music and sports

so michael jackson is bankrupt and going on tour again. there is plenty of discussion about how a guy like him even goes bankrupt with all the money he has made, but that can be for another time. but awhile ago nellie and i were talking about concerts and discussing:

1. what concert would you want to go to more than anything? and

2. how much would you spend on that concert before you even questioned the purchase?

for the second question we are talking about good seats. not necessarily pit tickets, but definitely not nose bleeds. a seat where you would be very happy sitting. not pit, but maybe first section after the pit or something like that.

anyways, when we had the discussion and even now, i think that at the top of my list was michael jackson. granted, when i think of michael jackson concerts i think of late 80s or early 90s concerts that i see on dvd. im sure it would be very different now. but i still think it tops my list. how much? probably $250 before i really questioned it. i know. thats a lot of money. but remember, these are good seats. i guess things always change when you are married because its no longer $250, but $500 for the pair, so quite a bit more. but seriously, the king of pop. and in case youve never seen clips from a michael jackson concert, here is one:



im not sure what that is from. it says its from korea, but its similar to a performance he did at the mtv video music awards in 1995. either way, its pretty incredible. his long dramatic pauses are a little over the top, but what about michael isnt over the top? as nellie says, 'it looks like he's floating when he's dancing.' so true. too bad that man on stage is long gone and even that man on stage is a long way gone from who he once was back in the 80s. either way, he still dominates and no one puts on a production like he does. he's my first choice.

after michael, its tough. ive never seen u2. they are also iconic. ive heard amazing things about them in concert. id pay quite a bit for good seats. nellie says depeche mode are great. ive never loved them. id like to see them in concert, not sure that i would pay much more than $75 though.

i think the two right below michael would be led zeppelin and paul mccartney. im a huge beatles fan and to see one of the original beatles performing beatles songs live, would be awesome. as long as he didnt do any of his solo stuff i think it would be just a fantastic performance. not quite a production like what michael would do, but a very satisfying concert. and zeppelin. that would just be awesome. i might even put them above paul mccartney. only because i think they would have a better show. paul mccartney is bigger or more of a legend i think so i dont think you could ever pass on the opportunity to see him play a show. but how hard would zeppelin rock? to be in a stadium full of people with zeppelin walking out playing immigrant song?



it would be hard to top that. gives me goose bumps just thinking about it. so zeppelin tickets i think i would pay $200 before really debating the purchase and id probably put mccartney at $150-175. i know paul mccartney is playing at coachella in april or may, but again, this is the price for good seats. there are thousands at coachella and you have to sit through hours in the heat, which takes away from the experience.

so those are my top 3. 1. king of pop. 2. zeppelin. 3. mccartney. with u2 being 4th. they are probably the only realistic one at this point. your list?

btw, speaking of mccartney and the beatles, have you seen this? awesome. awesome. awesome. nellie and i own a wii. we thought about buying rock band or guitar hero for christmas. im glad we didnt. 1. it would have been stolen. but 2, we would have missed the beatles version. could there be a more fun version? i honestly dont think so. september couldnt come soon enough. for our anniversary ill give nellie the online pre-order confirmation number. im such a romantic. she's so lucky.

ok, most people can leave now. you dont have to, but i have a few sports thoughts and i think it bores most readers, but i must vent.

look, i dont ask for much in this world, but i have two sports related requests. the best time in sports in upon us. march. which means march madness and champions league knock out rounds. technically they start in february, but whatever. i think the only other better time in sports is college football bowl season.



first of all, is that the biggest logo or what? and thats the 'small' version. its just a demonstration of my love for the team and hopefully helps you understand how much it hurts when they lose. so the champions league hasnt been excellent in a long time if you are a real madrid fan. a 5-0 aggregate loss to liverpool! shoot me now. they are a good team, but we were just embarrassed. and anyone that saw the game knows that it could have been 7-0 tonight if it werent for iker casillas being brilliant as always. he's so amazing. if we ever lose him i dont know that we would ever win a game. we were completely outmatched tonight. just looked poor, like we didnt belong on the same field. maybe the pk was a bad call or the torres goal shouldnt have counted because he pulled on pepe, but even if we did get those calls, we still would have been beat. we were completely dominated.

so this is the 4th or 5th season in a row when we have bowed out in the round of 16. and perhaps you could say we should just be grateful to get to the round of 16 or even the champions league each year. no we shouldnt. not with our payroll and legacy. we have more champions league trophies than any other club. we arent built to compete. we are made to win. but we havnt been winning. at all. and its frustrating. ever since the greatest goal ever, we have struggled. a couple of league titles, but nothing to show for it in the champions league. when we get on the stage with the great clubs we collapse. speaking of the greatest goal ever, here it is (btw, i chose this one on purpose not just for the great announcer, but its also great because they must have been broadcasting to submarines or something because they bust out with morse code after the goal):



so here is my quick analysis of the team. thanks to goltv, ive been able to watch a few games lately. robben has to go. he's not a team player, hes exactly what we dont need right now. he is a legit ball hog and whines all the time. the team plays better without him. there are stats to back this up, but i dont care to search for them right now. we have plenty of talent, we just need chemistry and he does nothing but mess it up. im sure we will pursue ronaldo like crazy in the offseason, i hope he doesnt mess things up either.

get rid of cannavaro and put sergio ramos in the middle with pepe. get rid of heinze, he's no good. diarra is excellent. a masterful defensive midfielder. put marcelo on the outside midfield. he's exactly what you want and expect out of a brazilian. short, quick, great skill, and just plays his heart out every time he's near the ball. also sort of runs like he's a little crazy, which is fun to watch. our midfield is fine. guti hates the club and is leaving, but we have plenty of reserves. gago is a great addition as well.

raul is old but still picks up scraps. not sure if he should start anymore, but hes still the team leader. i do really like huntelear though. i like him because he's a workhorse. lots of passion. really loves the game.

anyway, all i want is improvement. i want a respectable showing on the european stage. i want to continue on past the round of 16. i dont think its asking for much. not with all the resources we have.

the other thing i ask for, which i dont think is too much, is for the cougs to win one game in march madness. i went with the old logo because i still think i like it more, and it wasnt since the days of the old logo that they actually won a march madness tournament game. but i dont think thats asking too much for them to do it again. ive never seen it happen and i would like to. this year they are projected as an 8 or 9 seed. i dont even care if they get clobbered in the next round. if they are an 8 or 9 they would play a number 1 seed in the next round and for sure get clobbered. its the greatest tournament in all of sports. it so exciting. i look forward to it each year. i love watching the games and ill watch them regardless. i adopted kansas a few years ago because of a roommate and its fun to have a vested interest in a team even if you have no legitimate ties to the team besides the guy that slept down the hall from me was from that state. but it adds to the excitement. how much greater would that excitement be if it was my alma mater? my cougs. it would be awesome. really, its not too much to ask.