Ducks On The Ponderosa

...I ran across another blog today about the Chicago White Sox. From reading this blog, you may not know that I am a White Sox fan. My excitement levels are not what they were about 4-5 years ago, but I still follow the men in black on a daily basis. Truth be told, though I anticipate a .500 finish at best this season, I am currently more excited for this young team of virtual unknowns than I have been since it looked like a then-young Carlos Quentin was going to Hulk-smash his way into an MVP award in 2008. This was the last season that the White Sox looked like a serious World Series contender.

Anyhow, as the post went, it was essentially a dig at the White Sox currently inability to fill seats for their home games. Photo after photo of virtual barren sections during game time are both eery and somewhat embarrassing. Having lived in this town all of my life, I know full well that there are a large number of Sox fans residing here. They just aren't going to see the games in person these days.

Often times, I will hear and read White Sox fans state that they will be back when the team starts winning again. Maybe. I also hear that it's the current drag of the economy. I can see it. Where I jump off is where these excuses, legitimate or exaggerated, become a point of pride. I love this team so much that they can go fuck themselves until I can buy another fake overpriced championship ring from the gift shop! Meanwhile, in near war-torn Detroit, the Tigers can't make Comerica Park large enough to fulfill the awesome demand as they are right on par with the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers in attendance.

I love the White Sox. I always will. And no, I'm not at every game (you know...the economy and all). It hasn't been the same since Jermaine Dye left (and now for the excuses). But where the boasting meets the rubber, I feel like White Sox fans often do more chest-puffing than necessary. No doubt that there's an inferiority complex. Like all White Sox fans, we fail to understand how this team is not in the running annually. With the city that they play in and the potential to grow a fanbase to rival any franchise, the effort is sporadic and in turn, the fanbase can be all talk and no show at times. I want to believe that we're amongst the greatest fanbases in the world but sometimes, the pictures do not lie.

...it was a bit of a downer to learn that Stephen Colbert is getting ready to take over for David Letterman. As a fake conservative commentator on The Report, his wit can be both pointed and hysterically funny. Once he jumps ship to hosting Stupid Pet Tricks and the Top 10 Countdown, I can see a neutered Colbert backing away from current events to play the latest Xbox Christmas hits with Dax Shepherd and pretending to care about Ashton Kutcher's next project.

Then again, I'm very close to completing Stephen Colbert's last book America Again and I have to be honest, I'm more into the 3D photos than the comedy. Reading this book over a year after it's release, a lot of the topics and humor feels dated to me. Certainly there are times when something hits from the left and I end up laughing, but much of the writing feels like I've heard it before. It's not a bad book by any stretch, but I think it might have had an expiration date.

On that note, maybe Stephen Colbert moving to CBS is not a bad move after all. If I'm being honest, given the sample size of nearly a decade, Stephen Colbert has taken The Report into goofier and sillier directions while Jon Stewart remains steadfast in dissecting the news is with both a critical and comedic eye. In other words, The Colbert Report is feeling more like a Daily Show spinoff with lame musical guests than a satiric news show these last few years.

However, I don't want to back half hour of satiric news to disappear. Someone needs to fill Stephen Colbert's shoes because despite his show being more up-and-down than The Daily Show (for me), Stephen Colbert is still a home run hitter with some power. And last summer, Jon Oliver was simply incredible as Jon Stewart's temporary replacement. So yeah.....Stewart and Oliver....could create a vortex of amazing unrivaled by anyone anywhere. Here's hoping...

Read: Zot! by Scott McCloud

Listen: Death Spiritual Healing

Watch: Seinfeld