Let me tell you all the story of a man named 'Charlie'...

... On that tragic, and fateful day...

... He put 10c in his pocket, kissed his wife and family and went to ride on the MTA...

Sorry... Every time I go to Boston, or think about riding the MTA I think of this song.  It tells the tale of a man named Charlie who gets stuck on the Boston subway system, it was written as a part of an election campaign for a Mayoral candidate back in the 1940s.  It got stuck in my head one day at Fenway Park back in 2010 and I've been struggling to get rid of it ever since...

Monday

Leaving New York to return in a week I had a busy morning due.  After the normal morning routine I had to go down and get some food and a few bottles of water and killed a bit of time.  I still wasn't feeling that great, so I didn't really want to go wait downtown for the bus to Boston, even though you're less likely to miss the bus downtown, so I tried to spend as much time as possible in the hostel.

The bus was due to leave at 11:10 AM from 34th St, between 11th and 12th Avenue... Not wanting to take the Subway whilst feeling average factored into my decision to take a cab.  So, once I killed enough time I checked out and walked over to Broadway to hail a cab... This took so much longer than I expected... Shows how hard it is for a Kuhne to get a cab in this town... But I was lucky that a cab came after me waiting for 5-10 minutes because any later and I'd have cut it too fine...

The cabbie was a Pakistani bloke who seemed enthralled in speaking to me about the cricket and was loudly telling me that Ricky Ponting's wife once rode in his cab... I agreed that Ponting was a good cricketer, but I didn't go as far as the Pakistani bloke and agree that he was a great captain (but that is just my opinion and I'm happy to debate it in person)... We took the West Side Highway and got caught in traffic, though I was beginning to show signs of worry the cabbie assured me that he would turn off the meter and chase down the bus and park in front of it for me to get it... Nice touch... He reckon's he did it for an old lady once, though I hoped it wouldn't come to that for me...

And thankfully it didn't, despite the cutting it fineness of the trip.  I arrived at 10:50 AM, 5 minutes before I was meant to be there for the Megabus, and joined the back of the line behind two Asian guys... Lazy sods, when the line began moving one of them stood there with the bags while the other moved with the line which went up the street and snaked back around to the bus and then when their tickets were presented the other guy jumped in... I mean, I envy the laziness... But I had to carry my bag the distance, not as fun as being lazy... Anyway, I got on the bus, sat down next to someone, the guy by himself in the seats in front of me got up leaving two free seats and some random dude walked by as that happened which meant I was stuck next to someone where as if I'd been 2 minutes later entering the bus I'd have had two seats to myself the entire way to Boston.  Didn't happen.  And given how average I was feeling it made for a very long drive.

After about 4 hours we rolled into Boston along the Mass Pike where I could see the light towers of Fenway Park out the right hand side of the bus... Yep... Finally back in Boston...

I decided to get a cab to the house I was staying in.  As I exited the South Station doors a guy was asking people if they needed a cab.  So, I said yes, and he showed me to his car... Which was an unmarked sedan... I got a bit gun-shy and asked him if he was actually a cab, and he assured me that he was... I asked him to produce a cab licence... He fumbled around his glovebox for about 2 minutes before saying he didn't have one or a business card... Thanks buddy, but no thanks... I took my bag out of his car's boot and walked a short distance to an actual taxi-rank... Much better result...

The place I was staying at was in South Boston.  I was house sitting for some overseas colleagues of my father who we met in San Diego.  This was a good result, saved me paying for accommodation for a week and it wasn't hostel living.  Though, staying in a South Boston apartment wasn't necessarily what I expected when I walked in, for example, having to carry my heavy bag up 3 flights of thin and winding stairs was not at all fun and I nearly tripped once or twice.  But again, free accommodation, can not complain... Boston, can not complain...

Downside, I had to deal with a cat... I am not a pet person... Anyone who has lived with me during my adult life knows that I'm not a fan of pets... I only had pets once... Rabbits... Back when I was about 6... They ran away one day... Or, that's what I was told anyway... Many years later when sitting around the table at Nona's house for dinner my Uncle took great pleasure in telling me we ate those rabbits and they were delicious... I don't think he was messing with me...

I settled in, had a random intruder (who was actually the person who was sporadically looking after the cat) and then decided to go to the nearby Southie Food Market where I got a few essentials and then settled in at home and enjoyed a few hours in front of a TV, a luxury not afforded to me properly since Charlotte.  I watched Cartoon Network mostly because Adult Swim was on it and it was pretty funny.

I then jumped into a big and warm bed... Gotta love not being in a hostel...

Tuesday

I was going to go out on Tuesday but I was still feeling really, really awful, so I basically stuck it out inside all day.  I found some food inside that I didn't buy, so I ate some Sugar Frosties and watched back to back to back to back episodes of Law & Order: SVU.

Turns out that USA Network only seems to show SVU... Now, there isn't a problem with that necessarily, but the show is fundamentally flawed I feel... As you know, in the criminal justice system the people are represented by two separate, yet, equally important groups.  The Police who investigate crimes. And the District Attorneys who prosecute the offenders.  These are their stories... Law... AND Order... SVU is only Law, there is no Order... I'll take 20 minutes of Jack McCoy arguing case law and inclusiveness of evidence over an extra 20 minutes of Detective Olivia Benson trying to look menacing and catch an accused rapist... They never actually get to sentencing, hell, they never even get to arraignment... SVU seems like the drama series of the Law & Order franchise... Give me the regular Law & Order over SVU any day of the week... Perhaps it says more about me than anything else that I am more interested in watching an argument than the interrogation of a rapist... Anyway, given I was still feeling super average this was my day...

It was raining and cold outside, and I was still very not right, so rather than catching the MTA I decided to get an Uber to the Garden.  The T station was at least a 10 minute walk away, which I had no interest in dealing with.  I was keen though, it was my 2nd favourite city in Tennessee against my favourite city in America, so why stay home?

Cold and wet in Boston

The TD Garden, the new Boston Garden, is above the North Station in Boston. The Boston Garden, the old Boston Garden, was also above the North Station... The Old Garden isn't there anymore, now it is a parking garage or something.  Because the TD Garden is above a railway station you have to enter by either walking up stairs or escalators just to get to the bottom level.  I walked down the side of the building, hung out in the pro-shop on the bottom level (decided to wait until I was feeling better before buying anything in Boston) and then walked up some stairs, had my ticket scanned and then headed to my seat after two flights of escalators.

View of the rink, of all the Celtics Championship Banners, retired numbers and the Bruins Stanley Cup Champion Banners

National Anthem - Nashville Predators @ Boston Bruins

The seats upstairs at the Garden are different to any nosebleed seats I have been in.  They, like most, are 'bucket' seats (so, you fold them down) but the difference is that the back support part of the seat also moves when you fold out the arse portion of the seat.  This duel movement seat is unique as far as I have seen this trip.  Gotta love Boston.

Given I was finally watching a Boston team in Massachusetts I spent a lot more time watching the game and supporting than I did taking photographs, but I have picked a few and they are below.

The Bruins took an early lead, then conceded a soft goal shortly after... They went ahead again, only to concede a soft goal shortly after... A pattern was forming... But it was a really high energy and entertaining 1st period which ended 2-2.

Opening face off

Boston celebrates a goal

Face off

The 2nd Period belonged to Boston, who scored twice to take a 4-2 lead.  The pattern from the 1st Period clearly didn't hold... At the break, Rene Rancourt, the guy who sung the National Anthem, came out and sung a plethora of Christmas carols... Apparently this is a Boston Garden tradition...  The 3rd Period included a Nashville goal near the midpoint of the period which injected life into the game, but then included a Boston goal when Nashville had to pull their goalie for an extra attacker with less than 2 minutes left in regulation.  It was a thoroughly enjoyable game, even though I was still feeling decidedly under the weather.

 

 

 

This was easily my most favourite photograph of the pre-Christmas games I went to... This resident of the Penalty Box will be getting coal in his stocking

As close to a fight as I saw in all my games of hockey

TV Timeout Ice Crew

5-3 Bruins

Final, Boston Bruins 5, Nashville Predators 3


After the game I left the Garden, jumped in the first cab I could find on Causeway Street and went straight home.  Traffic in Boston tends to be heavy all the time because the streets are so thin and laid out for horses rather than automobiles.  But I made it home relatively quickly and went straight to bed.  Hoping to feel better the next day.
 
Wednesday

Christmas Eve in Boston... So, Christmas Day in Australia... No White Christmas in sight for Boston, so to get that summer Christmas feel in the Northern Hemisphere what better place to go than the heart of Boston... Fenway Park...

I woke up late, which has been a standard practice since Baltimore, and then got a ride out to Fenway.  The guy who took me asked me which way I wanted to go... This probably gave him a licence to go wherever the hell he wanted as long as I got to where I was going eventually! It felt like we went the long way, but perhaps it was because he was trying to get me to describe cricket to him.  This was like pulling teeth, but eventually we pulled onto Ipswich Street and I disembarked at the Cathedral of Boston.

I bought a ticket for the next departing tour, which was at midday, and then spent a bit of time perusing the team store.  I won't say much about the store, but I will say this... The place is freaking massive... Honestly, it is a team shop, and it is big enough to house virtually the entire floor space of the bistro, front bar, dining area, pokies and Power Gear Shop at the Port Club at Alberton... Those of you familiar with that site will understand the size... Those of you who don't, well, I would encourage you to head down to Queen Street, Alberton, get a meal, spend some money at the club, and learn about just how big the Red Sox Team Store at Fenway Park is.

This is the larger room, but there is a full room behind me as well

I bought a shirt and some pants and watched the checkout girls spend their time watching Frozen and not doing their jobs, though, I was killing time until midday, so I wasn't in much of a rush.  I haven't actually seen that film yet... I'm sure I'm in a minority here because everyone seems to be bad shit crazy about it, but, uh, yeah, what it is is what it is, let it go people...

After killing enough time we crossed Yawkey Way and entered America's Most Beloved Ballpark, lead by our tour guide Francisco.

I would encourage anyone who has not been to Fenway Park, baseball fan or not, Red Sox fan or not, to come to this ballpark and take the tour.  The history of the place is amazing, the stories the ballpark holds, the scenes it has seen. 

The Red Sox moved to Fenway Park from the Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds (which is where Northeastern University now is).  Fenway Park opened on April 20, 1912, with the Boston Red Sox defeating the New York Highlanders 7-6 in extra innings... The Highlanders were so ashamed they went all the way back to New York and the following year changed their name to the Yankees... So, the Red Sox have been beating the Yankees at Fenway since day 1.

Fenway Park got its name due to the area of Boston it was built in,, that neighbourhood was Fenway, which was created in the 19th century by filling in marshland or 'fens' which created the Back Bay Fens urban area.  Boston is largely a landfill city.  I'll talk more about that a bit later on.

We began in the bowels of the stadium and learnt about the Boston Strong jersey which followed the team from Cleveland through to the 2013 World Series Championship after the tragic Boston Marathon bombings on Patriots Day in 2013.  We then walked up and caught our first glimpse of the hallowed ballpark.

Boston Strong

Beneath the grandstands of Fenway Park

First glimpse of Fenway in winter

Fenway Park

We then headed back underneath the grandstands and actually got to enter the Visitor's Clubhouse.  I found this really cool, and this was not something that I was able to do when I came 4 years earlier and did the tour.  Given my obsession with sports I kind of have a weird desire to see locker rooms where elite sportsmen get changed... I don't know why, but I can now say I've been in a room where X number of Major League Baseball All Stars have been, I even got to lay a hand on Derek Jeter's favourite locker as a Fenway Park visitor; though, I can't say I'd have selected that locker if I had been a Major Leaguer, I mean, it was right by the door, I'd much rather somewhere without the foot traffic... I feel as though Derek Jeter would have benefitted from my hostel bed selection guide.

The entrance to the Visitor Clubhouse - In open view under the grandstand... A very old ballpark feel

Visitor Clubhouse (1/3)

Visitor Clubhouse (2/3)

Visitor Clubhouse (3/3)

The tunnel to the field... The locker to the left of the door was Jeter's favourite

After the away rooms we headed up to the grandstand seats and got the history of the ballpark and the team.  All the World Series Championships through the early years of the century, winning in 1918, then owner Harry Frazee selling Babe Ruth (and the majority of the rest of the 1918 Championship team) to the New York Yankees (this is why the Yankees were so good during that era, they bought Boston's starting rotation and best players), the downturn and awful play of the 1920s and 1930s, and then the purchasing of the team by Tom Yawkey in 1933.  Mr Yawkey bought with him much needed capital and began to reshape and renovate the deteriorating ballpark.

In 1926 a fire, from a cigar left behind by a patron, burned down the left field bleachers, which were never replaced (the charred remains were simply carted away, which allowed left fielders to catch balls well beyond the previous boundary of the field); in the time between the bleachers burning down and the purchase of the team by Mr Yawkey there was simply a gentle 3m rise in Left Field before Lansdowne Street which was called 'Duffy's Cliff', named for 'Duffy' Lewis, Boston's first star left fielder who had mastered the art of running up and down the incline to catch fly balls.  After the purchase of the club by Mr Yawkey 'Duffy's Cliff' was levelled but the wall remained unchanged, which resulted in home run balls occasionally going over and hitting parked cars or windows of shops across the street; Mr Yawkey got tired of paying for this damage (and he also got tired of people sitting across the street and seeing the game for free when he couldn't sell out the game inside the ballpark) and so he organised the erection of the 37 foot high wall, 310 feet from home plate, now lovingly known as 'the Green Monster'.  At the time of it being built it was covered in advertisements, though they only remained until 1947 when the ballplayers complained and the wall was painted Fenway Green (which is a trademarked colour... If you want to use it you have to own the Red Sox...).

Our guide also explained the retired numbers hanging in the Right Field Corner,:
1 - Bobby Doerr;
4 - Joe Cronin;
6 - Johnny Pesky (the right field foul pole is also named for him);
8 - Carl Yastrzemski (I had to look that up for spelling),
9 - Ted Williams ("Teddy Ballgame", "The Splendid Splinter", "The Kid", "The Thumper" and "The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived");
14 - Jim Rice;
27 - Carlton Fisk (who hit this home run in the 1975 World Series); and
42 - Jackie Robinson (the first person to break the colour barrier)

We also learned that the seats that we were sitting in during this information overload were the oldest seats in baseball.  Added at the beginning of the Yawkey administration, the blue seats beneath the grandstand at Fenway Park are the original seats that were put in during the 1930s, and as such hold all kinds of history... Theoretically, if you knew where your great grandfather sat when he went to a Red Sox game during the 1930s then you could sit in the exact same seat.  So, from that perspective, the ballpark not only holds the history and stories of baseball and a team and a city, but also of families and provides a connection between generations.  They are also seats indicative of old style ballparks and the architectural limitations of classic ballparks, as the pillars for the grandstand provide countless obstructions to the viewing of the play.

View from the 3rd base line in the Oldest Seats in Baseball

We then headed up to the EMC Club and media area.  The media room provided a great view of the park, and was the room where Brad Pitt got a job offer when he was playing Billy Beane in Moneyball. 

The front row is reserved for National Media, such as the Baseball Writers Association of America, the second row is for Local Media, such as the Boston Globe, the 3rd row is for out of town media, and the 4th row was added when the Red Sox acquired Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okijima back in 2007 (apparently the Japanese like baseball... Like, really like baseball).

View from the pressbox

The tour was running well over time because aside from the only two Americans on the tour, and myself, we had two Asian guys (who were obsessed with getting a perfect photograph and thus didn't move when told) and (surprisingly) worse in the form of 4 Mexican tourists who played by their own rules, to the point where the guide had to retreat from where we were to go searching for them.

We ended up looking over "the Red Seat" situated in the Section 42 bleachers (Row 37, Seat 21) which signifies the longest home run his inside Fenway Park.  It was hit by Ted Williams on June 9, 1946, officially measured at 502 feet (153m).  The ball landed on Joseph Boucher, going through his straw hat and leaving him with a nasty bump on the head.  Mr. Boucher was quoted as saying "How far away must one sit to be safe in this park? I didn't even get the ball!".  Apparently the newspaper the next day showed a photo of Mr Boucher holding up his ruined hat with the headline "Bulls-eye!"

The lone red seat in the Fenway Park bleachers marking 502ft from Home Plate

Sam back at Fenway

Back on the Monster

The ballpark portion of the tour ended on the Green Monster.  Though, the Center Field part of the Monster, so I couldn't go to sit in the seat I sat in 4 years earlier, however, it was still a wonderful experience.  At this point the Mexicans made absolute nuisances of themselves, but I guess that'll happen. 

The tour officially ended in a small museum with some facts about the ballpark and some artifacts and trophies and the like.   This was a great way to end the tour and it was fun browsing and reading and all that good stuff.

Fenway Park seating through the ages

World Series Champions memorabilia

The 2004, 2007 and 2013 American League Championship Trophies

Teammates in front of Gate B

Yaz

I walked out of the ballpark onto Ipswich Street and saw a hop-on hop-off tour bus roll up, so, I walked over, asked if he was taking passengers (the bus was empty) and I hopped on.  This was a very lucky result for me.  The driver's name was Bubba, and he had the heaviest Boston accent I've heard since I entered Massachusetts.  It was amazing to listen to him and listen to all those hard 'h' sounds.  He was actually pretty funny anyway, accent or not, and I was laughing most of the way.

I'm not even going to try to write the stuff he was saying because I can't remember all of it and I was laughing through a lot of it, but suffice to say, when he said "you cahn pahk youh cah heah on weekends" I was loving it... ("you can park your car here on weekends")... I can't remember where he was even talking about, it just seemed like he was trying to cram in as many words which showed off his accent as he could.

I said I would speak about the origin of the Back Bay Fens and the Back Bay neighbourhood earlier, so here I will do, Bubba explained it on the tour (better than the tour guide at Fenway Park).   The name Back Bay is derived from what it originally was before it was livable, and that is literally a bay to the west of the Shawmut Peninsula (Boston) between Boston and Cambridge.

The poorly drawn X is the Back Bay area

Boston was previously a city on a peninsula, accessible by land only by a thin piece of land known as 'Boston Neck' (which explains why it was so easy to blockage and place under siege during the British occupation of the city prior to the Revolution).

Back Bay, as shown above, is the bay behind Boston.  It was a tidal bay, so, the water level rose and fell several feet over the course of each day.  Many people would dump their garbage there, then when the tide came in it would be washed away.  This continued for many years, old habits die hard! Eventually in the 1850s there was a project to create land, and land fill was brought in.  The present day Back Bay neighbourhood was filled by 1882, and the project more than doubled the size of the Shawmut Peninsula.  This was something that I did not know before I came to Boston 4 years ago, but something I didn't know in as much depth until I took the bus tour with Bubba.  The neighbourhood is actually really beautiful, Victorian architecture and nicely laid out streets, I mean, Beacon Hill is the nice neighbourhood, but there is a lot to say about Back Bay...

The tour continued over to MIT where we heard some of the crazy pranks the kids had undertaken, like painting the dome of the main building at MIT to look like R2-D2 from Star Wars, or putting a full size working MTA Subway Car on the roof... Crazy College kids and their pranks... I guess it makes sense that a place which stand for 'Millionaires In Training' (and not the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) would be able to get stuff like that going on their campus.

We eventually made it to the 1st stop, where I paid my money for the tour (it was good for 3 days, excluding Christmas Day), so I could use it until Saturday, and it also gave me entrance to the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum, which I was intending on doing anyway, so this was another win.

I rode the bus back to the North Station where I jumped off to go to the Bruins Pro Shop to buy a Celtics shirt for the basketball on Friday (rather than getting dressed twice on Friday, once at home and once at the Garden)... Although, it was closed... At 3:30 PM... I guess the Christmas Eve closures were taking hold... I was pretty devo, but it got worse as many restaurants nearby were also closed.

As much as I had spent most of my day out of the house, I still wasn't feeling wonderful, but a little better than the days prior.  So, despite feeling pretty poor I ate my first good meal in a number of days, stopping for some 'steak strips', which was like having small chunks of beef which were marinated... Every place I walked by offered steak strips but not a regular steak... So be it... I didn't eat as much as I would have liked but I did eat and I was beginning to feel better.

I got home a while later, and basically just sat out in front of the tube watching Christmas stuff on TV.  Home Alone 2: Lost in New York was on; every South Park holiday episode ever created was on back to back to back, I found things to watch quite easily that wasn't Law & Order: SVU.

I then had a nice 45 minute Skype call home as all my family gathered at my Mum and Dad's house for Christmas lunch.  It was probably the point in the trip where I have been the most homesick, because I was able to speak to all my family members who were present at the time, my mum, my dad, Nona, Leo, Anita and the boys, Vincent and Anne, Aunty Mary and Uncle Jack... I got to see briefly the pinball machine set up (which had me super jealous, and looking forward to Easter when I am promised that I will be able to get some more and play for free for 4 days straight), spoke to my cousins who got a Playstation as a part of their Christmas (which I am super, super jealous of!), got told of their University acceptances, heard a very interesting rumour as to the true nature of why former Adelaide Crows coach Brenton Sanderson was sacked *rubs nose*, and got told a filthy story from my father about running on Christmas Day and picking up a loose hanky from the ground...

It was wonderful speaking to everyone, and seeing everyone, albeit on a small computer screen.

I then retired from the call once I'd spoken to everyone and they all got sick of me and returned to Cartoon Network.  CN in America after 8 PM becomes Adult Swim, so I spent my Christmas Eve watching Kristmas with Krampus... Don't ask...

Thursday - Christmas Day

Merry Christmas from America!

No White Christmas in Boston... So, essentially it was a complete waste of a trip and I should have just stayed in Australia... Didn't see snow at Christmas... Complete waste...

I am kidding, but I was hoping for snow...

It was a Christmas miracle, I was feeling a lot better and was, for the first time since Charlotte, feeling relatively healthy.  To make the most of this, I spent the day in front of the TV.

It turns out that without any family in town, and with nothing open, there isn't really much you can do.  And that is all the excuse I needed to sit in front of the TV all day and watch various Christmas things on TV (mostly cartoons and sports)

I fed the cat 3 times and spent more time fighting with it than doing anything else on Christmas.  This has only strengthened my resolve to never get a pet.  Seriously, I think it is plotting to kill me... I only fed it that many times because it kept on coming up to me and scratching at the couch and then at me/my already torn jeans...

Watching the cat eat made me feel like a meal, so I found about the only thing I could that delivered on Christmas (I didn't think ahead to buy food to cook myself) and got a pizza.  I didn't have any cash though, and I can't order online and pay with a card because apparently a 4 digit postcode doesn't count... I went to the service station around the corner to use the ATM, thankfully they're still open on Christmas... I only have $157 left on my travel cash card and I have a week to run on my trip in the USA.  This is cutting it fine... But it also says something for my haphazard budgeting prior to taking the trip, I'm pretty happy I got so close to what I needed without really giving it heaps of thought... And honestly, there have been places in this country where I've spent way too much money than I should have done... Anyway... Enjoy the trip while you have the chance Sam!

The food came and I spent the rest of the day watching basketball.  The house I am staying in does not have the channels I would usually go for (I.e. I would have the Sports channels automatically), so I could only watch 2 of the 5 NBA games, the two that were on ABC.  I watched the Oklahoma City Thunder play the San Antonio Spurs, then the Cleveland Cavaliers play the Miami Heat.

I made a 30 minute Skype call home (as mum and dad were still around on Boxing Day before heading to Port Julia with the Italian family down in Australia).  In speaking to them I kind of got worried about when I get to Italy, I am sure I will be fine, but learning a language all of a sudden has become a bit more daunting... I'm not sure it should have, but speaking to home and briefly speaking to Italian family who couldn't speak English got me a little worried... Ah well, there is always Google Translate if I get really stuck!

I honestly spent my Christmas watching TV, eating pizza and fighting with the cat.  Fighting with the cat was the largest part of it... I don't know how people get behind pets at all... Bloody things are so damn demanding! He spent most of the day jumping up and down over me as I lay on the couch, and I spent most of my day swearing at it... It keeps on making sounds at me which sounds awfully reminiscent of a clicker from The Last of Us (best PlayStation game I've ever played by the way), which may be why I am so afraid that the cat is going to kill me... I'm generally fairly laid back but this cat got the better of me... Never will I get a pet... Won't happen... If I have kids and they beg and beg, well, I'll be happy to tell them 'no'...

I went to bed at a decent hour ready for the Celtics tomorrow!

This is where I am going to end this post... The next one will include the Boston Celtics, sight seeing in Boston, and in all likelihood a trip to Foxboro for the New England Patriots (though at the time of writing that hasn't happened yet... Hopefully it does, I already paid for the ticket!)

*Insert City*, *Insert State of Same Name*

The spirit is willing...

Thursday

I woke up after a short sleep in, still trying to stay on top of this cold/headache thing I got going for me at the moment. 

The intention for the day was to catch the 1 train to South Ferry and walk from Battery Park up towards mid-town.  But after chatting to a friend from Adelaide, who agreed to do that the next day, I decided to keep to mid-town and up.

I jumped in the shower and found that the bathrooms at the New York hostel were much unchanged from 4 years earlier.  They had the same 'communal' thing going for them as in Nashville, but each shower stall had a locking door and a place inside that locked area for you to store your goods.  So, from that perspective they were far superior to Nashville.  The downside is that because it is New York the amount of traffic going through the bathroom at any given time is far greater than the traffic in Nashville (indeed, I don't believe I saw anyone in Nashville's communal bathroom).

I had read that at Madison Square Garden, above Penn Station at 34th Street, that they did tours of the arena, so I figured I would start my day there.  I caught the 1 train downtown and alighted at Penn.  Walked around MSG to try to find a ticketing window or tour entrance, but found no such thing, honestly, MSG is a fucking maze to me... I gave up after one lap of the arena and then walked up 7th Avenue towards Times Square.

There were heaps and heaps of competing bus tour companies and people lining various corners along the way, and if you made the mistake of engaging one, just to obtain a brochure, you were beset upon by one of them and then the rest of the competing bus company's agents.  And they go straight for the hard sell...

'So, you don't want my business?' Hard Sell of the Day
Agent: "Oh, you're thinking of maybe taking a tour? Well, the tours start about 20 blocks from here, but why not buy your ticket now, from me!"
Sam: 'No, look, I really just want the brochure to have a look'
Agent: "Sir, you really do want to buy from me"
Sam: 'I'm sure I will consider it... Once you give me the brochure so I can see what it is that I am buying'
Agent: "Here, let me show you..." *opens up brochure* "... Can you please help me sir, the wind is blowing it"
Sam: *reluctantly helps hard sell agent*
Agent: "You see sir, if you get a tour from our company you get unlimited stops for 2 days on any of our 5 lines and even into Brooklyn"
Sam: 'OK, sure, and the price---'
Agent: "Don't worry about the price, you also get a discount at selected restaurants around the city and in some stores that you can find on the back here"
Sam: *apathetic/annoyed tone* 'That's great'
Agent: "So, you'll buy a tour from me?"
Sam: 'No, I'm just going to take the brochure and walk to the number 1 stop and think about it'
Agent: *clearly disappointed* "Oh, alright"
*Sam walks along the block and gets a tap on the shoulder at the end of the block*
Competing Agent: "Would you like to see my brochure?"
Sam: 'I will take it but I don't need you to expla---'
Competing: "We have different lines and services to that other company, it is better!"
Sam: 'I am very sure it is... Leave it with me... I'll give it a look...'
Competing: "You understand that it is different?"
Sam: 'Yes, painfully yes, I understand... Good day'
*Walks across the street and bins the brochures*

I don't know how much business they get by badgering tourists to buy from them, but it must work because that seemed to be the only selling method I experienced.  I understand that those guys would work on some kind of commission, but sweet Jesus, let it go... Do the Hank Hill thing and give the information so that I can come back later and buy propane and propane accessories from you another time...

The hard selling didn't stop there, I walked into a few clothing stores and was beset upon by sellers (now, it could potentially be because I had the look of an out of towner, it could potentially be because the merchandise wasn't flash and they needed the help to sell it, but the hard selling existed there as well.

I eventually made it to Times Square.  It is amazing how many lights and signs and stores and people are all there at the same time.  Those who have been will know, and those who haven't been should probably try to see it once in your lifetime (wouldn't necessarily put it on the top of the list of things to see before death, but it is still pretty damn amazing).

Times Square

Times Square

Whilst walking through there was a woman with a clipboard saying something about tickets to Letterman... This was something I had wanted to do the last time I was in the USA, but due to lack of knowledge, lack of planning, and a general lack of understanding I wasn't able to do this.  I answered her one trivia question, which was 'What does Paul Shaffer look like?'... "Bald guy with glasses" was deemed a sufficient answer... And I was given a piece of blue paper with instructions, my name, and the seller's ID on it which I was to take several blocks up Broadway to the Ed Sullivan Theater between 1 and 2 PM (written in red on my paper was: 2:01 PM is TOO LATE)... I was walking in that direction anyway, so I continued and ended up in the right place (for the first time in 4 years) and got in line for the pre-show ticketing.  As it was a Thursday they would be shooting two shows, one for Thursday and one for Friday... I would end up going to the Thursday show (if Ned ever reads this I hope he enjoys the shout out I gave to his stand up career).

Letterman... AND Pie Face, my Aussie pie lust prayers finally answered! Except that it was closed... Devo!

Late Show with David Letterman

Upon entering you had to show your blue sheet and ID to a person at the door, then again to a person inside the room before the room before the theater, then you were given a ticket marked with a letter (mine had 'A' on it) and then we were told to go stand in another room by the entrance.  Here some of the Pages (like the work lackeys for the show) spoke to us...

Australian for Beer
Page: "OK, who thinks they've come the furthest to be here today"
*Half the room raises their hands; the page looks at me who he'd spoken to earlier*
Page: "Oh, Australia right? Yeah, that'll clinch it"
*Someone mutters something to the Page*
Page: "This guy here says that Australians travel with a beer in their pocket.  I bet I know what type"
Sam: 'Uh... Coopers?'
Page: "No, Fosters, isn't that what you guys drink? The ads here say 'Fosters - Australian for beer', are you saying that isn't true?"
Sam: 'Uh, yeah, no, I don't reckon I've seen anyone drink Fosters except to be ironic'
Page: "What about the bloomin' onion?"
Sam: 'Uh, yeah, no, I haven't had one'
Page: "You really oughtta go to the Outback Steakhouse"

We were told to arrive back at 2:30 PM for the show and in the meantime go to the 3 Monkeys Bar around the corner... This was repeated several times, so I assume it is either a favourite of theirs or they have some deal going with them.  It was about 1:20 PM, so I decided to go for a walk to Rockefeller Center and see the ice skating rink and the Christmas tree.

Rockefeller Center

About as close to a white Christmas as I am going to get based on the forecast

 It was a very cool site!

I then headed into the NBC Store where 4 years earlier I bought some wonderful Seinfeld themed t-shirts, including one which was given away which has been a crowd favourite all these years... No Soup for You... Regrettably there was a massive Friends catalogue but no more Seinfeld shirts... This disappointed me to no end... But the trip to Rockefeller and NBC served its purpose as it killed enough time to get me through to lining up again at the Ed Sullivan Theater.

We lined up outside, then inside, and waited inside for close to 20 minutes.  All the while one of the Pages entertained us with being on a microphone and talking about nothing in particular... She asked for jokes from the audience, I offered up the Duck joke, but I think it was a little bit involved for her to repeat back to everyone else, though she did find it funny.

There was no photography allowed in the Theater, so I can only describe what I saw.  The theater itself was much smaller than I had thought, especially having seen it on TV for years and years.  Before the show the show's announcer came out and started chatting to the crowd, then introduced the CBS Orchestra.

The monologue from the show I was at was this one.  The guy on the bike was named Chris Smith, who before the show asked Letterman if he wanted a fat guy on a bike for his show... So, they got a fat guy on a bike named Chris Smith to go by at random... It went down better than most of his rehearsed material!

I was stuck behind the camera, so I had a very restricted view seat.  Can't really complain given it was a free ticket, but meant that I was essentially watching on a monitor... The Top 10 List for the night was something like the Top 10 TV moments for the year.  Number 6 was 'this' referring to the Merry Chris Smith bit that had occurred earlier in the show.  During the breaks the bank played an entire song which wasn't expected at my end, but then once Dave had a guest (in my episode it was Rosie O'Donnell... I know, half my luck right...) they would play an outro, and then play an intro, so they would basically go 'We'll be right back' then 12 seconds later they'd just pick up where they left off...  Rosie basically just spoke about The View and then threw in some really opinionated gun control spiel, which I actually kind of agreed with... She then talked about having a heart attack over the course of 2 days and how close she came to death... But there she was in front of us... She was actually pretty funny, despite all my misgivings with her being the guest for the episode I got to go to.  That said, I won't be going out of my way to watch her on The View.

For the last ad break they panned to the crowd but I reckon I was out of shot there as well, but I don't know, I didn't have a chance to watch the full episode because I was going out to the theatre.

I got the subway back to the hostel, dumped some stuff and killed some time speaking to home on Skype, before heading back downtown to the theatre.

The show The Book of Mormon was being shown at the Eugene O'Neill Theater on W49th Street.  The major reason I chose that show as the one for me to see during my trip to New York was that it was written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park.  The other co-writer was also the guy who wrote Avenue Q, which was the show I saw last time I was in New York (picture Seasame Street but for adults).

Eugene O'Neill Theater

The Book of Mormon

Inside the theatre - Don't ask me why they let me take a photo, I certainly wasn't the only person who did it

Without giving anything away, the story centres around a crisis of faith for a Mormon missionary who goes forth into the world with his assigned sidekick (who is not as adept at being a missionary), they grow, they laugh, they live, they sing... It was a really funny and enjoyable show.

I am not the kind of person who would identify as a 'theatregoer' but I have to say, I really enjoyed it.  Kind of like my experience with singing and dancing French Canadians in Las Vegas, it is a lot more enjoyable going to a theatre than it is not going at all (obviously it depends on the show, I mean, some shows I don't think I'd have any interest in at all... I've selected my Broadway viewing over the years very carefully...

After the show I walked back down a couple of blocks to Times Square.  So, it was Times Square by day, and Times Square by night... The lights and the crowds and the activity was amazing.  Though my phone did completely shit itself which kind of brought my photo taking to an end (or limited it to my camera which was also running out of battery).  The phone battery went from 20% to turning itself off, I don't know what the hell happened, but something happened, go figure...

Times Square by night

Times Square

Times Square

Times Square

After my phone died I decided to go back to the hostel... I got on the subway, jumped on the train, sat, and was forced to get off the train without it having moved, then having to wait 5 minutes for the next train before jumping on and heading back uptown to the hostel and a well deserved sleep.

Friday

I overslept something terrible... Really, really terrible... It kind of hamstrung my midday because there probably wasn't enough time to do anything downtown because I was meeting a friend from Adelaide, who I used to coach once upon a time, Anthony, at the Seinfeld Diner.

I waited for a while during the time they spent making their way from Brooklyn, and then walked the 9 blocks up Broadway to W112th Street and Tom's Restaurant.

The Seinfeld Diner

Not much like the inside of the Diner from the actual show...

It was really good sitting and chatting to friends from home, hearing their travel stories, their plans, and a familiar accent.  I had French toast... The same bacon issues that have followed me around America continued to Tom's, always with the slightly overdone strip bacon.

Selling Christmas Trees on the sidewalk

I walked back to the hostel as the other guys were off to the Staten Island Ferry.  I found it very cool that there were people selling actual trees on the sidewalk.  I was then killing a bit of time before a Comedy Tour of New York, so I spoke to home and then headed down to the hostel lobby.

The tour was to be well attended and we were all to meet in the lobby.  During the wait for the tour to start everyone kind of got to talking to each other.  There was one sorta old guy there, like, sorta real old... Who got to talking to a girl from the Netherlands and a Chinese girl... They were talking about China, and this old guy started badmouthing the Chinese Government... Like, vehemently badmouthing the government... Apparently he had a friend who got tortured by them once... No way of knowing if this was legit or not... As soon as either of the girls offered any kind of defence of the Chinese (as simple as saying 'I don't think that is entirely fair') the old guy lost his shit, began abusing them verbally and then stormed off... One has to question why a guy like that was going on a Comedy Tour in the first place when he was in no way open to ideas that weren't his own...

Our tour guide was a comic by the name of Max, he was from Staten Island, NY, and was going to take us to a couple of small clubs and then to a show, during the trip we were going to stop for what he described as 'the best pizza in the city' (which is an immediate red flag, much in the same way that 'the best fans in the NFL' cannot possibly describe 32 different supporter bases).

I was chatting to a guy from Scotland named Gordon (who was only on the tour because he missed his flight home), Marcus from South England (who was in Boston the week prior for the Pats-Dolphins game and was in New York for the Pats-Jets game on the Sunday), Anna from the Netherlands (who was the brunt of the old man's fury earlier in the night), and Flo from Germany (it was a dude, I didn't get his full name, so we just called him 'Flo' all night).  There were a few Australian girls from Queensland, I only got the name of one named Jo.

First club

Second club

The first and second clubs we went to were both very small and intimate, and both were for open mike, which was where up and coming comics try new material with varying degrees of success... The two most successful were an old woman who talked about everything in a monotone but was hilarious because of the content, and the other was an American kid of Russian extraction who did a brilliant Russian accent impression of his father and basically went on and on about how much of a hardass his dad is.  Both of these shows were ending as we came in so we got maybe 15 minutes out of both of them total...

We then headed to the 1 train, then to the L train, then to the pizza place, which was called Artichoke Pizza... No basic cheese slice... Not eligible for best in the city as far as I'm concerned... After waiting outside the pizza bar (as it wasn't big enough to house 8 people off the street let alone an entire tour group) in the cold we then walked a few blocks to the Beauty Bar.

When you walk into the Beauty Bar it is like you're entering a beauty shop, then a bar, then a cologne store, then a comedy venue... It was a crazy venue like that, super awesome though...

Beauty Bar

Girls getting their nails done on the left, people drinking on the right, comedy venue in the back

I chose to sit at the very front of the show room, mostly because that was the only spot in the room where there was a couch... You don't turn down a couch, even if you're sitting in the 'participation seats'.  The show was about 5 or 6 comics doing their thing.  The show was actually really good, the highlight for me was this comedian who looked like a stereotypical hick, wearing flanno, a trucker cap, had a massive red beard and was walking around beer in hand; apparently no one told him that a hostel group was in the audience, and he spent most of the show ripping into this French guy who didn't understand a word he was saying (again, must question why the Frenchman came on the tour).  This really got to the guy, and as much as he may have felt like he was bombing, it was actually the funniest part of the whole thing because he was so exasperated.  I got involved at one point when he asked me about myself, when he asked what I did for work and I told him I didn't have a job currently he became all defensive again and said 'Hey, don't make me the asshole here!'... I didn't think I was, but anyway... It was a really funny show despite him thinking he bombed... The guy who was hosting apologised for throwing him under the bus, but it was all good from where I was sitting.

After the show we walked a few blocks to the 'original' Coyote Ugly bar.   This was alright, but I got gouged out of $5.  This may not be common knowledge, but I kind of have a soft spot for jukeboxes... Whenever I go bowling I tend to pump in between $5 and $10 just to listen to my own brand of musical tastes... Weird or not, I like it... Anyway, after speaking to a few of my hostel companions I decided to put in my $5 (because that was the best value for money).

Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen, Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen... Both of these were wonderfully received by the crowd... At this point in time others started putting money into the machine and instead of selecting more songs they selected to move their fewer songs to the front of the queue... So, the rest of my selections are irrelevant as I wasn't able to hear them... I had 8 more in the line... One of the Australian girls desperately wanted to hear Taylor Swift's Shake it off, and was very direct in telling me that "You have awful taste in music".... I felt this was a little harsh...

Random girls dancing on the bar to Taylor Swift

The next guy who moved on to the jukebox chose to push Eminem's Stan to the front of the queue... This completely killed any mood that the bar had... The guy looked like an absolute weirdo, so, it probably isn't a surprise he picked such depressing shit... Anyway, on that note I chose to leave.

I rode the train back with an old Spanish guy and a girl from a Latin country who used to live in Canberra.  This was uneventful and felt like it took longer than it actually did...

I soon made it home, and went to bed... Hoping for a good night's sleep as my stomach had begun to feel a little bit upset.

Saturday

The joys of hostelling... I was woken up at 4:30 AM by some dickhead walking into the room, turning on his personal light (each bed had a light above the pillow) and then falling asleep before he could turn it off... This guy's light was in direct line with my bed, and I got no good sleep for the rest of the night... What a mongrel!

So, the rest of the night was me having a really bad sleep, and given I had gotten home so late it was a really bad combination... When I rose from bed it was about 11 AM.  I checked my emails and found that the New York Knicks basketball game I had got tickets to was actually a day game and not a night game as I had expected, and tip off was going to be in 2 hours... This was a real wake up call, and I moved into my hurry up offence, showered, dressed and got my arse on the train heading downtown to the Garden.

Madison Square Garden

The amount of people around was a lot greater than when I had walked around here the other day... Obviously with a game on that was bound to be the case... Finding a way in was less of an issue this time as I had the benefit of following a crowd of people... In the above photo I followed people up and to the right, walked through a short corridor thing and ended up going through security to get to the Will Call window.

The seats I had were pretty good for MSG, especially given how expensive it was looking like the game was going to be... The surprising thing was, even before I got to New York, many, many people were apologising for the Knicks.  When I was at Rendezvous in Memphis a guy I was chatting to from NY told me they sucked... People down in Florida told me that... People at the hostel told me that... So, the sheer cost was surprising, but I got a face value ticket at a spot that was agreeable to me and I didn't pay too much, so I was pleased... The seats I had were on the second level, and were close enough to the balcony that I could see the TVs in front of me so the entire pre-game shootaround time was spent watching CNN.   There were some pretty funny things on the screen as well, including the 'Oblivious Cam' where someone who was on a phone or eating was shown on the screen until they worked out they were on the screen... One guy lasted a full 2 minutes on his phone before he finally looked up and embarrassingly waved to the Bronx cheering crowd.

Getting ready for the Knicks at the Garden

He spent a fair while on the phone before he worked it out

The expectation I had for the game itself was for the Knicks to get absolutely spanked, and early in the first quarter that is exactly how it looked, but to their credit they fought back and even held the lead at half time... They even got a free throw before the 3rd quarter started due to a technical foul at the end of the first half.... The upset looked on!

Opening tip

Phoenix shoot from the free throw line

So many white guys for New York

Suns on offence

I figured the Knicks weren't going to hold on though... As awful as this may sound, the more white guys you have on your team the more likely it is that you're going to suck... With two white guys in their starting 5 the Knicks never had a full chance at a win... Oh well, they're all getting paid... AND they put on a good show despite the eventual result... They lead by 1 point going into the last quarter, so they absolutely put on a good show despite their obvious demise coming soon...

Way to take a charge!

Carmelo

The Knicks stayed in the game until there was about 4 minutes left, and then the arse fell out of them and they ended up letting the game go... It was a thoroughly enjoyable game though, much better than had been expected prior to the game from what had been said to me.

Final, Suns 99, Knicks 90

After the game, getting out of the Garden was like a well thought out battle plan devised by Zapp Brannigan... It was slow going... Sorta, real slow going... And that was just getting out of the Garden... Once I made it out of the crush I entered the street and headed for the Subway, which was a whole other ballgame again, the line to get into the 1 train was a little bit ridiculous... Waiting on the street, then waiting on the stairs, and then waiting at the gate, and then waiting on the platform.

I caught the train downtown to the World Trade Center Memorial.  I chose not to go inside the museum (partially because it cost money, mostly because I was burning daylight).  It is a very sombre place, obviously as a place of remembrance; but compared to other memorials and historic sites I'd been to this one was the most quiet.  I mean, I was actually alive for this particular moment in time, and I was of an age where I can remember where I was when I found out, what I spent the rest of the day doing (watching TV at school instead of doing school work) and the fallout, but then, if you're reading this then odds are you also can remember those things specific to yourself for that day.  Most of the other historic places or memorials I have visited were for events that occurred well before 1988.  I walked around for about 20 minutes and then headed to the New York Stock Exchange building.

 

New WTC building

North Tower Memorial

Trinity Church at the corner of Broadway and Wall Street

Wall Street

New York Stock Exchange

After walking down through the Financial District I ended up down at the Battery and got a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  I hung out here for a little while and just looked over the harbour and watched the world go by... Though, at the time of evening at the time of year I was there the world going by was limited to about 6 people... But it was still alright... I mean, there are worst places in the world to be standing and watching the world go by and just thinking about nothing than looking at the Statue of Liberty with downtown New York City behind you...

Lady Liberty

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

For those who aren't aware, Ellis Island was where thousands upon thousands of immigrants were processed upon their arrival into the United States.  I am not sure if I will go on the cruise to the two islands when I return to New York as I did these last time I was in NYC, but the stories and territorial claims over Ellis Island are very interesting.




After this I even found the Men in Black building, but the photographs of this building were terrible as the sun had gone down... I swear it was there though... I swear...

Well, you know what they say, they're a rumour, recognisable as deja vu and are dismissed just as quickly...

My photo of MiB HQ

Deja vu... This isn't a photo I took though

I headed back uptown and went and got dinner at Tom's Restaurant again.  Roast lamb, in a sandwich... Very good result...


I then went back to the hostel and tried to get an early night given the difficulty I had had sleeping the night before due to the rude guy with the light...

Sunday

I didn't sleep so well again, mostly due to an upset stomach that I had.  The dickhead with the light came in late again, but he thankfully decided to turn it off this time...

But it was Sunday, and that meant Tom Brady and some Patriot football!

It also meant a day trip to the nicest place on earth... New Jersey... (See meaning of facetious)

So despite my feeling very average I put on my two pairs of socks, two pairs of thermal pants, multiple thermal shirts and multiple jackets and headed for the Subway.

I had been speaking to Marcus from England about catching the same mode of transport to the ballpark, however he was not replying to my messages and by the time he did I was already at the Port Authority.  He was going to catch the train because some Patriot fans he met at a bar told him that it was better.  I on the other hand was catching the bus... A $10 fare for a return trip to the Meadowlands, and I had used the same method 4 years earlier, so I was sure it worked.

Jumping on the bus I sat right next to a guy who had just flown in from Adelaide... Small world... We chatted briefly before we both ran out of things to say and we watched the scenery (or there lack of) go by.

Metlife Stadium at the Meadowlands

Second Patriots game of the trip

The Verizon Gate

Cold but decent seats

Patriots Owner Robert Kraft

The great man during warm ups

The Jets' "Flight Crew"... The weather was about at freezing point... You reckon these girls are cold?

The game actually meant a great deal to New England despite the clinching of the Division a week prior and the resultant playoff berth.  New England needed to win and hope that Denver lost to Cincinnati on Monday Night Football to clinch the Number 1 seed and homefield advantage all the way through the AFC Playoffs.  The alternative was to win, have Denver win, and then win against Buffalo in Week 17 to clinch homefield... New England held all the tie-breakers against the other likely division winners.

It was also Jets 'Fan Appreciation Day', which is a bit of a hollow day when it is the second to last week of a 2 win season... Attending all those Port Adelaide matches between 2008 and 2012 I can empathise with fans who go through seasons like that, and an appreciation day isn't what they need, what they need is a fucking campaign badge... Showing up week after week and watching Geno Smith quarterbacking your team must be a lot like showing up week after week and seeing guys like Simon Phillips, Jay Nash, Daniel Stewart and my darling Cameron Hitchcock were getting games for Port... You knew they were in a uniform you love and care about, but you were also horrified to see them wearing it... Regrettably, as supporters, we support laundry... If an inept player is wearing your jumper and representing your team you have no choice but to support them (there are so few times when supporting against your team is acceptable I'm not going to even try to mount a case for it)... You don't have to wish these players well and you can actively wish them off your roster (See Why PAFC Should Draft Sam Kuhne Over Cameron Hitchcock Case), but while they're wearing the club's laundry you support them... The same goes for inept coaches and administration staff... You hope that the club succeeds and pray that those working those offices are not inept and will also help the club succeed, if they don't then you can wish them out but ultimately while they're still working for the club you hope and pray they do the best thing for the club... You only have so much say as a member or supporter, and I guess this little spiel is me venting over 5 long years of sheer ineptitude and empathising a little with the Jets fans who braved a 2 win season... Though, as a Division rival I hope they suck forever...

I really loved it when the Patriots came out onto the field... When I saw the Yankees and Red Sox play back in 2010 they introduced the starting lineups for the away team (I saw them both at Yankee Stadium (on the night of the drawn Grand Final between St. Kilda and Collingwood (When Goddard should have won the Norm Smith medal but had it stolen by that grub Lenny Hayes (Only a few of you will get that Hayes reference))) and at Fenway Park a week later (when the Magpies finally didn't wobble a Grand Final to a loss)) as the Imperial March from Star Wars... Which is hilarious when you're watching Derek Jeter and A-Rod get introduced for the Yankees, but less funny when it is David Ortiz and Jed Lowrie (yeah, the Sox were scraping the bottom of the barrel by the end of the 2010 season as far as marketable players went, Pedroia and Youkilis were long gone due to injury, and Mike Lowell may as well have been playing with a walking frame)... The Jets on the other hand were super classy/funny about introducing the Patriots... Playing everyone's favourite TV Theme Song from Deadly, Unna? that wasn't Gilligan's Island... That's right folks... The theme song from The Brady Bunch...  I actually laughed, it was a brilliant touch... I mean, obvious joke, but brilliant touch of humour...

I crowbarrred a lot of references in there huh!

Fans spelling the team name in the celebration of Fan Appreciation Day

The Brady Bunch

2 win Gang Green

National Anthem

The game started as a defensive struggle for each team... I don't know if it was the weather, the defence or just sheer ineptitude/no Julian Edelman, but both offences struggled for the entire first quarter.

It took until about 3 minutes into the second quarter before either team scored... This was in the form of a Brady to Gronkowski touchdown... 7-0 New England...

Brady during the 1st quarter

Patriots set up on offence deep in the red zone

Brady throwing to the sideline

A wonderful catch by Gronkowski!

Flag for the spike... There was no foul on the play... Touchdown New England

The Jets fought back and ended up leading 10-7 at half time... And another New York upset looked likely... The difference was I didn't care about the Phoenix Suns, and the Patriots needed the win for homefield... I missed the New York touchdown as I had taken a trip to the Men's room (and just like a jaded 2011 Port Adelaide fan I didn't expect them to score that way... Only hustle plays which resulted in unlikely scores worked for me)... But yeah, 10-7 New York at the half...

I'll also level with you, the majority of the second half I kept my camera and my hands in my pockets because it was bloody cold... I had dressed better than when I was at the Titans-Steelers Freezerbowl back in Nashville, but one set of gloves doesn't do heaps for my hands which are cold at the best of times... The Jets got out to a lead but the Patriots eventually hit the front 17-13 early in the final quarter; though not without a moment of gasping or two... Brady scrambling and sliding in before being hit on the legs whilst on the ground was one such moment... But all is well that ends well... After a failed Jets possession which resulted in a field goal brought the score to 17-16 New England the game ended in the victory formation and we all went home happy... Apart from the thousands of Jets fans who had the pain I knew but chose to ignore because my team had won... (As a side note, I wish the Adelaide Crows nothing but pain and misery for the rest of their existence)... We walked out of the arena to the sounds of Patriot fans mocking Jets fans by spelling out the abbreviated Patriot nickname in the same style as Jets fans chant their entire nickname during the games... J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS! became P-A-T-S PATS! PATS! PATS!... Simple but you can't expect the world...

Final, Patriots 17, Jets 16

Game over!

The wait for the bus was excruciating... I still had a very upset stomach and was waiting in the cold and wind to be marched on to NJ Transit buses, Zapp Brannigan style... I didn't see him in the line, but who did I sit in front of on the bus? Yep... The same guy from Adelaide... You just can't avoid them... I learned that he was a Fremantle fan, we chatted about the Semi-Final, the Prelim-Final and how Hawthorn are absolute wankers... We didn't forget Sydney but Hawthorn wore the brunt of it all... He was doing a great deal of travel, only for a few weeks with a greater amount of criss crossing than me, but going to nowhere near as many places and flying virtually everywhere... Good for him...

I disembarked at the Port Authority, wished him a good trip and then caught the Subway back uptown to the hostel where I could warm up.  I made a quick trip to a pharmacy to get something to help with my upset stomach and then returned to the hostel where I would try to sleep off whatever I was dealing with and get ready for a trip up to Boston the following day...

It had been a busy but not too busy few days in New York... I kind of let how I felt dictate how hard I went with the whole tourism thing... I think that'll remain for the time that I am feeling at all ill, when travelling your immune system is going to take a pounding at times and winter does it no favours... What it is, is what it is... New York truly is a wonderful city... And a city so nice that they named it twice.... Buuuuuuuuuuut....

Next up is my favourite city in the United States...
The Hub...
The Olde Towne...
The City on a Hill...
The Athens of America... (Sorry Athens, Georgia)
The Cradle of Liberty...
America's Walking City...
The City of Champions...
Beantown...

Yep, those sound better than 'the city so nice they had to name it twice'...

Boston, Massachusetts up next!