We had a million laughs over the course of the weekend, including, but not limited to:
- The Jameis Winston interview (If I had a dollar for every time somebody yelled "I said, we said, I said, are you strong? They said I'm strong if you strong. I said we STRONG then" or otherwise quoted that rambling interview, then it wouldn't have mattered that Duke couldn't cover the spread for me the other night.)
- Addy playing percussion with a homeless guy on a downtown street corner (I'm not tech savvy enough to load the video from my phone, but the important thing is that it exists)
- The Impossible Dream being realized-- when I had money on the Seahawks -7.5, Addy had the Saints +8.5, and a last-second touchdown set the final margin at 8, perfectly falling into that delightfully creamy section known as The Middle, and resulting in everyone making money together.
However, the bar topic that generated the most spirited discussion stemmed from the question: If you could choose anybody on Earth (currently living) to be your grandfather, who would it be? Here's my answer, along with the answers of everyone else we asked last weekend, and my thoughts on their picks.
My pick: Bill Raftery
My love of Raffy is well-documented. He's my favorite basketball announcer of all time. Jud and I re-named Willie's Bar here in Lawrence to Raffy's, because if Raftery would ever come to Lawrence and call a game, we'd take him out to Raffy's at like 2pm on a Wednesday to get smoked with us. Enjoy a little bit of my grandpappy's work here:
Gangel's pick: Wilford Brimley
My grade: B. Solid choice; it doesn't get much more grandfatherly than Wilford. Just look at this old bastard:
Myshawn's pick: Michael Caine
My grade: A+. This was my #2 choice after Raffy. And it would've been Hendo's #1 choice, if he wasn't already off the board. Basically, people love Michael Caine. Also, this led to "I've failed you, Master Wayne" impressions for the rest of the night, so obviously that was pretty awesome. Who doesn't enjoy a good Michael Caine impression?
Addy's pick: Steve Spurrier
My grade: D-. Spurrier seems like kind of a dick, and I'm also deducting points from Addy because he had no idea about any of the people we were talking about. Michael Caine? Who's that? Sam Elliott? Never heard of him. Wilford Brimley? Now you're just making up names.
Teens' pick: Sam Elliott
My grade: A. Roadhouse, Tombstone, Big Lebowski. Is there a better random three-movie sample from any actor in history? Maybe a list for another day. Anyway, I was proud of Teens for making this pick, almost as proud as when she correctly named Gin & Juice within the first 1.2 seconds of it coming on the jukebox. That's my wife, yo.
JDub's pick: Richard Gere
My grade: Allow AC Slater to give it on my behalf:
On the flip side of Sam Elliott, I couldn't possibly pick three movies of Gere's that are even halfway watchable. He used to be married to Cindy Crawford at the height of her powers, so I'mma hate on him for that. Also, the man very possibly put gerbils up his butt. I can't have that type of deviancy from my grandpa.
Hendo's pick: Phil from Duck Dynasty
My grade: C-. I generally enjoy Duck Dynasty, especially when there's nothing else on TV, but there's been too much controversy surrounding Phil and his worldviews lately. I want my grandpa to be universally beloved.
Double D's pick: Gene Hackman
My grade: B. Double D wanted to change his pick immediately after he made it, but I'm OK with the Hackman choice for his role as Royal Tenenbaum alone-- and we haven't even talked about Hoosiers yet.
Erin' pick: Bill Cosby
My grade: A-. I'm not the biggest Bill Cosby fan in the world (the most overused joke on the planet is probably some form of Bill Cosby + Jell-O Puddin' Pops), but Erin's pick was phenomenal simply because even though she was one of the last ones to answer, she was the first one of all of us to think about crossing racial lines. We were all dumbfounded by the simplicity, and it made me jealous that I didn't think to pick Morgan Freeman. There's probably a sociology experiment in this question somewhere.
Mikey's pick: Paul McCartney
My grade: C-. I'm pretty lukewarm on The Beatles. If we're thinking about taking musicians from that era, I'm going with someone a little more badass than Sir Paul. He always seemed like kind of a Streisand to me.
Gardy's pick: Jimmy Buffett
My grade: B+. Out of everyone on this list, Jimmy might be the most fun grandpa to go spend a weekend with, if you happen to be of that persuasion. I also enjoyed that while most people hemmed and hawed and thought about the question for a while, Gardy has this answer dialed up in less than two seconds.
Ryan's pick: Pele'
My grade: B. It's kind of a shocker that almost nobody chose big-time ex-athletes to be their theoretical grandpas. Where's Willie Mays? Muhammad Ali? Joe Namath? Jack Nicklaus? Probably a sociology experiment there too. So I applaud Ryan's originality in choosing an athlete-- a Brazilian soccer player at that.
So, who would YOUR Grandpa be?
