Jake Locker likely to play Sunday against Browns
October 2, 2014Timberwolves want Anthony Bennett to stop shooting threes
October 3, 2014Hi. I’m Craig. This is my WWW.
Wine and Gold Scrimmage and its true impact…
I know we’ve already discussed the Wine and Gold scrimmage and I posted pictures of it yesterday, but I’m not nearly done yet. Here’s my account.
I got down to The Q early, just before 5 p.m., and there were hundreds of people in line to get in. Before 5 p.m… they were lined up to get into an event with the doors opening at 5:30… and the event wasn’t even actually beginning until 7 p.m,. It’s not a shock, mind you, but I’m still impressed and astonished that fans would band together so early and in such high numbers for a practice. The mood was anticipatory, but definitely not impatient.
It makes sense, I guess. This wasn’t just any practice. It was the first time LeBron would be back on the Cavs’ floor as a member of the team again. After being there, I have to say, it was worth every second of effort it took to get in.
There were two absolutely surreal moments for fans. After getting in and waiting 90 minutes, Ahmaad grabbed the mic and led the crowd in a ten-second countdown to the team actually taking the floor. LeBron was at the back of the line, but when he finally stepped on the court, the volume in that place was epic. It was as loud as one of the playoff home games against the Celtics that I remember from the last time LeBron was with the Cavs. I had goosebumps all over as LeBron bounced all over the court. You could tell there was an extra oomph in his step as the crowd went crazy every time he touched the ball… in layup drills.
Then the team broke into its two squads and Ahmaad went back to the business of announcing each player individually. Even as everyone knew LeBron would be announced last, the anticipation was a bear. Cavs fans let it rip just the same. Delly got a huge ovation. Tristan and Dion and Kyrie and Andy got big ovations. Kevin Love’s ovation was big too. But when Ahmaad growled, “From St. Vincent-St. Mary High School..” he was pretty much completely drowned out as LeBron ran onto the court to huddle up with his teammates.
It’s the kind of spine-tingling moment that actually skips your spine completely as it makes a beeline for your neck and into the crown of your head. It was an irremovable smile and I found myself just kind of laughing to myself. I took my eyes off the court and looked around at the people around me and that’s when I realized it. I mean, I knew it all along, but I realized it again at a level that it felt like I was finding out for the first time.
I saw fathers and sons and mothers and daughters. I saw friends and strangers screaming their heads off and loving every second of LeBron being back on that court for the Cavaliers. But they weren’t totally focused on LeBron. They spent just as much time looking at each other. They were hugging and high-fiving and laughing and just enjoying the hell out of being together in this place. LeBron was the catalyst, but as I looked around the arena, it wasn’t totally about LeBron at all. As it turns out LeBron James, for all he is as a player and a member of this community once again, is a really great excuse for something else that’s much bigger than any one guy could ever be.
I’m happy that the Cavaliers will be good and that they’ll get back to the playoffs and that they’ll maybe challenge for a championship, but that’s not what this is really all about for the city and for fans. It shouldn’t be about that for me either. I think I needed that reminder of something I shouldn’t ever be able to forget.
Attending the Cavs’ opener…
The above, combined with my chat with Brian Spaeth on the podcast led me straight to Flash Seats to buy some tickets to the opener. They were way too much money, and I justified it to myself by saying that if I get “buyer’s remorse” between now and game day, there’s no way I could lose money on the venture. Seriously, as the ticket lottery comes and goes and as we get closer and closer to the day of the game, those ticket prices aren’t going to go down any.
Let’s be honest though. There’s almost zero chance that I would sell them.
Netflix strikes a movie deal with Adam Sandler…
I love this kind of stuff. I love stories about media and the Internet and I see far more movies per year than the average American. Combine this all with the fact that I’m someone who liked Punch Drunk Love and Spanglish, and it’s little wonder that I find the Netflix-Adam Sandler marriage to be an interesting story. Sandler and Netflix will combine for four movies over the next four years that will be exclusive to the streaming company.
So, what’s going on here?
While everyone is busy slamming Adam Sandler for his box office failures — and there have been some — I’m more interested in what this deal is actually doing. Despite the fact that Adam Sandler’s movies haven’t done incredibly well at the box office lately, Netflix seemed pretty eager to do a deal with him. I had to hit up the financial stories to get clued in.
In an interview, Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said that he approached Sandler with this “crazy pitch” because he knew how popular Sandler’s movies are on Netflix. “They’re so repeatable,” Sarandos says. “What we’ve seen is the more international we have become, the data has reinforced the incredible global strength of Adam.” He said Sandler is consistently among the most viewed actors on Netflix worldwide.
Netflix and its backers in Hollywood have often talked up the potential of the vast reservoir of data the company has about what people watch on its service. Theoretically, that information is useful when the company makes investment decisions. It can help determine whether to renew a licensing deal for certain TV shows. And if certain actors or directors tend to be popular, Netflix can make an effort to seek out their projects, or plunk down money for their movies as it is doing with Sandler.
Netflix knows exactly what they’re doing. Adam Sandler, if nothing else, is a known quantity as a movie star. Yes, Jack and Jill was unwatchable, but for the most part, his movies are PG to PG-13 movies that aren’t so offensive that they can’t be watched by families and wide margins of people.
Additionally, while people want to slam Sandler for the quality of his films, even that’s been pretty static. It’s just that he’s been around so long that his movies all have the same tone and cultural level. Let’s not pretend that Happy Gilmore or Billy Madison were these mature masterpieces. They weren’t. Sandler keeps making the same kind of movie, but we’re just kind of used to him and everything he does. Adam Sandler as a movie star or as a brand has reached maturity.
With a mature brand like Sandler’s is, it makes perfect sense to take the product and put it in a different venue. With the proliferation of entertainment in our homes, we only seem to hit the theaters (generally speaking) for certain types of movies, and immature comedies like Sandler’s aren’t all that much better on a big screen. But as Netflix knows, they’re still predictable products on the small screen in your living room. They’ve got the data to prove it and that’s why they decided to invest in some of their most predictable inventory.
Slam Sandler all you want, but this all makes tons of sense for everyone, I think.
Your weekly moment of soccer zen…
I really need to hat tip Reddit for these every week. They’re the best.
Speedy Ortiz with the song of the week…
I was introduced to this band via the song “No Below” last year. It’s foot-stomping female vocal awesomeness and their new song doesn’t dissuade me from continuing to be a big fan. This is “Doomsday” from their latest.
*************
That’s it kids. Have a great weekend. I’m expecting a Browns win and possibly even a blowout. Nothing like setting yourself up again and again as a Browns fan, right? 🙂
23 Comments
The fact that we’re talking about an “Adam Sandler brand” is depressing…
Craig, if you are interested in taking a loss on those Cavs opener tickets, let me know.
I assume that goal doesn’t count, right? (Hence the guy waving his finger.)
I have never seen a goal when noone in play touched it. In foosball, it wouldn’t count, but I don’t know the rule for sure in soccer 😉
I both enjoy many of Sandler’s movies and have never seen one in the theaters, so I support the move.
However, Grown Ups & Bedtime Stories are the last 2 of his movies that I enjoyed at all, so I’m not sure how much Netflix is planning to get out of these films either.
“Grown Ups & Bedtime Stories are the last 2 of his movies that I enjoyed at all”
I thought I knew you.
🙂
They are silly and dumb. I am silly and dumb. Also, I can watch them with my kids, which is huge.
“my kids”
That’s your excuse for everything.
Nope, no goal. FIFA Law 15 (That’s the rule in question, not a dull spinoff of the video game series). Goal kick to the defending team.
And they said learning to ref would never have a practical use
It’s sad for me to think that somehow the $9 a month I pay to NetFlix is contributing to the Adam Sandler Brand.
Admit it, you celebrate his entire catalog.
http://media.giphy.com/media/QDSO5S9Zl56BG/giphy.gif
You noticed that too huh? 😉
All ya’ll need to stop hatin’ on Adam Sandler!
Thank you.
It is a great excuse. Don’t take it away from me !!!
And? 🙂
You, you know, you can just call me Mike.
And it’s okay for a grown man to go Trick or Treating dressed as Chewbacca as long as he’s “with his children!”
Just remember it wasn’t me who blew your cover!
last year I was Thing-2 from Dr.Seuss. Chewbacca would be about as good of a choice as drinking milk outside for October in Texas.
Hey I can’t be expected to remember where all you weirdos reside. Okay instead of Chewbacca how about Ebola? Might be a tad scary but definitely relevant for your area.
Speaking of kids “Blended” was hilarious!
Bravo, however – dumb soccer rule #752. Great goal.