The League

So we are in the middle of the football season right now, and many are checking their teams religiously. What teams am I referring to? Fantasy football teams. This game allows people to go head to head each week with individually drafted players to earn points based on their performance. It adds a little bit to the experience rather than just watching football. So how could a show possibly be made solely on this concept. I would've never been able to answer this myself, but it has been done in the form of The League.

This show is a sitcom that revolves around a few characters in a fantasy football league, and each season of the show follows them throughout the football season. The season opener usually deals with their wild drafting antics and the season closes with someone claiming victory and "the Shiva". The show also follows their personal lives as the get themselves into all kinds of awkward situations and bicker with each other nonstop. Honestly, the show doesn't even sound like it should work but it does.

Technically, the show is pretty basic, following basic rules like other shows, such as It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The main thing that makes this show pretty impressive is that he majority of it is improv. While they do have the general idea of the episodes and events laid out, the actors improvise the vast majority of their lines, and to great success too. Overall this show is way more funny than it has any right to be. A show based around fantasy football? Again, it doesn't sound like it could possibly be anything special, but oh how wrong that would be.

Sports Media

Over the break, a father asked me to videotape his son's football game and edit the good plays he makes into a high-light real. He gave me a hand held camera and told me the different angles to shoot at for where his son would be on the field, whether it was defense or offense. This was by far the hardest event I ever shoot at. Football is such a quick game and i was constantly losing concept of where the ball and Jon were. Jon played the running back position so he was pretty much on every play. Jon's father wanted me too be zoomed in as much as possible and to always have his son on camera.

Towards the second quarter, my hand was already starting to get tired, and there was nothing i could really do about it. A tripod would have rally been handy. After halftime, Jon rushed for a 47 yard touchdown, breaking three tackles and diving into the end zone. The best part was that he was running towards me the entire time, so the shoot does like pretty cool as i zoom out and refocus during the play.

In post, I added some music and labeled what each short bit was before playing it. Mr Struss, Jon's father, was very please with what I accomplished and said that if Jon's team makes it to the championship, he would ask me to do the same thing again. Then it hit me. There are so many parents that spend a tremendous amount of money to have highlight tapes shoot for their son or daughter. So currently, I am making a website that will be linked on my old school's website for parents interested in a highlight tape for their child's college resume. I already have gotten few phone calls, and have 3 jobs for when I go back home after christmas. I think I might really have something here. Once the site is finished, I'll post again and have a link to the main page.

Nerding Out

For the past four days I have been in New York City covering Comic Con and I really have to admire the insanity of some of the people there.

The picture above was not even the best costumes I saw. There was one guy dressed up as Bumble Bee from Transformers and it was awesome. But I do not think that these people are crazy...well not crazy crazy...Their fanatical love of comics, video games an

d everything else in between seems extremely familiar to me. I see no difference with the picture above and this guy:

Seriously, I do not see a difference.

Dungeons and Dragons = Fantasy Football

Mark Hamill = John Madden

Cosplayers = Body Painters

League of Legends = Madden games

I just wanted to pose the question, why is one groups' actions more socially acceptable than the other? Aren't they both very similar if not the same?