Icons

originally written 10/12/07

Definition

Icon: an outstanding example of something which has come to represent the class of things to which it belongs; a paragon; used of persons as well as objects.

By now you probably know that I got my first tattoo two weeks ago. I had been contemplating getting one and if I was going to get one, what exactly should I get one of? Back in March I decided I would get one, but I wanted it to have some meaning, in other words I didn't something like a tribal tattoo because, well, I don't belong to a tribe. I'm not ripping on those who do have tribals (well, maybe a little), but if I was going to get something on my body and have it for the rest of my life, I want it to still have some meaning when I am 75 years old eating for free at IHOP because it's "Seniors Eat Free" day.

You all know me in some respect, and you know how much I love living in Texas; it's home, I cant imagine living anywhere else in the world, except maybe with Eva Longoria. It's not just the state I love, it's everything Texas represents: the history, the pride, the people, and the Texas women. I decided I would get a star on my shoulder and color in the star like the state flag of Texas. Basically, it symbolizes the pride I have in being a Texan. The tattoo represents something, almost in the regards of an icon; there is meaning to it; there is representation behind it.

The term "icon" has been used to identify many different things and important people: The Statue of Liberty, Rocky Balboa, Frank Sinatra, the Alamo, Martin Luther King, Jr., Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, Bono, Marilyn Monroe, John F. Kennedy, and of course, "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels.

So, what's so important about them? They, along with countless other objects and people in the world, symbolize something, they represent something and do it in the utmost manner; in other words, they're symbolic, they symbolize something for people. Whether it's seeing the Statue of Liberty when you're passing through Ellis Island, knowing that, even though some Americans like Nickelback and we have our problems from time to time, it's not a bad place to start a new life, a reassuring thought for immigrants who don't know what to expect…then they invariably end up as janitors, or cooks, but that's besides the point.

We all know how important MLK is to Americans, especially to the African-Americans; that has been documented and celebrated, unfortunately, even in this day in age there are issues we have to still try to overcome that King was trying to overcome 40 years ago. Springsteen is rock and roll, perhaps the last great American rock musician. He is Americana at its finest. If The Boss is present day rock and roll, then Elvis is rock and roll. The other examples above are pretty self-explanatory, we know what they symbolize and what's important about them, well, maybe not Shawn Michaels, but he calls himself "The Icon, the Main Event, the Showstoppa'", so, that's gotta count for something.

So, what am I getting at? Being a Houstonian for over 20 years, I've come to learn a lot about my city: it's humid, the mosquitoes are the size of small dogs, we have 2 seasons: hot and hotter, public transportation sucks, and trying to find a parking spot in the Galleria is a pain in the ass. It doesn't stop there, we have all sorts of stuff that is screwed up: Enron, Lisa Novak and her cross-country travels wearing a diaper, Andrea Yates, and if you remember, Wanda Holloway, the woman who hired a hitman to kill her daughter's rival so her daughter could make the cheerleading squad. In a nutshell, H-town is kind of a messed up place. This doesn't even consider "Choke City" better known as the 35-3 blown lead against the Buffalo Bills in the 1993 playoff. Sometimes, it sucks being from Houston. But you know what, there's a silver lining, a shining star, or three from the city and these are what makes me proud to be a Houstonian.

Definition

Loyalty: unswerving in allegiance: as a: faithful in allegiance to one's lawful sovereign or government b: faithful to a private person to whom fidelity is due c: faithful to a cause, ideal, custom, institution, or product.

You don't have to be a Rhodes Scholar to know I love baseball; hence, I love the Houston Astros. As long as I can remember there have been 2 constants regarding the Houston Astros: a) heartache and b) Craig Biggio and, on a somewhat smaller level, Jeff Bagwell. Considering Houston is a small market baseball town, which is amazing because we're the 4^th largest city in America, the announcement of Biggio retiring probably didn't make a large dent in the sporting world in the same way something meaningful like Barbaro's death rocked the sporting world. But, see that's exactly the point, if you're not from Houston, you don't know how much he means to this city, he was the quintessential Astro, and now he's gone. He's not gone in the same respect Mr. Myagi is gone because Biggio is still alive, but he's not playing for the Astros anymore, and in a sense it's symbolic because his retirement marks an end, almost a death, in a time period for the Houston Astros.

What makes him great? Was it the 19-years he played professional baseball, that feat alone is impressive, what makes it even more impressive is he played all 19 years with the same team. That just doesn't happen in this day in age in sports, not when players are switching teams left and right, or when Alex Rodriguez is about to sign a $30 million dollar a year contract. And don't think he didn't get offers to sign elsewhere, when he was a free agent, he was courted by all the bigger markets, the New York Yankees, the Mets, Boston Red Sox; he had the choice to leave and go to any other team he wanted to. He never did. Why? He was loyal, he was wanted to stay here, it was home for him. This is unheard of in sports today. Even today he still lives in his home in West University during the off-season.

Definition

Productivity: the quality or state of being productive

For 19 years, Biggio played for the Astros, we've already established that much. He made his MLB debut back on June 26^th, 1988. 1988! To give that some perspective, The New Kids on the Block weren't even out yet, Nintendo was the hottest thing since sunburn, and I wasn't 8 years old yet. Interestingly enough, however, ou still sucked. He made his debut as a catcher, of all positions, a rather odd choice for someone of his physical stature. As a catcher he made the All-Star team in 1991, you would think the Astros would reward him for that; they did. They converted him to a catcher in 1992 and he proceeded to make the All-Star team as a second baseman; the only player in MLB history to make the team at two different positions.

While at second base he was considered one of the greatest players during his prime. Bill James, noted baseball historian, called him the fourth greatest second baseman ever and 35^th greatest player ever. After dominating second base for years, when the Astros signed Jeff Kent, Biggio was asked to move to centerfield in order to make room for Kent, and then when the Astros traded for Carlos Beltran, he was then asked to move back leftfield. And he did so, and did so with great ease; all while compiling solid numbers and helping the Astros into the NLCS twice and the World Series.

As most things do, Biggio finally came full circle, his last few years he was asked to move back to second base to finish out his career. Amazingly enough, on his last day he asked to start as the catcher for Roy Oswalt; indeed, things do come full circle. What makes Biggio unique is that he made all these moves and switches without ever complaining, bad-talking, or showing any signs of stubbornness, in doing so. Check out some of his numbers over his career:

-Only player in history with 3000 hits, 600 doubles, 400 stolen bases, and 250 homeruns…THE ONLY PLAYER EVER!

-Modern-era career leader in hit-by-pitches

-4 time Gold Glove winner

-5^th all-time in history with 668 doubles

-5 time Silver Slugger award winner

-7 time All-Star

-27^th player in MLB to amass over 3,000 hits

-Fell 9 homeruns short of having 300 homeruns, 300 stolen bases, and 3,000 hits, the only other player to do so? Willie Mays.

-Only man known to make Chuck Norris cry.

The numbers speak for themselves, he was one of the greatest players to ever play the game…and he make Chuck Norris cry. Pretty impressive stuff all things considered.

Definition

Class: having or reflecting high standards of personal behavior

Biggio was the epitome of class, everything he did, he did with class. From his first day in the majors to the last at-bat of his career, he always busted his ass, never took days off if he didn't want to play, and played the game it was supposed to be played; he was a throw-back to earlier days in baseball. His helmet was the caked in pine tar, which influenced me to do the same when I played college ball. Even in his last ever at-bat against the Braves, he hit a routine groundball to Chipper Jones and busted his ass down the line and was out by a half-step; classic Biggio. What about his actual 3,000^th hit, he hit a sharp single to centerfield and tried to stretch it into a double, he was thrown out at second but that was Biggio; that's what you expected from him. It was no surprise for everybody who knew him to do that. How about the day he announced his retirement? That night he hit a walk-off grand slam. You cant script it any better than that, even if you tried.

It goes beyond that however, what you may not know about him is his charity work. He has been a supporter and lead spokesperson for the Sunshine Kids Foundation, an organization supporting children fighting cancer. During batting practice, interviews, and general public appearances, Biggio wears a sunflower on his cap symbolic of the organization. He hosts celebrity golf tournaments with proceeds going to the organization he has raised over $2 million during his time working with them, pretty impressive stuff for a multi-millionaire star.

(side note: When I played high school baseball, at practice I would pick a dandelion and stick it in my baseball hat and tell everyone I was supporting the Sunshine Kids…yes, even in high school, I was a doofus)

It even goes beyond that, Biggio is one of Houston's favorite adopted sons, and probably even more loved now than Roger Clemens, that traitor. Biggio is a staunch Catholic; he's never missed a mass during the season, even on road trips. Hell, I can't even remember when the last time I went to church, yet this guys doesn't miss a beat. His favorite band is U2 as his entrance songs during his at-bats are riffs from various hits from the Irish rockers. Just to prove how classy and how much of an impact he had on major league baseball, after he announced his retirement and was traveling with the team on road trips on his "farewell tour", home teams honored Biggio with video montages and, in some cases, even made contributions to the Sunshine Kids foundation in honor of Biggio. He has been inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame, the Texas Hall of Fame, the Italian Sports Hall of fame, and in five years, will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame; his youthful face bronzed on a plaque symbolizing his greatness, all with one team. Quite simply, people, let alone, athletes, like him don't come around too often.

Some people represent certain things or certain places. When you think of Philadelphia you think of Rocky Balboa, when you think of Detroit you think of Joe Louis (or Eminem…sorry, Detroit sucks), when you think of sucking you think of Nickelback, when you think of porn stars you think of Jenna Jameson, when you think of Milli you think of Vanilli, the list goes on and on.

As I segued into the Biggio opening earlier, Houston has its share of problems, but so what, so does every other city. I'm proud to be from Houston, I love it here. The pros outweigh the cons, for instance I can play golf year-round here, the biggest and best livestock show and rodeo happens here every year, we have feeder roads (which are amazing if you don't know, trust me, Chicago could take a lesson), and we have Texas women too. You know what else we have no other city can claim? Yep, Craig Biggio. Thanks for the memories, Bidge'.

Definition

Icon: Craig Biggio