Tyler: Be Massive, My Friend

I’m relatively ecstatic and have several things to talk about. So as not to confuse myself here is my list of what I will discuss.

1. MASSIVE
2. Roger’s Birthday
3. Cool by Virtue of Youth

If you hadn’t heard, Massive (the Columbus Crew) won the MLS Cup for the first time in franchise history and I really couldn’t be happier about it. Growing up, all I did was play soccer and when I say that it is almost literal. If not at school or sleeping, chances are I was practicing either with my team or on my own. Back in 1996 my family had season tickets for the inaugural season and it was incredible. It has been amazing watching the league grow over the years not just in teams but in talent as well. It’s obvious that MLS teams can’t really compete with the top clubs in the English Premier League (Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool) but what you never hear is that we are as good as the rest of the EPL. The MLS is getting some great players from around the world and young American players are as good as any in the world. Freddy Adu gets a lot of shit from a lot of media sources but the bottom line is incredibly young and good enough to lead his club team to the Champions League. The future looks great for American soccer and for Massive. Without a doubt, Massive won the MLS Cup amongst the best talent the MLS has ever seen. Final note on this issue, if you’re a Toronto FC fan, in your fucking face! Can’t wait to see you next year when we sweep the Trillium Cup.

So last night was Roger’s birthday party and I haven’t had that much fun in a long time. Roger had fun, I don’t know, if he so chooses he can write about it but this is my post so this is all about me. So for the past year, year and a half I’ve been very limited as to how much I can go out to bars and stuff because of various medical stuff. Anyway, so last night was one of the few times I’d been out recently and there are very few greater feelings than having several people come up to me to say it was good to see me. It was flattering. The entire night was fantastic. So many people came out to karaoke and sang and drank and everyone was so excited to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of Roger’s birth. I love Columbus. I love the people around me. Life is pretty good right now.

So I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. I’m 21 and wear thrift store clothes. Something about this combination does something to how I’m perceived by many people. I was with my brother and a couple of his friends months ago and I was wearing this odd v-neck shirt with another shirt underneath because it was all I had as far as clean clothes. My brother said something about how weird it looked (which it did) and his friend countered with something along the lines of how I could pull it off because I was fashionable. Don’t get me wrong, I think I usually dress very nice (voted best dressed in high school just so you know) but on that day I looked like an idiot. There is something about being young and different looking that makes me immune from fashion criticism. I’m at a good place in life, I think.