Oh What A Night…

From time to time I find myself lost in thought. Hopefully it doesn’t happen while I’m in the middle of something important, like when I’m operating a giant crane, doing crane things.


Last night was one of those thinking nights. I was by myself and hankering for some entertaining. And entertained I became.

Let’s start with a little backround information. I often go to a local Book/Music/Movie/Game Exchange place to find “new” games to amuse myself and last week found “March Madness 2007” for a very affordable $14.95. I’ve never purchased a sports game brand new before in my life. They’re all essentially the same year to year, and you can save up to 80% off the original cost by waiting a few months. Sure, the guy on the package may no longer play for the team the he’s wearing a jersey for, but that sometimes happens even with the brand spanking new games.

Anywho. So I’ve enjoyed a plate of nachos and I’m ready to sit down and play my game for a bit. And I decide that this party needs a few more friends. Sure it may be the middle of the week, but I deserve to be happy right?

As you can see. I’m happy. And all of the sudden, totally wired.

(Let me pause here for a second to reassure you that I will get to the “thinking” part of this story, as promised at the beginning of the post. It’s just that in order to fully appreciate the “thought” you have to join me on the trip getting there.)

So, I’ve got energy to burn, and my game is just not going to cut it. So what to do? Well, for anyone that knows me, they know I love to clean. And that’s exactly what I did. I grabbed a bottle of Windex, a roll of papertowels, the vacuum and went to town. I realize this is more depressing than funny. But, maybe I can grab a smile off of you by saying that just before I started cleaning, I fired up the computer and turned on one of my favorite songs in the entire world… “Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya.”

Let me share a fews lines from the song with you.

“Where are the legs with which you run,
Hurroo Hurroo
Where are the legs with which you run,
Hurroo Hurroo
Where are the legs with which you run,
When first you went to carry a gun
Indeed your dancing days are done
Johnny I hardly knew ya

You hadn’t an arm, you hadn’t a leg,
Hurroo Hurroo
You hadn’t an arm, you hadn’t a leg,
Hurroo Hurroo
You hadn’t an arm, you hadn’t a leg
You’re a spinless, boneless, chickenless egg
You’ll Have to be put with the bowl to beg
Johnny I hardly knew ya”

(Be sure to check out the “Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya” Video below)

The song is kinda dark and it’s about a boy who goes off to war and gets his ass handed to him. The music is pounding and energizing and just absolutely rocks. It’s by the Dropkick Murphys and I swear, it’ll get you pumped up about anything. And I was certainly pumped up about making my humble home clean.

I’m sure it was quite the scene; me, drunk, cleaning, the Murphys pounding away with the same song on repeat for about an hour. But the home was cleaned, and my energy was drained. It was then that I returned to the game and my couch.

I’d already beaten the game once with WKU Hilltoppers, one of the several colleges I have attended over the years. I didn’t have much trouble beating the game with them, despite the fact that they were only a C-Ranked School. So I set out to find a school that was:

A.) Ranked Lower

B.) Lesser Known

C.) Had a Cool Mascot

I ended up with these guys.

The Iona College Gaels. Ever heard of them? Me either. But, it fit the description. And what better mascot then an angry Irishman. And no, that’s not a crutch, it’s a beating stick.

Now here’s where the “thinking” comes into play. As the game loaded I thought to myself. Am I the first to ever to play as this team?!?! Seriously, there is no less than 200 schools to chose from, why would anyone chose this particular team? I’m sure even the 3,322 students at Iona can find a team they like more. I can just see the guys in a dorm room at Iona…

“Hey dude, check it out, I got March Madness 2007!”

“March Madness 2007, why not 2009?”

“Dude, because I totally saved like 80%.”

“Oh, that’s totally smart thinking… I call dibs on the North Carolina Tarheels.”

“That’s fine dude, I already called dibs on everyone’s favorite Irishmen… Notre Dame.”

That’ll wipe that big Gaelic smile right off the mascot’s face. But, for what it’s worth, the 2008-2009 Iona Gaels Men’s Basketball Team is currently undefeated. Go Gaels!

So there’s my thought. Sorry it took so long. Have a nice day.