Always Take the Points!

Yesterday was the day of the UNDERDOG! I'm a betting man, but I confine my betting to the ponies. Somehow I know in my dark heart, that if I started betting sports, I'd end up "in a van, down by the river," probably doing crack, trying my best to come up with a scheme to out-smart the point spread conjured in the bowels of the Vegas brain trust.

So I can't claim any great winnings today, but yes, I was rooting for the underdog, and I must say, I am so pleased that the NY Giants brought down the mighty, undefeated New England Patriots (my brother reminded me that Tom Brady, the New England QB is a Bush fan - so fuck him!). It was truly an upset of epic proportions. And to me anytime a lowly, under-regarded opponent, does the improbable, it warms my heart. It affirms that sometimes, against all odds, the little guy can pull it off. As Jimmy Cliff once said, "the harder they come, the harder they fall...one and all."

I also thought it was so cool to see Tom Petty and Mike Campbell up onstage, in front of billions and billions of eyes, doing their classic rock and roll thing. They are two grizzled old dudes, (I loved the beards!), they looked fine in their shiny suits, loved their tight little set of r&r gems. The Heartbreakers are kind of a rock and roll underdog outfit, they've had their share of hits, but hey, they look like improbable rock and roll heroes. Put them in some raggedy t-shirts and hoodies and they'd fit in with the crowd at Maywood on a cold Friday night, betting the buggies, scouring the floor, looking for discarded winning tickets or cigarette butts.

As Spoon (this gives me a good excuse to post this great video) tells it, "you've got no fear of the underdog, that's why you will not survive." Sweet!