Compassion and empathy. I am truly thankful for every day I have. The following column is written by Hogfather, direct from the row, at a prison near you. It is not any political statement on capital punishment. In this year of 2009 we have more people in prison in the United States than any country and next year we will have more, because prison is a growth industry. So listen closely to what the Hogfather has to say especially at the end, and count you blessings.
You got the half. Your got 2. Your got the half….This is what it is like when there is some sporting event coming on here in prison. We’re just as competitive as we were in the free world but now we are not “watching” our favorite team. We here on the Row must listen to the game on the little clock radio that we have tuned to the gills so that we can pick up that AM station way down that dial after the sun goes down. “Say, You guys picking it up down on Westwood One?”…is something that is asked about everytime there is something on because everyone is scrambling to get the best reception and because there are several places to get a good game we ask one another where it is coming in the best. The games fade late at night but if you are on the strongest station, you can get it REALLY LOW towards the end of the game. Here we have to work together to get our dose of football or basketball or even NASCAR.
This being Sunday is a NASCAR day for me. I play a little fantasy by picking 5 cars against someone else’s five cars. At the end of the race if the total finishing place of your five are lower than his, then you my friend are the winner. I have done this for a long time and get the NASCAR magazine because it gives me the breakdown on every single race and who is good where. I know more about each track and driver than the competition usually, but I assure you that does not mean I win. In that sport a hotdog wrapper can cause your car to overheat and that is the end of your ace car. It’s not like football where another player comes in for the one suffering some ailment. You have the one car and if that thing blows then your day blows.
Football is by far the biggest sport in prison. I have been a few places and it is always the same. Nothing trumps the game. I don’t care what is happening…if the game is on ain’t nothing happening anymore but football. The guys that don’t like it, and there are some, are looked upon as wierdo’s. Something ain’t right about those cats. Better keep an eye out for those dudes.
We all have our favorite teams, but if you’re a fan of a team that is not from Texas, you had better been born there and can prove it. Don’t just like them because they have won a few championships because at that point you’re fake. If you are not down with the same team for life, the you are not a real fan and personally, I do not want to hear about your lifelong devotion to the team that just so happened to win the Super Bowl the last few years. I’m a Dallas fan and I have had to fight because of that fact. If you are a diehard fan here and have not had at least one fight because of your team then something’s wrong.
Texan fans And Cowboy fans clash every Sunday. If Dallas wins and Houston loses then you will hear the Dallas fans talking smack. If it is the other way around then Houston fans get their day to rub it in. Either way this is done every weekend. If they both win, they they look to WHO they played. If Dallas beat the better team they are the best.
Basketball gets wild. A lot of teams and a long season. I really just like the Mavericks. I look at the record everyday when I get my paper. Beyond that , I do not pay attention until the finals roll around. A ton of people here are like that but it is the San Antonio Spurs fans that rule the prisons. I hate them because I like Dallas but I will take them before I will take Houston. My best friend is a Spurs fan, he listens to them every chance he can. I’d rather read. When finals come around I get in the mix to see who will take the championship. I like the Lakers this year because Boston is hurt, but who know what could happen. Dallas will make the playoffs, and lose first round just like the Cowboys, but I know that going in so it doesn’t make me mad.
There are shotguns to play, parlays during football season, fantasy EVERYTHING…baseball, football, basketball, and my favorite, NASCAR.
Guys here can tell you stats from games that were played last year. I am not messing with you about that. Some guys here spend every minute reading sports magazines and saving them from the year before. I have seen gambling books that are so detailed that they could be sold in the free world and give the layman a HUGE advantage. Like Bibles, they cherish every page and update them all the time. It is how they make it year to year and if they do good they eat like kings. If they don’t they have to eat what TDC makes and for them that ain’t alot these days. People bet chicken trays, pork chops, and the best of the food on games if they don’t have a few stamps. ANYTHING to get into the action or to make the game that much more enjoyable. Nothing like your team winning AND you get a chicken tray.
In prison sports takes us from a world filled with 23 hours of lockdown and places us at the games with our teams. We leave this place for another one and if our team loses it just gets as quiet as a church because all of us are hurt just a little. Come Monday we will be our old selves and because there is a game we’ll be making our bets for that one as well. It’s a way of life and as much a part of prison life as these razor fences that surround this place. During the week we are just locked up but come Sunday Whatever our ill, they take a backseat to the game. escape this joint to be with the team of our choosing. We make spreads (elaborate meals) just like the ones that we would enjoy as if we were tailgating at the game, and for a time we are free to enjoy the competition! It is what we need and the reason it is so important to this life. At the end of the day I’ll sit back and wonder what must have happened to that guy down the run who would rather read than watch football. Maybe I can get some action on that. I’ll hit up the guys and see if we can get a be going on what it was…maybe I’ll get me a chicken tray!
No comments:
Post a Comment