Re-examining the social networking morass

In the immortal words of Val Kilmer’s Doc Holliday, “My hypocrisy knows no bounds.”

If you remember, I was one of the people who denounced and railed against social networking sites like the MySpace, the Facebook and the Twitter.  Now I find myself joining the Facebook and using this little blogsite to join the Twitter.   Again, I’m the first person to admit that I’m a hypocrite in just about every sense of the word…especially on these here interwebs.  I’ve found that having a Facebook account helps me stay in touch with family and close friends and share pictures and maybe share broadcast messages via a status update.  I’ve found that having a Twitter account helps me either a) promote posts on this site b) promote posts on MavsMoneyBall and c) go on Twitter-thons while watching a game, in essence, live blogging for you, the sexy reader.

In my eyes, that’s what these sites were made for, but in the hands on the wrong person, these sites can inherently make me want to shove chopsticks in my ear until I feel something go *pop*. 

For the record,

• I don’t care that you need help in Mafia Wars
• I don’t care how your farm is doing in Farmville
• I don’t care what you baked in your cafe
• I don’t care what your photo of the day is
• I don’t care about your daily routine and if you really need to go to the gym
• I don’t care if you think it’s cold outside
• I don’t care where you are or what you’re doing every minute of the day

Allow me to respond to the biggest arguments against me on this topic

1) If you don’t like it, then just ignore it or don’t read it.

So, let me get this straight.  We’re friends on Facebook because we’re friends and want to know what’s going on and keep in touch, but I’m supposed to ignore your posts?   As for the don’t read it part, well, that’s a bit hard to do when IT’S 75% OF THE GOD DAMNED SCREEN.  If you’re offended by this, go ahead and remove me as a friend, I won’t have my feelings hurt.  It’s Facebook.  Who gives a shit?

2) I’ve got everything linked together on my phone! What can I do?

STOP LINKING SHIT TOGETHER ON YOUR PHONE! These are two different websites with two different purposes.  Twitter can be updated frequently and to your heart’s content because that’s the intent.  Facebook, however, doesn’t need to be updated every two seconds because again all it does is CLUTTER UP 75% OF MY SCREEN.  If you want me to ignore it, please see number 1.  Is it that fucking hard for you to enter something twice if you absolutely, positively have to put it in both locations?   "Whew, I might get carpel tunnel if I enter “I’m eating dinner now” in two places.  Better merge it into one application!”

3) If it bothers you so much, don’t be on the sites.

Read the entire post, dip shit.

Now, I know for sure that I’ve pissed off at least one of you sexy readers because you’re addicted to the social networking thing and you have to update things every minute of every day.  Just know that you shouldn’t take it personally that I find social networking behavior annoying.  Seriously.  It’s the fucking internet. Who cares what I think? 

I actually went to the stadium this time

Yes, I know we don't post here much anymore. Give me a fucking break, I don't see you assholes writing anything or paying me to write. You can have a Coke, put a smile on your face and shut the fuck up.

This man still gives me nightmares, and I was in the stands.

So, the last time I "reviewed" the stadium, it was based on a few text messages and reactions after the opening game against the Giants. I lambasted the idea of the vast stadium and the catering to luxury boxes and the fucked up logistics of parking and prices, etc. I mentioned that somehow college campuses that routinely pack 95K+ every week for games (Texas, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, etc.) managed to do easily, but the Cowboys couldn't because the pro game experience is too different.

I was blasted in the comments section by some anonymous person who said that I was complaining too much because I only wanted a suite with free parking and beer. First off, I've got an extra "kiss my ass" card for anyone doesn't agree with me. I'm always right, don't you know that? Second of all, I actually ventured out to the stadium for a game, the Big XII championship, so allow me to re-review the stadium based on my own experience.

In a word...meh.

I'm sorry, I just wasn't taken aback by the aura of the stadium and game presentation. I'm going to chalk this up to the fact that it was a college game in a pro stadium, and the way to present a game is different, but here's my pro/con run down.

Pros:

• Parking was not as bad or teeth pulling as I expected.
  
• Neither was traffic.
• Line of Sight. We were sitting in the third section, in the corner of the end zone and I was able to see the entire field and not think I was looking at ants.
  
• Bathrooms. I didn't think they were that bad. Maybe that's just a comparison factor to everywhere else.
• The Screen. Sweet Jesus. You hear how big and bad that thing is, but you don't realize it until you see it in person. Almost to a fault, it deceives you as to how big the stadium is because the screen is so mammoth. You have to train yourself to watch the game and not the television, but it's okay if you do.

Cons

• Sound. This didn't work on two levels. This isn't really relevant in a pro game (so not really Jerry's concern), but in the college game, the band is a pretty crucial element to the fans. If you can't hear the band, then it takes away from the college football experience. Similar to the band, it's really difficult for a crowd to really get a good chant going. Check that, it's really hard for certain chants to get going. If the crowd is all doing the same thing, then it works. For example, Nebraska has a "Go! Big! Red!" chant. That works because all the fans are screaming the same thing in unison. However, Texas uses the "Texas! Fight!" chant where half the fans scream "Texas!" and the other screams "Fight!". This works in most stadiums because you can hear what's being said. For the life of me (and the sections around me), every time Texas tried to start that chant, it died immediately because no one could hear "Texas" and no one could hear "Fight".
  
• Presentation. Again, this might pertain mainly to the college game, but if you notice, there isn't a lot of "stuff" happening during the college game. The presentation is usually left in the hands of the fans. Chants and band noise and all that. Every time either side tried to get a chant going, the stadium people decided that was the time to either blare music from the sound system or show a commercial on the big screen. This move effectively killed any fan chanting, so it really hurt both teams' momentum.
  
• Public Address. This was not the usual Cowboy Stadium announcer, Jody Dean, but this falls onto The Ticket's George Dunham. It usually helps to let the people in the stadium know what is going on. We had no idea down and distance. We had no idea when/if there were penalties. We had no idea when things were being reviewed. It was like watching a game with the sound turned off and KISS FM turned way up.
  
• General information. I've heard this before and confirmed it, but there's no information displayed on any of the 2,000 screens in the stadium. I'd like to know some stats and information beyond a small ticker at the bottom of the giganto screen.
  

All in all, the stadium is nice and all, and a majority of the issues I had can be chalked up simply to the fact that this was a college game in a professional stadium, but I just wasn't as impressed or awestruck as I really expected to be when I came to the stadium.