If there is one thing I have learned about the internet that gets people's minds churning, it's a good list.
Top 10 best songs of the 1990s. Top 10 movies of 1984. Ten most overrated actors. And on and on and on.
Well here's a Top 10 list for you: Adam's Top 10 Holidays. While a lot of people's lists will include Christmas, Halloween or their birthday (I'm looking at you, Perla), mine is slightly different. These are days that I celebrate as a holiday, but not all are official.
No. 10: Major League Baseball's Trade Deadline, July 31. There is an entire website that I dedicate an hour each day of my life to, mlbtraderumors.com, and during the final two weeks of July it becomes three hours a day. July 31? I don't do anything else but refresh my browser and scroll through baseball tweets. Does that sound useless and boring to you? Probably. But it's riveting in my eyes.
No. 9: The Super Bowl, early Sunday in February. What's not to love? The two best teams in football, some of the best commercials you'll see all year, chips, munchies, sometimes family and friends get involved and maybe, just maybe, there will be a halftime show phenomenon. No, I'm not talking about Janet Jackson's shiny star, I'm talking about the dancing blue sharks during Katy Perry's performance in 2015 and when it poured during Prince's Purple Rain performance in 2007.
No. 8: Thanksgiving, fourth Thursday in November. Who doesn't love a holiday in which we intentionally overeat and watch football all day?
No. 7: American Independence Day, July 4. See No. 8, replace football with baseball. Plus, it's warm outside, the food is grilled, multiple fermented beverages can be consumed and at night we blow things up.
No. 6: St. Patrick's Day, March 17. This is a Catholic holiday that originated in the 1700s to celebrate Irish culture. The church even let the "no alcohol during lent" rule get a pass for the day. Sure, in America we overindulge with our green attire and some of us enjoy our beer a little more than we probably should, but any day where I can celebrate 1 percent of my genetic heritage, watch "Boondock Saints" and wake up the next day regretting a litany of decisions means the day itself turned out fairly well.
No. 5: The first Saturday and Sunday of March Madness, third weekend in March. Usually right around Paddy's Day, the top-tier college basketball tournament is filled with upsets and big moments by kids not getting paid (cough, cough). Well, most of them aren't getting paid yet.
No. 4: The first Thursday and Friday of March Madness, third week in March. See No. 5, but add to it bigger upsets and craziness. Did I mention that there are 16 games being played from 11 a.m. until almost midnight for two days straight? Try to schedule off work, or at least have the courtesy to tell your boss that you will not be motivated to get much accomplished. One report by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. estimated that American companies would see a $1.3 billion loss each hour during the work day of March Madness last year due to unproductive workers. Maybe the event should be a national holiday and we all get off of work and school?
No. 3: Festivus, Dec. 23. Did you watch "Seinfeld"? If yes, then you get it. If no, then here's the gist: Festivus is both a parody and a secular holiday, made famous by George Costanza's fictional father on the show. It's a non-commercial holiday celebration that sees the family put up an aluminum pole instead of a Christmas tree, battle in the Feats of Strength (wrestling on the den carpet), and - my personal favorite - the Airing of Grievances where each person at the dinner table tells everyone else how disappointed they were with them this past year.
No. 2: Pitchers and Catchers Report, second week in February. Those four words always seem to bring a smile to my face. It's a cold and dreary winter. Winds howl, my football team doesn't meet expectations, people keep questioning why I'm still wearing shorts everywhere I go, and Cabin Fever is starting to set in. But mention that baseball is starting soon, and voila - I'm grinning ear-to-ear and get excited about the greatest human achievement in world history: Beisbol. Speaking of this, I should look into booking my flight to Arizona for Spring Training. Baseball and In-N-Out, two of life's simple pleasures.
No. 1: MLB Opening Day, end of March/beginning of April. Every year the date is different, but every year the feeling is the same - what craziness will happen this year? Which team will win it all? Will the Brewers or Indians finally get off the floor and make some noise? The season is officially underway. Six months and 162 days of watching the Boys of Summer. All is well with the world.
So there, that's my list. Those are my 10 favorite holidays. What are yours?
- Adam Krebs is a reporter for the Monroe Times and loves baseball and pop culture a little more than he should. He can be reached at akrebs@themonroetimes.net.
Top 10 best songs of the 1990s. Top 10 movies of 1984. Ten most overrated actors. And on and on and on.
Well here's a Top 10 list for you: Adam's Top 10 Holidays. While a lot of people's lists will include Christmas, Halloween or their birthday (I'm looking at you, Perla), mine is slightly different. These are days that I celebrate as a holiday, but not all are official.
No. 10: Major League Baseball's Trade Deadline, July 31. There is an entire website that I dedicate an hour each day of my life to, mlbtraderumors.com, and during the final two weeks of July it becomes three hours a day. July 31? I don't do anything else but refresh my browser and scroll through baseball tweets. Does that sound useless and boring to you? Probably. But it's riveting in my eyes.
No. 9: The Super Bowl, early Sunday in February. What's not to love? The two best teams in football, some of the best commercials you'll see all year, chips, munchies, sometimes family and friends get involved and maybe, just maybe, there will be a halftime show phenomenon. No, I'm not talking about Janet Jackson's shiny star, I'm talking about the dancing blue sharks during Katy Perry's performance in 2015 and when it poured during Prince's Purple Rain performance in 2007.
No. 8: Thanksgiving, fourth Thursday in November. Who doesn't love a holiday in which we intentionally overeat and watch football all day?
No. 7: American Independence Day, July 4. See No. 8, replace football with baseball. Plus, it's warm outside, the food is grilled, multiple fermented beverages can be consumed and at night we blow things up.
No. 6: St. Patrick's Day, March 17. This is a Catholic holiday that originated in the 1700s to celebrate Irish culture. The church even let the "no alcohol during lent" rule get a pass for the day. Sure, in America we overindulge with our green attire and some of us enjoy our beer a little more than we probably should, but any day where I can celebrate 1 percent of my genetic heritage, watch "Boondock Saints" and wake up the next day regretting a litany of decisions means the day itself turned out fairly well.
No. 5: The first Saturday and Sunday of March Madness, third weekend in March. Usually right around Paddy's Day, the top-tier college basketball tournament is filled with upsets and big moments by kids not getting paid (cough, cough). Well, most of them aren't getting paid yet.
No. 4: The first Thursday and Friday of March Madness, third week in March. See No. 5, but add to it bigger upsets and craziness. Did I mention that there are 16 games being played from 11 a.m. until almost midnight for two days straight? Try to schedule off work, or at least have the courtesy to tell your boss that you will not be motivated to get much accomplished. One report by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. estimated that American companies would see a $1.3 billion loss each hour during the work day of March Madness last year due to unproductive workers. Maybe the event should be a national holiday and we all get off of work and school?
No. 3: Festivus, Dec. 23. Did you watch "Seinfeld"? If yes, then you get it. If no, then here's the gist: Festivus is both a parody and a secular holiday, made famous by George Costanza's fictional father on the show. It's a non-commercial holiday celebration that sees the family put up an aluminum pole instead of a Christmas tree, battle in the Feats of Strength (wrestling on the den carpet), and - my personal favorite - the Airing of Grievances where each person at the dinner table tells everyone else how disappointed they were with them this past year.
No. 2: Pitchers and Catchers Report, second week in February. Those four words always seem to bring a smile to my face. It's a cold and dreary winter. Winds howl, my football team doesn't meet expectations, people keep questioning why I'm still wearing shorts everywhere I go, and Cabin Fever is starting to set in. But mention that baseball is starting soon, and voila - I'm grinning ear-to-ear and get excited about the greatest human achievement in world history: Beisbol. Speaking of this, I should look into booking my flight to Arizona for Spring Training. Baseball and In-N-Out, two of life's simple pleasures.
No. 1: MLB Opening Day, end of March/beginning of April. Every year the date is different, but every year the feeling is the same - what craziness will happen this year? Which team will win it all? Will the Brewers or Indians finally get off the floor and make some noise? The season is officially underway. Six months and 162 days of watching the Boys of Summer. All is well with the world.
So there, that's my list. Those are my 10 favorite holidays. What are yours?
- Adam Krebs is a reporter for the Monroe Times and loves baseball and pop culture a little more than he should. He can be reached at akrebs@themonroetimes.net.
