Radiofree West Hartford -- Post-Thanksgiving Recap: Turkey, Football, and Epstein. by Tom Evers

THE CROW'S NEST:

Post-Thanksgiving Recap: Turkey, Football, and Epstein.

By Tom Evers

December 02, 2002

If you're feeling about twenty pounds heavier right about now, then your Thanksgiving host did their job. Turkey, stuffing, buttered sweet potatoes, thick breads, pumpkin pie, mince pie, etc, etc. At this point, all I can say is get me back to the gym quick.

This year we managed two great feats: attending the annual Manchester Road Race -- my wife actually ran the whole route at a very good pace (I was sidelined with lazyitis) - and I have to say there's nothing like a 9 am rum and coke at the Army-Navy club on Main Street, and second, we got out of hosting Thanksgiving this year, and ended up seated at my family's dinner table.

I'm partial to small, uneventful, family holiday gatherings, and that is why my Thanksgiving was a very enjoyable one. We had the basic small talk and the usual discussions: family, work, home repair, and blah, blah, blah. Everyone was in good spirits and the food was superb - as it generally is when someone else cooks it.

The other plus was watching the Dallas Cowboys defeat the Washington Redskins. I've been partial to the Cowboys since I was about four (and I have pictures to prove it). The downside to this is that my wife and the others at the dinner table are Redskins fans (or anti-Dallas fans, or anti-Jerry Jones fans - of which there are many, including a majority of Cowboys fans). I guess this made for some silent friction, but I can't help it, I'm a vocal sports fan.

I've never liked Washington, but I think that stems from a long rivalry between the Cowboys and Redskins. I may be wrong here, but its probably one of the most watched NFL games on television. It's a lot like a Red Sox and Yankees game - a jam-packed sell-out every time.

It is tough being a Dallas fan in Connecticut in this day and age. Growing up here, I was happily subjected to a majority of Cowboys games, and sadly, now with new regulations over regionally televised sports events, we are stuck with endless Jets, Giants and Patriots games. Although I must say that I'm slightly partial to the Pats because they are "New England's team" (even though Robert Craft screwed over Governor Rowland and Hartford about a year or so ago).

In this day and age, you should be able to pick and choose the sports games you want to watch as part of your basic service. I think my cable converter gives me the option of viewing 900 or so channels (most of which are totally unwatchable), and we would all be well served to have a dozen of those dedicated to NFL games instead of shopping channels, Spanish channels and Religious programming. And on this note, while any good New Englander may not choose to watch games played in Texas Stadium, they sure in hell wouldn't choose to watch anything that comes out of New York - that's for sure.

Unlike Baseball, Football is far less regional in fan identification. Now obviously my point isn't that there are fewer Green Bay fans in Green Bay than you realize, it's that you can be loyal to a football team that's 500 miles away without anyone blinking an eye. People have greater loyalty to quarterbacks than they do baseball pitchers, and that's probably because there are fewer QB's than there are pitchers, and fewer football teams than there are baseball teams.

I don't truly know what makes a sports fan support a football team that's 500 miles away, but I do know that when I go to the local mall, I see hats and coats with the logos for Dallas, San Fran, Washington and Miami. And on occasion I see someone wearing a Patriots jacket (in fact more so now than in past years since the Pats won last years' superbowl). As for baseball hats, it's generally just limited to Red Sox and Yankees hats and the occasional dingy Mets hat. It's true; I understand that every Mets hat now comes with a free bar of soap.

Well, what can I say - I hope your Thanksgiving was as enjoyable as mine. Oh check out this article from National Review's flashback section on fried Turkey

Red Sox Choose Epstein?

Meanwhile, Red Sox management stunned the world by announcing that they selected young, 28 year old, Theo Epstein to serve as General Manager of the Boston Red Sox.

My first reaction was probably like everyone else's - did this kid win an essay contest to win the job, send in a certain number of fruity pebbles box tops, or something? I mean strictly speaking, Red Sox management has a long-standing track record for making foolish decisions, but this one could have far reaching implications.

I'm very happy for the kid to live the dream and be part of the team, but to lead the team with so little experience doesn't make a bit of sense to me. Hurray! He went Yale, Hurray! He's a local and a life long Sox fan, and all of the other irrelevant bits and pieces.

Red Sox Nation put up with former General Manager Dan Duquette for a long time. Dan made a few good moves (such as acquiring Pedro Martinez) but he also made some terrible moves (losing Clemens, picking up Offerman and signing him to multi-year, multi-million dollar deal so he could manage to hit a meager .200, I could go on and on), so when they gave Dan the boot last year, we hoped that we would get a world-renown GM who understood baseball and could help to shape the franchise and guide the Mike Ports of the world to build a world class championship team. And instead we get a 28 year old novice named Epstein.

The writers at the Boston Globe have approached this topic with kid gloves -- no pun intended (or maybe they're still in a state of shock). And that's good and all, but come opening day, when the heat is on and the wide-eyed Boston press is foaming at the mouth for answers, we'll see how they pound this neophyte GM down into the ground.

Globe articles about his "diverse background" aren't fit to print, but at least they are giving the kid the benefit of the doubt for now - perhaps a sort of early Christmas present for Theo. Well Tad, smile away, enjoy the big office with the big desk, photo-ops, and pleasantries of the moment. Come April, you will be in the frying pan with the burner turned up on high. And no, they didn't teach any of this to you at Yale.

Good Luck!

Holiday Announcements:

West Hartford will hold its Annual Holiday Stroll in West Hartford Center this Thursday, December 5, 2002 beginning at 5 pm. Bands, food, singing, and Christmas and Chanukah happenings -- all a part of this special event being held in West Hartford Center.

The West Hartford Republican Town Committee is holding its Holiday Party at the Prospect Café, 345 Prospect Avenue on Thursday, December 12, 2002 (6pm-9pm). Donation: $10.