On June 6th, 2012 I wrote this in this juicing post, “What’s up with Chooch’s 2012?” Now it comes out that he has been suspended 25 games for failing a drug test for something pretty ridiculous, Adderall. I’ve taken Adderall twice in my entire life and it seemed to make me able to drink an amazing amount of alcohol, allow me to stay up for 24 hours, and not remember anything that happened while I took it. From what I understand, it helps you concentrate and makes your penis very small. So to hear that Chooch got busted for this and will serve a 25 game suspension has me scratching my head. Why? I just don’t believe it. It seems like a cover up.
Normal trend happened for Chooch last year. They start off great and get hurt, CK4 knows that this is what happens when people juice. “Ruiz, 33, broke out for the Phillies last season batting .350 with a .412 on-base percentage and .584 slugging percentage with 13 homers and 46 RBIs at the All-Star Break. He was slowed by a foot injury in the second half but still finished the season with career highs in average (.325), slugging (.540), hits (121), doubles (32), homers (16), RBIs (68) and runs (56).” He had the 5th highest batting average in the NL (min 400 pa) and the guy in 1st also tested positive for performance enhancing drugs (Melky Cabrera). Let’s not forget that this is at least THE 2ND TIME Ruiz has gotten caught. They give a warning the first time. How stupid do you have to be.
It’s just a cover up for performance enhancing drugs. Test positive for Adderall and no one will question when you were taking the juice. You got caught, you served 25 games, people forget about your past and just concentrate on your numbers last year. Who wants to bet me that Chooch doesn’t have as good as as a season next year? There isn’t a doubt in my mind that this guy is guilty of something more than Adderall.
Ruiz was one of the few guys on the Phillies I respected. He was a fat little man who seemed to work harder than anyone else. Now he’s just another tool baseball player. I hate the Phillies more and more everyday. I would love it if they never won another game.
A lot, if not all of this, has to do with the bandwagon. (I think we talked about this). I was a huge fan my whole life. My dad would take me to the Vet at least 10 times a summer, I would listen to every game on the radio because we didnt have cable, and the days that the Phillies were on normal television were the best days of the week. Then they got good and everyone loved them.
I would say 90% of my friends did not give a shit about the Phillies before 2008. People would make fun of me and when I would wanna watch the game people would be annoyed and pissed. But its crazy what a World Series can do. It shows how stupid sports ultimately are, at least the sports that American culture has created.
I know you dont like soccer, at least I assume you dont, but if you gave it a chance I think you would love it. Its the fastest growing sport in the country and its not slowing down. It has such a different culture and the way it is tied into people’s lives around the world is fascinating. It may take a while to get into it, especially if you go in thinking, “This sucks.” But if you knew the history and the politics and the backgrounds of each game it makes it that much better.
I could literally write a ten page thing here on why you should like it but I dont know what to choose. The only thing I can say is that it is the most popular sport for a reason. It gives people identity and represents more than sport. For example, there are more than 20 clubs in London in the top four English divisions. Each club comes from a different neighborhood and represents a different type of people. One club comes from a Jewish neighborhood, one comes from a neighborhood filled with ship workers, and another one comes from a glitzy upscale neighborhood. Imagine if South Philly had a team, Roxborough had a team, and Upper Dublin had a small team. Itd be pretty neat. Now I know that doesnt explain the actual game of soccer itself but that is the main reason I have fallen in love with it. I would probably feel the same way about basketball or baseball if it had the same culture across the world, but it doesnt.
Additionally, for me, the game flows much better. There is so much creativity. Anything can happen in any game that has never been seen before. Generally, the same type of plays are seen week in and week out in all American sports. You never see something that has not been somewhat done before.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1_9RI3PosY
A lot of people say it is boring and yes it can be. But there are no time outs or commercials or challenges or any of that nonsense. Yes, there are fake injuries and flopping but every sport has its negatives, just as baseball has steroids. I know you’re a rational man and I honestly think you would enjoy it. Is there really anything that much different in us Americans that make us hate soccer? Are we that much better than the rest of the world? I think if we stopped being ignorant and opened our eyes we would like what we see.
If you made it this far, thanks. I was bored.
That was the best blog comment this blog has ever received. I made it to the end and even watched the youtube video. Anyone who takes the time to write something like you did is alright by me. Thanks for the input. I promise you people who read this blog daily will also read your entire comment. You make this blog better.
Did your comment sway me on soccer? Maybe we’ll have to round up a crew and drink some Guinness at 10am (I remember one of Jeff’s friends getting up early for a soccer match) to appreciate the sport.
I agree. The provincial nature of soccer is what makes it so amazing as a fan sport. The international events are closest to fostering the national competition that the Olympics has lost. After a major earthquake in Argentina – which devastated much of the country – the populous was given a choice. Should the government spend the funds they had on repairing the infrastructure of the nation – or build a new national stadium and provide new uniforms for the team. The country elected to use the funds the government had available to create a greater place for the team that represented them. While entirely irrational, that is the difference between the “me first” attitude of the US versus the collective culture of the rest of the world.
The lack of commercials and adverts of 90 min is amazing – which seems to be why the US audience becomes bored – because they have to pay attention for 45 min at a time. In comparison, US Football only features about 21 minutes of ACTUAL playing over the course of a 3 hour broadcast. Plenty of room for commercials… 🙂