Pulse

March Madness

Just before the ACC tournament begins next week, I thought I'd share some thoughts on an article I read last week. The ESPN.com article is about the Duke University's basketball program and how the writer tried to hate Duke but after going to a game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, he understood how one could come to love Duke. Now being that I went to a rival ACC school as an undergrad, I find it hard to love Duke or even like Duke. Don't get me wrong, think the ACC is by far the strongest and deepest conference (at least in men's and women's basketball) and if it is Duke vs. some other conference team, I usually suck it up and root for Duke (I guess you'd actually call it mildly hoping Duke doesn't lose and bring shame to the great ACC). Also I do actually love Coach K and think he is an incredible coach and if I was still playing, I'd like to play for him. So while I certainly respect Duke, I do not think I could come to love Duke (having roots in North Carolina, my mom wanted me to go to Duke, so I guess if things had been a little different, I might have actually been a Cameron crazy!).

In college, I actually played in the basketball pep band and every year during the ACC tournament, all of the bands from the conference would also hold their own Band ACC basketball tourney, complete with seeding and stats from each game. While we never won the tourney while I was there, we did do pretty well-hey, even as good as Michael Jordan was he needed Scottie Pippen and the supporting cast to step it up before they won a championship! It was always fun and a great chance to meet people from other schools (and party with them afterward-this was college after all). It got me thinking that we should have something like the band basketball tournament but with bands here in NYC: Maria Schneider's band, the Vanguard Orchestra, Alarm will Sound, Jazz @ Lincoln Center are a few that come to mind. I've read that Wynton Marsalis is a basketball nut, but I think that Pulse could beat him and Jazz @ Lincoln Center. We could even do a softball tourney, if they aren't up to the basketball challenge. Hey, if you know Wynton tell him I'm waiting....

Joe

random Saturday am thoughts...

I like sports.

I play Ultimate Frisbee every Saturday in Central Park and I’ve followed the NFL closely since 1971 and MLB (albeit less closely) since then too. When people ask me “what are you listening to?” I can honestly say WFAN - Mike and the Mad Dog.”

I’m tired of it… not the Ultimate part (I’ll be out there tomorrow) but the professional sports league part. Between steroids and the lousy superbowl (does anyone really believe the Pittsburgh Steelers were the best team in the NFL this year?) I think I’m over my youthful nostalgia for all things athletic.

Not to say that I didn’t learn a few musical things along the way – those NFL Films “shorts” of various early superbowl highlights and weekly game re-caps, with amazing music written by someone named Sam Spence, are among my earliest musical influences.

I like to think that, as the “product” of the professional sports leagues gets watered-down, either by labor strife, corruption or just plain incompetence, some of the audience looking for “true human excellence” will turn to the arts. After all, no amount of steroids can make you play “Giant Steps” faster than Coltrane or compose more thoughtfully than Bach.

Just a wish on my part…