Heyyyyyy Magallanes

The World Series.

The showcase of the Boys of Summer. 

The child's game played at it's most skillful level, but the Fall Classic is also a swan's song.  The Series reminds us all of how a season builds up to its defining moment and then fades away. 

Baseball has a way of being a metaphor for life, and the passing of Lou Reed shows how that even though teams and seasons change, their influence or prestige give us optimism towards season to come.

Sure we may be sad that our team lost, a star player is leaving, we are leaving a position, or someone of importance (family or culturally) has passed on, but the game continues and we are better because of it. 

And, there is always next season.

LOU REED: “I couldn’t have been unhappier in the eight years I spent growing up in Brooklyn. And if there was probably a childhood trauma that I had other than the Dodgers leaving Brooklyn, which if you think about it is a reason why some of us are imbued with a cynicism that we never recovered from. Obviously you’re not a Mets fan, and you can’t possibly be a Yankees fan, so baseball’s eliminated from your life because of being born in Brooklyn.”

OFF-CAMERA INTERVIEWER: “You cared about the Dodgers as a kid?“

LOU REED: “Very much. I don’t know why. I don’t like baseball. Of course, maybe I don’t like baseball because the Dodgers aren’t here anymore.”

Baseball's influence is everywhere.  Imagine if Lou was a Cubs fan.

More on Lou later. 

Venezuela and baseball.  It's like America and football. 

I was one of the people lucky enough to be on the receiving end of some Caracas vs. Valencia tickets (thanks to Lorena), which are some of the most difficult tickets to score here in VE.  [Unlucky in the sense that we had conferences the next day.  So it goes.]

These two teams are very strong and have a Yankees/Boston level of competitiveness and hatred. If you want a quick look at both teams check out these links: Magallanes and Leones.

Quick history:

Caracas has won 20 Venezuelan Professional Baseball Championships, two Caribbean World Series titles and Pete Rose played there in '64/65. 
Valencia has won 11 Venezuelan Professional Baseball Championships, and two Caribbean World Series. 

We took a van to get to the stadium to save time with travel and not worry about potential issues in the parking lot. 

Attack of the crazy tights! AHHHHH

The atmosphere outside was like nothing I had ever seen.


In the states, outside of a sports venue typically has tailgating, apparel sales, and fans chanting or talking smack to the opposing team.  These traits were similar, but with Venezuelan flare. 

The streets leading to the stadium were packed.  People looking to sell you Magallanes gear, food, or park your car.  The closer to the stadium the more you can feel the vibe of the game and its meaning.  It also gives you insight to what the "real" Valencia is like and not the small bubble I typically live in. 

We hopped out of the van and the sky was illuminated by the lights of the stadium, meanwhile the noise consumes you.  People talking baseball, drumming, the blowing of horns, and the mangling of traffic fills your auditory glands with excitement. 

Where the US has parking lots of people in specific stalls interacting, the Valencia experience is more of cafeteria style of pregame.  If you a Magallanes scarf or necklace, boom you got it.  If you want some food or a beer, got that too.  The road outside of the stadium is lined with people hanging around or people literally waiting in line.  People bounce around with their own agenda in mind.

B.B.C. = Beer. Baseball. CrackerJacks (wish I had some).

One guy was just being a clown.  We were staying in line and this dude rolls up Leones jersey on, and blasts his plastic horn of deafness right by us.  It was like the Sirens left Odysseus's ship and tried to blow one (if not both) of my ear drums.  I've listened to too much rock 'n roll and metal in my life so my ears ring normally, but when the fool in the street did that, my ears hurt. [I shake my fist at you Leones red horn player.] 

Hot out bod out for the mascot. 

The entrance to the stadium is pretty typical.  Ticket check, pat down, scan of weapons, and into the stadium itself.  Inside the stadium is as close to home as I've felt in a while.  It's pretty close to any ball park, with the exception of a stall that sells the visiting team's gear.  Could you imagine going to a Cubs game and seeing a Cardinals vendor IN the stadium?  No way.  They had it here, and I thought that was cool. 


We moved up the ramp and the field opened up.  It was a beautiful park, and very modern in its structure.  Our group hung a hard left and maneuvered through the packed house, and up about sixteen paces to our seats.  We were split up into two groups due to the scarce availability of the tickets, but both of our divisions were located under the roof (which was big with the two bouts of showers we had).

A beautiful night for a ball game

The game was awesome.  The fans were super into the contest.  They were passionate, smart fans that would whistle or holler when an opposing player would bluff, step out of the box or make a noticeable mistake.  The fans were increasingly active as the cheap beers funneled their fervor.

Before the anthem.  Notice the numbers of choice from the Magallanes.

For the hometown Magallanes, Carlos Zambrano of Chicago Cubs fame took the hill and on the opposing side, Bob (Bobby, in the USA) Abreu formerly of the Phillies/Yankees/Angels patrolled the outfield. 

BIG Z!  He's still big.  

Big Z only threw three innings, while "El Comedulce" (Abreu) had a rough day.  In one at bat he hit a grounder to the right side and after three steps out of the box tripped and fell.  The Magallanes faithful let him have it.  His fall was featured in the local newspaper the following day. 

What about Bob? He fell. 

The fans often chanted "Ponche" or punch out to encourage Big Z and the several relievers to record the strike out.  The stadium announcer reminded me of a "hype man" in a hip hop group, or MC at a basketball game- getting the crowd riled up with chants and comments.  Another common chant was, "Heyyyy Magallanes, huhhhhh!"  The engagement of the fans reminded me of the things I've read about soccer abroad and was a stark contrast of most sports in the US.

The winner of tonight's dizzy, dizzy bat race is... 

When a run scored the crowd would say something along the lines of "Hit, hit the boy, you know

(my translation may be off)."

When an opposing pitcher gets taken out the fans sing, "I'm leaving, I'm leaving if you're going to miss me."

There was a few pro government commercials that drew mixed responses from the crowd.

The big hitter of the night for Magallanes was ex-Orioles  Lew Ford (don't know sweet Lew, hit the link) who had a few big hits, including a homer run.

After the walk off single, the fans erupted.  It was awesome.  They have a tradition of throwing beers and people in the outfield bleachers were launching them.  I can't compare the Magallanes bleacher crowd to the Cubs, but they both have their own unique charm.  I'm really happy I went even though we had a quick turnaround for conferences the next day.

No shave November started early for Jon and I (I'm going to look like a Red Sox player by the 30th).  Frank is the most photogenic guy in this country.  Also, we gave Jon our cups so it look like he had a lot of beer.. kidding, HE'S A MAN!

Conferences were easy.  Not many people want to talk to the new English teacher with the weird last name, so my day was pretty relaxing.  It was a long day our conference schedule was 7:30am to 5:00pm and then turn right around for two regular days of school after that.  Two thumbs down.

Charity Road Race

This past Saturday was another CIC tradition, the Charity Road Race.  It was a pretty cool scene.  Couple hundred runners and their families showing up to work/run/walk the 5K.  Jon and I were presidents of T.N.T. (Team No Training) with Morris as our executive VP.  While I got second in my division (I'm guessing there were five people in my division), I did not run as well as I had hoped.  

I started poorly. I got hung up by little kids, students and walkers and was hurting by the final 1000m. The final block was a hill that broke me.  I swear I was going to puke.  I held it off though, and passed under what I thought was the finish line.  Turns out, they pulled an old XC move on me and snaked it up by the gymnasium (got ya!).  I didn't have it in my legs and stomach to run the extra 25-30 meters, so I "crossed" the line and quickly found some grass to call some dinosaurs on.  After trying to encourage my gatorade up (stupid, I shouldn't have drank anything) things started to settle down and I migrated to the gym to see my time.  I believe I ran a 23ish time (awful compared to some of the 17 and 18's I ran in HS, but hey what can you do?) and was runner up to David's mid-22.  He dominated, I survived.

So it goes.  

Five Things We Can All Learn From (the passing of ) Lou Reed

I was slow to Velvet Underground and his solo work.  I faked like I understood it for a while (needed college street cred), but earlier this year I listened to the their debut album a few times and it clicked.  The fact that they did what they wanted, were confident in their art, and created such a unique sound at such a turbulent time was inspiring.  It wasn't until then did their storytelling and style make sense, but when it did I felt it and I got what all the fuss was about.

One of rock's most original and outspoken poets not only showed the covalence between music and art, but also viewed life in a manner the could help shape us in a way that his music shaped the industry.

1) These are really terribly rough times, and we really should try to be as nice to each other as possible.
A good reminder that everyone is fighting their own battle and things aren't getting easier.  Be good to each other.

2) I think that everything happens for a reason, everything happens when it's going to happen.
Things will unfold and you just have to wade through it with your best intentions in mind.  It'll work out.

3) I think life is far too short to concentrate on your past. I rather look into the future.
Lou's art keeping moving forward and nostalgia wasn't for him.  Keep your eyes up and see what you can uncover.

4) One chord is fine. Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you're into jazz.
Life is complicated enough why add more irons in the fire? I can't multitask and I lied to myself for years that I could. Maybe you can, but should you? What are you missing when you're spread thin?

5) There's only X amount of time. You can do whatever you want with that time. It's your time.
My dad once told me, "They're all good days when you wake up breathing." He's right. With each breath you can do what you want, but the "X amount" is unknown.  Don't feel forced to spend it in anyway other way then your way.

While we are approaching the holiday season (crazy isn't it?) these are some good points to keep in mind and possibly use them to direct your goals/approach.

With the baseball season ending in the states and beginning here, the game keeps moving.  With Lou Reed's passing, we lost a great artist (a good guy), but gained a better appreciation for his work and the influence it provides will live on.

Every ending is a beginning.

As for me, I've decided to look for a different path next year and it will be interesting to see what opportunities present themselves.  This experience has taught me a lot and I know I will learn more in my remaining time here.  This experience has and will continue to shape me, but it is also calming to know I'll return to a lifestyle a little more familiar.

After his passing, I was listening to Mr. Reed's album, "Transformer" and stumbled upon this song.  I think it's a quirky way to send him peace and to bid you good night.

Enjoy the rest of your week (I'm still jealous of your cool weather).

Good luck to the Clinton River Kings tomorrow taking on Cedar Rapids Xavier.  I know you're the "underdog", but every dog has its day (wow, that could be the lamest thing I've ever said).  How about shock the world?  Ball out (eh, better, but not my best work).

I get to be in the Student Council Halloween costume model deal with Jon and some others Friday at an assembly (yippie!). I then come back Friday night to work the Halloween Night/Hunted House for the elementary students with the junior class.  I have no idea what to expect, but I'm sure it'll be interesting.  

Happy Halloween! If you get sick of Butterfingers, Skittles, Reese's Peanut Buttercups, or Tootsie Pops/Rolls, save them for me.  I'll eat them.

Stay away from the people that give out apples or dental floss.  They don't like fun.

Be good to each other.

Until next time,

KRS