seriously physically injured, or worse, and I'm sure many others feel the same.

RIP TEX

Yesterday was a tough day for many members of the University of Texas community as Bill Livingston passed away at the age of 93. Mr. Livingston - I can't bring myself to call him Bill as if I knew him - spent over 58 years at UT and has a laundry list of accomplishments that he could have hung hit hat on.

A short list of Mr. Livingston's accomplishments:

• Earned a Bronze Star and Purple Heart during the Battle of the Bulge in WW2
• Came to UT- Austin in 1949 as a Government professor
• Held many roles on campus, including but not limited to:
• Chair of the Government Department
• Vice-Chancellor of academic programs
• Vice President and Dean of Graduate Studies
• Led the committee and planned the development of the LBJ School of Public Affairs
• Served as acting president in 1992
• And, lastly, how I remember him, was the voice of TEX

For anyone enrolled at UT in the 1990s, you remember all too well the phone calls to the Texas Enrollment Exchange; TEX for short. You knew when your call-in window was and had mapped out perfectly how your upcoming semester would play out; no school on Fridays and no classes before noon! Nailed it. 

Unique numbers would all be jotted down in one place so you could access them quickly enough to make it happen and get in before everyone else beat you to it. The problem is, and was, that you weren't always so lucky. That's where Bill Livingston's voice would come into play. He was TEX, and his dulcet tones would guide you through the process.

You see, before the internet took over the world and you could register for classes online, you either had to go to a mass registration center and sign up for classes or, when the technology became available, you could dial-in, using a touchtone phone and make your selections. It was the most nerve-wracking experience one could fathom at 19 years old and probably sleep deprived and potentially half-drunk.

After each selection you punched in, TEX would let you know how successful you were. I can't remember exactly how it went, but it was something along the lines of, "The class you have selected, #####, has(30 second pause - not really, but still) (NOT) been successfully added." Those were your two options, success or failure. 

The other fun part was the time constraint on each call. When asked for your next selection or to try again, you had to be ready or else you would get disconnected, all previous progress would be lost and you would be in full-on scramble mode, feverishly trying to reconnect at the same time that thousands of other students were also jamming up the lines. You had to have all back-up plans and follow-up scenarios played out just in case you failed at your first - or second, third, fourth - attempt. It was frantic flipping through the course guide and trying to think on the fly what your advisor had told you that you needed to take.

The most fun part of the call came at the end, whether you were enthused or dejected, TEX always left you with a hearty, "Goodbye, and Good Luck." Even though it was recorded, you felt as if he meant it. (To listen, click the link on the words, I couldn't get the video to load and play here)

I was on the cusp of never knowing TEX. When I started college, many services weren't available online, including class registration. I think it was somewhere around my third year that Eric figured out we could register online, heard my phone call frustration from the next room and told me to try online. I did, found it to be easier and never called TEX again. They retired TEX in 2005, but I bet many after 2001 hardly knew him.

Lifetime Longhorn Richard Hogeda, who happens to be a lifelong friend, former student of my mom, and current mentor to me on my journey through school had a great idea yesterday that Mr Livingston's familiar phrase should be played at every commencement from here to eternity and I couldn't agree more. I plan on seeing if this movement has already been started and, if not, I plan on starting it myself.

Mr Livingston is survived by his wife of 70 years, two sons and daughter-in-laws, two grandsons and four great-grandchildren.

Goodbye and Good Luck, Mr. Livingston, "Til Gabriel blows his horn!"

The Civil War between The Polyphonic Spree and Robin Thicke

Welcome back to The Subculture. Since it's Tuesday, it can only mean one thing: music. I will continue to give this little disclaimer when I do music or movie posts for the time-being:

"I fully agree that I know very little about music technically. I'm not going to break down rhythm sections or melodies. I am simply going to tell you all about the music I am listening to and whether or not I think it would be worth your time and effort to listen as well. If I buy a new album or recent release, that will get reviewed first. If I have nothing new to listen to, I will pick a few random selections to go over. As always, I am also open to suggestions on tunage so if you're listening to something groovy, share the love. I wanna be cool and in the loop too!"

So, this week, as promised, I am going to review the most recent efforts from three groups/artists - The Polyphonic Spree, Robin Thicke and The Civil Wars(does the title make sense now?).

Let me start with the album I was most excited to listen to of the three; The Polyphonic Spree's 4th full-length studio album Yes, It's True. I have followed this Dallas-based band for almost a decade at this point and they have grown and evolved quite nicely over time. For those of you unaware, the Polyphonic Spree is the brainchild of Tripping Daisy frontman Tim Delaughter and is comprised of as few as 15 members and as many as 26. Their original sound was very majestic and airy and has progressively gotten more and more, well, badass. It took me a few listens to this album to appreciate the new direction the band has taken, but I truly did enjoy this album. Yes, I'm biased and it would have had to be complete garbage for me to dislike it, but it's worth a listen to those of you out there looking for something different to try on. The sound of each tune is different which allows each song to kind of stand on its own, all while being a part of that whole. Favorite tracks: You're Golden, What Would You Do?, and Popular By Design. I won't lie, I didn't find any that I would say stay away from.

Next up: The Civil Wars self-titled sophomore album. This will be the easiest review I will probably ever write. This duo is rock solid and if you liked the first album, you'll like this one. They don't skip a beat and continue to make music that would sound at home with the bootleggers in Kentucky and Tennessee during prohibition. This album does seem to carry a little heavier note in it from time to time as they seem to have stolen some guitars from the Black Keys. It all works and is great, and soothing and would work well with a cup of coffee in the morning or a glass of whiskey in the evening. Like the last album i reviewed, all of the songs are worth rolling through at least once, but Sacred Heart is just plain beautiful, complete with very simple banjo picking, impeccable harmonies and done completely in French. I wish I knew what was being discussed in this song, but you could tell me the worst news possible and if you did so in French, it wouldn't sound as bad. Also, they cover Smashing Pumpkins mega-hit Disarm and it's mind-blowing.

I know what you're starting to think, "Does this clown think anything sucks?!" Well, I won't go that far, mainly so I won't make every woman reading this hate me, but the newest release from Robin Thicke, Blurred Lines, is pretty brutal. In short, Thicke plays the part of a poor-man's Justin Timberlake with less soul on this album. Many of the songs are very thin and childish, Feel Good and Go Stupid 4 U, come to mind. There are also super cheesy love songs, which I do actually enjoy, but they don't fit in the scheme of the album. Summer smash hit and title-track Blurred Lines is far-and-away the best track on the album and there are a few others that are in the same vein that will probably be heard in clubs before too long; namely Put Your Lovin On Me and the Give It 2 U remix feat. Kendrick Lamar and 2 Chainz. If he had made the whole album as edgy as the last three songs I mentioned, he would be onto something.

Check 'em out and let me know if you agree or not. I would love opinions, it's the only way I'll get better.

For the playlist today, it's pretty straightforward. I like songs this week that tell stories so there will be no need to explain any of them to you as they will weave their own tales.




There are so many more songs that tell stories, but these are a few of my favorites. What are some of yours?

Also, as always, here are some links to some of the music discussed today:

Polyphonic Spree's We Crawl off of 2007's The Fragile Army

and their cover of Nirvana's Lithium off their EP Wait

The Civil Wars with Disarm

And Robin Thicke with Blurred Lines

Things we could learn from Freddie Joe Steinmark

School ends this week and we had a fun project to do for our final paper. We had to read a sports based non-fiction novel and connect the ideas in the book to something that interests us in the sports world. The paper is to be written in a blog style so I figured, "Perfect, I can double up and write the paper and use it as a blog post as well." So, here we go:

____________________

Every autumn in Texas, residents from all over the state stop what they are doing, fire up grills, ice down refreshments and put on their team colors in order to flock to the sanctuaries of the south, better known as football stadiums. Every Friday through Sunday – and even some Thursdays and Mondays, too – from Labor Day to New Year’s Day, the masses gather to show support for their heroes of the gridiron. We puff out our chests and revel in the victories. We become sullen and agonize over defeats.  It’s the same for fans of every team; regardless what colors they wear or what hand gesture accompanies the alma mater or fight song.

Football is a way of life for many and it isn’t just happening on the weekends anymore. The continuing rise of technologies along with the explosion of social media, fantasy football and dedication of sports networks like ESPN and the NFL Network have made football a 24/7/365 proposition for anyone who cares to continuously and instantly be involved with the goings-on of their favorite teams or players. Potentially millions of would-be coaches and football experts just waiting for the stars to align so that they can get their shot at glory fill the stands of thousands of stadiums across the state, from El Paso to Texarkana, looking to impart their wisdom on anyone within earshot. It’s not uncommon to hear sentences that begin, “I saw/heard this week that…” and finish with a random stat, juicy tidbit on the star quarterback, or just something interesting or unusual that had been discussed on radio stations, team message boards, TV, or anywhere else one can find it.

More than 60% of American adults own smartphones, close to double that of just a few years ago. What does that mean? It means being constantly connected to the people, things, and even teams you are most fervent about. It means never having to guess the answer to a trivia question posed on a jumbotron during a TV timeout because you essentially have a miniature computer in your pocket that contains all of the answers. It allows anyone with the time and ability to wade through the minutiae to appear to be the smartest person in the room.

While new technologies and sources for news have arisen over the past few years, many of them sometimes seem to do more harm than good. Teams have been forced to impose rules on their players about what kinds of pictures and other content can be displayed on their Facebook pages or Instagram accounts and even monitor Twitter accounts of the players to make sure they are representing their school or team in a proper fashion. The main downfall, in my opinion, of this immense flood of information is that so many wonderful stories and tales have gone by the wayside.  The reason we know of such things as Paul Revere’s midnight ride, or the Battle of the Alamo isn’t because Davy Crockett got out his iPhone and snapped a photo of Santa Anna riding in and “tagged” William Travis and James Bowie. We know of these things because these stories were chronicled, either through first-hand accounts written by those there, or through the tales being passed through the generations.

Sports stories, tall tales and legacies are no different. Ever heard the one about Babe Ruth calling his shot and hitting a home run during the World Series in Chicago? Even with multiple videoed angles of this famed play, we still don’t know if he was pointing to the centerfield stands, the pitcher Charlie Root, or the players on the Cubs bench. He did hit a home run, though, and the tale was born of the baseball player so talented, he could choose what he was going to do at the plate before the pitch was even thrown. How about the fact that Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team?  This one is true adjacent. Yes, the future “Greatest Player to Ever Tie His Shoes” was cut as a sophomore… from the varsity team at his high school. He was, however, still allowed to play basketball for the junior varsity team and was a star at that level before growing four inches over the summer between 10^th and 11^th grades and then going on to dominate the Tar Heel State and then the NBA.

Sports have provided us with many metaphors for life, as far back as recorded word can recount. The tales of gladiators overcoming the challenges in the Colesseum provided hope to the downtrodden members of early Roman society. The tales of ex-slave Tom Molineaux and his rise to fame and glory by beating English boxing champion Tom Cribb can be used to show that anyone can overcome their inherent circumstances with the proper amount of hard work and perseverance. The lists go on-and-on with inspirational tales of men and women overcoming the trials and tribulations that stood before them and conquering their oppressors, whatever they may be. Movies have been made, both out of true stories like Raging Bull and Brian’s Song and out of the minds of the creative people in Hollywood like the Rocky franchise or The Natural. Heroes have been made out of sports stars because of the legendary things they have accomplished, both on and off the field.

Never, though, has there ever been a tale to rival that of Freddie Steinmark, as told in Jim Dent’s novel Courage Above the Game. It’s the tale of a smaller than average football player from a small town with a heart of gold, a love for God and family, and an incredible desire to achieve greatness in his favorite sport, football. Passed over by his favorite school, Notre Dame, because of his lack of size, he follows his superstar teammate from the mountains of Colorado to the Forty Acres of The University of Texas at Austin where he meets a legendary coach who appreciates his diminutive stature because it is reminiscent of the coach in his playing days. He has had a few constants in his life: the same girlfriend he had in the eighth grade along with her less-than-approving mother; his own family, including a hard-as-nails dad living vicariously through his son’s athletic exploits. He arrives on campus and immediately starts turning heads on the field with his fearless play. As a sophomore, he becomes one of only a handful of players to ever start as a sophomore under Coach Darrell Royal when he assumes the role of starting safety at a slight 5’9” and 155 pounds. He proceeds to lead the Southwest Conference in interceptions and singlehandedly seals a few Longhorn victories along the way in the 1968 season, thus helping the Horns enjoy nine wins, one loss and one tie and including a Cotton Bowl victory over Tennessee. During his junior season, despite enduring lingering and constant pain in his left leg, he never lets on how much pain he is in and is a main cog on a national championship-winning defense. Only after the successful season does he learn that he has bone cancer that has ravaged the lower part of his left femur and that his leg may need to be removed if the tumor is malignant. It is and doctors remove the leg a mere six days after he plays his last down of football. He vows to watch his teammates take on his former favorite school Notre Dame from the sideline in the Cotton Bowl to solidify their national championship, and does so. He also vows to everyone that he will use his new prosthetic leg to walk across the stage and receive his letter jacket from Coach Royal at the post-season football banquet, which he does a mere two weeks after first putting it on. Not a dry eye is left in the house as the young man with the winning smile inches his way slowly toward his stoic coach, standing at the podium and fighting back the emotions. Then comes the rebellion and frustration over the new circumstances. Steinmark breaks up with his lifelong girlfriend, Linda, two days before Valentine’s Day and begins to date around, attend parties, drink beer and even grows his hair long. His rebellion is short-lived, as is his remission. He reconciles with Linda; proposes to her; and on their planned wedding date, he begins to slip in-and-out of a coma from which he will never fully recover and after 22 years, five months and nine days of life on this earth, Freddie’s journey was complete. As Dent recalls in the Author’s Notes section of his book, “Not a single solitary sole” said anything bad about Freddie Joe Steinmark as he researched this topic. Spanky Stephens, former team trainer said, “Freddie gave us a roadmap for life”; Coach Royal stated, “Boy, he was a fighter, and he fought until the end.” Every quote that appears in the book from former teammates, coaches and friends explain exactly how revered this young man was across the board.

The book itself is entertaining with a straightforward presentation filled with a lot of fun facts and wonderful recollections of those who were there with Freddie and knew him best. Dent does a fantastic job of transporting the reader to a time not that long ago that seems ages away all at the same time. The story goes that many players didn’t know Freddie was even sick before they found out he had had his leg amputated. It was a very different era than the constant news cycle that we live in today, and Dent does a masterful job of taking the reader there. He didn’t take the easy way out and write a story solely about the months surrounding Freddie’s diagnosis and subsequent death a year and a half later. Instead, he told the story of Freddie’s life and how larger-than-life he was in his hometown of Wheat Ridge, CO, and how inspirational he was to his team, both then and now.

Current Texas football coach Mack Brown provided the foreword for Dent’s novel and has made sure that Freddie’s legacy lives on within the program. “First, we wanted the players to understand the pride and tradition of those who had come before,” Brown says in the intro. “We arranged the plaques of all All-Americans and academic All-Americans in the hallway leading to the field.” After Coach Brown learned that the scoreboard had been dedicated to Freddie’s memory, he felt as if it were time to tell the current players Freddie’s story. He told them the same courageous story Jim Dent lays out for us in Courage Beyond the Game. To make sure the current players recognized Freddie’s courage, Brown had Freddie’s picture installed at the end of the same hallway and the players are instructed to touch with their horns up on their way down the tunnel. Brown states that, “Armed with the pride of the All-Americans, and in honor of the courage of Freddie, we ask them to go out and play as hard as they can.” Brown even takes a smaller version of the picture on the road with the team.

Many times in death, we have bright and shiny memories of those who have left us and tend to forget those times that they let us down, and this book doesn’t falter as it is chalk-full of those types of memories - the good ones that could warm even the most frigid soul. Admittedly, the book is a bit redundant; reading the same saintly story with a different name after the quotation mark, but that appeared to be Dent’s purpose in telling this story and he did so with a bevy of tales and quotes from those closest to the situation.

Stories like Freddie’s usually make front page news and are carried down from generation to generation for anyone that’s willing to listen. The desire to win, the love of the game and the willingness to sacrifice one’s own body for their team; these are the themes behind any great story about sports. Freddie’s story was big news as it happened, but as time has passed, it seems to get forgotten in the pantheon of legends of sports.

Seven Saturdays a year, the Longhorn faithful gather in the stadium named after that “little” coach that recruited Freddie to come from Colorado to Texas. Seven Saturdays a year, the stands are filled with people who travel from all over the state to watch their burnt orange-clad heroes take the field and carry the tradition of Texas football. Seven Saturdays a year, those same people could tell you what high school all 125 athletes on the sidelines attended as they stand there and watch the largest video board ever placed in a college stadium flash images of Texas football history. There are still shots of the first team from 1893, indelible images of legendary games gone by like the “Big Shootout” between Arkansas and Texas featuring James Street throwing the ball to Randy Peschel and the latter making a once-in-a-lifetime catch or Vince Young scrambling to the end zone to beat USC in the 2005 Rose Bowl. On-and-on these images roll of Longhorn greats Ricky Williams and Earl Campbell and so many others, all greeted with raucous applause. One image stands out to me, though, because it is met with indifference. The image is that of Freddie Steinmark, the young man who put everything he had in playing football for the University of Texas. It baffles me mainly because so many of these people have the tools to figure out who that strange man is, with the computers in their pockets and a world of information at their fingertips, but choose not to. My mother and I wait seven Saturdays every fall with baited breath for the picture of Freddie to appear on the screen so we may pay our due respects to the young man from Colorado with the winning smile.

I, too, was like so many Longhorn fans. I grew up not knowing who Freddie Steinmark was. That was until my mom asked me one day if I knew his story. Upon saying no, she appeared with Freddie’s autobiography, I Play to Win, co-authored by legendary sportswriter Blackie Sherrod.  I read it cover-to-cover in the matter of a week and as I did, I cried and wondered how this story wasn’t commonplace around UT. Since then, I have told whoever is willing to listen about the courage of Freddie Joe Steinmark. I personally hope that one day he is revered and lionized in UT football lore the same way Layne, Nobis, Street, Campbell, Williams, Young and McCoy are. With books like Dent’s, actions like Coach Brown’s, and with a supposed movie in the works, maybe Freddie will become the household name synonymous with courage in the face of insurmountable odds I feel he deserves to be.

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So, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I hope you enjoyed it. I will absolutely accept any and all feedback and, take Spanky Stephens advice: "When you are feeling lower than a snake's belly, think about how Freddie always rose up."

Freddie never accepted what was was handed him, he went out and earned everything he was able to and then some. He fought for every achievement he could get, never settled for giving less than his all, and never let anyone tell him what he couldn't do. So many lessons can be learned from this young man's courage and sticktoitiveness  that it almost seems too Disney, too made up, but I assure you it is all true. 

There are many days when life seems hard and the weight of juggling two jobs and going to school seems like too much for me to handle, but when I think of Freddie and his legacy that he has left behind, I know I can muster the courage and ability to keep striving and never settle. 

Do yourselves a favor and look at some of the links and familiarize yourself with the little guy with the big heart.

http://www.texassports.com/news/2005/11/23/112305aae_461.aspx

http://www.freddiejoesteinmark.com