I went to Europe. For eleven days. I know what some of you are thinking: Wow, I really missed him, he has such a great social media presence and there was a void on Instagram without him. But, I am also going to be honest with myself and come to the realization that most of you are really thinking: Wait, he was gone? Indeed I was, immersing myself in European culture, taking an uncontrollable amount of pictures and not being able to give the proper amount of likes on the thousands of graduation pictures I am sure I have missed out on.
I have decided that rather than bombard you with two weeks worth of social media worthy pictures, that I will just condense it into blog-form. I must admit, this decision was not an easy one. I could easily post some of these pictures on Instagram just to be a like-troll and boost my self-esteem. But, I have decided that I do not want to be one of those people. Okay you caught me, I don’t even get enough likes to boost the average person’s self-esteem. Too bad I wasn’t wearing any push-up bras in these pictures. That’s the real tragedy.
I present to you: my trip to Europe in pictures!
This picture above represents my first ever Guinness and I think probably around only my fourth beer ever. I went to a local pub near our hotel with a group of the kids I went on the trip with and they were all explaining how the Guinness in Ireland tastes better than the ones in America. Keep in mind that this was the beginning of the trip, so immediately I tried to fit in and joined in on the comparison. I even went so far as to say that the Guinness in Ireland has “a richer flavor” than the ones I have had (again, never had one) back home. Pssh, I had them all fooled.
Quick Ireland tangent: The first two nights of the trip were spent in the beautiful city of Dublin, Ireland. I learned the hard way that the massive green hills of Ireland must be immersed in my one true kryptonite in life; pollen. My eyes were so red and glossy that local boys thought something was terribly wrong with me. I looked like I belonged at a Reggae Rock concert. In Jamaica. Wait, one more, Snoop Dogg/Lion and Wiz Khalifia would have looked sober next to me. A few people even tried to hit me up for some of that good good, dank or weed as most would call it. I would then reply, “What is dank?” Each person seemed highly disappointed by my response.
Stadiums, stadiums and more stadiums. The whole purpose of this trip was to get a European view of the sport management landscape. To accomplish this, we were able to tour close to ten different venues that hosted sports such as soccer, gaelic games, cricket, rugby and even handball.
Rather than give a description on each stadium, I will give you my opinion on the difference between European and American stadiums. First of all, American stadiums are much nicer in all facets. Much more accommodating to the fan when it comes to bathrooms, concessions, parking and even viewing experience. Most of the venues I saw did not have padded seats, while that is starting to become the norm in America. However, what these venues lack in interior substance, they make up with exterior beauty. The architecture on these structures look museum worthy. Also, the lack of concessions may be a good thing, given the already fanatic nature of fans in Europe. These people are passionate.
It was a constant mental battle to stay awake through some events during the trip. The combination of jet lag, long bus rides and European nightlife would occasionally cause people to “zonk” out. As evidenced by this picture, sometimes traveling can get the best of us.
I am pretty sure that each and every person on the trip had their own “zonk” moment, and quite frankly I never want to see mine. When I am in a deep sleep I look like a droopy, old dog. My tongue sticks out, my head tilts back and I have enough drool seeping out of the corner of my mouth to fill a bucket. Let’s just say that this is not my finest look.
This is the picture that I am most proud of from the trip. We spent one night in Liverpool, England and decided to spend our free time by going to The Cavern, or as most people see it: THE PLACE WHERE THE BEATLES GOT THEIR START OH MY GOD!!! Anyways, The Cavern showcases live bands daily and from the hour of 8:15 to 9:15 I was lucky enough to watch this fine piece of man meat slap the bass.
My friend Brando used to refer to people as having a “dad dick.” I cannot quite pinpoint the exact meaning of this term, but it is just something that immediately makes sense whenever he says it. My initial thought when this guy took the stage was: Wow, I think he could probably do my taxes some day. But then my next thought was: Wow, this guy has such dad dick. Here are the other people who Brando referred to as having a dad dick: Peyton Manning, Josh Fogerlie’s dad who would wear sleeveless cut offs to every one of our baseball games, and finally my own dad when he is sipping on a “brewski.” I would say that this bassist falls somewhere between Peyton Manning and Josh Fogerlie’s dad on the dad dick scale. Which is pretty high praise in my opinion.
Now it is time for everyone’s favorite game: Eiffel Tower Photoshoot! As you can see, the Eiffel Tower and I had a ton of quality bonding time.
Here is all you need to know about it: For about the first five seconds you see it, it makes you say Woah! But when you have to sit there admiring “its beauty” for the next three hours because the people in your group feel the need to, it gets old pretty quickly. It is eerily similar to the Statue of Liberty in that way because it gives you those first few seconds that takes you back because of all of the history that is involved with the structure, but once you get past those first few seconds it is kind of just an ordinary sight. The area around the tower was nothing to write home about either. It lacked the certain elegance and beauty that you assume would be associated with it. There was no walking path filled with mass arrays of colorful flowers. Instead there was a grassy area that was not entirely filled with grown grass. I guess my opinion may be soured because I am a guy and lack the idealistic dream of being proposed to in front of the EIFFEL TOWER. The whole experience just kind of left me asking for more. Having said all of this, you should definitely go see it if you have the chance.
All in all, I am more than happy to be back in the good old US of A. Europe is great to visit, to see the history and uncanny architecture of its buildings, but nothing compares to the likes of living in America. Our food tastes better. Our sodas are filled with way more sugar. Sure it may be more fattening and ultimately give you heart disease, but dammit at least you will enjoy each and every meal. Our people are loud and obnoxious in all social settings and I sure as heck prefer it that way!
I hope you have enjoyed seeing my favorite photos in blog-form rather than having them being forced down your throat on social media every hour. My total photo count was around 650 so consider yourself lucky that I condensed it to the thirteen I have presented to you. Just remember kids, dad dicks are real. They are very, very real.
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