Friend of mine calls me an asshole for telling him we aren't going to spend the night in Atlanta

[RB TexLa]

if we go to see LSU in the ChickenSandwich Bowl Wednesday. I told him if we go to the game we will fly in on Wednesday and flight out after the game. He was upset that as he put it, "so, you aren't going to spend one dollar in Atlanta while you're here." I was thinking a gate fee is in the airplane tickets, but he seemed upset enough. I guess the economy has made people falsely feel people have an obligation to give others their money at every turn.

[SidDithers]

1. You won't drink with him?...nt

Sid

[RB TexLa]

2. If I go I doubt I'd see them, they aren't going to the game.

[Spider Jerusalem]

3. Is it just me...

or does it seem a bit frivolous to fly 800 miles and then back the same day to watch a stupid football game? Bought any carbon credits there lately, Chumley?

[RB TexLa]

4. Is it less frivolous to fly the same 1600 miles in a two or three day span?

[Spider Jerusalem]

9. Actually, it's pretty frivolous either way.

And what about those carbon credits, hey?

[Mugweed]

13. I saw a nice diversion of the question there.

Flying into some other town to see a football game? Pretty lame. I've never understood the desire. So what if you went to that school (if that's even part of the excuse)? Did you play on the team / were a cheerleader / were a mascot / were SOMETHING associated with the success of the team and you still feel a loyalty? If not, you've chosen visiting a city to see an overhyped children's game over visiting a friend. LAME.

Hey sportsfans...sports are children's games that teach teamwork and how to be a good winner/loser. Once you're no longer a child, time to grow up and move on. It's the legion of stunted mentalities out there that have made sports into some capitalist obsession. Sad that one would choose to watch some steroidal "communications majors" play with a ball over visiting a friend.

[CoffeeCat]

18. Okay. I'm not a football fan...

...but not all of us are meant to stay home on the weekends and discuss the Laffer curve and create desert scenes out of colored sand.

Geez.

Fun hater!

[Mugweed]

20. Ouch!

Actually I make accounting spreadsheets and Photoshop my face over pictures of Matthew Lesko.

Really, if you gotta fly 800 miles to have fun you need to find a hobby....or move.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

26. I agree with you.

It's the mass conditioning. Everyone is urged to be the part of a tribal mind -- like the fans of a particular sports team.

Identifying with a sports team is the exact opposite of finding out who you are inside. If you are outwardly directed by identifying with a large group of people, you won't ask questions like "Who am I?" "What am I good at?" "What do I want to do with my life?" and such, as an individual.

I have always thought that watching other people play sports was a waste of time.

Now if you are exercising and playing a team sport, and having fun, that's one thing. That's healthy. But watching highly paid professional players, and basing your mood on whether or not your team wins -- something which you have NO control over -- is stupid.


I won't even go into the economic misappropriation of millions of dollars by cities for sports arenas and sweetheart deals for teams -- when we have so many hurting and homeless people in our cities.


/rant over (by someone who remembers when the Astrodome was new)

[pitohui]

24. the plane will fly w. or without bolen on it, you know EOM

,

[demgurl]

5. I am not sure if that is what your friend meant.

He may be buying into the * propaganda to spend, spend, spend.

As far as your thoughts of, "I guess the economy has made people falsely feel people have an obligation to give others their money at every turn" go, I can only comment for myself. I actively look for ways to help others besides myself. (and, no, this does not include freely spending to uphold the economy) When I found out that www.beanelf.org was not being done here, I asked my children's teachers if they knew of someone in their classrooms that may have lost a job or may be more needy than usual this year.

Make no mistake about it, there is no falsehood in assuming that a lot more people need help this year. We have a little more and so we give a little more.This does not mean to agencies alone. It means we actively seek out others who legitimately need help.

Our help is not limited to money. There is an organization in town who try to help the poor and they need volunteers now more than ever. My time is worth something and I give it freely to help others.

As long as there is hunger or poverty we all have an obligation to give to others (in one way or another) at every turn.

[LisaM]

6. I kind of get where he's coming from. I have lots of friends who profess to be sports fans

But do everything BUT spend money to support their franchises or the towns that depend on them. They get the cheapest tickets possible, don't buy the gear, bring in their own food, etc......

Does your school's fans have a reputation as good travellers? I always think about the bowl organizers realizing they've got some small Christian school on their hands rather than a rowdy, partying crowd like Wisconsin or Michigan will bring.

[dysfunctional press]

promise him you'll buy yourself a beer at the game. or better yet- a coke.

nt

[pl259]

7. I've spent a week in Atlanta in one night...several times.

:scared:

[CoffeeCat]

15. Niiiiiiiice....

{{{{high five}}}}

[tammywammy]

8. Well, I would think you'd have stayed the night

What if your team wins and you want to celebrate? Or if they lose drown your sorrows?

Or at least get a little rest before hopping right back on a plane.

[Warpy]

10. The gate fee, the game tickets

food and beer during and after the game, maybe a fast food dinner or a drink while you're waiting to board the plane, all count toward spending a few bucks in the city. It's all overpriced, too.

Your tight schedule doesn't seem like any of his fucking business, but I imagine he's mourning the loss of a hundred bucks or so on a hotel room less than he's mourning a lost chance to see you.

People, especially men, don't always complain about the thing that is really bothering them.

[alphafemale]

22. ....he's mourning the loss of a hundred bucks-less than he's mourning a lost chance to see you.

That was my thought too. Why go all that way for a game, and not take any effort to find an hour or two to see an old friend in some fashion.

It would have been better to never even mention being in the same town, than to immediately slam the door on any possibility of getting together.

[Maru Kitteh]

11. Well - he knows you at least as well as we do.

[CoffeeCat]

12. Well geez...

...I wouldn't be too happy with that either.

It's not about "spending money at every turn."

The guy is paying his own money to fly down to Atlanta. Maybe he doesn't want to pay all of that money to go to
a game for a few hours, and then leave.

Can't you compromise a bit? How about staying one night?

How about...as you're sprinting out of the stadium to catch a cab to the airport, could you slow it down for 30 seconds to buy him a hot pretzel?

Come on...call your friend and tell him you're no longer a fun hater.

;)

[RB TexLa]

14. He lives there.

[tammywammy]

16. Then maybe he just wants to spend time with you?

:shrug:

[CoffeeCat]

17. Then why can't you stay with him...

I thought you were all riled up because you had to "spend money."

Can't you camp with him for one night, and just hang out--maybe go to dinner? Have some fun? Come on...you know you want to.

I don't understand the problem.

Fly down. Go see the game. Grab some dinner. Rent "Dark Knight". Fly back the next day.

If this guy is truly your friend, you'll hang out with him and quit acting like "little miss hospital corners."

Now go!

:)

[RB TexLa]

19. No I don't want to. Normally I would drive to a football game watch it and drive home

this one is too far to drive so it's fly and fly back. I have no interest is spending the night, no reason to do so.

[CoffeeCat]

21. Why...

...do you need a reason?

Why don't you just go and have fun?

You remind me of that uptight girl in "The Sure Thing."

"Spontanaiety has it's time and place!"

[pitohui]

23. what the fuck does atlanta need baton rouge's dollars for? what storm just hit ATL?

i'd tell those so-called friends to go you-know-what themselves

people have to economize where they can, "friends" who don't understand that are not really friends

maybe you could not afford to fly in and see the game or support the airport at all, if you spent your money every time some "friend" put pressure on you

well one thing i've learned in this life, there is always somebody who thinks he can spend your money better than you can

[Sebass1271]

25. Why Georgia anyway? They always vote for RETHUGS..

: ))