The Mojo Boogie - Week 13

First of all, it’s SNOWINGGGGGG!

This is the view out the front door of the House of Bluz.

I hate snow, but I can cope with it. I’ve lived in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Cleveland, Albany NY and other spots across the Midwest. I can deal. People in Baltimore cannot. They lose their freakin’ minds at the first forecast of a couple flakes.

Schools close, people call off work, and the supermarkets are mobbed, primarily for eggs, bread and toilet paper. As if all you can do when trapped at home by a half an inch of snow is eat egg sandwiches and shit.

At least I don’t have to go out today. Well, I do, sorta… I need beer and popcorn for the Pens game tonight. I could walk to the store if I wanted, but I’ll take the opportunity to clear the snow off the car so I don’t have to do it Monday morning in my work clothes.

RIP
Before I go on to the customary frivolity, we got a sad note this week when we heard that Foge Fazio died. If you live in Pittsburgh, chances are you know all about that. If not, Foge used to coach at Pitt, Notre Dame and also with the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings. He also used to go to school with my Dad and is considered a family friend.

I only met him at once, at my Grandma’s funeral a couple years ago… the one I mentioned in this post, when I was listening to the Steelers game with an earphone wired up the back of my suit. But my dad and he kept in fairly regular touch. And I know that back when he was coaching with Pitt, he got my dad and my brother down onto the field before the game and introduced him to the team. He always had time for his buddies from Coraopolis.

By all accounts, he was a fine guy, as recounted by Ron Cook in the PG this week. He will be missed. Dad, you have anything to add?

The Mojo Boogie
This week, we have the Raiders, at home.

The first pro football game I ever saw was a Raiders/Cowboys pre-season game in Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. I was probably 14, my brother was 12, and we went to the game alone.

I know… Holy crap!

It was back in 1976 (or so) and we were on a long vacation out to the west coast. Well, we were on vacation… Dad was working. Somehow he managed to come up with 2 tickets to the game. Hmmm, how to divide the tickets between 3 football fans?

So being a great Dad, he decided to give us the tickets. He drove us to the stadium, told us when he’d be back to pick us up and set us out on our own. We’d been to plenty of baseball games before, so it didn’t seem like a very big deal. We went in, found our seats and enjoyed the game. We even saw Cowboy Ray there. Didn’t know who he was at the time, but later saw him on TV at all the Cowboy games.

I must note that this was BEFORE Oakland became famous for the Black Hole and all the crazy Road Warrior dudes in the stands.

We didn’t see anything unusual, except maybe for Cowboy Ray, who probably would have been beaten with his own boots if he’d shown up there about 10 years later.

Anyway, we had a great time, saw our first football game and met up successfully with Dad after the game. No sweat.

Can you imagine dropping off a couple of young boys at a football stadium NOW? Any stadium, let alone the one where the Raiders play? Holy crap, how many child-abuse laws would that violate?

But much like all the other crazy shit we did in the 70’s, we pulled it off.

For Sunday’s game, I’m going back to the Chargers game and breaking out the black Troy Polamalu jersey and dusting off the white Steelers sweatpants I’ve worn the last couple years. I’d feel better if Troy were actually playing, but this will have to do.

Bohemian Muppetry
Now, just because I think it’s flippin’ hilarious, here’s a video that just kills me. I used to love The Muppet Show back in the 70’s (especially the Swedish Chef) and this clip is very true to the original spirit. Anyone that’s ever seen the original Queen music video will recognize most of the shots, and devotees of The Muppet Show will appreciate how the behavior of the Muppets are consistent with their character.

Note: it starts slow, so be patient. The action kicks in when the song does.

Gotta love the classics!