From the daily archives:

Thursday, November 5, 2009

The Proverbial Godfather to My Students

by Jose on November 5, 2009 · 4 comments

in life

Yankee Stadium Gang

Yankee Stadium Gang

This morning, I had a strange choice to make. Ever since the Yankees made the playoffs, I made a quasi-promise to myself that, should the New York Yankees win the championship, I’d take my students to the parade. While not educationally sound, I’ve been building that bridge from Inwood to South Bronx for my students since their 6th grade year. For their big class trip in 6th grade, I took them to the old Yankee Stadium a few months removed from when the owners closers its doors. For their 7th grade year, I took them to the new Yankee Stadium as well. Thus, it would have been fitting for me to bring them to their first Yankee parade.

My real reason for bringing them to the stadiums has less to do with my fervor for the Yankees; Citi Field would have done fine (Shea? Not so much.) It’s knowing that I continue to give them an experience that they may not otherwise get as children, exposing them to things within their area that otherwise people deny them. For instance, as my then 6th grade students and I rode the D train to 161st and River Ave., my students admitted to me that they’d never been to Yankee Stadium. They may never have known what the big deal was about unless I personally took them, at a cost that was well within their price range (free).

What’s more, I knew they’d at least get the feeling that, for at least a moment, the whole world was theirs. So this morning, almost completely out of my mind since I’d slept about 4 hours, I had to make a critical decision: do the kids go or do they not? Then I realized at a ticker tape parade of this magnitude, they’d feel more cramped and antsy than open and free. Plus, the risks associated with thousands of eccentric New Yorkers cheering on 25 baseball guys make me a little nervous.

Best believe that, before the year is done, I’ll have something that’ll complete their career at my middle school. Even if they don’t remember me, they’ll at least remember the time when, for a second, they walked in the steps of world championships …

Mr. V, who loves the vibe of NYC right about now …

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Why I Livetweeted the World Series [Or The Greatest Yankees Livetweeter Alive]

by Jose on November 5, 2009 · 1 comment

in life

Me at the Old Yankee Stadium

Me at the Old Yankee Stadium

Imagine having to sit through an entire baseball game with announcers whose unseemly hate for your favorite team is too obvious after every inning, after every close play, or after  some “managerial” mistake. Imagine hearing the announcer just say the most random and irrelevant things at a ration that’s far too frequent for anyone to fully accept. Imagine one had a venue by which they could simultaneously criticize these announcers who dominate the game and have their own venue in playing the role of announcer for others.

Well, that role last year fell on the lap of one Jose Vilson, and the venue was Twitter. Because Twitter lends itself to this practice in such an open forum, I created a space where Yankee fans could vent their frustrations at the lack of quality we’ve enjoyed all season from Michael Kay and Ken Singleton in a voice as objective as a World Series Yankees fan can possible be.

Naturally, with every poke at the opposing players and every score update, a collective of tweeters did not take too kindly to me using that venue to livetweet (even when they would livetweet their shows continuously, or discuss their ridiculous hashtags for days on end). One even tried to reproach me on the basis of SEO and good Twitter techniques, scolding me on the use of MY OWN VENUE which people CHOSE to follow even when I’d warn those who weren’t interested about the process.

That’s when I started to learn more about how humans worked. People only want to hear commentary from those who, while lousy and gets tuned out, still get paid 6-7 figures to do so while those who can do a better job (by many accounts) for free. People only want to hear themselves talking about irrelevant and sometimes heinous things, and not others. It’s strange. Then, I get more positive feedback from people in class or work who can’t watch the game, or those who wanted to rebel against the sounds emanating from the terrible announcers’ mouths. Those people, and everyone who stuck with me through the 3 weeks or so (most people really), are the ones I wanted to reach.

That’s why I liveblogged the game to begin with: it was fun, it was fresh, and it was a public service. Plus, it’s my Twitter. Forget your rules. So says the greatest Yankees livetweeter alive.

Jose, who never received any royalties from the New York Yankees or Major League Baseball.

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