Punt, Kick, or Tirar

I'm sure everyone in DallasCowboysLand is awestruck with Tony Romo's success in his first 4 NFL starts. All Cowboys' fans wish he had started the season instead of somewhere near the middle, but beggars can't be chosers at this point. I don't know if anyone noticed this, but just before the Colts kicked the ball back to the 'Boys in the 4th quarter, Romo ran down the bench and essentially high-fived everyone to get them ready for the pending drive. Wow, where did this come from? I do not know if any other quarterback does this, but with the way the team has played lately, it sure does make sense that the team is playing better because of Romo's attitude.

What I am very surprised to have not heard so far, media-wise, is that Tony Romo is the first Hispanic starting quarterback in Cowboys' team history. Maybe he isn't because I have yet to hear that specific item in all the hype that has surrounded him since midseason insertion, but it's wonderful to see and hear that he's doing so well.

I would like to share a fantastic website that has become one of my all-time favorites. I came across this site, maybe 10 years ago, and I don't remember if a co-worker told me about it, but what it is, is immensely entertaining, especially if you know something about Mexican culture. The context of the site, may be vulgar to some, but it certainly deserves plenty of recognition, in terms of the word it describes. The site is entirely in Spanish and it is called "La Chingada," or loosely translated as "The Screwed," in English and I like to visit it from time to time for a quick laugh. You'll find the site at: http://csgrs6k1.uwaterloo.ca/~dmg/chingada/ Although the website is quite lame in construction and lacks any visual effects, but it certainly makes up for in colorful context and philosophical connections. What I like about it is that it delves into the etymology of one of the most prolifically used expletives in Mexico's spanish vernacular.

The word chingar, with the verb meaning to screw, could be seen as a catch all, similar to English's usage of both s*** & f***, but it has a historical background and varied usage that its English counterparts do not have. Yes, you can say, "Ah, go f*** yourself," or "I had a s****y time" in English, but chingar has a breeding all its own, pun immensely intended, and it's inherently a Mexicanism. Ask any Mexican when the initial chingada occurred and they will tell you it came when Spanish conquistadores took Aztec women as their wives. Furthermore, you will see and hear the phrase, "Hijos de la chingada" throughout Mexican culture and you will know that they are referring to the "sons (& daughters) of the first chingada."

These are a quick sampling of Octavio Paz's interpretation of the word from the site itself:

[La chingada] es una palabra hueca. No quiere decir nada. Es la Nada.
[La chingada] is an empty word. It doesn't say anything. It is the Nothing.

El hijo de la chingada es el engendro de la violación, del rapto, de la burla.
The son of the chingada is the fetus of the rape, of the abduction, of the ridiculed.

Para el mexicano, la vida es la posibilidad de chingar o de ser chingado.
For the Mexican, life is the possibility of being the screwer or the screwee.

October chills

Goosebumps and chills kept me warm on the way in to work this chilly morning as I listened to The Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. I can't remember the first instance I heard SRV's music, but it had to be some time in high school more than 15+ years ago. Tunes like "Pride and Joy", "Texas Flood", and "Sky is Crying" were the among ones I'd hear more often and of course, committed to memory. His sound is quintessentially Texan- the monster riffs and booming vocals that remind one of an April thunderstorm and yet he'll surprise you with the flowing melodies reminescent of a tube ride down the Guadalupe River. Although he is no longer with us on this plane, his music is still fresh and relevant today as it ever was.

Onto something else now. Seeing Kenny Rogers fabulous performance in Game 2 of the 2006 World Series, helped me confirm something that I have been thinking about for the past few weeks. Towards the end of the regular season, much of the baseball media commented on how being away from the Texas during the summer months has helped Rogers finish the season on such a strong note. Apparently he's found a comfort zone that has continued into the postseason. So with all this said, this is what I am proposing or hinting at: a domed stadium in Arlington.

I know that it's 10 years too late, but why didn't they think about putting a retractable roof on what is now Ameriquest Field in Arlington? It could be that the technology was not yet available for such an architectural endeavor, but if memory serves me right, Safeco Field in Seattle is about the same age as The Field. If seeing Kenny Rogers excell as he has this season in Detroit, you know there's something to that. I'll be willing to bet that many of the Rangers' former players are so happy and relieved that they do not have to play in the North Texas heat during the hottest months of the year.

The Texas Rangers had a dismal year at the turnstiles and you can say it was because of the team's poor on-field performance, but you've got to remember that this past summer was one of the hottest in Dallas-Fort Worth history. I was there a few times this summer and it was hot. I'm sure I wasn't the only one in the stadium worrying how the heat bothered our kids during games played in 100 degree plus temperatures, much less how it affected our team on the field. It's obviously too late to do anything about this, but I think the Rangers would compete more so in a climate controlled environment.

Gotta start somewhere

The weather is starting to get cooler, so you know what that means! It's time to start your Christmas shopping. Yeah, but... no! It's the good part of football season. There were some awesome games today and one of the best was the Texas vs Nebraska game in Lincoln. The 'Horns pulled out a great 22-20 win against a tough Cornhusker team. This game had all the Orangebloods breathing a big sigh of relief as time expired. Lincoln's never an easy place to play and today's game was no diffrent as the weather was a major factor in the game's playcalling, with a cold blowing and then a steady rain/snow mix. Can you imagine what the season would look like if Texas had kept up the run game against that porous Ohio State run defense early on in the season?

This is just the first of many varied postings. Stay tuned.