A couple days ago, I attended the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival in Hartford, CT along with a few friends. There were three stages, 2 outside and one main stage inside. I have been to a few metal shows in the past and this one met/exceeded my expectations. We showed up early to do a little tailgating, a few brats and burgers and beers did the trick nicely. If you've never been to a metal show before, it is an experience to say the least. The music is heavy, the fans are from all walks of life, and crowd gets wild. I did a fair share of people watching at the show. A lot of people wore black, there were more piercings than you could imagine, some people had over-the-top makeup on (even guys). This lifestyle isn't something I would normally associate myself with but metal shows are different. You can see how passionate the artists are with their music and the fans are so devoted they will do anything the bands request, literally. One point in the show, a singer said he wanted to break a record for most people crowd surfing at once. Right as the song started, the guy next to me got on his hands and knees and told people to jump off his back to surf. As they pushed off his back I grabbed them and threw them further. Unsuspecting people soon realized what was happening. It sounds insane but you really have no idea unless you're right there in the heat of the moment. After the song ended, the singer thanked the crowd for such a great performance of crowd surfing.
People express themselves through their choice of clothes and accessories at these shows. They also express themselves through the music. Some people choose to nod along with the beat or sing along. Others choose to throw their bodies around in mosh pits and go crowd surfing (both can be very dangerous). An outside look at mosh pits, you would think that it is unorganized, chaotic, mayhem. In all seriousness however, there are unwritten rules, gentleman's rules, if you may. When someone gets knocked down, someone is always there to pick you up right away to make sure you don't get trampled. Also, if someone does get hurt, the pit shifts away from them so injuries don't become more serious. At this particular show, a fellow mosher fell back and slammed his head on the pavement and was knocked unconscious (accidentally of course). This doesn't always happen, but when it does, people know it can be serious. When this incident occurred half of the people in the pit and many surrounding it immediately tried to help pick him up but realized it would be better to keep him down so they forced the rest of the pit away from the wounded soldier. This one person went down. I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a single person in the pit who even knew this man, but nevertheless, there were a handful of people right there at his aid. To me, this was a great representation of our society and human nature. People need to let loose sometimes and slam into each other wildly but there is no intention to seriously harm another. They are all there for the same reason, to express themselves. The barbaric nature of heavy metal almost seems quelled when looking at it this way.
I know there are a lot of people that don't like the metal genre. I admit, I didn't always like it and I understand why some don't. It can be extremely heavy and unconventional. But you have to admit, if you see a metal band perform, they are so passionate about what they are doing that you can feel it. Ok, you might be feeling the subwoofer, but seriously, I've never seen more passionate performers than these guys. Jonathan Davis from Korn may seem strange to those who don't know his music but when he grabbed that microphone and screamed the lyrics, you could see it in his face that this is what he was meant to do. Maybe I noticed all this because I am still looking for what my purpose is because I'm pretty sure it isn't landscaping (though it might be, hopefully not) haha. No offense to landscaping, I just didn't go to 4 years of college to be a labor grunt. I just hope one day I find what I am passionate about like the bands who performed on the main stage: Korn, Rob Zombie, Lamb of God, and Five Finger Death Punch. It is yet another day rocking out.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Pretending to be a soccer fan when the World Cup comes around.
At 2:30pm Eastern time, the last semifinal match of the 2010 World Cup will commence. The match is between Germany and Spain. Both teams have highly skilled players. I have been trying to watch as much of the World Cup as I can, but I find it hard because I work all day Monday-Friday. I took today off because I am feeling some after effects of heat exhaustion that I acquired yesterday as a result of working in 100 degree+ heat all day. So due to all of this, I will finally be able to see one of the midweek Football (Soccer) matches. The one coming up today is shaping up to be a good one (according to ESPN). This got me thinking about how much I really cared about the sport. Just like many young children, I played when I was too young to make my own decisions. As the years passed by, I became very bored of it. I didn't understand why anyone would enjoy running up and down a field over and over again with a small possibility of touching the ball for a split second and even less of a possibility of scoring a goal.
Now with all the hype on TV, I have become infatuated with the sport as I was when I played it. It seems to me that many Americans share the same feelings towards soccer as I do. I know, I know, its not commonly called soccer in many places other than the USA, but I am American so that is what I will call it. By the way, I recently found out the origins of the word soccer is actually a "colloquial abbreviation" or a shortened version of Association Football (the more worldwide accepted title). Back to America though. Here, we have many athletes and fans of all different sport arenas. Baseball is considered our nation's pastime. Football (American) is another popular sport in the states right along with NASCAR. It seems to me that Americans don't care nearly as much about any one particular sport than the rest of the world collectively cares about soccer. I never understood why this phenomenon happened until I though more in depth about it.
Let's break it down a bit. According to FIFA.com, there are over 200 teams that participate in world class soccer. 202 to be exact. Many of these teams represent an entire country but not all of them do. This accounts for the majority of countries in the world. How many other countries participate in NASCAR? None. How many participate in American Football? None. How many participate in Baseball? A few, but nowhere close to 200. People play soccer in America but in my interpretation, it appears that we only do it because other countries around the world do it. It sounds silly but there is an amount of international peer pressure going on here. The United States is saying, "Hey if all these other places are playing soccer, we probably should to." It is not in our American nature to be left out. Some of you might be saying, "well maybe we play it because we are a country that has been created by mixing all these other soccer fueled cultures together and we do it because our ancestors used to." No. This is not the reason. If that were the case, we would be more enthralled in soccer all the time instead of the, once-every-four-years-when-the-world-cup-is-on fan, which most Americans are. Soccer sheds light on numerous foreign cultures that, for the most part, would not be seen by many Americans. What we know as foreign culture is formulated by things we consume from media and how our minds interpret them. Also Americans are businesspeople. Soccer is a business that is worth millions and is celebrated internationally. There is an inconceivable amount of money to be made. Merchandise sales and advertising sales make up only a fraction of the total soccer revenue. In relation to advertising sales, television and radio coverage takes up a good portion of the the respective markets (television more than radio).
I have deductively come up with 4 reasons why Americans jump on the soccer bandwagon during the World Cup. Number 1) Americans don't like to feel left out therefore there is the international peer pressure factor. Number 2) Americans are a intrigued and maybe a bit jealous when it comes to foreign cultures. Number 3) Merchandising and advertising. Number 4) ESPN and other sports news programs cover the World Cup more than entertainment news covered the death of Michael Jackson (humor ensues). It is impossible to avoid all the publicity.
Yes, we have a national team, and yes, they are fairly good in the international standings (currently 14th?), but that does not mean we, as a nation, care about it as England does for example. Our team isn't good because we have a whole nation supporting them. I never even know when they are playing unless it is World Cup season. Our team is good because we have a large and extremely talented bunch of athletes to draw from and we have great facilities to train and play in. We also have excellent sports medicine doctors that can treat injured players. Obviously we are going to better than places like Palestine and Papua New Guinea (no offense of course).
In the sporting world, the US has many things going for them that other places do not. I think we should fess up for misleading the rest of the world in thinking that we embody soccer as they do. We have a decent team because all of our soccer planets have aligned (for lack of a better phrase). We have a perfect environment for breeding soccer players. But I digress. When it comes time for the World Cup every four years, Americans jump on the soccer bandwagon. It happens every time the tournament does. No matter how well the USA team does, and no matter how little soccer matters to us individually, many of us still follow the tournament all the way through to the final whistle in the championship match. This is yet another day as an American who only follows soccer when the World Cup happens.
Now it is time for me to watch the Germany vs. Spain match. After the final match this Saturday we can all go back to our normal American lives without soccer being a part.
Now with all the hype on TV, I have become infatuated with the sport as I was when I played it. It seems to me that many Americans share the same feelings towards soccer as I do. I know, I know, its not commonly called soccer in many places other than the USA, but I am American so that is what I will call it. By the way, I recently found out the origins of the word soccer is actually a "colloquial abbreviation" or a shortened version of Association Football (the more worldwide accepted title). Back to America though. Here, we have many athletes and fans of all different sport arenas. Baseball is considered our nation's pastime. Football (American) is another popular sport in the states right along with NASCAR. It seems to me that Americans don't care nearly as much about any one particular sport than the rest of the world collectively cares about soccer. I never understood why this phenomenon happened until I though more in depth about it.
Let's break it down a bit. According to FIFA.com, there are over 200 teams that participate in world class soccer. 202 to be exact. Many of these teams represent an entire country but not all of them do. This accounts for the majority of countries in the world. How many other countries participate in NASCAR? None. How many participate in American Football? None. How many participate in Baseball? A few, but nowhere close to 200. People play soccer in America but in my interpretation, it appears that we only do it because other countries around the world do it. It sounds silly but there is an amount of international peer pressure going on here. The United States is saying, "Hey if all these other places are playing soccer, we probably should to." It is not in our American nature to be left out. Some of you might be saying, "well maybe we play it because we are a country that has been created by mixing all these other soccer fueled cultures together and we do it because our ancestors used to." No. This is not the reason. If that were the case, we would be more enthralled in soccer all the time instead of the, once-every-four-years-when-the-world-cup-is-on fan, which most Americans are. Soccer sheds light on numerous foreign cultures that, for the most part, would not be seen by many Americans. What we know as foreign culture is formulated by things we consume from media and how our minds interpret them. Also Americans are businesspeople. Soccer is a business that is worth millions and is celebrated internationally. There is an inconceivable amount of money to be made. Merchandise sales and advertising sales make up only a fraction of the total soccer revenue. In relation to advertising sales, television and radio coverage takes up a good portion of the the respective markets (television more than radio).
I have deductively come up with 4 reasons why Americans jump on the soccer bandwagon during the World Cup. Number 1) Americans don't like to feel left out therefore there is the international peer pressure factor. Number 2) Americans are a intrigued and maybe a bit jealous when it comes to foreign cultures. Number 3) Merchandising and advertising. Number 4) ESPN and other sports news programs cover the World Cup more than entertainment news covered the death of Michael Jackson (humor ensues). It is impossible to avoid all the publicity.
Yes, we have a national team, and yes, they are fairly good in the international standings (currently 14th?), but that does not mean we, as a nation, care about it as England does for example. Our team isn't good because we have a whole nation supporting them. I never even know when they are playing unless it is World Cup season. Our team is good because we have a large and extremely talented bunch of athletes to draw from and we have great facilities to train and play in. We also have excellent sports medicine doctors that can treat injured players. Obviously we are going to better than places like Palestine and Papua New Guinea (no offense of course).
In the sporting world, the US has many things going for them that other places do not. I think we should fess up for misleading the rest of the world in thinking that we embody soccer as they do. We have a decent team because all of our soccer planets have aligned (for lack of a better phrase). We have a perfect environment for breeding soccer players. But I digress. When it comes time for the World Cup every four years, Americans jump on the soccer bandwagon. It happens every time the tournament does. No matter how well the USA team does, and no matter how little soccer matters to us individually, many of us still follow the tournament all the way through to the final whistle in the championship match. This is yet another day as an American who only follows soccer when the World Cup happens.
Now it is time for me to watch the Germany vs. Spain match. After the final match this Saturday we can all go back to our normal American lives without soccer being a part.
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