As some of you may know some important developments have happened in the last week for Sarah and myself. The big news is that Sarah has gotten accepted into two graduate programs (so far!) for English Literature. The first acceptance was from the University of Florida in Gainesville and the second acceptance was from Syracuse University in New York. I am so proud of her and we are already starting to do the research on all the possibilities, but I would be lying if I didn’t say that I had a preferred pick!
In the next few weeks we should be hearing back from the other institutions, but the entire process has been extremelly nerve racking. One of the biggest obstacles for us to over come is the need for me to be able to get a job. Having a teaching license from Minnesota is extremelly beneficial, but large college towns are hard job markets as there are many educated candidates to choose from.
Here is the updated list of the applications/responses for the great Ph.D. program search of 2010:
Gainesville, Florida
Atlanta, Georgia
Chicago, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois
College Park, Maryland
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Syracuse, New York
Durham, North Carolina
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Seattle, Washington
So, there is the update of all the excitement happening in our household!
I sent out my first batch of resumes and cover letters this evening after work. It felt great. I believe that I am a strong candidate and I hope that it all works out in the end. Regardless of how this first batch turns out I couldn’t be happier getting them out the door.
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A few weeks back I added a “Books List” page on the right task bar that documents books I have read since completing school. It is mostly meant as a means of documentation for myself, but if you want to take a gander and see which books I consider among my favorites, and those in which I dislike, please feel free to check it out.
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The new soccer team released their ticket package information the other day. I can’t wait to see some of you in the “Corner Pub” with me next season! Sure, the $5 tickets are gone, but all that means is buy once less beer inside the stadium and drink one more while tailgating!
I hope that you come on out and join in all the fun with Sarah and me.
Sarah and I have been working diligently on my resume for possible teaching jobs. I must admit that I was very hesitant in wanting to start this task, but after seeing the finished product I am thrilled with how it turned out. I hate to self-promote (hahaha), but I am a fairly qualified candidate which matches my enthusiasm and desire to be a teacher.
wOOt!
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Sarah and I have been watching a ton of curling. We don’t think there is a better winter sport. Why? Because it is amazingly captivating and simple to follow. Plus, it isn’t very often that you get to see the sport on your television, unless of course, you own the Leslie Nielson classic, “Men With Brooms”:
Riding well beneath the radar of all things relevant the United States recently recaptured the America’s Cup trophy from some rich people in Spain. Don’t know what the America’s Cup is? Well, join the rest of the world. Yet, for those who hail from Newport, Rhode Island (such as myself) it is considered the Holy Grail of sailing.
Long story short:
America’s Cup is the longest active international sporting trophy founded in 1851.
From 1930 to 1983 the event was held in the waters off of Newport, Rhode Island every 4 or so years.
In 1983 the unthinkable happened and some Australians won it. This meant the tournament was held in Australia (I know right?) where some rich American’s went down and won it back.
Same rich American decides to stab Newport in the back and decided to have the tournament hosted in San Diego.
Austrailians, New Zealanders and Spanish trade the trophy around like a stolen bike.
Just a few weeks ago a really, really, really, rich Newport resident who resides in the Astor mansion financed an American boat that won the tournament.
This could mean that the Cup is coming back to Newport and along with it thousands of jobs and exposure for my hometown. I don’t know how sailing works since my family could never afford a boat, but it seems like a big deal and for a state that is struggling as much as Rhode Island this tournament could be a pretty big boon to the economy.
Great news coming out of Blaine with the recent announcement of Manny Lagos and Johnny Meyonger as the first head coach and player of NSC Minnesota, respectively, in franchise history. Both of these men are big names in the Minnesota soccer scene and have proven to be popular choices among the team’s faithful fans.
In case you were not aware, Lagos played professional soccer for 14 years, including stints in Spain, France and ten years in Major League Soccer (MLS), where he won three MLS Championships – one with the Chicago Fire and two playing for the San Jose Earthquakes. He was a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic team and the U.S. National Team. He has worked for and played for some of the best coaches in the world, including current U.S. Men’s National Team coach Bob Bradley, former National Team coach Bruce Arena, former Italian National Team coach Roberto Donadoni, Brazilian World Cup champion coach Carlos Alberto Parriera and current Portuguese National Team Coach Carlo Queiroz.
I believe the team is in good hands with Manny at the helm. Plus, look at the magic he has provided us with the first player signed by the new team, Johnny “The Tiny Ticket” Meyonger!
Johnny returns to the professional soccer in Minnesota after four seasons with the Rochester Rhinos, but more importantly in his six seasons with the Thunder, Menyongar scored 56 goals in 188 appearances. He helped the Thunder to the 2003 A-League championship game, and scored five goals to lead Minnesota to the semifinals of the 2005 U.S. Open Cup, where they lost to the LA Galaxy of MLS.
In his four seasons playing for the Rochester Rhinos he scored 28 goals in 106 appearances, and was named the team’s MVP in 2008 and 2009. One of the most effective offensive players in the league, Menyongar finished 2nd in goal scoring and 4th in points in the USL last season.
Johnny is easily one of the best players in the league and he is one of the best players to ever wear the Blue and White of the Minnesota Thunder. Signing him to the team is a major coup for the squad and his reemmergence for the local team has the Dark Clouds and other supports singing:
When Johnny marches down the wing
Hoo-rah Hoo-rah
When Johnny marches down the wing
Hoo-Rah Hoo-rah
These signings have left me in a good mood, but that doesn’t mean that I have abandoned my quest to have the official mascot of the team be Nessy the Loch Ness Monster. My early plan is to create a large banner for the beer garden in the North End that reads: “I Believe In Nessy” with the team badge on the end. This will more than likely replace the infamous Dale Weiler banner seen here:
Watching people complain about the health insurance debate when they can benefit from the installation of some government oversight. For instance, Sarah and I are covered by my current employers insurance and pay $440 per month for coverage (since I am a school employee they clip the $440 on the first 20 checks of the year to cover the summer months of no employment). If I wasn’t married my cost would only be $60 a month. Even better, if Sarah and I had 15 kids our cost would still be $440 per month. So, in short, we should start making babies and get our monies worth.
What does this mean to you the consumer of Super-Rookie dot com?
Means a couple of bikes will be for sale at the bike swap. I will be racing even less than last year, I won’t be playing soccer or hockey and best of all Sarah and I will be adding second jobs so we can, you know, eat and have a little bit of fun in our life. So, to all those teabag partiers watch out because I am a little peeved with the entire insurance program that you are all so inclined to keep around.
I could make more money resigning from my current position and bagging groceries at Rainbow Foods and qualify for MinnesotaCare than working in my current position as a licensed teaching professional. How does that work?
So, just to feel a little bit better I am going to watch this:
They start playing in April and you will be able to find Sarah and myself in the North End!
We hope you will join us.
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I like the logo.
But, just to be sure that I wasn’t being all “super rookie” I decided to seek out the thoughts of my brother, a trained graphic designer. He likes the logo and thinks it was fairly well done. He has a better eye for these things than me and his opinions backed up my own. This means I can now refute all the critics and say, “my brother said it was good and he knows what he is talking about, so there!”
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It is a proven fact that a mascot is the most important thing for a new sports franchise. Far outweighing the need for players, coach, stadium, merchandise and a team identity. With the logo and team name announced the team is quickly running out of time in announcing the mascot for the 2010 season. Why would any player want to sign with a team if they don’t know what the mascot is going to be?
This is a HUGE issue and it needs to be dealt with immediately.
In order to help speed up the process I have been surfing the internet (big surprise) to gauge what the fans of the new team are thinking and the near unanimous pick for OFFICIAL TEAM MASCOT is Nessie!
Why?
Because Nessie already has her name on the shield, gosh.
NSC=Nessie.
What mascot could possibly be more awesome than this?:
(One suggestion is for Nessie to be wearing a 1950’s style glass space helmet. I approve of this idea.)
We have finally gotten to the big day! The National Sports Center is going to be hosting a news conference at 1pm CST to announce the new logo and name for the team that is going to be replacing the Minnesota Thunder at the highest level of soccer in our state. You can tune into the press conference at www.NSCGAMECAST.tv.
Sarah and I were privileged to attend a focus group meeting about the new name in Blaine last Sunday evening. We were impressed by the logos and color schemes presented to us and the final naming options. While not everyone is going to be happy with the final choice, it isn’t the name that will determine the amount of support we are going to bring to the team!
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Since we are talking about logos I was stoked when I saw the newest entry into the Australian A-League:
While I was a little hesitant on the name at first, I must admit that I was completely sold with the logo presentation. Everything about it is wonderful. The Red/White color combo is a simple combination, yet is extremely striking upon presentation. Although I do not know what the fonts in the name are called they are very well done, especially the balance of the word, “heart”.
Upon looking at this logo I was immediately impressed with the level of professional care and design. Yet, I must admit that it took me about 20 seconds to discover the greatest feature of this entire logo presentation! Do you see it? Do you see the “H” on the lower half of the logo. It is extremely similar to the old Hartford Whalers logo which featured the “H” and “W” within the logo of a Whale’s tail. Here it is for reference:
Every week I watch the Austrailian A-League recap show and at the end of the season I tune in for their playoffs on the Fox Soccer Channel. I have been doing this for about two years now and I have still to find a favorite team, although I have been a little partial to the Newcastle Jets:
The reasoning behind this partiality is that the name is vastly superior to everything else on offer in the A-League. Here is the list of team names and logos and as you can see almost 100% of the league is awful in their naming selections:
Perth Glory. Horrible.
Melbourne Victory. The more established derby mates to the Heart.
The Fury. Really? Who came up with that?
The Mariners seem to be relying on the old New York Cosmos logo of the old NASL. I must admit that I do like the color scheme and their uniforms.
Gold Coast United. Why would they put an impression-esque tribute to the Sydney Opera House on their badge if they are not even located in Sydney? Don’t get this one.
Adelaide United. Not as bad as most of the others, but the stylized soccer ball of stars is a little played out and has been done before.
Brisbane Roar. Perhaps the worst name and mascot combination in the history of soccer, um, maybe not.
Sydney F.C. A flagship team in the league that has a strong following and some beautiful colors (just like Manchester City), but the inclusion of the soccer ball in the logo is a deal breaker.
Wellington Phoenix. Although the Black and Gold color scheme makes me go all Como Park High School (voted as having most school spirit in the class of ‘99), I just can’t get over the fact that the team is full of online college graduates. Oh, they even found a way to include a soccer ball. How cute!
Sydney Rovers F.C. These are the expansion cousins of the Melbourne Heart. The logo is nice and the colors are sharp, but the soccer ball and inclusion of “FC” on the bottom of the badge stinks of amateur design scheme. This team should be called F.C. Clip Art.
It isn’t very often that I find myself agreeing with a self-admitted Republican whom also heads the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but after seeing our current Joint Chief, Adm. Mike Mullen state;
“No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens, allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do.”
I was happy to see something being done about this horrible law. I always had major issues with how our government openly supported bigotry in the armed forces through the implementation and enforcement of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Finally, it seems that Obama is taking a stand.
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While I am all fired up I might as well get on my soapbox.
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The way in which the LGBT community is discriminated against sickens me almost more than anything.
For instance, how any rational thinking parent could send their son/s to the Boy Scouts is beyond me. It is impossible for me to understand how this can be a prideful thing. Especially when openly gay men are not allowed to participate within the organization. What does that teach our youth?
The mission of the Boy Scouts according to their website is;
The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.
The Scout Oath and Law;
Scout Oath:
On my honor I will do my best
to do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
to help other people at all times;
to keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight.
Scout Law:
A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.
By discriminating who is allowed in their ranks the organization is showing tomorrow’s leaders that homosexuals are not able to fulfill the scout law and oath, and therefore they are not able to be responsible citizens in today’s society.
Sure, apologists for the Boy Scouts will defend the organization as it is shaping the future of young citizens, and individual troops across the country have no issues with homosexuals, and in fact are working to correct this issue within the organization, but this is not enough. The organization needs to be boycotted until they change their rules for admission.
Normally, I would let private groups make their own rules regarding memberships, but when a private group is allowed to actively recruit in our public schools, receive some government funding, allowed to use public facilities for meetings, I have major issues.
I hope next year we are not in our cozy little apartment in St. Paul so I do not need to have an awkward conversation with our landlords and tell them, “Thanks, but no thanks”, for when they buy a wreath from a kid in uniform during the holidays.
