The SoapBoxers

Editor’s note: Today is the start of the first series between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals this year. I have lived my entire life in the midwest, in the heart of Cubs and Cardinals territory. For five of those years, I was situated in central Illinois – where it’s possible to have half a family rooting for the Cubs and the other half rooting for the Cardinals.

Living With Balls.  John agreed to write this article for publication on The Soap Boxers and I wrote an opposing article – Why I Hate the Yankees on Living With Balls.

In an ever-changing world, the Yankees are the one constant in my life.  While my other teams (Jets and Knicks) continue to disappoint on an annual basis, the Yankees are always there to pick me up around October and remind me why I watch sports in the first place. 

With an endless stream of money and an ownership dedicated to winning, the Yankees will always be in the mix for a World Series title.  Sure the Yankees have had some heartbreaking losses and disappointing seasons in my lifetime (not too many though) but for the most part, the Yankees will make things exciting for the city of New York.

Now let’s get one thing clear: I am NOT a frontrunner (as evidenced by the other two teams I root for).  I was born into Yankees royalty.  My father grew up in an Italian-American neighborhood in Brooklyn, only a few minutes from Ebbets Field— but he was raised a Yankees fan because his father, idolized fellow Italian-American and Yankees icon Joe DiMaggio.

My father has seen every major Yankees game in the last 50 years, both good and bad: from Mickey Mantle’s Triple-Crown season in 1956, to Bill Mazerozki’s series-winning home run over the Yanks in the 1960 series, to Reggie Jackson’s three homers in the 1977 Fall Classic, all the way to last year’s win over the Philadelphia Phillies.  He’s witnessed the Yankees go from a dynasty in the 50’s, to a laughing stock in the 60’s. He cheered the back-to-back titles in the 70’s and suffered through the embarrassment of the 1980’s. Things then came full circle for him as he saw the Yankees become a dynasty once again in the 90’s.

So it only made sense that he would raise his two sons to be Yankees fans as well. I was a Yankees fan before I even knew what baseball was.  My father taught me everything I know about baseball and everything I know about the Yankees.  He introduced me to the game I love but never forced it upon me.  Some of my fondest boyhood memories are having a catch with my father in the park or going to Yankee Stadium with him to see Don Mattingly play first base.

Now I’m all grown up and out of the house but I’ll always pick up the phone and call my Dad after a big Yankees win.  I still make it a point to go home and watch almost every big playoff game with him.  We watched together when Jim Leyritz hit a three-run homer off Mark Wohlers in Game 4 of the 1996 World Series, catapulting the Yankees to an upset win over the Braves.  We watched the nerve-wracking game 7 of the 2003 ALCS together, when Aaron Boone finally delivered a walk-off home run to give the Yankees the pennant. We even watched together when the Yankees choked away a 3-0 lead over the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS.  Win or lose, a Yankees playoff game just isn’t the same if I’m not watching it with my father.

The Yankees have helped my father and I bond throughout the years.  If there’s one subject we can always take about, it’s the Yankees.  My father recently suffered a heart-attack, but thankfully he is doing well now.  His health problems have only made me appreciate these moments more. 

I am not a father yet but I will be getting married in the coming months.  I hope to have a son one day and that three generations of Yankees fans will be able to walk into the new Yankee Stadium and witness great moments together.

Having the Yankees win every year is certainly enjoyable from a fan’s perspective. But to me, the Yankees mean a whole lot more.

Living with Balls is your place for testosterone-induced humor.  A humor blog for men, Living with Balls takes a lighter view of life from a man’s perspective.  John S., the founder and editor, can be contacted at johns@livingwithballs.com.  Follow LWB on twitter as well.

This is Joe’s final post from Canada

Our 4th day began with an unfortunate phone call. Our excursion to go Heliskiing was postponed due to the poor visibility and low ceiling. We had our ski boots at the shop, so we headed up with our skis and skied the Blackcomb Mountain. We walked right onto the same gondola we waited for 30 minutes the day before. Not only was there no line there, we didn’t wait in line for a lift all day. Even the cafeteria wasn’t that packed. However, due to the gold medal hockey game starting at noon local time, there was a loud group watching.

The lack of people and the amount of terrain were spectacular. The visibility was the worst I’ve ever skied in. Most of the day we could only see at most 2-3 chairs infront of us. The cloud sublimated on our goggles like rain on a windshield. Even when the clouds shifted and allowed for better horizontal vision, there was no way to see the terrain or fall lines. The light was so flat, we fell many times because we thought we were going down hill when all of the sudden, we weren’t. It was very tough to ski the whole day in the “ready” position.

We decided to quit skiing at 2:30, so we skied to the bottom to pick up our shoes. When we got to the Heli shop where we left them, they had closed for the hockey game until 3:00. We couldn’t go back up because it took at least that long to get back on the gondola and get to another lift. We watched the end of the game on the big screen at the base. After it was over, we went to pick up our shoes. To avoid a $2 bus fee back to our hotel, we decided to ski with them to our hotel. We took the other gondola to the top of Whistler Mountain. When we got to our run to our hotel, we were told it was closed. They said it was too late in the day. Not only that, but because of the amount of material that still hadn’t been cleaned up from the Olympic ski racing, the gondola wouldn’t be open from our building to the top for the next two days. So much for having a ski-in/ski-out. We skied back to the village and took the bus back.

The day ended spectacularly with a soak in our hot tub and pool and dinner at the Mongolian grill in town. We were in bed early to wake up and check the conditions for heli-skiing in case we had to ski the regular mountain again. The low clouds had all blown out and the sun was eeking through the lightly overcast skies. We grabbed breakfast before heading out to the bus to the heliport. Because of the Games, the heliport had the same security check as the airport. There were also 3 pads occupied by the Canadian military for patrolling the valley. We went through a quick avalanche beacon training course then prepared for the day.

The trip went up 6,500 feet to an elevation of 8,500 took all of about 15 minutes. We went behind the Blackcomb ski area over glacial fields up to a point called Shark’s Tooth, named for obvious reasons. The landing spot on top was no more than 10′ x 14′. After unloading all the skis and the 4 skiers in our group, the chopper was off and we were left stading there on top of two separate glaciers. We skied off the Shark’s Tooth to the Tremor Glacier. Our big fat skis we rented kept us from breaking all the way through the crust into over 8 feet of snow. They also helped us transferring from turn to turn by acting as like a springboard to jump out of the snow. The turns were effortless and soft. The views were endless and breathtaking.

However, after two runs the snow started to warm up. Turns became more of a chore, and the next glaciers had more traversing and more steeps. A few crashes in the deep stuff really took a lot out of us. We made it through the last two runs and stopped for a lunch of sandwiches, juice boxes, soup, tea, and a desert bar. We took a few pictures, then headed back to the heliport. We decided to make it a cheaper night and stopped at the market for steaks, salad, and noodles. After a soak in the hot tub, we cooked them up and had a great meal and were ready for lounging by 6:00. A truly amazing day.

Our  hero Joe checks in again.

This was our most physically taxing day yet.  We got up early to catch a charter bus at the airport.  It took a lot longer to get out of the city than we had hoped for.  The bus had to stop downtown as well, and people were walking up to the bus to try to buy tickets.  We bought our tickets for hundreds of dollars last summer, and they were allowing people to walk up and buy tickets for the same price, delaying our departure.  Luckily, our hotel was first on the list of drop-offs.

Because the alpine events were going on behind our hotel at Whistler, the area was limited entry and we had to catch a van from a spot lower in town.  Arriving at the hotel, our room wasn’t ready, so we had to leave our bags.  We are doing a heliskiing trip tomorrow, so we had to take our ski boots and check in for it a day early at the bottom of the main hill.

From our hotel, we caught a shuttle bus to the main base of Whistler.  There we checked in for our helicopter trip and then waited in line for the gondola to the Whistler Sliding Centre.  Approaching the village, the line looked extremely long.  It stretched all the way through a queue and into the shops and restaurants at the base.  Despite the length, it only took about 30 minutes to get on.

After arriving at the top, we were greeted with another long line, this time snaking through the snow at the bottom of a ski run.  I was glad I brought my water-proof hiking boots.  We went through security after standing in the snow for 40 minutes, now becoming pros by putting all our metal in our jackets and sending those through on the x-ray belts.  We were immediately greeted by the electric crowd and rumbling of the sleds pounding down the track.  We first ventured into the last turns, dubbed Thunderbird by the Canadians and “50/50” by the Americans because “it’s 50% you crash, 50% you don’t.”  After taking a few shots, we realized just how fast they go.  RIDICULOUSLY FAST!  I mean, you blink, you miss it, even on a big turn like that.  You have less than a second to get a good shot of the racers.

We then headed up the track toward the top.  It took us all of the 3rd Heat (first of the day) to get to the top.  We took pics all along the way, and stopped and watched quite a bit.  We snapped pics where the Georgian luger was killed (at the very bottom) and the different starting points for luge and women’s events along the way.  There was even a camera in the ice to get the sleds as the go over.  After getting to the top, there was another queue for the grand stands at the starting line.  We decided it would be good to get a seat there to watch the start in person and the rest of the race on the big screen.  It took about 40 minutes to get through that line, but got to watch the race while waiting for the last 10 minutes.  There was a 45 minute break between heats.

It was so exciting to cheer on both USA teams, and even more so to see the good guys win the gold.  A very energetic crowd, all the way down the track.  We then headed back down the track, which took 20 minutes, waited in line in the snow for the gondola, which took 25 minutes, and then did some shopping to avoid the other line to get on the bus.  Olympic items were already on sale here in Whistler, so we got some good deals on official merchandise.

A stop to get beer and a short bus ride back to the hotel to get into our room concluded the day on the mountain.  We walked across the street from the lodge and grabbed some darn good BBQ at Bob’s.  They were already taking down fencing and banners around the mountain, and most of the crowd we battled were no where to be found.  A nice relaxing day.

We have now concluded the Olympic portion of our trip, and are going to check out the skiing for the next three days.  I am so excited since it’s been snowing for almost a week.  Should be EPIC!

Joe continues to bring us coverage from Vancouver.

Today was Canada’s day.  I went deeper into the sea of red found out how much these people truly love their country.

I was able to sleep in a little today, not having any events in the morning.  Since we are close to the Richmond Oval, we walked down a block to check it out.  We were surprised to find a chrome statue of Stalin’s head nearby.  The building was beautiful, having wood joists and paneling with traditional glass, steel, and siding.  From there it was a long walk to the train station to make it down to town.  We decided to get off at the Olympic Village and snap a few photos of where the athletes live.  It wasn’t much, just a few apartment buildings with flags hanging out the windows based on which country was staying there.  We then walked over one of the main bridges to the city center.

The package of tickets I bought included a hospitality center pass, so we spent the afternoon watching the USA vs. Finland hockey game while getting tipsy and fed for free.  The Sheraton hosted it, and there were spectacular dishes.  King crab legs, leg of lamb, sea bass kabobs, crème brule, and so much more.

After the good guys shellacked the Fins, we decided to get out before the Canadian curling and hockey crowd showed up.  From there we walked to the Olympic Cauldron to take some pictures.  We bought some pins along the way from a few of the many vendors on the street.  As the day went on, the crowds increased, it seemed, exponentially.  We quickly got on the train to the east part of the city where the Pacific Coliseum was hosting the short track speed skating finals.  We got there early and had no real problem getting in.

Once inside, I realized how small it was.  It probably held 9,000 guests when bulging, and it was not this evening.  Despite it being a final and lots of the home country skating, there were a few open seats.  It was a disappointing night for the USA, as Apolo was DQed in the 500m and had to come from behind to get the bronze in the 5000m relay.  Katherine Reutter did well in winning the silver in the 1000m and was ecstatic with her result.

The building was quite electric though, probably one of the most energetic crowds I have ever been a part of.  The Canadians took the gold and bronze in 500m and the gold in 5000m, sending the crowd into a frenzy.  It was very interesting watching the event in person, because you got to see a lot of things you don’t on TV.

There was a camera man in the middle of the ice for all the regular races, but not the relay.  The judges in suits wear track skates as well.  The gun they use is actually a red toy gun with a cord connected to it, like something you’d plug into your Wii.  The track is always the same length, but they can move the cones toward or away from the center based on how the judges think the ice condition is.  There are cone attendants, much like ball boys in tennis, who set each cone when knocked off or when the judges say.  They also go out with a bucket of water and pour it on liberally along the inside of the two corners.  There is often standing water along the cones during the race.

So much stuff you don’t pick up on when watching on TV.  Also, all during the event there is an announcer for not only the event you’re watching, but keeps you informed of other events going on, even putting it live on the jumbotron during breaks.  Very cool, considering the Canada vs. Slovakia game was on.

Leaving the venue we ran into our first travel delay.  Getting back to the train meant getting on a shuttle bus, and the line was about 20 min long.  We opted to take a regular bus route back to downtown.  I should mention that during the games, any event ticket holder can use any form of public transportation for free.  It took quite a while to get back, and when we got there, we found the place to be flooded with leaf-wearing loonies.

The hockey game had ended about 30 minutes before we got there, and people were already literally drunk with happiness that they’d be playing the USA on Sunday for a gold medal.  We got lots of dirty looks and “Go Canada!” chants in our face due to our American hockey jerseys and hats.  We decided to let them have it, since we are currently owning their podiums.  We ventured over to a Thai restaurant, and were promptly seated.  However, the service was incredibly slow due to just 2 or 3 servers.  We ended up spending over an hour there for just dinner.  We hurried over to the rail station, only to find another 20 minute line waiting to board.  We were able to return home, a little soaked by the day’s constant drizzle.

I picked up some interesting tidbits today.  Sochi, the next Winter Games host city, has their own building (“house”) and you can go inside and watch events and meet athletes.  It looks like Epcot Center from the outside.  They are expecting over 150,000 people to be downtown during the USA-Canada game on Sunday, not including the crowd attending.  This is a VERY conservative estimate.  There are over 39,000 people booked on flights leaving on Monday, and they expect the departure process to take about 4 hours for most people.  I also learned that Canada fans are very annoying when it comes to hockey.  However, unlike most fans, they are very emphatic only about their country, and still wish the best to whomever they’re playing next.

A truly spectacular day was had, and tomorrow I will be making the trip to Whistler to take on the Bobsleigh final.  Until then, Go USA!

Guest reporter Joe Neumann continues his adventures in Vancouver.

Vancouver Olympics – Day 1:
Wow, what a day.  I woke up in the Mile High City with the weather on the verge of snow, and ended the day in comfortable Vancouver after a very full day.  Upon arriving, I could tell this city was ready for a big party.  The airport had lots and lots of room for arrivals and customs checks.  Getting into the country was fairly simple.  I just filled out a declaration in Seattle before boarding our plane, and gave it to the agent at customs before getting my bag.  They had about 30 agents ready for us, and maybe 5 had visitors at them.  No wait at all.  The airport had been recently renovated, and was very ample for all arriving and departing passengers today.  I’d imagine it will be a zoo on Saturday and Sunday, though.

We checked into our rented apartment, and it is much better than anticipated.  Very close to the light rail, restaurants, the Richmond Oval, and the airport.  Very secure building and accessible owner.  We walked to the market and grabbed a Cranberry Turkey sandwich, which was pretty good and only C$4.  We got situated and headed downtown to pick up our tickets.  I was worried it would be very tough to find the ticket will call, and in fact it was pretty easy with knowing the vicinity of where it was supposed to be.  There were visitor booths all along the light rail and downtown area to help.  In addition, lots of tents and vendors were along all streets downtown, and two main streets were closed off, which made it easy to walk around.

Another thing I was initially concerned with was the security and general hospitality of the people in the city.  They were more than warming, welcoming “With Glowing Hearts” everywhere we went.  They were willing to help point us in the right direction, make small talk, and make us feel welcome.  Cops and security were plentiful on each street and venue, even in restaurants and shops.

After picking up our tickets, we checked out the city center around Robson street, which is fanfare central.  Not only were there lots of street performers and booths, but the city had entertainment venues set up around town.  They had hourly free shows at two stages, a zipline across the city center, and TV monitors all over the place showing live events.  Every spectator with a maple leaf on their shirt or sweater had their eyes glued to them during the Canada-USA Womens’ Hockey Final.

We migrated to the BC Place for our “Victory Ceremony” after wandering the city four a couple hours.  We were told to get there early, as it would take a while to get in.  There were over 20 security tents to handle the burden.  They did a full screen on each visitor just as if boarding a flight.  It didn’t take long since we were almost an hour early, and were able to make it to our seats about 30 minutes ahead of time.  Man, what a building!  This is the same venue where the opening ceremonies took place, and they only used 1/3 of it for the ceremony.

They had videos playing while people found their seats, then two emcees played trivia with the crowd.  They had a few live bands from Manitoba (it was Manitoba Celebration Night) perform before the official festivities.  Then the real production started.  There was a simulcast with the Victory Ceremony in Whistler.  They showed a presentation at Whistler, followed by one at our venue in Vancouver.  It was very exciting to have the American National Anthem played first, as we had a gold and silver medalist in Nordic Combined.  The final presentation was for Womens’ Two-man Bobsleigh, and of course the building went crazy because Canada won gold and silver in that event.

After all medals were presented, a total of 5 presentations, they had a full-fledged concert by yet another musician from Manitoba, former member of the Guess Who, Burton Cummings.  It was just like a regular rock concert, with fancy lasers and light choreography.  He played some good songs, but most were unheard of by my father and I.  We left a little early, and grabbed dinner at a local sports bar.  The food was more than decent for the price, around C$12-30 for most dishes.  Beer on tap was cold and local.  It was a nice refresher.

The day wasn’t without some interesting tidbits though.  I sort of got the vibe before arriving, but at the moment, Canada doesn’t like hearing USA cheers.  We are slaughtering them in the medal count after they spent lots of money on a program called “Own the Podium.”  Walking by some people, you could hear “so glad we kept Americans off the podium in Womens Figure Skating” and people chanting “USA sucks” during the Womens’ Hockey Final.  Talking with a local, he said it is interesting that Canadians often complained that USA was loud and boisterous in winning, and now Canada is doing it since the games are on their turf.  He went on to mention that it seems forced and they aren’t very good at the role.

We also searched all over for USA Olympic Gear, and the only thing we found was Ralph Lauren Polo gear at a department store that was way over priced.  We also waited 30 minutes to get in the store because it is the official Olympic store.  If you were a Canadian at these games, you would have plenty of cool designs to chose from to represent your country.  If not, you better hope you brought something from home.

My first impression of the city and games was very, very good.  This town seems incredibly prepared, and there weren’t any hang ups getting from airport to event, or anything imbetween.  I am so ready for bed now.  I can’t wait to enjoy our hospitality center pass tomorrow and see Apolo Ohno’s performance in Short Track!

The Soap Boxers was able to send beat reporter Joe Neumann to Vancouver to cover the Olympics. Well, either that, or we found out that Joe was headed to Vancouver and asked if we could hitch our wagon to his trip.  We are happy to announce that Joe will be sending us several installments of his Olympic journal to share with our readers.

Joe is an engineer in his mid 20s who works at a remote mine in Northwest Alaska and spends time off in Denver, CO. He was born and raised in Denver, migrated to Rolla, Missouri for four years of school and spent time in rural Arkansas and Salt Lake City doing summer work. He enjoys skiing, golfing, bowling, and traveling/road trips. You can follow Joe on Twitter.

Without further ado, I turn to floor over to Joe.

Vancouver Olympics – Day 0
Today I spent preparing for my trip to see the 21st Winter Olympiad. This is my first trip to Canada, and my first time out of the country since before 2001. I fly quite frequently (about every other week), so I am curious to see how much longer the process will be going out and coming back into our country. This is also my first Olympic Games, and although I’ve been to some other big sporting events (MLB All-Star Game, World Series, College World Series), I am very excited to be in that new atmosphere.

Preparation for these games has been a lot harder than I expected. For one, all tickets are attached to a name and require photo ID for pick-up, and their email claims holders are subject to a photo ID check at the games. I guess this is to restrict scalping, but it makes it tough for travelers like me. They don’t assign seats until pick-up, and although I’m in the “A” group seating for both my events and the medal ceremony, I am a little worried they will not be as close as we would like.

Finding a place to stay was a chore in itself. When I first decided I wanted to go, I read lots of advice on the Olympic websites, and it all said the toughest thing to get was tickets to events, so make sure to get those first. Then get lodging, airfare, and other accommodations. I followed their advice and bought tickets as soon as possible in Feb 2009.

Then I started looking for lodging, and found most places wouldn’t take reservations until 9 months before the games (June 2009). The reason is because they allow the IOC and officials to make reservations in the time leading up to June. Of course, when I called in June, everything was completely booked in Vancouver. Whistler was a different story. Not only were there lots of rooms available, they weren’t that expensive. So I went another route and found a condo in Richmond, close to the Vancouver airport, that was being rented by the owner for the entire games. At a reasonable $550 a night (!), I decide it would be best to limit the time we are in Vancouver.

I found a place in Whistler for about $300 a night during the games and $250 after that. Considering I love to ski and have never skied outside my home state of Colorado, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. I decided to stay an extra 3 nights and do some skiing. And I should mention that this isn’t just any lodge in the vicinity, it is a 4 star ski-in/ski-out resort at the bottom of the Alpine course (Creekside). That just shows you how expensive things are in Vancouver.

Some might be thinking, why would you chose to go to these games? Well, I sort of have a business connection. I work for Teck Resources, which some of you might recognize because we are the company that is supplying the metals for all the medals in these games and the Paralympics. Not only are we providing the medals, but we held the contest for the design, so you can blame us for the big metal potato chips. We have also been under some scrutiny because it is the first time a portion of the medals has come from recycled scrap metals, specifically those from electronics. While I am proud of that fact, some “traditionalists” think they should be specially mined from ore deposits just for Olympic medals.

Our company has done a great job of using their status as “Official Supplier” to generate lots of interest in its workforce. We first learned of the agreement in 2007, and immediately Teck announced that we would be able to nominate co-workers in different areas of excellence to win trips to both the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2010 Vancouver Games. In addition, they’ve held raffle-style contests to win trips to both games, and even be a torch bearer.

The mine I work at in Alaska produces mostly zinc, about 20% lead, and less than 1% silver. A portion of that silver went into the gold (because gold metals are 98% silver with a pure gold coating) and silver medals. We produce way more than is needed for the medals, so it was no big deal for us. I should say, we don’t have any operating tin mines, so that metal was purchased on the open market and blended with copper from another one of our mines to make the bronze. Overall, I am very proud to be associated with these games, and be an employee of Teck.

So as I write this, my father and I are about 14 hours from landing in Vancouver. I will have another entry about my first impression of the city, how busy it is, how easy to find food, and how entertaining a medal ceremony really is tomorrow. Have a good evening, and go USA!

40 Tech, a site that claims to be “Tech for those over 40, but not yet over the hill.”  In actuality, though, it’s a good tech site, regardless of your age.]

What a game. What a series. Fans of the Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies have a concoction of NoDoz and Maalox coursing through their bloodstreams today, following the 2:15 a.m. finish on the East Coast for game three, and the tension of three of the four games of the series. Like two heavyweight prizefighters, the two teams traded near-knockout punches in the eighth and ninth inning of game four, with the Rockies climbing off the deck to take the lead in the 8th, before the Phillies rallied to take the lead for good with two outs in the ninth. In the process, the Phillies took the series, three games to one. So, what is the take on the series in Philadelphia?

Evenly Matched
It might seem odd to call two teams evenly matched when a series only goes four games, but the last three games of this series were close, tense, and exciting. You had the feeling that the results of each game would have been different if they played one more inning in each game. The talk in Philadelphia is that the experience the Phillies gained in last year’s World Series’ run made the difference, helping them to remain patient and never panic.

Carlos Gonzalez is a Stud
Manny Ramirez may have seemed unstoppable in the National League Championship series last year, but Gonzalez topped that. Phillies fans are glad they won’t see him again during this postseason. Baseball doesn’t hand out a Most Valuable Player award during the Division Series, but if it did, Gonzalez might be one of the rare players who wins a series MVP award while playing for the losing team.

This isn’t the Last We’ve Seen of the Rockies
The Rockies have a young core that any team would love to have. Troy Tulowitzki had some rough spots in clutch moments, but is one of the better shortstops in the game. Despite his implosions in games three and four, Huston Street was one of the premiere closers in the game this year. I also don’t think I’ve seen so many live arms in the bullpen as I saw in this series.

Most Clutch Philly Team Ever
This team is the most clutch team in Philadelphia sports history. You have to understand the pessimism of Philadelphia sports fans, beaten into us by years of our teams finding new ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. This Phillies team is an abberation, coming up big time and time again. From the record-breaking sprint to overtake the Mets for the Division Title in 2007, to the epic ninth inning last night, this team exhibits resilience not often seen in these parts.

The 9th Inning of Game 4 Will Go Down in Philadelphia Sports Lore
If the Phillies manage to repeat as World Series Champions this year, the ninth inning of Game 4 will go down in Philadelphia Sports lore, alongside Matt Stairs’ home run in the NLCS last year, the infamous “Black Friday” game I attended in the 1977 NLCS, and the legendary comeback against Nolan Ryan in the 1980 NLCS to cap off four straight extra inning games. I’m sure the 9th inning was just as frustrating to Rockies’ fans as the 8th was to Phillies’ fans. Regardless of where your allegiances rest, cherish this series. We were treated to three close, exciting games, capped off by a heart-stopping finish. Now bring on the Dodgers.

Image via Wikipedia

This is the first in the “A day in the Life” series. The series will pop up periodically on Thursdays. Most of the articles will be shorter than this. However, I did not feel that I can edit very much out of this tale without losing value for the reader.

Walrus served as an air traffic controller in Chicago from 1971 – 1981. Today, he shares a slice of that life with us.

A night day in the life of Air Traffic Control Specialist (ATCS), Chicago’s Enroute Control Center, Iowa City and Joliet High Sectors.

The ATCS responsibilities: Safe, orderly and Expeditious flow of air traffic into and out of controlled airspace.

Your day begins again Sunday at 9 pm; you prepare for work, eat breakfast, kiss the wife and kids good-bye and drive to your day job. This is the second time you’ve been to work today, as you worked the Sunday day shift, and as you pass through the lighted guard gate you realize that it’s only been 8 hours since your last shift ended. But, then this is the last day in your normal workweek.

The job has its pros and cons. Pros – the cafeteria’s open 7x24x365 so there’s always hot food and beverages. There’s a Marine at the gate so no one can repossess the Corvette and the local cops can’t chase you in to the compound. When you fly the ARTCC clubs plane, your brothers provide the best radar traffic service money can buy. Cons- well the night cooks don’t get 5 stars. The accommodations look and feel real old at night, like the inside of a Denny’s restaurant at midnight on their 20th anniversary. And most controller smoke like chimneys.

This is a real 7x24x365 job, and your work week’s normally 2 swing shifts, 2 day shifts and a midnight shift with your day off rotating every week. These rotating days make it difficult to have a social life outside the Air Traffic community. Most normal folks work M-F and have their nights and weekends off, that’s all of your family and most pre-ATC friends.

You’ll sync up with your real life about 4 times a year. 2 weekends, back to back, every 8 weeks and you Never Never Never answer the home phone on your scheduled weekends off. The guy with the most influence in your life is the supervisor who manages the work schedule. Thank god, that’s your boss because he gets your team most of the national holidays off. How – black magic, bribery, blackmail, murder? I don’t know, but I love that man.

The shift starts at 11 pm, normally Sunday midnights are easy work unless weather makes it a fright, the biggest concern will be that Monday morning rush starts before the end of this shift when the team will be the most tired. The flying public likes to get a jump on the workweek, and O’Hare, Midway, Milwaukee and a host of small airports will all start having departures around 5am. Fortunately most of the arrivals that support those departing flights come in before 3 am. Maybe we’ll do some On The Job training and let the Aside try his hand on that rush.

Proper etiquette requires you to relieve the position your assigned before the 11 pm shift start. You grab your first cup of coffee, get the Flight Service weather briefing and head to the boards. An ATC specialist cannot leave his position until relieved and if manning a position that doesn’t have relief, OT is mandatory and someone stays until you have 10 operational hours logged, your relief arrives or someone takes over your sector. Whiners go to the watch commander, who’ll remind them that OT is mandatory and he’ll tell you when your 10 hours are up. Being reliable and on time is the key to keeping your work partners happy, that’s the team that you always relieve. The team relieving you is never the team that you always relieve.

The team doesn’t like working with strangers (non-team members) and I don’t either, so while at the briefing desk, you find out who’s on the shift with you and pray it’s mostly your teammates. My alias is Walrus (aka GI) and tonight I’m working with Hotrod and Flipper, I see EZ’s here and so is White Ryno, Whiffer and FanMan. Popeye’s got the con and the watch commander is, well let’s hope it doesn’t matter.

There are 13 ARTCC centers spanning the entire US. Toronto, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Denver surround Chicago center. Chicago ARTCC controls air traffic from Canada to Tennessee from Detroit, Michigan to Lincoln, Nebraska. It’s divided geographically East and West and stratified Hi-Alt and Low Alt. (@ 24,000 feet), with a specialized sector (Chicago Terminal) feeding inbound traffic to Chicago O’Hare.

Normally there’s a supervisor in each of these 5 areas but on mid’s usually only 1 supervisor is staffed and one (HMFIC) watch commander is on duty. Each of the areas is broken into sectors of airspace, usually with an inbound or outbound specialty.

There are 4 staffed positions to a sector (about 100,000 sq miles of airspace). The primary position is the Radar controller, he owns the responsibility for one sector (normally) and its operations, The second is the boom Coordinator, always another journeyman position who works between the adjacent Radar sectors and controllers doing handoffs and helping to maintain order during heavy traffic periods. This is a Sunday midnight so the boom position will not be manned until the day shift starts at 6am. The sector second in command is the manual controller; this often is not a journeyman controller and he may not be certified on radar. Its better when he is, because he’s your break relief. The lowliest position on the team is your Aside (assistant controller). This is always a trainee and they can be as helpful as a spilled cup of coffee. Under some conditions (i.e. computer is down) they’re far more useful. But they’re energetic and trusting as a new puppy and they miraculously stay awake all night. You are responsible for their actions and are their OJT instructor for this shift. But Never Never Never trust an Aside.

Back to this shift change and control take-over, if there’s a new face you do introductions and establish their abilities and capabilities because you’re taking responsibility for them, too. If you are not sure, you relieve them first. This is an insult but then they have no recourse. You look over the adjacent sectors to see who you are working with tonight. If you see something out of order you point it out, if it isn’t resolved to your liking you get the watch commander. Then you do as he orders PERIOD, you’re now riding on his responsibility, one does this rarely and a trainee who does this is unlikely to get certified.

The current radar controller provides a briefing on the live traffic already in the sector; any traffic scheduled is loaded in plastic strips and stacked in the manual man’s bays (the next 30 minutes). He points out any known conflicts that he’s approved (i.e. Descending / crossing traffic), aircraft assigned the same altitude, special military traffic or radar vectors being given to targets. He gives you heads up on any mechanical issues with the gear, radio, radar, known issues with local weather, airports etc. He’ll advise if the manual man or the Aside are/were competent (especially if you’ve just insulted his teammates) and also lets you know if some condition(s) will impact you in the next few hours (i.e. weather).

You look over his situation determine that there are no air traffic conflicts or emergencies, and you accept responsibility for control and then take his seat. This is expressed verbally and you don’t make any wisecracks knowing that every word is being recorded. The relieved controller watches your boards for the next 5 minutes, making sure you have the picture before he leaves. The hotshots make wise cracks about breathing down their necks and that’s a cue to leave immediately!

However, when stating you’ve got it, it becomes your ticket and your ass on the line. You make sure you can contact all aircraft under your control. (i.e. UA282_Chicago_ Radio Check/ Chicago_ UA282_Read U 5by5) A stuck mike or mis-tuned frequency can ruin a perfectly good day. You punch on the communications access lines (row of instant communication buttons overhead) and announce the change in controller on this sector. You communicate with the sectors on both sides and above or below you. You also do the same thing with the adjacent center(s) that feeds you traffic or whose traffic you feed and any major TRACONs (Airport Approach Controls) . Remember you don’t like working with strangers and that means voices and operating initials you don’t recognize.

You read, check and recheck all the strips on the board, check weather at the airports serviced by your sector. Make sure the radar, radio and the con-rack are all functional. You’ve checked all the communications line and by now you’ve also checked the computer system. You say the controller’s prayer (Serenity) under your breath and hope the computer stays up all shift.

So now you have the radar scope and you worry through the manual controller and his relief and the Assistant controller and his relief. Once that completes and all the shrimp boats are made (little plastic boats used to track targets), all the strips are stacked and prioritized, with all conflicts identified you’ll find the first half hour has flown by.

You now settle into your normal routine, it’s about 11:15 pm, the first coffee is depleted and you send the midnight Aside for more coffee and maybe something to snack on. (Testing his ingenuity, you never offer money) Then you and the manual man work out a break rotation and someone starts that rotation. To heck with the Aside he makes his own breaks and had better never leave your sector unmanned. The unspoken code, rudeness is for Asides and respect to all Radar-men.

Tonight’s weather at ORD 20000 O/20/220/10/30.10 so there’s a 20,000 foot ceiling with visual operational conditions at the airport, 20 miles visibility light winds out of the southwest favoring Runway 22, the normal primary at O’Hare, and the barometric pressure indicates high pressure and it’s rising. You see that the Asides are being humorous, having entered the current weather in Nebraska as “Lincoln is Dead”.

What looks like an easy night, now gets complicated. They’re shorthanded because every Sunday is sick leave Sunday. So you’ll get the opportunity to operate a combined sector (200,000 sq miles) and have two additional staff. Great, I’ve another manual man and Aside to babysit. Now everyone has rotational relieve but me , the only radar man. Shit, it’s going to be a long night. !@#$%^&*()_

Hey, Aside get me a coffee with cream and sugar right Now! United262 squawk 3200 and ident. , say altitude, then turn right heading 270 climb and maintain FL230 report leaving FL220. NorthCentral412 cleared to Chicago O’Hare via V10 Vains direct descend and maintain 10,000 reduce speed to 350 knots, your traffic is 3 o’clock 28 miles opposite direction at FL220 report leaving FL 200. Learjet 10EC say your altitude, is the governor on board tonight? Hey Denver; who’s that traffic at on my boundary head on with United 262? I need a handoff ASAP otherwise you hold him, let me know if he’s descending /GI! Speedbird 312 Ident., hey, Chicago Approach over Vains direct O’Hare at 15 descending to 10 that’s Speedbird 312 slowed to 320 knots/ GI. Ok Denver I see UA1412@FL410, Branif308@FL390, Northwest686@FL330 all inbound to O’Hare, send them over to me/GI. Naval Airstation Glenview Tower instruct Marine Sledge & Flight cleared to NAS Miramar via 29 Palms direct Iowa City direct Tuba City direct, climb and maintain FL450 report out of FL200 ASAP, combat climb approved, and launch him immediately/GI! Denver did you say you saw United262, Ok here he comes/GI. United262 contact Denver center 185.25 goodnight. Hey Flipper (Aside) ask Denver about that flight of F16’s just off Glenview direct Tuba City at FL450. And do you have a strips for a departure off Dubuque to Midway? So did you like controlling air traffic for a while, Flipper?

Gotta love this adrenaline.

Aside, why is my coffee cold?

Monday morning you’d planned to work your ass off when the rush started at 5am, but your team leader shows up an hour early for his day shift and relives you as the flight plans build in the departure bays. So by 5:45 am you head to the cafeteria and have dinner. The rest of the team gathers one at a time over the next hour and at 7am it’s agreed to go to Chicago to breakfast club. That’s just 7 am beers after work. Whew what a week and now you have the next two days off. Heck the wife won’t be home from work until 5 pm tonight, bartender I’ll buy that next round.

So today was another great 16 hour day in the life of an ATCS, no hits, no errors and no one left on base, but it could be worse. At least tonight international tensions didn’t trigger a DEFCON5, locking the blast doors and cutting everyone off the coffee supply. Tomorrow you could be assigned a crash scene and be knee deep in the mess of an accident investigation. The cause, some circumstance within the scope of your Air Traffic Control Center. Or maybe you’ll have to transcribe recoding tapes for a team member who’s had a Near Mid Air. It could cost him his job, and you’ll provide the expert testimony at his hearing. He’s likely one of your best friends. Never tell them you want to be a watch commander when you grow up someday?

Yes, tonight today was a good day.

For your viewing pleasure I’d suggest the movie Pushing Tin. It was pretty accurate ATCS representation through about 1981. However, that was when Mr. Reagan and PATCO disagreed on the matter of my financial compensation and we parted ways. I understand they’ve made several improvements since I last put on a headset.