The Swamp

Johnnie wrote:I've never taken the mesh out of a hat. Was I supposed to do that?

Hat technology has improved exponentially in my lifetime. You're quite a few years younger than me, so you don't remember the bad old days.

Back in my day, every hat was sold with a flat bill. You had to fold it and curve it yourself. Imagine! Some stores even sold a vice-like device that would do it for you. Otherwise, you had to work at it. Nowadays, hats fit as soon as you buy them. You don't know how easy you have it.

I always associated the black cursive LA raiders hats with gang culture. Kinda shied away from that the same way I shied away from Cincinnati Reds and various blue dodgers/KC gear out of fear of the castlegate and intervale boys on the T.

Back in the early 90s I found a black Blue Jays hat. For years when I wore that to games here in Toronto, people would ask me about it because it was such an anomaly.

But now?



I'm all for creativity and etc. etc...

But some of these hats are ridiculous.

HaulCitgo wrote:I always associated the black cursive LA raiders hats with gang culture. Kinda shied away from that the same way I shied away from Cincinnati Reds and various blue dodgers/KC gear out of fear of the castlegate and intervale boys on the T.

You and I had very different upbringings. I could wear what I wanted and nobody would fuck with me. Mostly because I grew up in the country and there wasn't anybody else around.

Help! I fell in a rabbit hole!

I had this hat. Ain't it a beaut?

bapo! wrote:

Johnnie wrote:I've never taken the mesh out of a hat. Was I supposed to do that?

Hat technology has improved exponentially in my lifetime. You're quite a few years younger than me, so you don't remember the bad old days.

Back in my day, every hat was sold with a flat bill. You had to fold it and curve it yourself. Imagine! Some stores even sold a vice-like device that would do it for you. Otherwise, you had to work at it. Nowadays, hats fit as soon as you buy them. You don't know how easy you have it.

I'm 33. Am I that much younger than you? I recently bought a snapback. It has that mesh inner piece and came flatbilled! I guess I'm just Old School like that.

HaulCitgo wrote:I always associated the black cursive LA raiders hats with gang culture. Kinda shied away from that the same way I shied away from Cincinnati Reds and various blue dodgers/KC gear out of fear of the castlegate and intervale boys on the T.

Johnnie wrote:I'm 33. Am I that much younger than you? I recently bought a snapback. It has that mesh inner piece and came flatbilled! I guess I'm just Old School like that.

I'm 10 years older than you. That's an eternity when it comes to discussing the fit of a baseball cap. (It's also why your recollection of the Lidz/Lids debate won't sway me. Maybe Lidz was just before your time. You weren't there, man! You don't know what it was like!)

In any event, that's such a great photo of NWA.

bapo! wrote:

Johnnie wrote:I'm 33. Am I that much younger than you? I recently bought a snapback. It has that mesh inner piece and came flatbilled! I guess I'm just Old School like that.

I'm 10 years older than you. That's an eternity when it comes to discussing the fit of a baseball cap. (It's also why your recollection of the Lidz/Lids debate won't sway me. Maybe Lidz was just before your time. You weren't there, man! You don't know what it was like!)

In any event, that's such a great photo of NWA.

And I'm 53 - the decade makes a huge difference in terms of ball caps - both design and how they are worn.

I simply can not wear a hat unless the bill is severely bent.

I subscribe to the Stan Belinda method myself.

Rush2112 wrote:I subscribe to the Stan Belinda method myself.

Something related to pouring gasoline on a fire?

Pruitt wrote:Help! I fell in a rabbit hole!

I had this hat. Ain't it a beaut?

I had one of those...put the Alabama one (why? who knows...I think I just liked the name Crimson Tide, and I was a big fan of Steely Dan's "Deacon Blues"). I remember ordering it from an ad in Sports Illustrated.

DaveInSeattle wrote:

Pruitt wrote:Help! I fell in a rabbit hole!

I had this hat. Ain't it a beaut?

I had one of those...put the Alabama one (why? who knows...I think I just liked the name Crimson Tide, and I was a big fan of Steely Dan's "Deacon Blues"). I remember ordering it from an ad in Sports Illustrated.

They were itchy.

They look like the style of hat that Wade Phillips would rock.

Look at this outfit. I mean, this is Joe Walton. A shitty coach, but a man in his 50s should not dress like this.

Man, the 80s were weird.

bapo! wrote:I'm 10 years older than you. That's an eternity when it comes to discussing the fit of a baseball cap.

We need a 30 for 30 on this, including how the franchise hats changed the hat wearing game forever.

Much like my original malls thread, my Kids in the Hall thread was deleted, run over, set on fire, dosed with VX, and then deleted again. So I'll talk about the Kids in the Hall here.

Their name came up in an article that I read recently, and I wondered if anybody had gotten around to writing a book about them yet. Sure enough, John Semley just published 'This Is a Book About the Kids In the Hall' a few months ago. It's wonderful, and it made me fall in love with these guys all over again.

I've followed all of their careers after their show ended. They've all had highs, but probably more lows. (The high point: Dave Foley appearing in a critically acclaimed NBC sit-com in the late-'90s. The low point: Dave Foley appearing in an Uwe Boll movie in 2007.) But I never really knew who they were or how they met or how they worked together. I had read a few articles/interviews over the years, but they were never that popular, so there wasn't a wealth of stuff available. This book fills in a lot gaps. Even in a small group, there are partnerships and rivalries and conflicts. Now I want to go back and rewatch old sketches to see how much of that is apparent on-screen.

I also want to go back and rewatch their movie, Brain Candy. It's been 20 years. I found it very disappointing it at the time, but there might be something worthwhile in there. (One reviewer called it 'resolutely unheartwarming.') I still need to see their 2010 mini-series, too.

In the meantime, I watched 'Same Guys, New Dresses,' a documentary about their reunion tour in 1999-2000. I never knew that this existed. It's interesting if you care about these guys, and it's not entirely flattering. It's not as bad as the Metallica or Conan O'Brien documentaries, but it occasionally goes in that direction.

(O'Brien shows up here, as does his beautiful Golden Retriever. Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald make an appearance on 'Late Night,' and there's footage of them hashing out what they're going to do. This is all very last-minute because they're filling in for Scott Thompson, who canceled his appearance because he was too flummoxed after spilling a tray of food and drinks on his hotel sofa. Yeah. And then Thompson was pissed at McDonald and Foley for going on the show. These are not the most well-adjusted people. Anyway, this segment is at 54:45 of the video, and it's kinda great.)

So, I'm probably going to rewatch a lot of their show soon. I hope that I still find it funny. Or at least interesting.

Here's the first KITH sketch I ever saw, Bruce McCulloch's song about terriers. This was when CBS aired their show at 12:35 on Friday nights, but some affiliates (like KDKA in Pittsburgh) didn't air it until 3:35. I cared enough to stay up to watch it. I was in college; I was used to late nights.

I never got on the Kids in the Hall train. Nothing against them - they are great. Love the Terriers song and the Daves song. I suspect it is because of my age - because I wasn't watching late night tv when they were at their peak. That's why SCTV was my Kids in the Hall, if that makes sense.

sancarlos wrote:I never got on the Kids in the Hall train. Nothing against them - they are great. Love the Terriers song and the Daves song. I suspect it is because of my age - because I wasn't watching late night tv when they were at their peak. That's why SCTV was my Kids in the Hall, if that makes sense.

They're certainly not for everybody. I loved them, but I think a lot of that stemmed from the fact that they did a lot of gay content, which was very rare in the early '90s. That, and I just connected with these guys.

sancarlos wrote:I never got on the Kids in the Hall train. Nothing against them - they are great. Love the Terriers song and the Daves song. I suspect it is because of my age - because I wasn't watching late night tv when they were at their peak. That's why SCTV was my Kids in the Hall, if that makes sense.

If SCTV is Tom Brady, than Kids In The Hall is Andy Dalton.

Pruitt wrote:If SCTV is Tom Brady, than Kids In The Hall is Andy Dalton.

I was dreading your response, but this isn't as bad as I was expecting. Andy Dalton is respectable. You could have said JP Losman or EJ Manuel.

bapo! wrote:

Pruitt wrote:If SCTV is Tom Brady, than Kids In The Hall is Andy Dalton.

I was dreading your response, but this isn't as bad as I was expecting. Andy Dalton is respectable. You could have said JP Losman or EJ Manuel.

Nah. See, if you are really stoned, you could be convinced that Dalton was great. Same with the Kids in The Hall.

But SCTV... first ballot hall of famers.

Rush2112 wrote:Slapshot was released 40 years ago.

Old time hockey!

I used to have this gem. And in less than 5 seconds, I found one for sale!

I had the Lions equivalent. Some of that kind of stuff I wish I had hung on to over the years.

You actually get Joe Walton when you buy that hat

Thought this was best place for this..TV pilot for the show inspired by Blazing Saddles, which is back on Netflix, btw.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV6D8NAqtqc

Mrs. Sabo and I cut the cord last week. When I programmed the channels from the HDTV antenna, I noticed a handful of channels that consistently aired old shows like the original Star Trek, the Twilight Zone, the Munsters and the Andy Griffith Show. I'm sure one of these channels will get around to airing My Three Sons, too.

While eating dinner last night, we flipped through the channels and came across one of the elite shows of the old show pantheon ... The Love Boat! Unfortunately we only caught the last 15 minutes of the episode, so we weren't able to get much of the plot (as if that matters). But what was striking were the guest stars we were able to identify.

Bill Daily! Best known for his role as Major Healey in I Dream of Jeannie, he also was in the Bob Newhart Show. And most surprisingly, he's still alive, according to Wikipedia.

John Hillerman! You might not remember his real name, but you certainly remember Higgins from Magnum P.I. and Howard Johnson from Blazing Saddles, right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsHuNFEa8H4

Larry Linville! I always find it weird to see Larry Linville in any role other than Major Frank Burns from M*A*S*H. He portrayed the ugly American so well on M*A*S*H. In the Love Boat episode, he portrayed some rich dude who gave $500,000 to an orphanage in Mexico. For some reason, a Catholic priest and a bunch if orphans were on the cruise (I mean, why wouldn't orphans be on a luxury cruise ship?), and he felt guilty about his extravagant lifestyle and gave the money to orphans. That's so unlike Major Burns.

Douglas Fairbanks Jr.! I honestly can't tell you anything about this guy other than he's the son of Douglas Fairbanks. He had a pencil-thin mustache while on the Love Boat, which automatically makes him creepy.

Ginger Rogers! Mrs. Sabo popped huge for seeing Ginger because she likes to watch old Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies. I didn't know who she was at all. She didn't dance while on the Love Boat, but she sang a song that I recognized but can't remember the title. It was something from the 60s. In this episode, she played a stage actress, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was a harsh theater critic and aspiring playwright. He wrote a play that she read and said was utter trash. Eventually they talked it out and she said she only said it was trash so he could understand what it's like to be severely criticized. And this being the Love Boat, they fell in love and Captain Stubing was asked to be the best man at the wedding. Seriously, who writes this shit?

Natalie Schafer! You don't know her name, but you certainly know Mrs. Lovey Howell, right? RIGHT?!?!?!?!?!?!?

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders! I have no idea why they were on the show, but does it matter?

Sabo, are you referring to MeTV and ThisTV? Those are great channels. Kind of like TVLand's junior varsity channel.

There was a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders movie around the time of that 'Love Boat.' It starred Jane Seymour, Bert Convy, and Bucky Dent. Seriously. Bucky Dent.

bapo! wrote:Sabo, are you referring to MeTV and ThisTV? Those are great channels. Kind of like TVLand's junior varsity channel.

Yes, it was the MeTV channel. I'm not sure if I should be impressed you know that channel.

Still, I love the fact it's 2017 and I can watch black-and-white TV shows on a high-def TV through an antenna.

Today is the 10-year anniversary of this game, a Penguins shootout win over the Sabres. Dmitri Kalinin scored a goal for Buffalo. More noteworthy, the Penguins had announced earlier that day that they had worked out a deal with the city to fund a new arena, and that they would be staying here rather than moving on to greener pastures like Kansas City or Shelbyville.

Mario Lemieux made an announcement before the game. Raucous cheers and applause followed, drowned out by Journey's “Don't Stop Believin'.”

Why do I bring this up? Because it was that moment, my pride in Pittsburgh for unapologetically blasting Journey on an emotional evening, that inspired me to sign up and post in the Swamp. You guys have been forced to read about my weird little obsessions for a decade now. Thanks for putting up with me.

bapo! wrote:Sabo, are you referring to MeTV and ThisTV? Those are great channels. Kind of like TVLand's junior varsity channel.

There was a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders movie around the time of that 'Love Boat.' It starred Jane Seymour, Bert Convy, and Bucky Dent. Seriously. Bucky Dent.

And I saw that movie.

As I recall, Bucky Dent portrayed a football player.

I'll have to do the whole thing at some point, but here's an exchange from 3 minutes into the debut episode of Monday Night Raw

[Yokozuna takes off his kimono]
ROB BARTLETT (of Imus fame, I guess?) - "Whoa, this guy's got his own no-fly zone!"
VINCE MCMAHON - [horrendous overselling cackle]
RANDY SAVAGE - "No that's not right, he doesn't even have a zipper you gotta understand that." (Macho Man is the best)
VINCE - (words that may have made a sentence in 1993)
BARTLETT - "That's one big-butted Oriental, Vince!"
VINCE - "Uh, In a matter of speaking, yes."
[longest 3 seconds of dead air ever]
BARTLETT, NOT GIVING UP: "He's got a...he's got an ass like an ampitheater!"
SAVAGE: "Oooh, I heard that one!"

https://youtu.be/iS4o4ldqPGk

That's fantastic, Ryan. Thanks.

I guess this would be a good time to mention a couple of podcasts. Another Swamper (I'll let him chime in with his own thoughts) alerted me to Bruce Prichard's and Tony Schiavone's podcasts. Prichard worked for WWF/WWE for years, both on-camera and backstage. Schiavone was WCW's play-by-play guy. They're now telling stories about their days working for those companies. It's great stuff. Schiavone is funny, and he obviously gives no fucks about the industry anymore, so he has no problems bashing WCW. Look them up. You might enjoy these.

bapo! wrote:That's fantastic, Ryan. Thanks.

I guess this would be a good time to mention a couple of podcasts. Another Swamper (I'll let him chime in with his own thoughts) alerted me to Bruce Prichard's and Tony Schiavone's podcasts. Prichard worked for WWF/WWE for years, both on-camera and backstage. Schiavone was WCW's play-by-play guy. They're now telling stories about their days working for those companies. It's great stuff. Schiavone is funny, and he obviously gives no fucks about the industry anymore, so he has no problems bashing WCW. Look them up. You might enjoy these.

Who is the Swamper? It isn't me, because I've never listened to either of their podcasts. I've heard Prichard as a guest on other podcasts, but I haven't listened to his yet.

Sabo wrote:

bapo! wrote:That's fantastic, Ryan. Thanks.

I guess this would be a good time to mention a couple of podcasts. Another Swamper (I'll let him chime in with his own thoughts) alerted me to Bruce Prichard's and Tony Schiavone's podcasts. Prichard worked for WWF/WWE for years, both on-camera and backstage. Schiavone was WCW's play-by-play guy. They're now telling stories about their days working for those companies. It's great stuff. Schiavone is funny, and he obviously gives no fucks about the industry anymore, so he has no problems bashing WCW. Look them up. You might enjoy these.

Who is the Swamper? It isn't me, because I've never listened to either of their podcasts. I've heard Prichard as a guest on other podcasts, but I haven't listened to his yet.

Me. Richard Deitsch had Conrad Thompson on the SI Media podcast and that's how I got into them.

Sabo, I thought about messaging you about them, but I assumed you were already listening. To me, Prichard is better than Schiavone, but that may be because I was never really into WCW. Even with that being the case, I can still follow because most of the names are familiar enough (and Schiavone just unloads because it does not matter at all).

I've listened to about 3/4 of the Prichard ones and, even though I wasn't following the WWF/WWE for much of that time (mid-80's to late-2000's), the same thing with the names being familiar holds for me. The industry is fascinating just because it is so weird with nothing else like it. I'm considering buying a t-shirt from Prichard because he calls everyone who buys one and I could spend a few minutes talking to him about Gewirtz (they're friends).

Is that...IS THAT DSAFETYGUY'S MUSIC??!!

I've been trying to get thru WCW. I've watched every Nitro and PPV from summer '98 thru spring '99. It's an endurance test. I hate these guys so much. But it's awful in a fascinating way. And I haven't even reached the Vince Russo era yet, so it's going to get worse.

bapo! wrote:Is that...IS THAT DSAFETYGUY'S MUSIC??!!

I've been trying to get thru WCW. I've watched every Nitro and PPV from summer '98 thru spring '99. It's an endurance test. I hate these guys so much. But it's awful in a fascinating way. And I haven't even reached the Vince Russo era yet, so it's going to get worse.

I watched some of Slamboree 1998, just because of the Chris Jericho-Dean Malenko feud. That was the PPV where they had a cruiserweight battle royale, with the winner facing Jericho for his title. Malenko was in disguise as Cyclops (or something like that ... he was wrestling like a luchador) and won it, and revealed himself right before the match with Jericho. The battle royale was pretty crappy (as most battle royales are), but the title match was pretty good.

When I watch old WCW matches, I'm really only interested in the cruiserweights. I'll watch any Flair-Sting match, but I'd still rather watch Jericho, Benoit, Guerrero (either Eddie or Chavo), and some of the luchadors (like Psicosis and Juventud Guerrera).

Sabo wrote:When I watch old WCW matches, I'm really only interested in the cruiserweights.

The cruiserweights are the only good thing about that era of WCW. So much wasted talent.

Sabo, Ryan, DSafe: Would you have any interest in starting a thread like this for wrestling? As DSafe said, it's such a rich and fascinating industry, and there's so much to talk about. If we had a thread for storytelling and conversation, I think even some non-wrestling-fan Swampers would enjoy it.

bapo! wrote:

Sabo wrote:When I watch old WCW matches, I'm really only interested in the cruiserweights.

The cruiserweights are the only good thing about that era of WCW. So much wasted talent.

Sabo, Ryan, DSafe: Would you have any interest in starting a thread like this for wrestling? As DSafe said, it's such a rich and fascinating industry, and there's so much to talk about. If we had a thread for storytelling and conversation, I think even some non-wrestling-fan Swampers would enjoy it.

We already have a pro wrestling thread, so you could put it there.

And FYI, if you're interested in revisiting older wrestling shows, Lance Storm and Don Callis have a good podcast called "Killing the Town", and they frequently review old ECW shows. Callis is a pretty interesting guy. After he got out of the wrestling business, he got an MBA and is now the president and CEO of the Manitoba Trade and Investment Corporation. He's also married to a porn star.