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¡Gooooooooooooooool! · 19 November 2022

[It is the men’s World Cup time again, so I thought I would pull out an old piece of writing that had not yet seen the light of day.]

It might sound weird, but there are times when I wish I was watching the FIFA World Cup soccer matches on a channel where they did not speak English.

I remember watching World Cup soccer as a kid. We watched matches at Grandma and Grandpa’s on a black and white TV. It was all that we really needed to watch those great matches. Nobody really understood soccer in those days (even the commentators), but we understood that we were watching something incredible. Especially if Pelé was playing.

As I got older, I remember watching Soccer Made in Germany on PBS. We did not watch it all the time, but it was good stuff. But certainly not as exciting as watching the World Cup. (Which, now that I think about it, we may not have watched as kids.) Especially since the commentators really just seemed to be trying to educate us about the sport.

As an adult, I have not watched much soccer. Partly because I like to play rather than watch any sport. But part of it is also because much of the announcing is somewhat pedestrian. It is like listening to somebody comment on watching somebody else walking. (“Oh, he better watch out. There is a crack coming.”) Sure, they talk about the game and quote statistics about this player and that player. When it comes down to it though, it is not all that exciting to hear about this player passing to that player. Especially when some commentators sound so very ho hum about it all.

But then I watched a few matches on a Spanish-speaking channel. ¡Ay, caramba! It was like watching a different sport. The commentators were animated about every pass, every shot, every ¡Gooooooooooooooooooooooooool!

I was only watching the Spanish-speaking channel because there was not an English-speaking channel broadcasting the game I wanted to watch, but I was hooked. I was spoiled by those few games. Now, even though I understand little Spanish, I would rather watch a soccer match broadcast in Spanish. They are just so passionate about the sport, and it shows in their commentary. Commentary that I do not even understand, but certainly appreciate.

I thought it would be nice if any of those Spanish-speaking broadcasters would broadcast over the airwaves, especially soccer matches. Not that the current broadcasters are not doing a fine job. They are. The different World Cup commentators are much more passionate about the sport and each particular game than they have been before. Certainly more animated than those back in the late seventies and early eighties calling Soccer Made in Germany. And much more knowledgeable than those commentators we heard on those old black and white broadcasts in the early seventies. But there is just something about the passion of those Spanish-speaking commentators. During a World Cup or any match.

I was thinking about those passionate commentators and about watching the 2018 World Cup matches on a Spanish-speaking channel, when lo and behold, I watched a match with a normally Spanish-speaking pair. Jorge Pérez-Navarro and Mariano Trujillo were calling the Panama vs. Tunisia game in English.

If you were to look at the match objectively, there should have been no passion. There was nothing at stake in the game. Neither team had qualified for the knock-out stage of the tournament. The announcers kept saying that they were playing for pride and for their countries and for the love of the game. But the two called the game like it was the final. They were animated. They were passionate. I loved their accents. Mariano Trujillo played for the Mexican national team and offered insights about playing against some of the players from Panama. He and Jorge Pérez-Navarro were great together as they sparred about which goalie is the greatest in Central America. It was entertaining to listen to the pair.

And then I heard it.

It was the thirty-third minute of the match. Jorge Pérez-Navarro shouted, “¡Gooooooooooooooooooooooooool!” I could not believe my ears. It was what had been missing from my 2018 World Cup watching experience. It had been what I had been missing most of my soccer watching life. And I got to hear it two more times during the game. I was ecstatic watching what many called a meaningless game. It was not meaningless to the players, their fans, and certainly not to the game’s commentators.

I know it sounds weird, but I would like to hear a little more life in the commentators’ voices during the World Cup matches. Spanish-speaking or not. I wish they would all have the passion of Jorge Pérez-Navarro, Mariano Trujillo, and others. But when it comes right down to it, I really just wish they would all have some signature call of a single word. A word seemingly said until the commentator runs out of breath. A word said after every score by every single player.

¡Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool!

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Veterans Day 2022 · 11 November 2022

I do not tire of saying, “Thank you for serving,” to veterans and active duty people I know.

Veterans Day comes every November 11, but I like to thank veterans and active duty members of the armed forces whenever I meet them. I also take that holiday to say, “Thank you,” to my friends and relatives who served or are serving. And I never tire of doing so. It is because I do not want to take their service for granted.

We should never forget that freedom is not free. Somebody has paid for our freedom with blood. Many of those people who have paid for our freedom have served or are serving in the armed forces today. Some of them have paid with time and service. Some of them have paid with blood. And some of them have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

“Greater love has no one…”

It is interesting to think that any member of the armed forces is willing to lay down his or her life for the freedom of others. To protect and preserve freedom. To defend the constitution of these United States. And to defend freedom in other countries where people serve. But I think that is the point of Veterans Day. Not only do we honor those who did give the ultimate sacrifice, we honor those who were and are willing to do so.

I think that is the reason I like to thank our armed service personnel for serving. It is the reason I like to thank our veterans for serving. They are willing to give the ultimate sacrifice. Whether they do so or not does not matter. They are willing.

Veterans Day and any day that I meet a veteran or active duty member of the armed forces, I say, “Thank you for serving.” And when I say those words, I also mean thank you for being willing to pay the ultimate price for freedom.

Thank you for serving. I thank you on this Veterans Day and I thank you every day.

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Halloween Comes and Goes but Batman Miyoshi Lives Forever · 5 November 2022

Halloween comes and goes but Batman Miyoshi lives on forever.

When our boys were young we used to take them out trick or treating on Halloween. They would dress up in great costumes. I would put on my cowboy hat and cowboy boots and pretend I was John Wayne and we would all walk around the neighborhood trick or treating. It was great fun.

One of the greatest costumes that the kids used to wear was a Batman costume. It had a cape and a mask and wristbands with jaggedy things sticking out like the Batman of old. But the best thing about the Batman costume was the abs. Those abs made of some kind of foam showed through the Batcostume. Just like the abs of Adam West did when he played Batman. Okay. Adam West did not have those rock hard abs like the actors all seem to have today, but his abs still stuck out. So to speak.

At any rate.

Like all good costumes, the Batman costume still hangs in the closet and gets reused. Oh sure, it does not fit anybody in our household. After all, nobody is eight anymore. Which I believe is about the age of child the Batman costume would normally fit. Even so the Batman costume gets taken out every year for Halloween. Or at least every year that Halloween is on a weekday.

You might be thinking that I just get the costume out to reminisce about the old days, but you would be mistaken. I get out the costume and put it on. I put on the Batmask (the eyeholes do not get anywhere near my eyes). I put on the Batwrist thingamabobs. I put on the Batcape. Which of course has the Batabs. None of them really fit except the Batwrist thingamabobs, but that is okay. I still wear the whole getup. It is tradition. Batman Miyoshi lives.

One of the most fun things that I have done with Batman Miyoshi is make educational videos. I have done Physics with Batman. And C++ with Batman. They are perhaps the most beloved of the videos I have done. And since they are on the internet, Batman Miyoshi lives forever. Which is okay with me. After all, I think that kids can learn when they are entertained. Even though I do not know that I am that entertaining.

It is funny though. I get the funniest looks from students as I stand in my classroom or greet students in the hallway between classes as Batman. Well, I get the funniest looks from the kids who have not seen Batman roaming the halls before. They make comments and smile and even greet me as Batman. One student even asked if my abs were real. I know he was joking, but it was still a nice comment.

The students who have been around just expect Batman to show up as my substitute every year. Well, they expect me to show up as my alter ego each Halloween. They even wonder why I do not dress up on the Friday before Halloween if it falls on a weekend. So sometimes I do.

I may not fight crime in the dark of night. I may not really have an alter ego. I may not even have rock hard abs. But I like to bring Batman Miyoshi back each year at Halloween. After all, Batman lives forever.