The Thrill of Victory and The Agony of Defeat

On Sunday, I was cheering the Raiders on to win in OT only to watch them get robbed of their victory when the Broncos's coach (the bastard) called a timeout as Janikowski, the kicker, was kicking a 52 yard field goal (which made it). After everyone calmed down, they redid the play with the ball hitting the goal post - not even on the side, but right on top! Broncos went on their own drive to score a field goal and win the game. (Sorry to be rehashing this Derry, SO SORRY!)

Tonight, I watched the Dodgers, up 8-7 in the bottom of the ninth and two outs, give up a walkoff homerun with a man on first base. I screamed at the tv (and Seito) and nearly cried.

What is it about competitive sports that allow us to get so emotional? I know I'm going to get really bad this year with the Kings. They traded ways their strong veteran players (I still haven't forgiven them for trading Matty Nostrom, even if it was for Jack Johnson), resigned used up players (cough - ROB BLAKE-cough), and now we have to deal with the damn Duck fans rubbing the Stanley Cup in our faces? Yeah, I dont know if I'll be able to handle all that.

But there is hope - I have found it in NINJA WARRIOR! Jacob and I (and yesterday I found out, my parents) are hooked on this tv show on G4. I've been talking up this show for a bit and tonight I had to add it to my TiVo season pass. Kids - this show is CLASSIC. Ninja Warrior is an obstacle competition show in Japan. G4 slaps some subtitles on it and instant entertainment. The show, I believe has been on for about 10 years, and in those 10 years only 2 people have successfully beaten the course - 2 people. Of course, my favorite part is watching the people fail in the very first leg of the obstacle course.

So with the downfall of our favorite sports teams, I urge you to try out Ninja Warriors. As an inspiration and sample of the degree of difficulty, I present you with Makoto Nagono, 1 of 2 men to complete the course. But when you watch, pay attention to all the potentials of hilarity available to you. Where this man has succeeded; many, many, have failed...most quite miserably. ENJOY!