And in case you don't follow the world of college athletics, there is a certain baseball team out of Nashville making a lot of noise. The Commodore baseball teamdefeated South Carolina last night. Don't get me wrong, the baseball coaches and team at Northern were great, but I didn't work with them much. Being involved with this team makes me remember why I love college baseball. I never really enjoyed it until I was at Wake and around the success of Coach Greer and the amazing kids that were apart of those teams. It is a similar thing here, except the ball park is much cooler! And hey, who can't find a reason to love college baseball ... spring in the air, the ping of the bat (ok, crack of the wood is ideal), freshly cut grass and ... well, there are always cute women in the ballpark.
As much as I rave about my sport teams, this past week was hectic. Have you ever had one of those weeks where you wonder why you are doing what you do? This was one of those weeks for me. It all started this past weekend, when I was trying to enjoy a great time with wonderful friends ... more on that in a bit ... and there were some issues at our home baseball series vs. Georgia. That carried over in to the week, and I really started wondering why people get so worked up about certain things. I'm being vague yes, but I sometimes I just question why I work in athletics. I mean, there are so many more important things in the world. Is what I do that important? You know, it may not be important to everyone. I'm not saving lives or defending our country or teaching the youth of America. However, what I do is important to the coaches I work for and the student-athletes who don't even know what I do. That is what I had to remind myself of this week. But hey, sometimes you need to question life and what you do. I did, and I'm fine now.
Last weekend kicked ass. I was very fortunate to have the ARGUS crew in town this past weekend. Without a doubt, I had a great time. Erich, Greg and Michael came into town Thursday night, just in time to hit Tin Roof for a few beverages. Friday, I was in work for about 4 hours, came home to hang with the fellas, and then went back for the baseball game vs. Georgia. After the great fireworks display at the game, we decided to practice some of our songs in Memorial Gym. I was nervous at first. I kinda felt like I was abusing my power, but that was soon subsided by the echoing sounds of ARGUS in the opera house, turned basketball gym. We practice, shot hoops and practice some more. I'd say we got home around 2 or 3, but it was easiest the most enjoyable practice we've ever had.
Saturday was show day. We practiced more in the afternoon and made our way to the club. Blue Sky Court is a very cool music room. We did our sound check and then had some dinner downtown. We wondered the streets a little bit, dipping in to different bars and listening to the country music bellowing out. SHOWTIME! After the two very loud bands, we finally took the stage around 11:30. For a band that hasn't played together since September, I thought we sounded pretty damn good. I typically struggle on stage. I forget lyrics, and I don't always have the best stage presence. This show was different. Well, ok I did forget a few words here and there, but I felt it was my strongest vocal performance to date. I was happy with it. The guys rocked. Erich ripped on guitar, Greg kept the heads bobbin' on the bass, and Michael always has the rhythm. On drums? That's right, Donobabb. Donovan is such a badass. I really hope he makes it big playing someday. He deserves it. Of course, I'd love for it to be with ARGUS, but we all know that isn't realistic. But hell, I found again my appreciation for playing live music.
Speaking of live music, Vertical Horizon returned to town for the first time since October. That actually was my very first day as a citizen of Nashville. A few months have passed, and the guys gave a kickass show. It was much more high energy than the show in October, and it looked like they were having a lot of fun up there. The lead singer from Tonic and the drummer from Hootie and the Blowfish made special appearances. It was just nice to see the guys enjoying things.
Well, it is 7:30 AM on Saturday, and I just met with the TV truck. Ah yes, another beautiful day at the ball park!