Russ Kent: Football, a tree, and social media idiots

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This is one of my favorite weekends of the year.

I get to stay at home, eat some home-cooked treats and watch sports on TV.

It’s the finale of the pro football season, the sport I watch most.

And the Browns will not be anywhere to be found Sunday.

That’s kind of a mixed blessing. I don’t have to watch them. I don’t have to stop myself from throwing a remote control through the TV screen. The neighbors won’t hear me screaming about another stupid Browns turnover or play call or missed tackle or interception or fumble or drive.

I can sit back, crack open a beverage and enjoy the game.

Not the pregame stuff, and not the halftime show. I hate that crap.

But I do enjoy the commercials.

And just minutes after the games ends, I’ll flip channels. Although it might be fun the watch the post-game stuff this year if Roger Goodell has to hand the championships trophy to the New England Patriots.

No one is hated in New England more than Goodell. The British got a better reception from Paul Revere than Goodell will get at homes and in bars across the Northeast if the NFL commish must present the championship trophy to Tom Brady, Bill Belichick or team owner Bob Kraft.

That might be fun. Awkward … but fun.

I cooked up some jambalaya filled jalapenos on Sunday and put them in the freezer. My Sunday menu will also include either french onion soup (with Vidalia onions in celebration of Georgia being in the game) or lobster corn chowder (in honor of New England).

And beer.

From about 6 t0 10 p.m. don’t bother calling me. I’ll not be answering.

My other favorite sports weekends are the last couple weeks of the college football season and the final day of ever major golf event.

The best is the British Open, followed by the U.S. Open, The Masters and the PGA Championship. If I scarf up some free tickets or I’ll watch the Memorial Tournament in Dublin in person. And then there is the Ryder Cup and President’s Cup.

So that accounts for about 20 percent of my Sunday’s in a typical year.

I watch the Browns if I can 16 other weeks, so that’s half of my Sundays.

And if I can get up a game of on a golf course in the area, that will take care of 15 or more Sundays in the warm weather.

I never considered myself as someone who does a whole lot of planning ahead, but when I consider about 75 percent of my weekends in a given year are consumed by golf or football, I guess I’m more of a planner than I thought.

A winner in my tree ID contest

Yes. We have one.

Michael McCray sent an email to me a little after 3:30 p.m. Monday. He correctly identified the tree I wrote about in Saturday’s column as one in Heise Park, next to the Graders/Babe Ruth field, not far from the pavilion. It’s been termite-, ant-, wind- or lightning-damaged too many times to count.

I asked McCray how he figured out what tree it was and his response: “I’ve noticed that ugly tree too many times, too.”

So. Mike wins a prize, to be determined.

Look for another contest soon. I’ve already been out and about looking for interesting (landmarks) in and around Galion to photograph.

They should call it anti-social media

Oh the drama!

All the moaning and whining and name-calling is getting old.

I’m disgusted with the many arrogant, in-your-face posters, who claim to stand for free speech, but then spend most of their posts attacking people who disagree with them.

It’s just so petty and so elementary-school-recess like.

Social media — for me Facebook, Twitter, and a little Instagram and SnapChat — was fun.

It used to be.

For work, I spend two or three hours throughout each day posting stories, rearranging and updating websites and reading comments.

For fun, I just kind of hang out while watching TV or cooking. Well, I used to.

I don’t have a lot of fun on social media anymore.

It’s been ruined by venom.

I hope that one day the name-calling and the hate and the childish behavoir by s0-called adults would lessen.

But I have my doubts.

I haven’t de-friended anyone or blocked anyone. But the number of people who’s post I no longer follow grows daily.

And not the Facebook posts of those who post items that are relevant and thought-provoking and polite and coherent, even if you don’t agree with my views. That’s not a friendship killer for me.

Apparently it is, for a lot of those on social media.

The personal attacks never stop. There are so many, raving, crass, obscene, name-calling posters who I have no desire to read.

So I don’t.

They can ruin someone else’s day with their bullying and idiocy. They won’t ruin mine.

I’m sick of the hate and the hypocrisy among many I used to enjoy chatting with and reading about.

Social media was a way to connect with friends, to re-establish friendships from long ago, to flirt, to learn … to have a good time.

That time has passed, perhaps forever.

Anyway, have a great weekend. I will.

But, if you choose to try to make the rest of the world miserable — which is your God-given right — I won’t be reading or watching or listening.

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Russ Kent

Editor

 

Russ Kent is editor of the Galion Inquirer. Contact him via email at [email protected]

 

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