Note: This is an old post from my Multiply site last May 17, 2009.
I am in a state of shock and awe. That, and my sun burnt skin around the neck irks me every now and then. I got it from yesterday’s summer getaway (yes, it still is summer!) at Club Manila East. I spent the whole day swimming with just one application of sun block on my face and my already sun burnt arms. Way to go, Jeff. I now look like a tomato. Dad even accused me of drinking last night because I was pretty much red. In the present, I still look like I took three straight bottles of Red Horse in a beer bong.
Sun burnt squared is how I would call it. I have not technically been into a beach this summer and I am probably having the worst sun burn in my life. The only other time I forgot I had it today was when I was eating the take-out chocolate cake my parents bought from Dulcinea. Yes, and also when I was watching the two-episode season finale of Grey’s Anatomy. I am such a fan of that show.
Speaking of being a fan, I think this month is the peak of being a fan. The NBA Playoffs is at its peak – we have games every day because this is the second round. Tomorrow, we have a double header which features two Game 7’s. Man, that’s what I call sportsgasm! OK, I made up that word and since it is something noteworthy like eargasm, you may expect a journal entry on that soon. I may not be in total nirvana cheering for my team in a stadium at this stage of the year but seeing my favorite team having a legitimate chance winning the title is a rarity that makes this month more special. Other than the fact that the NBA Playoffs is so awesome that I have to drink San Miguel Premium in cans at the morning while watching a nailbiter, this is also the time when season finales of shows occur. Forget Heroes because it sucks but if you get to watch the season finale episodes of Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother and American Idol in a span of seven days, this is simply showgasm (OK, I think we have too much-gasm words here). I am simply at the height of being a fan right now and I love it.
Fanatic. I am not sure but that seems to be the root word of the term, fan. According to Dictionary.com, a fanatic is a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal, as in religion or politics. The key word in here has to enthusiasm. If there is one thing that fans possess, that would be enthusiasm. It is that passion or, as my Philo teacher back in college puts it, eros. It is usually something that will not benefit you with practical purposes but you are going to do it because you like it. Go ahead and tell the people who watched the David vs. David concert last Saturday to not go because they will be wasting their precious money and they would have to put themselves in an inconvenient position in the crowd. You can always say that they can watch it in DVD where they can replay it to death. But shame on you should you tell an enthusiast what he should do. It does not matter if it is impractical. This is because this is what makes a fan happy. Yes, I may get sweaty and lose my voice while watching a UAAP game live but I will do it even if it takes me to line up hours for Upper Box B/Gen Ad tickets.
Being a fan, as long as you do not kill someone, does great things for sports or whichever stuff you are a fan of. It gives more color to your life especially if you are in a routine day in and day out. You spend hours reading through analysis in websites and newspapers. You debate with your friends as to which is better. You line up for tickets, watch games live, and celebrate if you win. If you are not a fair-weathered or a bandwagon fan (in cases of competitions), you will usually end up losing. But then, you still do it. Why? Because you love your pastime. No matter how much time wasted the Idol fans in US dial in for their favorite contestant’s numbers repeatedly, they will still do it.
How do we know if you are a fan? For me, here are my experiences.
1. If you know that watching a live sports event or concert is definitely better than watching it in front of a TV set.
2. If you spend at least an hour a day reading newspapers, websites, forums, or chats.
3. When you include your sports team in your prayers.
4. When you get devastated after your team lost in a crucial game.
5. When you wake up at 4 AM to watch a game in TV (that’s what I am planning to do later…I actually woke up at 4 AM yesterday thinking that the game is on Sunday Philippine Time)
6. When you spend on your favorite’s merchandise
7. When you wear blue on the day after Ateneo beats La Salle as if it is Valentine’s Day and you want to wear red.
8. When you wear black when your team loses.
9. When you do not want to change seat places because you feel that it might swing your luck.
10. When you do not want to pee because you feel that it might swing your luck.
11. When you do not want to switch the TV channel because you feel that it might swing your luck.
12. When you feel the urge to do the stuff in 8-10 because you need to swing your luck.
13. If you debate with your friends as to which team should win.
14. If you ‘boo’ in front of a TV set even if you know that the player shooting the freethrow will never hear your boo.
15. When you start to plan not to ‘boo’ the player because you realize that he is missing at times when you are not boo-ing.
16. When you treat a TV show as if it is a movie because you always have a popcorn and softdrinks when you watch it.
17. When you scream for joy and jump around the house after you see your team win at the final buzzer.
18. When you chant ‘get that ball’ or ‘defense’ in front of a TV set even if you know that the opposing team which is miles away from your vicinity will never hear your chant.
19. When you throw a pillow at your TV set because your team got badly beaten.
20. When you applaud right after watching a remarkable episode.
21. When you research for replays in Youtube and you replay it for more than ten times.
22. When you cheer for your team as if it won the championship even if you know that it just got lucky in a game in a series where it has no chance of winning.
23. If your favorite number is your favorite athlete’s favorite number.
24. You ask for an encore after the final song in a concert.
25. You treat your friends after a remarkable victory.
26. You talk about the game/show for hours the next day.
27. You poke fun at your archrivals.
28. You have at least dreamt for once that you made a game winner.
29. You give sports nicks to your friends.
30. When you join fantasy leagues and have to resort to a lot of Math in order to beat the competition.
31. When you plan to watch a TV show before you blog because you know that it has the potential of being awesome and being blog-able.
There are still lots of things to add to the list but I will stop at Number 31 to commemorate my most favorite baseball pitcher – Greg Maddux. And speaking of the last fan fact that I put, I actually planned to watch Grey’s Anatomy’s season ender before writing this blog entry. I must say that it was more than awesome as it would surely rank as one of the best season finales ever. Lost Season 5 finale should also be there as well as both shows elicited what the f*ck and holy sh*t reactions from me.
SPOILER ALERT!
Lost is always known for being mysterious and the season finale pretty much showed it. They finally got to show Jacob. The show is filled with more ‘what ifs’ for the final season after Juliet detonated the bomb. It is now too open-ended that it leaves the writers a hard time to make an elegant resolve for the next season. I give this show five stars for how things turned out. I am so glad because this is the very first show that I religiously watched.
Yes, I am still in a state of shock and awe. I just watched two core characters get killed at the last five minutes of the show. We all knew that Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) is bound to die – it is actually a disappointment if we see her character live because of the plot progress her cancer brought but I must say that they nailed the killing correctly. Well, it is not yet a conclusion that she died but the way they executed the final minutes was fantastic. Everyone seemed to be rejoicing the fact that she survived and she suddenly flatlined. Then on the other part, we get to see Meredith finding out that their unknown patient who got hit by a bus is the very same person that they are trying to stop from going to military. In a sudden, the two former best friends were flatlining in different hospital rooms. The Grey’s Anatomy title shows in front of my screen leaving me speechless. It was so sudden that I did not have time to emote. It should make me ask for more but I was too flustered of how the season ended. It actually took me twenty minutes before I could start writing for this journal because of my state. Is it bad? Absolutely, no! Yes, it does leave me hanging but it was delivered in an unexpected way. There were rumors that Izzie and George would be leaving after this season but I never visualized it to end this way. Grey’s Anatomy has been so incredible this year that I am thinking that it has surpassed Season 2 as the best season of the show.
END OF SPOILER
Two down and three more to go. Another two will end this week. Will How I Met Your Mother end up with a bang so that I would declare this season its best season ever? Who will be the next American Idol? I was correct in my predictions last week as we now have an Adam-Kris finale. I give Kris as the 60-40 favorite to win this thing but I am not giving any fearless predictions on this one. Whatever is in store for me this week, I hope it is going to make me more of a fan than I am now.
I am in a state of shock and awe. That, and my sun burnt skin around the neck irks me every now and then. I got it from yesterday’s summer getaway (yes, it still is summer!) at Club Manila East. I spent the whole day swimming with just one application of sun block on my face and my already sun burnt arms. Way to go, Jeff. I now look like a tomato. Dad even accused me of drinking last night because I was pretty much red. In the present, I still look like I took three straight bottles of Red Horse in a beer bong.
Sun burnt squared is how I would call it. I have not technically been into a beach this summer and I am probably having the worst sun burn in my life. The only other time I forgot I had it today was when I was eating the take-out chocolate cake my parents bought from Dulcinea. Yes, and also when I was watching the two-episode season finale of Grey’s Anatomy. I am such a fan of that show.
Speaking of being a fan, I think this month is the peak of being a fan. The NBA Playoffs is at its peak – we have games every day because this is the second round. Tomorrow, we have a double header which features two Game 7’s. Man, that’s what I call sportsgasm! OK, I made up that word and since it is something noteworthy like eargasm, you may expect a journal entry on that soon. I may not be in total nirvana cheering for my team in a stadium at this stage of the year but seeing my favorite team having a legitimate chance winning the title is a rarity that makes this month more special. Other than the fact that the NBA Playoffs is so awesome that I have to drink San Miguel Premium in cans at the morning while watching a nailbiter, this is also the time when season finales of shows occur. Forget Heroes because it sucks but if you get to watch the season finale episodes of Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother and American Idol in a span of seven days, this is simply showgasm (OK, I think we have too much
Fanatic. I am not sure but that seems to be the root word of the term, fan. According to Dictionary.com, a fanatic is a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal, as in religion or politics. The key word in here has to enthusiasm. If there is one thing that fans possess, that would be enthusiasm. It is that passion or, as my Philo teacher back in college puts it, eros. It is usually something that will not benefit you with practical purposes but you are going to do it because you like it. Go ahead and tell the people who watched the David vs. David concert last Saturday to not go because they will be wasting their precious money and they would have to put themselves in an inconvenient position in the crowd. You can always say that they can watch it in DVD where they can replay it to death. But shame on you should you tell an enthusiast what he should do. It does not matter if it is impractical. This is because this is what makes a fan happy. Yes, I may get sweaty and lose my voice while watching a UAAP game live but I will do it even if it takes me to line up hours for Upper Box B/Gen Ad tickets.
Being a fan, as long as you do not kill someone, does great things for sports or whichever stuff you are a fan of. It gives more color to your life especially if you are in a routine day in and day out. You spend hours reading through analysis in websites and newspapers. You debate with your friends as to which is better. You line up for tickets, watch games live, and celebrate if you win. If you are not a fair-weathered or a bandwagon fan (in cases of competitions), you will usually end up losing. But then, you still do it. Why? Because you love your pastime. No matter how much time wasted the Idol fans in US dial in for their favorite contestant’s numbers repeatedly, they will still do it.
How do we know if you are a fan? For me, here are my experiences.
1. If you know that watching a live sports event or concert is definitely better than watching it in front of a TV set.
2. If you spend at least an hour a day reading newspapers, websites, forums, or chats.
3. When you include your sports team in your prayers.
4. When you get devastated after your team lost in a crucial game.
5. When you wake up at 4 AM to watch a game in TV (that’s what I am planning to do later…I actually woke up at 4 AM yesterday thinking that the game is on Sunday Philippine Time)
6. When you spend on your favorite’s merchandise
7. When you wear blue on the day after Ateneo beats La Salle as if it is Valentine’s Day and you want to wear red.
8. When you wear black when your team loses.
9. When you do not want to change seat places because you feel that it might swing your luck.
10. When you do not want to pee because you feel that it might swing your luck.
11. When you do not want to switch the TV channel because you feel that it might swing your luck.
12. When you feel the urge to do the stuff in 8-10 because you need to swing your luck.
13. If you debate with your friends as to which team should win.
14. If you ‘boo’ in front of a TV set even if you know that the player shooting the freethrow will never hear your boo.
15. When you start to plan not to ‘boo’ the player because you realize that he is missing at times when you are not boo-ing.
16. When you treat a TV show as if it is a movie because you always have a popcorn and softdrinks when you watch it.
17. When you scream for joy and jump around the house after you see your team win at the final buzzer.
18. When you chant ‘get that ball’ or ‘defense’ in front of a TV set even if you know that the opposing team which is miles away from your vicinity will never hear your chant.
19. When you throw a pillow at your TV set because your team got badly beaten.
20. When you applaud right after watching a remarkable episode.
21. When you research for replays in Youtube and you replay it for more than ten times.
22. When you cheer for your team as if it won the championship even if you know that it just got lucky in a game in a series where it has no chance of winning.
23. If your favorite number is your favorite athlete’s favorite number.
24. You ask for an encore after the final song in a concert.
25. You treat your friends after a remarkable victory.
26. You talk about the game/show for hours the next day.
27. You poke fun at your archrivals.
28. You have at least dreamt for once that you made a game winner.
29. You give sports nicks to your friends.
30. When you join fantasy leagues and have to resort to a lot of Math in order to beat the competition.
31. When you plan to watch a TV show before you blog because you know that it has the potential of being awesome and being blog-able.
There are still lots of things to add to the list but I will stop at Number 31 to commemorate my most favorite baseball pitcher – Greg Maddux. And speaking of the last fan fact that I put, I actually planned to watch Grey’s Anatomy’s season ender before writing this blog entry. I must say that it was more than awesome as it would surely rank as one of the best season finales ever. Lost Season 5 finale should also be there as well as both shows elicited what the f*ck and holy sh*t reactions from me.
SPOILER ALERT!
Lost is always known for being mysterious and the season finale pretty much showed it. They finally got to show Jacob. The show is filled with more ‘what ifs’ for the final season after Juliet detonated the bomb. It is now too open-ended that it leaves the writers a hard time to make an elegant resolve for the next season. I give this show five stars for how things turned out. I am so glad because this is the very first show that I religiously watched.
Yes, I am still in a state of shock and awe. I just watched two core characters get killed at the last five minutes of the show. We all knew that Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) is bound to die – it is actually a disappointment if we see her character live because of the plot progress her cancer brought but I must say that they nailed the killing correctly. Well, it is not yet a conclusion that she died but the way they executed the final minutes was fantastic. Everyone seemed to be rejoicing the fact that she survived and she suddenly flatlined. Then on the other part, we get to see Meredith finding out that their unknown patient who got hit by a bus is the very same person that they are trying to stop from going to military. In a sudden, the two former best friends were flatlining in different hospital rooms. The Grey’s Anatomy title shows in front of my screen leaving me speechless. It was so sudden that I did not have time to emote. It should make me ask for more but I was too flustered of how the season ended. It actually took me twenty minutes before I could start writing for this journal because of my state. Is it bad? Absolutely, no! Yes, it does leave me hanging but it was delivered in an unexpected way. There were rumors that Izzie and George would be leaving after this season but I never visualized it to end this way. Grey’s Anatomy has been so incredible this year that I am thinking that it has surpassed Season 2 as the best season of the show.
END OF SPOILER
Two down and three more to go. Another two will end this week. Will How I Met Your Mother end up with a bang so that I would declare this season its best season ever? Who will be the next American Idol? I was correct in my predictions last week as we now have an Adam-Kris finale. I give Kris as the 60-40 favorite to win this thing but I am not giving any fearless predictions on this one. Whatever is in store for me this week, I hope it is going to make me more of a fan than I am now.
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