Joe T.
By Joe Torosian
“The only mystery in life is why kamikaze pilots wore helmets.”—Al McGuire
Kick it!
Right off the Top: Oh, I’ve always been a Jett Bandy fan!
Do you know how you become a Jett Bandy fan? The same way you become a Cal State Fullerton fan.
Back in 1983, when dinosaurs ruled the earth, I was living with my mom near Cal Poly Pomona in a neighborhood where cable was unavailable. No ESPN! So when the original incarnation of the Big East was taking shape, and the legend of Dick Vitale was growing, I couldn’t see my favorite sport which was college basketball.
When the NCAA Tournament came I went to school because I didn’t have ESPN and the option to stay home and watch the first day’s games.
What did I have? Well, besides the occasional UCLA game on KTLA (channel 5) and Saturday afternoon Pac 10 contest where USC would get its butt kicked in Corvallis…(Thank you, Stan Morrison)…I had very few options.
But there was KDOC (channel 56) in Anaheim. It was a new station and it sent out a great signal to the twilight regions of the Pomona/Walnut area.
KDOC showed Cal State Fullerton games.
Joe Torosian’s high school football novel is available through Amazon.com
On a Saturday night in February of 1983, I saw the only game I could…I saw Fullerton upset the undefeated and number one ranked team in the country: UNLV.
I never did become a big time Titans fan but for a season, I got to know the players on this team: Leon Wood, Tony Neal, Gary Davis, Ricky Mixon, and the late Ozell Jones. I also got to know far too much about the PCAA (Pacific Coast Athletic Association) long before it became the Big West.
Why?
Because I had no other option.
Why am I a Jett Bandy fan?
Because I have no other option. I now have ESPN, Prime Ticket, MLB Network, but I don’t have Time Warner.
I mean, honestly, if there are other options why would somebody watch a half-dozen Angels games in the middle of March?
You do it because the Dodgers are unavailable. They are unavailable live, they are unavailable on delay…You know when you can see the Dodgers? You can see them when they play the Angels.
Jett Bandy and Daniel Nava, the Roy Hobbs of 2016 Spring Training, are such familiar faces on the flatscreen in my house that my youngest picked up a baseball bat and said: “Now batting, for your enjoyment, number forty-seven; Jett Bandy!”
***
It’s the middle of March and still no “Baseball Nut” at Baskin Robbins? Preposterous.
Question: Does truTV exist at any other time of the year?
In an age of “On Demand” you’d like to think you could purchase your favorite ice cream at any time.
I mean, they did create a tv network to show spillover NCAA games.
Midbits (same as ‘Tidbits’)
Midbits: After Tuesday night’s action, my NCAA brackets are still perfect. Shocker!
Midbits: Fairleigh Dickinson sure looked like a juggernaut last night. Didn’t they seem far and away better than San Diego State and Mount Saint Mary?
Midbits: Hyun-jin Ryu should be back on the hill at Chavez Ravine by Father’s Day. Bold prediction Dodgers finish 2016 in third place.
Midbits: I’m thinking about going to La Canada’s third round State tourney contest this Saturday…Get something to eat before, arrive early, and enjoy the show.
Midbits: Spathias to Gladstone…I know this is Hector Spathias, but when I hear Spathias my mind goes back to Bonita and the 2010 season. It was Greg Spathias who held down the fort for the Bearcats the first half of the season after starting quarterback Garrett Pendleton went down with a broken arm…The team went 5-0 under Spathias. When Pendleton returned he led the club to a classic CIF Final game against West Covina.
The Dude abides…
614
Psalm 107:1-3
Contact Joe at joe@midvalleysports.com
Author of “Tangent Dreams: A High School Football Novel” available through Amazon.com
Follow Joe on Twitter @joet13b
“Joe T.’s Scoreboard” is found at www.midvalleynews.com every Wednesday & in the hard copy of the Mid Valley News, published every Wednesday
Leave a Reply