Is the money really worth it? .... PWI's vs HBCU's

Last night I traveled to Tampa to cheer on my Florida A&M University Rattlers as they took on USF. The experience was one that left me with an angry, bitter feeling 24 hours later and also led me to question whether HBCU's should even bother playing against PWI's for pay.

This is not the first time that my beloved HBCU has played against a PWI. During the Randy Shannon era at the University of Miami we played the Hurricanes yearly. Despite what many people say about Randy I will always look at him with high regard. I mean seriously how many football coaches do you know who stress the importance of education? How many football coaches do you know who have graduated as many players as Shannon did? How many cared about the welfare of their players and coaching staff as much as Randy? Randy Shannon believed that HBCU's and their talented players were often overlooked by the Ncaa, NFL and media in general. He wanted to expose individuals who had no idea what an HBCU was to HBCU culture, bands, players and etc. It worked. The atmosphere at Sun Life Stadium when Miami and Famu played was one that could only be described in one word ... AWESOME. Yes Miami beat us every single time but I think that many Rattlers would agree that the energy was so positive and the environment so friendly that the lost never really hurt. Plus you would throw in the fact that our school made a ton of cash off of that one game. Randy always made sure that the Marching 100 were able to showcase what they were all about and the fans of UM enjoyed it. See ... it usually was a win-win situation for both parties.

That wasnt the case last night. From the moment that I entered Raymond James Stadium I didnt feel the same as I usually felt when we played Miami. The environment was different.  The workers were rude and the fans quite belligerent. There was a feeling of simply being uncomfortable and praying that the 100 would hurry up and play so that we could leave. The joyous dancing, clapping and singing that Famu alumni and students partake in was missing. Everyone just kind of sat there either watching our football team get murdered or texting on their phone. There was no genuine interest. The score at the end read 70-17.

I woke up this morning and wondered who was in charge at Famu. Who decided to put this game on the schedule? Who decided that we would play USF? And when they decided that we would play USF did they speak with USF to see WHY they wanted to play us to begin with OR were they simply focused on the big pay day at the end. All money is not GOOD money. We live in a country that believes that historical black colleges and universities are obsolete. They are useless, outdated and irrelevant. They should no longer exist. Not only do Americans who have no idea what an HBCU stands for or is feel this way but individuals within OUR own community also express such sentiments. When you're living in a place that has such a negative attitude towards HBCU's I wonder why someone would go and add fuel to the fire? All I heard last night and this morning was how Famu sucked. All I heard was chuckles last night and looks of pity. I feel as if that game not only set Famu as an institution back but HBCU's in general. Instead of showcasing Famu and exposing people to overlooked talent, the game only served to exploit the institution and further the notion that PWIs are better. As an athlete, student or band member, I would not have wanted to attend Famu after experiencing last night's game. I too would have been as ignorant as everyone else and believed that PWI's are white, so they ARE better.  This is what made this situation a winning situation...BUT only for USF. Metaphorically speaking Famu lost. HBCUs lost.  We got paid though. But in the end, was the money even really worth it?

Buccaneers vs Lions

Well unless you were under a rock OR maybe you just are not a football fan *gasp* you know that football season officially started last week. It was week 1 of NFL football and I was extra giddy because I was heading to Tampa to see my Buccaneers. No words can express how I feel whenever I see my Buccaneers. I'm a HUGE fan and am always all smiles when I know that I am going to Raymond James Stadium. Raymond James Stadium does not feel the same way about me tho :(

It never fails, every time I go to Raymond James something bad happens. This trip was no different. There was a huge accident in which 10+ people lost their lives on the main road leading from West Palm Beach to Tampa. We sat in traffic for a good 30 minutes before we were informed that the road would be closed for another 2 hours. It was time to insert plan B. I knew by going the other route that we would definitely miss out on tailgating but I didnt care ... just as long as we were there by kickoff I was good.

We werent. Even after going the long way to Tampa I was confident that we would make it. That was until we missed our exit and ended up in Pasco County. I've driven to Raymond James Stadium plenty of times and probably could drive there blind folded BUT on this particular day I miss my exit. That added another 20 minutes to the trip. Finally we get to the stadium and parking is gone. So another 5 minutes went into finding a parking spot. I guess good things come to those who are last because we ended up finding a FREE parking spot *booty pops* Gotta find the positives right?

By the time we actually made it IN the stadium it was the second quarter, the Bucs were losing and I was as excited as could be. We sat on the Lions side and I was amazed by how many Lions fans there were. Where did they come from? Did they drive down or do they reside in Tampa already?  I promise there were more Lions fans chanting than Tampa Bay fans. I was embarrassed. It got worse. In the 4th quarter Tampa Bay fans actually started boo'ing their own team. THEIR OWN TEAM!!!! What in the world. Now I will not sit on this blog and say that I was totally pleased with how Tampa played on Sunday because I wasnt. However I will NEVER boo MY Bucs...NEVER! That's MY team. What type of fan does that?

The "fans" also were yelling that the Bucs suck, Raheem(the coach) sucks and that THIS is why people dont buy tickets to see them. Really? First of all maybe I'm delusional but I never would say any of this...not about MY team. If they did really suck that is something that I would keep to myself. Even when my Bucs only won 3 games in an entire season I never uttered the words "they suck". What type of fans are these? I'm starting to think that Tampa Bay does not know the meaning of the word. Poor Bucs.

It wasnt all bad though. It was a perfect day for football. It was hot with a nice breeze. The 9/11 tribute was also very nice. I think I was in awe watching the military men parachute into the stadium. Days later I'm still looking at the picture and saying to myself "how awesome was that" . The late LeeRoy Selmon was represented well. When you didnt see light blue jerseys, you saw light orange ones bearing the infamous 63. I also got to see N. Suh and let me tell you this .... television does not do him justice. The dude is HUGE! I would be so scared to play against him. He looked like a giant while everyone else looked like midgets. That dude is the truth!

Despite two fights breaking out in the stands and my beloved Bucs losing, I still walked out of the stadium with a huge smile on my face. Something about Raymond James does that to me. If I would've been home I would've been highly upset about the lost. I would've been in a funky mood for the entire day but on that day I took the long walk back to my truck with the rest of the Buccaneers with a smile on my face and my head held high. I got to see my Buccaneers and even if we lost, seeing them made my day. Go BUCS!

What makes a GREAT mom

Yesterday I was talking to my son's teacher when she got a glossy look in her eyes, paused and said "Ms Johnson, I want you to know that you are a great mother. You are truly a role model for other young mothers. I am impressed and you should be very proud of yourself" It took me a minute to say anything and when I did all that could escape was a thank you. I've been told before that I am a great mom and every time someone says that it makes me choke up. I'm honored. Really I am.

I worry ALL of the time about my son. I worry if I'm doing everything right. I worry if I have done something wrong. I worry about what type of man he will grow up to be. I worry about if something that I said or didnt say, something that I did or didnt do will affect him later on in life. Child let me tell you, being a parent is a full time job and when you are trying to be a GOOD one its even harder. The fact that I do it all by myself makes being a mom one of the hardest jobs on this planet. My son is the most important person in my life. He has been that way since I found out that I was having a baby. I never wanted kids and its amazing that 9 months later this little person changed my mind and my life. All that I do, I do for him.

I had my son when I was 19 years old. You know, the age where you think you know everything but in retrospect how much do you really know? Being a mom or a parent in general does not come with a rule book. There are no "help" sections when you cant figure something out. Basically you have to wing it. That's all I've been doing for the past 10 years ... winging it. I've tried my best and given my all to be the type of mother that I would want. I've listened to my kid whenever he has something to say(which is always), I've put in my quality time with him, I've helped with homework and yada yada yada. I've sacrificed everything for that little boy and I've done it without ever wanting recognition for it. I've done it because hell HE IS MINE, I'm responsible for him and I love him. But I cant lie....on those rare moments when someone is looking and they comment on how great I am it makes me proud. For that brief moment all of the worrying goes away and I think to myself "Maybe I am doing this right" .... dont worry, 10 minutes later the worrying comes back lol.

What makes a great mom? I dont know. The criteria varies depending on the child. But I do know that I'm going to continue to do my very best and if you see something that you like let me know. Your encouragement will save me 10 minutes of worrying time and place a huge smile on my face :)

The things men do for an orgasm .... aka PEARLING

Here I was minding my own business when I came across a rather disturbing picture. Apparently men are inserting pearls within their penis to heighten the orgasm of their female and/or male partners. I dont know about you but one peek at the picture had my anal muscles tightening. This is just too much for me. I dont mean to be a Square Suzie but what happened to just doing "normal" things????? Can you not have fun being normal? I promise we are living in a time where people are just extreme with everything. Too many Lady Gaga's in the world and not enough Michelle Obamas. This ish is just crazy and if I ever meet a man with anything resembling this, he should lose my name and number pronto. The weird thing is that this practice is extremely popular within the prison system O_o How are they getting the pearls? *naive face* Within the system its called "speed bumping" I cant ..... I'm ending the post on that note. Look at the picture ... could you do it? O_o

The Help

I didnt want to see The Help. I have a million and one reasons why I did not wish to see it but the main reason is because I'm tired of movies like that. You know .... the magical white person comes and saves the Negroes .... type of movies. I was sitting in the theater waiting to see Jumping The Broom when the trailer premiered. I remember someone in the theater saying loudly "I dont want to see that shit. That's just going to make me want to punch someone in the face" My sentiments exactly but before I knew it all anyone was talking about was "The Help"

I cant start to count how many family members, friends and associates were calling me to tell me how good The Help was. Not one person understood that while I knew the movie was going to be good, I had no desire to see it. They were baffled by it. ME, someone who LOVES a good movie was NOT interested in seeing one of the BEST movies of the year? They didnt get it. The calls kept pouring in and eventually I broke down and went to see it.

First and foremost you should know that I had a major attitude walking into the theater. It was full and me and my companions were the only black people in the theater.  You cant go to a movie dealing with 1950's racism and be the only blacks in the theater. It makes an enjoyable experience awkward. When the film started off I remember saying "Here we go with this shit". I cant lie. It took me more than a few minutes to sigh, put my feet up, relax and get into the movie. It was everything that I expected it to be. Great cast, great acting, good storyline, good film.

I loved Minny's character but hated that she stuck with her sorry excuse for a man that was whooping her ass. I think Minny was an excellent portrayal of so many women that I know. You know the sassy mouth ones that are quick to put you in your place but cant do the same thing at home. I was so happy when she finally left his ass. I loved her for standing up to Hilly's character even though the way she did it was nassssttttyyyyyyy!!!! Ewwww! lol I never eat chocolate and I certainly wont be eating it after watching The Help LOL.  Speaking of HIlly,  I despised Hilly's character. She reminded me of too many people in my hometown and that took me down a road that I try not drive down very often. Just ignorant and miserable. How do I know she was miserable? Easy. You can tell a miserable person by the way they treat other people. Hilly was evil for no reason. I really thought that her maid was going to expose something scandalous about her like her husband was cheating or something like that. I was disappointed that her story only contained her eating Minny's shit. Oh well. I thought Abilene's character did an excellent job. The lady whom I believe is named Viola has been a great actress and one that I have grown fond of every since I saw her in Doubt. Her lines to the little girl ... you are smart, you are kind, you are important were lines that probably would've had me in tears had I not had a major attitude entering the theater. Skeeter is probably someone that everyone who saw the film loved but I rolled my eyes a lot when she was on the screen. A typical captain save-a-hoe. I had to remind myself that this is fictional...its just a movie.  However I wonder if she would have been interested in the help's story IF she was not gaining anything by it.  Now one white woman that I did love was Minny's boss, Celia. She seemed sincere and I loved the last scene where SHE cooked for MINNY. I think that was an excellent portrayal of the theme that everyone is NOT bad.  There are a few good people in the world who are nice and kind not for profit but because that is just what kind of people they are. It was crazy that Celia wanted to be accepted by Hilly and her clowns. One last thing .... Cicely Tyson. Is there a rule book somewhere that says that Cicely Tyson must have a part in all racial movies? When she first came on I had the craziest look on my face. Is that Cicely Tyson? Naw naw naw, thats not Cicely Tyson. Damn...that's Cicely Tyson. Cicely has been acting in racial films since Roots and it does not look like she's hanging it up anytime soon. I totally did not expect to see her in this film.

The movie is 2 hours long but you get wrapped up into it so the 2 hours fly by. It was kind of predictable. If you've seen one racial movie, you've seen them all. You kind of know what is going to happen. Everyone in the theater laughed and when we walked out, a few movie goers had red eyes from crying. I did not cry as everyone told me that I would. The crazy thing is that I am a huge cry baby. I also did not laugh...as everyone told me I would. I was pretty emotionless except for the anger that crept up every now and then.  It was a good film but not one that I would like to see again.  Seriously how many films like "the help" exist? Many! I grew up around racism. I come from a small little town where we just received our FIRST black head coach for football and our FIRST black assistant principal last year. And let me tell you, both positions have left many with mouths wide open. They are shocking. I dont have to see racism on film....I saw it daily growing up.

Anyhoo getting back to the film and off of my personal rant, I give the film an A. Heres the trailer :)