A Pigeon by Any Other Name...

My recent journey to Pittsburgh gave me the opportunity to visit the National Arboretum. This was perhaps at my family's own peril as this was dangerously close to Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers and even in the morning there were throngs of Steelers fans, ticket scalpers and memorabilia vendors that had gathered for the evening's festivities.

I love the Aviary. It is set up in a manner that allows the birds to move around freely in much of the display. In many cases the birds will roam into the walkways where the visitors move through the aviary. It allows the visitor a unique opportunity to encounter the birds' behaviors up close.

The birds in these photographs are pigeons. Very exotic pigeons with fancy head feathers, long legs and bright colors, but pigeons nonetheless. Known as Crowned Pigeons or Gouras, they reside in New Guinea and are close to the size of turkeys. Normal American pigeons are more prone to run away and fly off when threatened, but these birds will lie down and play dead. I had the opportunity to observe this behavior several times while on my visit there. There were two pigeons on an elevated walkway that ran over their display who, despite the constant disturbance by humans, refused to yield their ground. They would stand there displaying their beautiful plumage and whenever someone would come just a bit too close would lie down and "play dead". Sort of like a possum, except less annoying and less likely to get run over by a car in the rainforests of New Guinea.

On the job with the boss looking- human world.

On the job with the boss looking - pigeon world.

Now do you not wish that when your boss (or whomever else) was getting on your nerves, that you could just lie down and play dead as a means of defense?

It's Playoff Time

I have been swallowed by a sea of black and gold. It is a bit of a drive to Pittsburgh but this is definitely Steele rs country. Since the playoffs are going on, that fervor is driven to new heights.

Last weekends game was quite the nasty one. Steelers fans really HATE the Ravens so that game was a nasty one as expected. The upcoming game against the Jets does not carry the same kind of animosity, if only because the dislike of New England around here is so intense that anybody that can pull off an upset against them, especially in a playoff game, must be okay. Personally, I do not care. I do not like the Ravens only for the reason that they used to be the Browns and abandoned Cleveland. I am okay with the Jets because they took on Boomer Esiason when Cincinnati realized that they sucked and did not deserve him. Otherwise, I am not that rabid of a fan. I guess I will root for the Steelers.

So who do should I root for? Well I am from Ohio (state motto: During the Presidential Primaries we are actually relevant), which you may have guessed from my defense of Cleveland. Actually I am from Cincinnati and have grown up with the long, proud tradition of hating Cleveland- aka- the mistake on the lake, the armpit of the midwest, etc. Despite that, it is in Ohio and you do not betray fellow Ohioans like that. I did at one point support the Bengals when they played professional football. I am not sure what they play now, but it does not look like professional football to me. Professional teams do things like score touchdowns and defend their quarterback and have defensive lines. The Bengals have not incorporated these elements into their game since 1989 when Boomer Esiason was quarterback and they went to the Superbowl. Cleveland is out as a team I could root for since they are the rival team of the Bungals (take that Mike Brown!) The Browns have not been the same since being re founded so pretty much both Ohio teams are out.

Prior to living here, I lived near Indianapolis and that was where I found a real football team- the Colts. They had the advantage of both being a good team, and they had Peyton Manning who played for University of Tennessee where I had been a student briefly. He was a cool dude to boot. Besides, Indianapolis was a lot like Cincinnati, except much hipper and larger. So I became a sworn Colts fan. Whenever there is playoff game that the Steelers are in, the hospital allows staff to wear team colors of the involved teams. I am sure to show up in white and blue, even if they are not playing against the Steelers. Sure, I look like a douche bag, but if you cannot look like a douche bag amongst trusted friends and colleagues, who can you look like a douche bag in front of?

This weekend, I just so happen to be spending in Pittsburgh, which I am probably going to regret considering there is going to be a playoff game on Sunday and the city is going to be a zoo, but I planned this weekend first and am holding firm. It does not matter that a winter storm just dropped 5-6 inches of snow in the city and the high temperature is running below 20 degrees. The fans are going to come to the game. And I am going to be rooting for the Colts. Except when a Steelers fan is watching. They are not so forgiving about the lack of allegiance in the city proper. With that in mind...

Go Steelers (unless the Jets win)!