Two Album Reviews, Balanced Beer Palates and Belarusian Street Art

Time to pull back the curtain.  I know no one expects Oz but everyone comes into an FPF season with expectations nonetheless.  This is no different from what players come to expect of the media.  Sadly, this is no one’s full time job.  We have yet to grow FPF to the point where the writers, podcasters, camera people, photographers can commit themselves to full time employment in our favorite league.

As such, this time of year is my busiest at work.  Typically the finals falls on the same weekend of the Masters.  Given that I have some control of my workflow. I arrange it so that I can focus on work and undertake the busiest parts of my career between the winter and spring seasons.  Covid lockdowns instead slammed my timelines into one blurring line of artistry and the requirement to pay bills.  

As such, I haven’t been sleeping much.  The vertigo-like symptoms were an apparent extreme exhaustion. As such the article last week was a little stripped down.  So I’ve decided to write a “midweek” article that have some recaps and some of my usual psychedelia.  Power rankings and such are in the works for sometime between Friday afternoon and Saturday.  In the meantime here’s three recaps and a ton of rambling: 

Waiting on the World to Change

This recap takes us to the city of Minsk, Belarus. State workers find themselves accompanied by police.  Their goal is to paint over graffiti on a wall, in a courtyard.  This seemingly mundane task is made somewhat tenuous as this is far from the first time these city workers have undertaken the task.  Every time they’ve done so, they’ve returned to find that the graffiti returned and the once blank wall now once again acted as a mural where a painting of two DJ’s with arms raised has returned.

Surely, this act is innocuous.  To the uninformed perhaps this act is a grassroots marketing campaign.  Perhaps this was the work of some super fan?  However, local residents know better/  This mural represents an act of open defiance as the DJs played the song Khochu Peremen. This song  was initially part of the underground soviet rock scene of the late 1980s and it exclaims “Our hearts need change, our eyes need change…We are waiting for change”.  Since then this courtyard has come to be known as the Square of Change.  It’s spirit represents hope and it’s demands are to replace President (read dictator) President Alexander Lukashenko.  It is a tru triumph of human spirit. 

This is what came to mind as I pondered the results of the Demons vs. Free Agent Squad game.  The idea of change is powerful, the belief that improvement is just beyond the horizon is what keeps us showing up week in and week out even if the season has not gone the way we expected.  Free agents Squad had the deck stacked against them as they were individuals grouped together as a team striving for a common goal.  Dallas Oden and Jeremy Borst both took reps at quarterback as the team looked for any spark to ignite the offense. It would actually be a touchdown from Borst to the player who would relieve him at the pivot that would be the game’s opening score. A 2 yard punch-in seemed to put the team at ease for a moment.  However, this would be short-lived as the extra point attempt was returned by Carl Hetterman for a single point score.

The second half saw the Demons return to form. Adam Antel’s patience was rewarded as he was able to score touchdowns on passes to Jeremie Nathaniel and  the aforementioned Hetterman. Meanwhile, Matthew Neiss helped move the chains with a 7 catch and a nice 69 yard performance.   For Free Agent Squad Christanis Meril Banzouzi had a great outing and put up half of his season total in yardage in this game. The result was a 14-6 win by Demons but for Free Agent Squad perhaps this was a symbol for what’s to come.  FPF careers are long and while the struggles hurt now, the learning will surely lead to success as persistence inevitably leads to change.

Crikey

I’ve recently gone out of my way to find new music that interests me.  This quest has led me down the past to discover up and coming and unsigned acts but largely, it has been a quest to discover more and new guitar driven music. I do love hip hop and rap but I felt like I generally get a stream of new releases from those styles and, as I’ve started to play again, I have felt inspired to find new things.  

Believe it or not, a previous incarnation of my artistry had me earning a living (a very, very, very, modest living) as a working musician.  As the first lockdown, left me without sport and a need for creative outlets (because owning a sports blog/podcast company wasn’t enough apparently). I dedicated myself to learning in a different way than a lot of hobbyists attempted to.  I grabbed my six string and first, built the muscle memory that I used to have and then specifically targeted areas I didn’t like/was weakest.  Such is what put me on my quest to challenge myself to absorb new artistry. 

Still, when heroes of my youth put forward a new release, I am inevitably drawn to it with a mixture of nostalgic warmth and hopeful wonder.  In recent weeks the Red Hot Chili Peppers put out a new release with the familiar sound of John Frusciante’s patented stratocaster returning to the group. Likewise, Jack White dusted off his fuzz pedals to put forward his latest work.  My immediate excitement was met in one instance but tamed in another.

Watching Killer Rays since they’re arrival in FPF has filled me with similar wonder. Not only am I one of the more senior writers for FPF but I’m also the head of FPF media. Yet, I choose to cover division 6.  It is a difficult assignment for any writer but I find it enthralling to see new teams and try to envisage how they will develop.  Killer Rays instantly caught my attention.  They are brazen and unrefined.  Tylar Bianchi at times feels like his two speeds are floor it and stop.  He loves attacking the defense and when he’s at his best it’s back to back 22 and 16 yard completions to Tyler Gurberg or a 40 yard touchdown pass to Curtis Ryan.  This is why he has a 50% completion percentage on the season.  He loves taking shots and the team is fast and athletic but I think there is some room to develop a more methodical approach that allows him to exploit all three levels. On this day however, 14 pass attempts were enough to push Killer Rays beyond Toute Garnie by a score of 37-12.  

Toute Garnie is a new team.  They’re named after a delicious slice (let’s face it, there’s no such thing as bad Pizza and I live walking distance to the worst dep. Pizza in human existence).   Anthony Palombo has some FPF experience but he hasn’t played a ton as a quarterback. He’s had some really great performances mixed in with some rough ones.  This was, unfortunately, one of the latter cases.  Greg Lee recorded an interception and a receiving touchdown as one of the highlights in a losing effort while James Continelli caught the only other score for Toute Garnie.

In the end, I felt a little let down by the RHCP album. John Frusciante is the reason I first picked up a Fender Stratocaster and is the reason that every time I sell my Strat I buy another one a few months later. The musicianship on Unliwas predictably excellent but there was just no excitement coming off the speakers. At the best it’s a grasp at nostalgia at worst it’s a rehash from a group who’ve lost their identity in an impersonation of their youth.  

Jack White’s Fear of the Dawn is weird.  I mean this in the best way possible.  It is an experiment in the velcro, sofa retro-rock that we’ve seen from him but the eclectic nature seemes earnest and deserved. It is a big swing with one hand and the other holding on to the roots of his past. Rather than an inauthentic reiteration of his catalog it is as forthright as Hemmingway and has his take on riff rock with his usual brand of soulful imagination. 

The album cover looks like: You know when it’s late at night and your roommate turned into a werewolf and destroyed your shed. Then there was nowhere to put your tools because your roommate turned into a werewolf and destroyed your shed. Then you weren’t sure if you had a roommate any more because you had nowhere to put all your tools because they turned into a werewolf and destroyed your shed? Has this ever happened to you?  To be honest, I feel like it has and it speaks to me.

In the end, there isn’t a single way to play flag.  There is the way we start in this league. However, the way we successfully can look back on our time here is to be an authentic and evolving representation of who we are rather than grasping for fading pictures of days that remain in memory.

#Upforwhatever

Bud Light’s latest slogan has been the source of controversy recently.  While anyone with the slightest bit of common sense will recognize that this slogan means that you’re as likely to smash some malt, dextrine, corn, hops and yeast while watching a game as you are after diving for a frisbee on the beach.  It’s clear that the slogan doesn’t mean that you’re down for dressing up in ski masks, robbing a bank, vandalizing old people’s homes and eating all of their crackers.  That just makes you a d#$k. 

Sometimes I wonder how we got here in the first place.  I recently heard an interview with Seth Rogan. Dax Sheppard was making a point defending how the opposing side of an argument saw a specific issue and Seth Rogan answered “well, I think they’re racist a$$holes, why are we wasting time defending racist a$$holes?”  He had a point.  The whataboutism draws us so far from the point that the plot gets lost. Here’s   

Firstly, it’s ok to have your own belief. Don’t tie yourself to doctrine.  Just remember that when we get down to it, the cost is always human life.

Secondly, realize that when you go down the “what about” rabbit hole you may find yourself defending dictators, murderers and all sorts of malfeasance.  

Thirdly, it’s ok that people don’t agree.  We don’t all have to come to a consensus.  I’m a fan of the Pat Riley approach that in conflict we find our best selves.  

Fourthly (that felt weird…Forethly? Fourthly?4thly? Quarterly?)  If your best self is an a$$hole, then you don’t really have a best self.

Getting back to the third point, Beer Knights and I have fundamental differences in opinion about great beers.  I believe that great beer is found in balance. Strong malty beers are awesome when balanced but can taste like fermented rocket fuel if not counterbalanced with crisp yeast or enough hop profile to tame the sweetness of unfermentables.  IPAs and great provided they don’t taste like the back end of your lawn mower.  They need a little alcohol to carry the bitterness.  A California common needs to be refreshing but needs to linger in a way that calls for more.  Saisons need to be light but the yeast should leave memories of cake yeast and a cheese cloth full of orange rind, banana bread and several year old Hubba-Bubba or Bazooka Joe chewing gum.  Light beer, especially commercial ones, by their nature lack balance.

But I digress…

Beer Knights have found themselves tested recently.  Tropic Thunder was a challenge they weren’t ready for and that set them up for a tough task against Off-Island Boys.  Following that was a tight loss to Your Girfriends Cheer for Us and a win against the then undefeated Stormers.  Last week was no different as they played a tough Glory Boyz team.  They entered the game without star receiver Michael Pietrobon who remarkably, has scored 65 touchdowns in 68 games in his FPF career.  Frankie Scalzo scanned his huddle and looked to steady the troops early. His first drive was a short one after a 4 and out by Glory Boyz.  Anthony Gentile set up the pins and Phil Samure knocked them down for a touchdown in what would be his only catch in this contest.

Micahel Hiotis of Glory Boyz came out for the next drive with his hair on fire.  Seriously, Nic Cage’s performance in Ghost Rider would have been jealous.  Antonio Venturino would take the offense past half field and Lucas Crivello would score on HIS only catch of the game (a 15 yard touchdown).  Save for Jeremie Ledoux’s safety of Hiotis later in the half, that would be it for first half scoring. Ledoux would put up the next score for Beer Knights at the end of an 11 yard catch.  Glory Boyz had moments where they looked like they oculd make it a game but Hiotis’ 4th down interception turned touchdown by Mathieu Kieljan seemed to be the point of no return. The remainder of the game would result in a score by Tristan Koutsoumbas and 3 final plays by which Glory Boyz could not close the gap on the 21-13 score.

Thursday’s Tepid Temple

For those who have any thoughts, commentary or complaints, I am very easy to find.  I’m @peezehss on twitter, @pdellarocca and Peeze Della Reeze on facebook.  You can also take a chance by emailing me at [email protected] but I don’t check it because it’s a death trap of junk emails all trying to sell discounted legal fees and camo patterned umbrellas.  I really need to use incognito mode.

Folks, if your team is struggling, Eagle, Moe, (any of the media guys really), and I love talking flag. Let us know how we can help, let us know if you have any questions.  Hey, even if you have some incredible thoughts, I’m always down for an ethereal descent into introspection.

Remember that each week you can join the party on our Facebook page or at www.youtube.com/flagplus on our weekly podcast: Calling the Audible.  The show is released every Friday morning. 

Till next week, I want to thank you falettineme be mice elf agin!