Monday, July 21, 2008

Louis vs. Lenny


Go figure. Today is National Tug of War Day!? !

What? You don't have that listed in your calendar? Return it immediately. You got jipped. Actually, if you want to know the truth, it wasn't in my infamous Planner Pad (See 3/10) either. My son, Ricky, came home with a safety calendar a couple of years ago and interwoven with safety tips were all sorts of other innocuous dates for celebration... dates such as Wear Brown Shoes Day, National Candy Corn Day, and National Kazoo Day. Being the program lover that I am, I transferred all the dates from his quirky calendar to mine.

Gladly I don't put your through the paces of every "National - Something" day (National Sugar Cookie Day just passed on July 9, and June 21 was National Pick Up Litter Day), but today seemed especially apropos. We'll give it a whirl and see how things go.

It was Friday when I noticed the special day marked in my calendar. Usually if I noodle something around long enough, I'll come up with an angle for my blog. But this weekend it just wasn't working. I started by Googling, 'Tug of War" and Wikipedia immediately popped up with a brief history of Tug Of War. While interesting, especially to someone who loves history like I do, it wasn't quite the riveting read I was hoping for and I'm not creative enough to make it so. The summary did, however, mention that Tug of War was an Olympic sport from 1900-1920. That was a potentially interesting angle considering the Olympics start in 19 days (who's counting?). Still, not good enough

Then I started thinking about all of my run-ins with Tug of War, but I have only two. First... when I was a resident assistant at Arizona State (Hi, Lori), I worked in a building called Manzanita Hall. The building was affectionately (and appropriately) referred to as Man-ZOO-nita Hall. The building earned its nickname because it housed 1000 (yes thousand, not hundred) first-year men and women.

Think about that for a minute. Imagine a building, 15 stories tall, holding 1000 men and women, living on their own for the first time. Have I mentioned I went to Arizona State? ...In sunny, Tempe, Arizona?... Home of 35,000, sun loving, PAC-10 following fans.

So now you get the picture.

The Manzanita Hall resident assistant staff would start the year off with the Annual Tug of War Contest. The evening of Move-in Day, each of the 15 floors would meet in the building's backyard to compete - fully decked out in floor "uniforms," ranging from matching t-shirts, tie-dye, coordinated bandannas, and even togas. Competing solely for bragging rights, residents tugged their hearts out. My floor's Hay Day came the year I worked part time at the Gap. Somehow I wheeled a deal where every resident on my floor could buy a turquoise t-shirt for $1.50. To be honest, I have no idea whether or not we won, but darn... we looked good!

My only other brush with Tug of War was, I think, at the University of Georgia. I say, "brush," because the experience wasn't mine first hand. I just remember hearing stories. Early in the University's history, first year students were required to wear beanies on their heads for the first quarter (now it would be considered hazing). Sometime in late fall an Annual Tug of War ensued between first year students and upper class students. If the upperclassmen won, first year students had to wear their beanies until winter break. There's something about that, that I love. The fate of first year students resting squarely on something as simple, and pure, as a game of tug of war.

I started thinking... what else could we settle this way? Which family member has to host the next holiday (or in our family, where we all enjoy hosting... which family GETS to host)? Who at the office has to clean out the community refrigerator? Or... Who's appointed chairperson to the Social Committee for your neighborhood association? All sorts of disputes and deadlocks could be resolved with a simple game of Tug of War.

Today we're going to try it. We're going to Tug of War for...

The winning light bulb name...

Here's how it will work.... Throughout the day, we'll have brackets. The winning team from Bracket 1 will be divided up into two teams and the two new lists will compete against each other for Bracket 2. The winning team from Bracket 2 will be divided up into two teams and the two new lists will compete against one another for Bracket 3. And so this will go until we have a winner. There will be five brackets total. Below are the brackets/voting times (all the times I reference are CST)....

IMPORTANT:
You are voting for either Team A or Team B... NOT a particular name!

Bracket #1: Vote between 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 CST
Bracket #2: Vote between 10:00 and 12:00 CST
Bracket #3: Vote between 12:00 and 2:00 CST
Bracket #4: Vote between 2:00 and 4:00 CST
Bracket #5: Vote between 4:00 and 8:00 CST

Now for the teams...
REMEMBER,
You are voting for either Team A or Team B... NOT a particular name!

TEAM A
  1. Watson
  2. Einstein
  3. Phil
  4. Hal
  5. Edison
  6. Wattson
  7. Mr. Megawatt
  8. Phil A. Ment
  9. Lightbulb Larry
  10. N. Lighten
  11. Ludwig Von Lightbulb
  12. Louis the Lightbulb
  13. Brighton
  14. Bright I. Dea
  15. Ray
  16. Sparky

TEAM B
  1. Spotlight
  2. Mr. Light Idea
  3. Stop Light
  4. Brightly
  5. Wattly
  6. Sunny
  7. Mr. Brightenstein
  8. Bubbly Long Bottom
  9. Linus the Lightbulb
  10. Lenny the Lightbulb
  11. Joules
  12. Langston the Lightbulb
  13. Mr. Inspiration
  14. Louis the Illuminator
  15. Ian Ken Descent
  16. Lumen
That's it. One, two, three... TUG.

10:00 AM
Team A was the decisive winner, so here we go with...
BRACKET #2
Voting for Bracket #2 ends at 12:00 CST

TEAM A
Watson
Phil
Edison
Mr. Megawatt
Lightbulb Larry
N. Lighten
Louis the Lightbulb
Brighton

TEAM B
Einstein
Hal
Wattson
Phil A. Ment
Ludwig Von Lightbulb
Bright I. Dea
Ray
Sparky

Remember,
we're voting for either TEAM A or TEAM B... not a particular name!

12:00 p.m.
TEAM B was the winner (9 votes to 1)
BRACKET #3
Voting for Bracket #3 ends at 2:00 p.m.

TEAM A
Einstein
Ludwig Von Lightbulb
Bright I. Dea
Sparky

TEAM B
Hal
Wattson
Phil A. Ment
Ray
Remember,
we're voting for either Team A or Team B... not a particular name

2:00 p.m.
It was neck and neck for a period of time, but... 
TEAM B wins (12 votes to 7)
BRACKET #4
Voting for Bracket #4 ends at 4:00 p.m. CST

TEAM A
Hal
Ray

TEAM B
Phil A. Ment
Wattson

Remember,
we're voting for either Team A or Team B, not a particular name

4:00 p.m. 
It was close and came down to the wire
Team A wins this bracket (8 votes to 6)
FINAL Bracket (#5)
Voting for Bracket 5 ends at 8:00 p.m. CST

TEAM A
Hal

TEAM B
Ray
YES, this time you are cheering on either Hal or Ray!

*******************************************************************
Voting is closed
RAY IS THE WINNER
16 to 10

Phew, I don't know about all of you, but I am exhausted!
Thanks for a great game of Tug of War

Signing off until tomorrow...

109 comments:

Julie said...

I LOVE THE IDEA OF TUG OF WAR!!! And to think that it was an Olympic game!

I'm voting for TEAM A.

Anonymous said...

I vote for Team A

Anonymous said...

It's team A for me. That's where all the big guys are!

Anonymous said...

Team B!

Anonymous said...

Team A
Bright I. Dea

Anonymous said...

Team A

Anonymous said...

Team A

Anonymous said...

Team A....

Anonymous said...

B

azlori said...

I had forgotten all about the tug-of-war! Thanks for reminding me! So many good memories of Manzy! There are new residence halls on campus with better amenities I'm sure but I doubt any will ever touch the level of fun at Manzy! It always brings a smile to my face whenever I drive by or see it on the news for move in day!

Brian K. Root said...

Team A




Tug-of-Wars are popular on my campus, as well. I've seen a few tug-of-war contests (pretty large) in my two years here at Pitt-Greensburg.

And, yes, I cannot wait for the Olympics!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Team A!

....and I vote CASSIE Y for social committee chair... :)

~Jenny D.

Cheryl Houston said...

Team A.

awiniowa said...

I vote for team A!

Chaotic Kristi said...

team A

Peggy said...

My vote - Team A

Anonymous said...

TEAM B

Katie said...

Team A

Kat said...

Team A!

Every fall, the college that I went to had "Mud Fest". Teams competed to see who could pull the other team into a huge pit of mud. After everyone was good and muddy the winner was announced and the fire department hosed all the teams off!

Krysten said...

TEAM A

maureen said...

Team A

Anonymous said...

Kat,
Sounds like fun! I just took my three boys to an event called
Mighty Mud Mania. They has mud pits and an obstacle course and slip and slides as well as the firemen to hose everyone off! It is put on thru a park and rec dept and the event is free of charge but they do ask for a food donation to stock their food banks! Lots of fun!

Anonymous said...

2nd round vote:

I vote for team b

Katie said...

Team B

Claudia @ Highlowaha said...

Two notes...

Jenny D... check in tomorrow to discover an interesting fact!

artnme1556... I neglected to announce this morning that of all the people who submitted suggested names for Mr. (or Mrs. Lightbulb) over the weekend, YOUR name was drawn for the small Christmas box of treats. You can email me your mailing address, since aahem, aahem... I don't have your Random Acts of Kindness postcard! It's still not too late and since you just moved, the timing is perfect... THAT, by the way goes for all of you!

Claudia K. Beeny
4012 Harvestwood Court
Grapevine, TX 76051

Claudia @ Highlowaha said...

ONE MORE THOUGHT...

I am posting the winning teams on today's blog entry, not in the comment section (didn't want the winners to be too hard to find).

Kat said...

Team B!

Cheryl Houston said...

Bracket 2: Team B

Anonymous said...

Team A

Anonymous said...

Team B for Bracket #2

Anonymous said...

This is a message for my "Peanut", Lori from Gilbert, AZ. At an attempt to remain anonymous and to get to know you better, I've emailed you from an email address which will not reveal my identity. Sometimes mail to and from this acct. ends up in SPAM so please check your spam file so as to receive the message. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you!

Katie said...

This vote is from Julie... I just got an email from her telling me that her computer will currently not let her log on to the site...she votes for Team B in bracket #2.

Anonymous said...

BTW, I received a package from my "Shell" today and WOW!! The generosity and thoughtfulness put into it is overwhelming!! I'm having such a great time being a "Peanut" and a "Shell!" Who knew this could be SO much fun?!?! CKB knew!!

Anonymous said...

Team B
Bright I.Dea

Anonymous said...

Jenny,
WOW, You telling of my love for the social committee!
Will we co-chair????

Anonymous said...

Anonymous peanut....
What was in your package? All of us Shells want to know who you are?

Anonymous said...

Team B.

Anonymous said...

Team B.

Anonymous said...

Bracket #3

Team B

Anonymous said...

Team A

Cheryl Houston said...

Bracket 3: Team A

azlori said...

Bracket 3 Team A

sara said...

bracket 3, team b

Anonymous said...

Team B

Anonymous said...

B!!

Unknown said...

I vote for Team B

Anonymous said...

Round 3: Team A

Anonymous said...

A

Katie said...

Team A

Anonymous said...

Team B,

This whole tug o war thing is fun

Anonymous said...

Team B

Anonymous said...

I vote for Team B

Anonymous said...

I vote Team B- go B

Anonymous said...

Team B to win!

Anonymous said...

Team B

Anonymous said...

Bracket #4:

Team A

Kat said...

B!B!B!B!

Anonymous said...

Team B

Cheryl Houston said...

Bracket 4: A

Anonymous said...

team b....bracket 4

maureen said...

I want A

Krysten said...

I choose B

Brian K. Root said...

Man, I missed two whole rounds of voting! Sheesh.

Hmm... I'll go with TEAM A

Anonymous said...

Team B

Anonymous said...

hI tO cHaOtIc. ThIs Is YoUr PeAnUt. Be WaTcHiNg YoUr MaIl BoX iN tHe NeXt CoUpLe oF dAyS. hAvE a GrEaT aFtErNoOn!

Julie said...

TEAM B!

And thank you, Katie!

Anonymous said...

Team A

Katie said...

Team A

Anonymous said...

I'm on the A team.

Brian K. Root said...

Team A - HAL!

Anonymous said...

Team B

Cheryl Houston said...

Bracket 5: Team A- Hal is my Pal!

But I really was leaning towards Einstein or Sparky. :( They lost out early.

:)

Anonymous said...

H.A.L.

(I think we should do it like that for High Aha Low)

Julie said...

I have to agree with Heather!

Nicole Zirnheld Aldridge said...

A

Anonymous said...

I'm going against the grain and voting for B here.

Anonymous said...

I'm going against the grain and voting for B here.

Kat said...

I vote for Hal!

Krysten said...

LETS GO HAL!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Hal!

maureen said...

HAL GETS MY VOTE.

Anonymous said...

And thanks a bunch to my darling shell for the SWEET package today!

Anonymous said...

Ray gets my vote!

Claudia @ Highlowaha said...

My husband is out of town and just called to find out the status of Tug of War. He is insistent that I place a vote on his behalf for Ray. In the name of peace and harmony, I will do this on his behalf.

One absentee ballot for Ray.

Anonymous said...

I vote team B - again!!

Anonymous said...

We support - Team B - Ray is our guy.

Anonymous said...

Matt Struble says - TEAM B.

Anonymous said...

Team B - Ray is our guy.

Katie said...

'Ray' All The Way...count my vote!

Anonymous said...

Vote for RAY

Anonymous said...

Go another vote for RAY

Anonymous said...

I vote for Ray. Shout out to my peanut...you should be getting something soon... :)

Anonymous said...

I vote for Ray!

Anonymous said...

I vote for Ray. Team B is clearly the most deserving.

Anonymous said...

I vote for Ray. He has exactly the kind of leadership we need in these trying times. I also read something very disturbing about team A on another blog.

Anonymous said...

I vote team B, go Ray!

Peggy said...

I like H.A.L.

kmw said...

As per Katie's instructions, I vote for Ray!

Katie said...

For the sake of all things even...here is comment #100. I'm neurotic, I know.

Cheryl Houston said...

I demand a recount! Who are all these anonymous voters and how do we know they didn't vote twice?

:) Welcome Ray. But I think I'll nickname you Sparky.

Anonymous said...

Cheryl,
I agree!
Recount, Recount, recount!!!
This is rigged!

Cheryl Houston said...

Oh yeah. This wasn't an election. It was a tug-o-war. They pulled harder for Ray.

Claudia @ Highlowaha said...

What I love is there are loyal readers who care what his name is!

I was going to make a motion that we consider Wattson as Ray's last name. It has a kind of nice ring to it.

Cheryl Houston said...

We just read Duck for President yesterday so I have that on the brain.
Farmer Brown demanded a recount. Ms. Governor demanded a recount. Mr. President demanded a recount. Ha! Duck won every time. (Oops! Sorry to spoil it for those of you who haven't read it!)

Ray Wattson. I thought he was going to be a Beeny but Wattson's cute.

Claudia @ Highlowaha said...

Cheryl, I love that book!

As for Ray Beeny... no way. I can't take any more testosterone in my house. Not even from an animated light bulb.

Anonymous said...

Ray Wattson is a loverly name. And while loverly was a typo that first time, I'm leaving it because it makes me smile and reminds me of happy things. Not at all what I expected would be the winning name, but it works!

Katie said...

Ray Wattson...I'm a fan. You know what else I'm a fan of right now? It's 11:30 (10:30 for you CST people) and this blog is still hopping with people!

Cheryl Houston said...

Claudia,

That brings up another question... why a boy lightbulb?

Claudia @ Highlowaha said...

Because he's bald and girls are girls are lucky enough to have hair til the bitter end.