what is it about football that makes people violent? while the raider nation has a long-standing history of being a rogue crowd, most of the fans are just that-- big fans. they follow their team avidly and cheer until their throats are hoarse, but they don't riot on the streets. the few that do, of course, create the reputation. are they just trying to perpetuate the "toughness" of the raider nation? are they just drunk? the interesting thing is that there were riots in tampa bay last weekend too, after the nfc championship game, and someone was killed. no one hears about that, though. the riot squads were out in force yesterday, in both oakland and san diego, to prevent activity from rowdy raiders fans. i guess i just don't understand the need for that kind of celebration (or disgruntled post-game activity, as the case may be)... granted, i'm not a drunk, testosterone-filled boy who feels the need to exhibit my fandom in fits of craziness, but still.

i don't understand all the gruden haters, either. yes, tony dungy built up the bucs, and yes, he was a good coach. however, he wasn't enough to step up to the level of the super bowl. they needed jon gruden for that. the talent was there, but the coaching wasn't quite up to par. no one wants to give jon gruden credit for this game, but in reality, he's responsible for BOTH of the teams that made it to this year's super bowl. i for one am glad he's establishing his ability, and now he has a super bowl ring to prove it. eat that, suckas.

TL and i went to the ucla-cal basketball game on saturday, another embarrassing spectacle. for the bruins, that is. as TL says, the closest we got was 0-0. yikes! other than that, the closest we got was behind by eight points. in the first 15 minutes of the game, we had 13 points, only five of which were from lay-ups. the rest were from fouls stemming from ucla players trying to create a lane where there wasn't one. sad sad. it was still fun, and damn is haas pavilion small. doesn't even begin to compare to lovely pauley pavilion... but then, usually the basketball team doesn't compare, either. ahh well, one more nail in steve lavin's coffin, which i can't say i'm sad about.

did i mention how much the current administration sucks? while i understand that people have different priorities for funding, the environment is very obviously at the bottom of the pile. shrub (my coworker's not-so-affectionate nickname for little bush) is quietly but surely destroying every bit of environmental leverage we have. logging in the redwoods, snowmobiling in yellowstone, drilling in the alaskan national wildlife refuge and off the california coast, "reforming" (read: eliminating) the endangered species act... where's the big-picture scenario here? where are we going to be in 20 years when we have no oil, no natural landscape, no old-growth trees left? how sad that people can be so small-minded and so money-hungry that they can't concede the need to promote sustainable living.

well, at least i'll always have a job.