A couple of years ago my son announced to us that he wanted to be a "high school football coach". Cash flow concerns aside, I consider this to be an honorable and exciting choice. He has continued to hold tight to this plan even after I explained to him the path to be a coach involved becoming a teacher, graduating from college, graduating from high school, all the way to his (at the time) immediate problem of passing freshman algebra. He did -- and is well on his way.I have to say, when we watch football games, my son sees things that I don't. He watches the offensive and defensive line do battle -- I follow the ball. He watches the coverage and routes -- I follow the ball. He watches the blitzes come and how the offense reacts -- I follow the ball. In an attempt to communicate at this advanced level I introduced him to Brian's UFR posts. He has grown to love this type of breakdown because it gives you a indication of individual performance based on something other than "following the ball". It also introduced us to Tacopants:
| From MGoBlog: "Tacopants"? Tacopants is Jason Avant's eleven-foot tall imaginary friend. Chad Henne spent much of 2005 hitting him between the numbers, which are unfortunately eight feet off the ground and made of dreams. Blessed with infinite eligibility and the ability to sneak on and off the field without alerting the referees -- made of dreams, remember -- Tacopants has taken a lesser role in the offense as Henne matures but still pops up at inopportune times. |
Brian claims the name has its genesis in this post. All credit needs to go to him. It continues to be part of the QB charting process. T9 and I typed it frequently last year during our in game text storms.Last weekend while I was fooling around on the XBox360 version NCAA 2009 - I threw a bad pass over the open reciever and my son quipped "Tacopants". It wasn't long before I convinced him that we should modify one of Michigan's WRs in the game into Tacopants himself. I am sad to report the programmers at EA Sports decided to limit an individual players height to only 7'0'' -- but we created him anyway. On the other hand, I am happy to report with Tacopants in the lineup, Michigan easily defeated Utah, Notre Dame (in the rain), Michigan State, and Ohio State... even with Steven Threet and Nick Sheridan at QB.
RR has 5 days and 17 hours to get Tacopants to sign his letter of intent.
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That's funny my stepson has created an entire legion of 7 footers on his Madden 08 game that he put all on one team. He religiously spanks the CPU like 160-10 or something and then when he gets to the Superbowl he plays me. Which I then humble him to the tune of a 70 point loss using whichever team made the Superbowl other than him. It's quite funny as he routinely goes for it on every 4th down and usually throws about 7 INTs to me a game. My wife tell me I should let him win. I scoff at that and tell her he should get better.
Can't wait to get my PS3 now since that 09 version looks amazing. Got the 52 inch tv and stereo. Still have to build the fireplace unit that will be housing it all and get a few more extras. I'm gonna take a before and after picture so I'll throw it up on the group when it's done.
Can't wait for HD M football.
He will get better. I now play my son every couple of days in both Madden and NCAA. I have only won once (I was Eastern and he was Toldeo). He has won 100's of times.
Yeah I really don't know what I will do when he beats me. It's a long time coming. He really could if he played smart but he doesn't ever play games with strategy and that is why he fails.
He's 13 though you'd think he'd start to catch on sooner or later.
sooner
BAH
Michigan looks twice as bad in HD as SD :(
Their lack of skills are much easier to see.
For your sake, for your family's sake, stick with SD
Nothing to add to this conversation, but I see that my word verification is "coachoop" and I can't let that pass on a Michigan blog.
Prophetic? You be the judge.
oh and
http://www.sonyrewards.com/en/gateway/?offerlink=gspsc300
apply for the credit card (hopefully you didn't actually go to UM so you'll qualify), use it to buy the ps3 for $399. They credit you back $100. Pay off the rest with the money you haven't been spending on Bowl tickets.
best way to get it for $299
you can thank me after you watch some blu rays on it.
oh and buy MLB '09 when it comes out - best sports video game ever.
I am huge baseball fan. I've never played a baseball video game I liked for more than 10 minutes.
On the other hand -- at least to me the well done football and hockey games are addictive.
The one baseball video game that has come the closest is the Wii version MLB game. At least that game has some fun throwing and batting actions.
I'm actually picking up a 60gb PS3 upgraded with a 320gb hard drive off of Ebay. Friend got one and it is in perfect condition with a 3 year full replacement warranty. The 60gb version is the only version of the PS3 with the "emotion engine" in it so it can flawlessly play PS2 and PS1 games on it. The 80gb 3s only play PS2 games through emulation and can't even play all of the games.
I would like to go back and watch the brutal Northwestern game in HD just to marvel at all the snowflakes.
The Superbowl will be my first real in home football HD experience.
andy - i guarantee you'll love mlb '09 when it comes out. unfortunately only on ps3. comes out first week of march. it's amazing
I may end up buying something like that Sru, been hankering for a Baseball game for a while. First purchases will be GT5, Metal Gear Solid 4, Final Fantasy 13 if it's out, and NCAA 09. Not sure what Blu-rays I'll get right away if any. Star Wars needs to be made into Blu-ray I will buy the boxed set for however much they want to charge.
for the blu ray movies....
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=858316
Blu Ray movies ranked in Picture Quality by guys that know what they are doing
and
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=918734
Blu Ray movies ranked in Audio Quality
from my personal experience, keeping in mind i have two boys, 5 and 9, I'd recommend Transformers, Ironman, and Dark Knight to start with.
Look at Sru with the info. I already own all those movies on dvd so it'll most likely be something I don't have yet. Idk if it's available or not but have been meaning to get 5th element and that would be a kickass Blu-ray. Otherwise we'll most likely be just renting then buying movies as they come out. Best day to buy is the release date as they are always on sale at Best Buy and other places.
While I appreciate all of the discussion about PS3's and games and Blu Ray movies, I am still confused about the origin of the "Tacopants" reference. I looked at all of Brian's posts and see where he refers to this but I still don't get the meaning. Maybe I am just too old to understand what is happening here but all I know is I have a sudden graving for a soft taco supreme. I can already hear myself next football season talking about how the QB made a real Tacopants throw. Anyway, I need to go to bed now and dream about running for the border.
5th Element kicks ass!!! Man, that weird script had so much potential to have Hollywood interfere and fuck it up to complete failure, but Gary Oldman, Milla, Bruce, Ian Holm and Chris Tucker really made that film frickin' awesome. Great directing (by the guy who wrote it so he knew what he wanted) and an awesome score by Eric Serra. I love that movie. That would be awesome on the biggest screen with the best picture quality and the baddest sound.
Living overseas for the past 4 years has taught me one very important thing. Amazon.com. It's cheaper than any in store sale you'll ever find. One week or later after a film is released go to the new and used selection tab and order a film with the "like new", "very good", or even "new" description for an average of 7-10 bucks better than you'll find in any store. If you don't like the copy (I've rarely had a problem) just demand a refund. Very easy and Amazon reimburses you the next day. After all that's how I was able to get 5th Element so cheap!
I have a PS3 and love it to death. Quite a few games now too. NCAA, Madden and NHL 08, Fallout 3, Call of Duty 4 and 5, and a few others.
Has anybody seen or heard from T9 lately? I thought she would reply to my gender equity comment but I have not heard anything from her since then. Maybe we will get a SSF post today.
I totally agree with you on the 5th Element being a kick ass movie. Does anyone else want to negotiate?
My favorite kind of movie are those that deal with time travel. The back to the future trilogy are my favorite movies ever. I did a BTTF trivia quiz several years ago just on a wim at our tailgate and my sons liked it so much it has become a tradition.
I can see Michigan fans embracing time travel.
Re: T9.
I have talked to her several times this week. She is out with a family issue. She will be back.
My favorite movies have always been the Star Wars movies. Not so much the newest 3 but the original 3 are just amazing. Growing up I always wanted to get into special effects for movies and model making. Then as I got older and closer to college age movies are all done with computer now and hardly any models are ever used. Oh well I stuck with my random modeling in my basement and that's that. Only built one model over the last 6-8 years though but it ended up being about the best one I had ever done. Just don't have the time for it anymore.
Andy or T9 this post has given me a great idea. Should do a series of posts on here called "Know Your Spawner" and devise a stock interview or whatever that a frequent poster could answer. Could be a good way to get us through these last couple of months.
Good idea Hamm. I like it as long as the others are into it. We need to be careful about how the questions are constructed for individual privacy concerns.
Believe it or not, it has been brought to my attention that our insignificant corner of the web continues to be ridiculed and targeted by others. I just don't get it. Personally I think it is ridiculous and I refuse to pay attention to random and irrelevant threats of violence -- but I can only speak for myself.
Wow. A shot across the bow and no response. Ghost Ship!
What's happened to you all? Is it the weather that's got you down?
Whet: The truth needs no response.
Whets...
Sorry I did not reply sooner. My boss insisted that I get some work done this morning so I got distracted.
Maybe I could travel back to 10:31am today and post this comment.
Or travel back to 1870 and stop the formation of the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College.
Or go back to 1878, and at least get them to leave the flippin "The" out of the now way over emphasized "The Ohio State University".
Or go back to last year and remind Pryor that the name is not "The University of Ohio State".
On a slightly different but sort of related note, I keep hoping that last years football season will be like the one season of the old "Dallas" program when Bobby Ewing was dead and they brought him back the next year and said that the entire last season was just a dream. I think the dream (er, nightmare) may continue but will eventually turn around.
I ahvent seen this "shot" since I don't frequent any other blogs besides this and Mgo. Haven't seen anything on there unless I missed it. WLA was never worth my time before and certainly isn't now. The difference between this blog and the WLA can be summed up in our "your life now your life in college" posts. WLA are truly all college kids and we are the ones who have moved on from college and look at life a different way.
He moved! He's alive! Get a bus here now!
Weeeoooooweeeooo...
"Sorry I did not reply sooner. My boss insisted that I get some work done this morning so I got distracted."
BlueBob,
My boss (me) had me distracted also. Instead of working I was cataloging my weapons in case of theft. I'm such a slacker.
Go Blue Bob,
did you ever get an answer about Tacopants?
my understanding is basically along these lines- if your recall, during his sophomore year Henne developed a tendency to over throw the out routes, sailing the ball into the bench rather than risking a pick. he did this quite a bit, even when the coverage wasn't all that tight. personally, i blamed our QB coach for stressing NOT making a mistake as more important than MAKING a play, but i digress.
anyway, such air balls naturally led to the question "who was he throwing THAT to??", which led to the emergence of Tacopants.
Tacopants was Chad Henne's 10 foot tall invisible, imagninary child hood friend who had stayed home freshman year but moved to michigan Chad's sophomore year and just happened to play wide receiver. through out the 2005 season, Chad threw to Tacopants a lot, but Tacopants never seemed to catch the ball. fortunately, Lloyd benched Tacopants for Chad's junior & senior years, though he would get in for a series or two every few games.
anyway, that's my understanding of Tacopants, and how his name became synonymous w/ overthrown out routes that you'd have to be 10 feet tall to catch.
As Mr. Stricland would say, "Whets, You're a slacker. Your father was a slacker. No Whetstonebuck will every amount to anything in the history of Hill Valley."
SIC....
I understand all of what you mentioned about the 11 foot tall receiver and all that, but I just do not understand where Brian came up with that name for this imaginary friend. I guess he just made it up and it does not have any other meaning. I guess I just like to understand stuff like this.
I used to see many buckeye fans refer to us as "banana pants" because of the bright yellow football pants Michigan wears. My guess is the name is a play on that fun moniker.
Sru/Whet: Have you ever heard your people call Michigan folks banana pants ?
Andy,
the common reference here in Cowtown is "yellow pants".
GBB,
i think Andy is right- it's just a play on words. Tacos (hard shells, at least) are served on corn tortillas. Corn/maize/yellow. Tacopants.
i had hoped he'd graduate w/ Henne. unfortunately, i saw Threet try to throw the bubble screen to him more than once last season.
Andy,
I'll have my people call your people.
Taco? Banana? Hmmmmm. I don't see it. Now, urine, on the other hand...
(which is why you should always wash your hands)
Hamm : Don't sweat it, you really are not missing anything at this point. I wish we could all get along and exist peacefully in our end of the sandbox. Blog wars are silly and I promised T9 to let it go. But I need to say this: We obviously attract different crowds. One style or perspective does not fit everyone. I get that. I hope they do as well.
The funny thing is (I admit I did not show it very well last week) both T9 and I agree with the WLA perspective that being a fan should be fun, these players are just kids, and taking something like Michigan football too seriously is just plain stupid. In the end, I am just a fan watching people I don't know play a game that has long passed me by. Sometimes I forget that simple yet important point.
In the heat of the moment last week I snapped that "I owned" something because I have contributed to the program. I was wrong. I don't own that helmet. The collective Michigan football family (alumni, coaches, players, and fans) owns that helmet. I am an incredibly small part of that. In their own painful way, the WLA has made me think about that and I appreciate them for that. I still feel like I did not say anything to insult Morgan Trent, but that point has long since been lost being important. You win guys.
On the other hand, I am proud of my school and our storied program. I am not going to stop loving it because we only won 3 games last year. I will continue to watch and cheer them as we rebuild. I also will continue to work to keep this community together. We all have our own opinions and perspectives and I appreciate even those that I differ from (cough, sru, cough, whet, cough, ohio_guy).
Now I've got to go find a picture of Charlie Weis on ice skates. We have a top ranked Notre Dame team this weekend.
Go Blue !!
While reading Andy's last post "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" was playing in the background. What are the odds?
Whetts,
Urine ass. :>)
BlueBob,
Well played.
However, not sure if you're referring to a medical condition or a deviant lifestyle.
well, whichever it is? wash your hands after wards.
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