Day 399 – My name is Roger and I am a Bandwagon Fan.

Anyone who knows me, understand that I am just not a sports guy. I played some sports as a kid but that was about it. I never found passion in sports. I know that as a guy that may seem a bit abnormal but, it is just the way I am wired. I have friends that can tell me where a certain player went to college and high school of half of the NFL. I suppose that is useful knowledge for a sports fan but, my head is filled with other things.

Having grown up in Seattle I understand a few things about sports in this town. For one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country we have not had the best luck with sports teams. The Sonics in 1979 and the Seahawks in 2014, I think are our only championships. Of course there are the 1995 Mariners that all Mariners fans hold onto.

Seattle is a true melting pot of people and cultures. People from all over the country land here for work mostly. Lots of backgrounds and lots of fans of other places. It is not unusual to seen a significant number of opposing team’s jerseys at any given event. I heard a story from a friend that works in the tech field and his co-workers were surprised to hear that he actually went to a Seattle school and was born here.

In the past few years I have come to realize that the rest of the country has some deep hatred for Seattle sports and for us as fans in particular. Any comment regarding Super Bowl 49 will no doubt talk about the Seattle Bandwagon Fans. A bandwagon fan is someone who has become a fan simply because everyone else is. They are not “die hard”.

SO WHAT!?

Do you think that ANY NFL owner cares if the person occupying the seat in the stadium is die hard or not? Do you think the quarterback can hear the screams of the die hard fan over everyone else in the stadium? The truth is that Bandwagon fans, as they are called are good for business. They are good for other things too.

When a local team starts doing well like the Seahawks for instance, it creates a sense of community. Something that seems to be getting more difficult these days as Facebook becomes how we interact with each other. A team that is doing well is common ground for people to engage on. Everyone feels good and there are positive feelings all around. It is a rallying point at which we tend to leave all the negative crap somewhere else and come together under the same flag. (with a 12 on it of course)

I was born right here in the Puget Sound. I remember the Centennial of our country and the year the Seahawks franchise came into existence and when they played their first game. I have a picture of my brother and me in Seahawks pajamas on Christmas morning of 1976. I have been in the Kingdome and took a break at work to watch it be demolished. Because I don’t watch every game and I cannot tell you where our long snapper went to college I would be considered a Bandwagoneer by most.

Fine I will take it. I would rather be that than a bitter sports know it all elitist that thinks they are better than everyone else because he was a fan first. What he is that tickets and merchandise is way more expensive now that the team is doing well. This is probably the same guy that complains when no one is in the stadium watching the team either.

Sports are entertainment and I think some people forget that and take it way to far. Think of how awesome some peoples live would be if they put as much effort and brain power into themselves as they do their favorite sports team.

Hey, Mr Die Hard, wear your own jersey and get a life.

 

Day 310 – Shall I compare thee to a Summer’s day?

Being an Entrepreneur is kind of like the weather in Seattle.

In almost any conversation I have had with people about living in the Seattle area, the subject of the weather comes up. People from all over the country are convinced that it rains constantly here. It is partially thanks to the entertainment industry producing shows like “Sleepless in Seattle” and “Frazier”, which portrays Seattle as a dreary place. In fact Seattle actually gets less annual rainfall that a lot of other US cities. Seattle actually ranks 44th in the US for rainfall. We are behind almost every major city on the Eastern Seaboard including New York, Boston, and Miami. The primary root of this misconception lies in the relatively high number of days per year with rain. So, if we have more days of rain than most cities but less rainfall, how does that work?

Welcome to the Seattle drizzle. You see, in most places when you think about rain, it actually rains. Here in Seattle it is like a . . .really thick wet cloud of gray misery. If you have ever wondered why your car needs intermittent wipers, it is in case you come to Seattle. Most of the days of the year here, it is gray, miserable, and kind of depressing. During the winter our days are even shorter because of how dark and cloudy it is. Short, dark days filled with annoying drizzle rain are bad but, when you add in the cold of the winter it really is quite nasty. It seems to never really get cold enough to snow around here it really like to get to about 32.5° and rain. That is how the weather around here likes to treat us.

If you have ever had the pleasure of coming here during the summer however, you may have seen a different side of this fair city. You may have been exposed to a little secret that we try to keep to ourselves. When it is clear, warm and sunny in Seattle, I believe there is not many places on earth that can compare. The green lush trees, the snow capped mountains against a sea of bright blue skies is really something to behold. We have so much to offer around here when the weather is nice it is almost perfect. People feel better, smile more, and there is a real attitude difference. Anyone who lives here knows exactly what I am saying. We tell most people that the days we get like that, even though they are fewer in number than the rainy ones, make up for the miserable days. The nice days are really what keeps people here. They are really that impressive. The good days are really good.

Being an Entrepreneur is the same way. There are going to be dark days. There are in fact a lot of dark days. Days when I question my sanity and want to quit. Days when I wonder if it would have been better to lay down my curiosity and to have gotten a job. Days when the gray darkness and drizzle just weigh me down.

I live for the few days of sunshine though. When business is good, it is really good. Days of victory and triumph are my days of Sunshine and blue skies. Success is a snow capped mountain and sales are the sun on my face. The good days are why I do what I do and there are just enough of them to keep me going through all of the dark days. It takes courage to get started but, I am seeing way more sunny days than I used to.

Day 120 – The Sun makes it all better.

When you live in the Pacific Northwest you deal with certain things weather wise. Of course everybody knows how much it rains in Seattle right? Nasty and overcast, or that drizzle! No thanks. We do actually deal with some pretty crappy weather sometimes. Trust me as someone who has worked outside in a trade, I can tell you that Seattle sideways drizzle in wind and 34° is the most miserable thing ever. We deal with it though. We all dream of days far away in a warmer place. Amy and I will have a house on the Caribbean in Central America one day.

For others there is a dirty little secret about Seattle that no one will tell you. It is the reason we put up with so much crappy weather. It’s funny because we can tell you all the secret and yet no one seems to believe us. They just scoff and say, “yeah right” and walk away believing what they want.

That dirty little secret is this: When the weather is nice in Seattle, it is not just nice. In fact, it is downright amazing! Mountains, Lakes, Rivers, The open sea, and the blue skies contrasting it all is cause for many eye problems at work. You know . . . people just cannot see going in.

Today was one of those days. Tomorrow will be another. Like I said, for most it means trying to get off work early if not altogether to get out the BBQ or hit the lake. Maybe a stroll on the beach?

It puts everyone in an amazing mood. Everybody smiles and feels better. Little things just don’t seem to matter much because it is just one of “those” days.

For me the added energy means I have all kinds of energy. Yeah, I had my quiz last night and that is usually and excuse to sleep until 10:30 or so. This morning I was up and at ’em by 7:15 and out the door by 8:00. I went to the warehouse and did three hours worth of work before I would normally have gotten up.

The sun for me is a motivator because it reminds my of my why. It reminds me of a slower time in my future on a sandy beach in a relaxing country like Belize.

So on days like today I get things done! As a bonus i get to look around and enjoy the amazing beauty of the place I live.