Man of many hats

Just one of many Sabres hats.

I wear a lot of hats.

That’s not a metaphor, although it is true in that sense, as well. No, I literally mean I wear a lot of hats.
I’ve had a love affair with baseball caps since a young age.

I don’t recall how old I was when it happened, but I was told in my youth that people in baseball caps never amount to anything. I decided then and there that I would be successful — while wearing a baseball cap.

The majority of my hat arsenal is comprised of Sabres hats. Blue and gold mostly, although I do have a few of the black and red variety. In all, I have nine Buffalo Sabres hats. Some were gifts, but most of them I bought myself.

I wear them during hockey season. And football season. And baseball season. I’m not sure when cricket season is, but I wear them then, too.

Yes, I wear other hats, but mostly, I like to stick to the Sabres ones. They’re the ones I’m the proudest of. My hockey runs deep.

I like to travel, at least to the degree my budget allows me to. I’ve worn my Sabres hats in almost every city I’ve been to. A week ago, it was Washington, D.C. And sitting in the Air and Space Museum having lunch, my girlfriend pointed out another guy in a Sabres hat. Instant connection. We ended up running into that guy and talking very briefly. The conversation went something like this:
“Nice hat. Go Sabres.”

A couple summers ago, I wore a Sabres hat to Toronto when I ran into a guy in a Maple Leafs jersey. Suffice it to say, he was not nearly as impressed with my hat as the guy in D.C. was. In fact, I recall getting into somewhat of a verbal altercation with Toronto guy. I generally try to steer clear of altercations, but he was speaking ill of my team. And, really? He’s a Leafs fan.

A few years ago, I wore my Sabres hats in Philly. Also, Boston, New York, and Cleveland. You get the picture. I'm a Sabres fan all the time. Everywhere I go.

I always find it interesting this time of year how many people have Sabres hats. Seems to be a lot more Sabres hats (and T-shirts and jerseys, etc.) in early to mid-April than there are in, say, mid-November.
Some people get upset with the “bandwagon” effect that comes with any playoff run. I don’t really mind at all. I like suddenly having something in common with almost everyone in Western New York.

I haven’t bought a new baseball hat in well over a year. It was a Sabres hat. A green one. Two, actually. I was at a game with a friend and I found a green Sabres “slug” hat, so I bought it. Then I found a green hat with the original logo on it. So I had to buy that one, too.

I'd like to buy a new one soon. I'd really like for it to say “Buffalo Sabres — Stanley Cup Champions.” Hopefully they’ll make one like that.

All aboard the crazy train ...

I cannot stop watching the train wreck that is the race for the 26th Congressional District.

I know I said a week ago that the four -ring circus that race has turned into had essentially turned my stomach on politics. And, truth be told, they continue to astound and confound me. But sometimes, things are just far too funny to not enjoy.

Take, for example, the email I got last week from Rus Thompson, party planner of the TEA variety; It said that TEA New York was having a candidates night in Wheatfield and all were invited. Well, all except the guy they didn’t like.

Rus told me personally that they had not invited Ian Murphy because Murphy had made some disparaging comments about the troops in a story he wrote for the Buffalo Beast a few years back. Apparently, TEA New York thinks the First Amendment is ranked way too highly.

So the TEA peeps had their little party.

Of the three candidates they did invite, one (Jack Davis) had an engagement elsewhere, receiving the endorsement of the Tea Party Coalition. (Apparently, there's more than one Tea Party in Western New York.) Another (Kathy Hochul) was off doing something else, although I still don’t know what. Leaving only Jane Corwin having Tea.

At the end of their forum, TEA New York endorsed Corwin. Meaning, Jack Davis and Jane Corwin received simultaneous endorsements from the Tea Party, while Ian Murphy wasn’t allowed in and Kathy Hochul didn’t want in.

Then Sunday night, I get an email from the Hochul camp saying “Hochul congratulates Sabres. Calls on opponents to follow.” It added, “Hochul only candidate to support Sabres.”

As if that weren’t asinine enough, it goes on to specifically call on her opponents “Republican, Jane Corwin and Tea Party-endorsed candidate Jack Davis” to “join me in rooting for the Sabres in their run for the Stanley Cup.”

First of all, does Hochul not know about Murphy? Or was he just not worth the ink in her press release? Secondly, I was almost surprised that the press release spelled “Sabres” right. Is there a bigger non-issue than supporting the Sabres? Really?

Oddly, it seems to me that Murphy, the guy whom everyone else seems to be ignoring, has the most concise declaration of his views, clearly stated on his website. Of course, he also has a lot of bizarre statements and does some wacky things, like wearing a three-corner hat to the TEA New York event. I mean, I can understand why Rus Thompson doesn’t take him seriously. Who would do such a thing? Oh, right, Rus Thompson would. I think his three-corner hat is glued to his head.

Also, Ian has made an issue out of not having seen Corwin’s birth certificate. Of course, Corwin’s origin of birth isn’t really a matter of dispute, but it is a novel way of highlighting some of the craziness in American politics these days.

And right now, there is no better place to see craziness in American politics than in New York’s 26th Congressional District.

It’s like the crazy train derailed, and I just can’t stop watching.