It's overrated to tell you the truth...

It’s been a while since my last post. I have a good excuse though. I literally have spent every weekend the past 2 months on the road. I’ve had a bachelor party, a wedding, a baby shower, thanksgiving and a collegiate homecoming. I’m tired of traveling and I’m tired of not being able to blog.

But enough with the excuses.

A few months ago I was in Waco catching some dinner with a few friends of mine. You know how this story goes…one person offers a potential restraunt and everyone offers their opinion. As my friends repeatedly offered various eating establishments, without realizing it, I referred to every option as overrated. "We could go to Baris? my friend suggested"...."Nah, people think that place is the business, in reality, it's overrated" I replied.....and so on and so on. Eventually my friends alerted me to the fact that I had used "overrated" in my response to each option. How did this quirky phrase squirm it’s way into my normal vocabulary?? Simple, I blame this on the worldwide leader in sports.

I watch ESPN constantly, I listen to ESPN radio at work and in the car, and ESPN.com is probably my most frequented website. Now if you spend as much time as I do soaking up all that ESPN has to offer then you are aware of a few things:

1. They love to get former athletes to become “analysts”. 

2. They love to talk about Tim Tebow, LeBron James, the Cowboys, the Lakers and the Yankees. 

3. Said “analysts” treat saying the acronyms “NFL” and “NBA” like it is a fireable offense. Instead they insist on always saying “National Football League” or “National Basketball Association”. It is incredibly obnoxious. 

4. They love to have conversations about current athletes that are either over or under rated.

The fact that I have subconsciously allowed ESPN to effect how I talk should  probably spur me to change my ways. Sometimes I think, what if I spent this much time watching, listening to, reading, and or thinking about things that truly matter???  But then the commercial break ends and the game is back on, so I kind of forget about that for a while.

But in reality why should such a good conversation piece be pigeon holed in the sports lexicon. The idea that something could be over or under rated can be applied to anything. I’m taking it upon my self to free this conversation from the bondage of sports and apply it to all areas of life.  And since I currently ply my trade as an analyst of sorts I feel more than qualified to make over or under rated decisions.

The guidelines:

Being overrated or underrated simply means something is not properly rated. It doesn’t mean I think it is the best nor the worst simply that it is currently being over or under valued. 

Example: I think Tim Tebow’s Godliness is overrated.

Explanation: This doesn’t mean I think Tim Tebow is the anti-Christ (that’s reserved for this dude). It does indicate that I think circumcising Filipino orphans really doesn’t sound that spiritual.

So without further ado….my initial (and probably not annual) over and under rated list….

The category is listed first followed by my choices for both under and over rated. Some of these are current, others are not.

Food: 

Overrated: (Steak). 

Listen I like steak. Steak is great. But this food perfectly emulates the overrated description. I would guess that 85% of pure blooded Americans would list steak as their favorite meal. Probably not a surprise that I wouldn’t. In full disclosure I’ve never had a steak perfectly cooked at some fancy steakhouse. But  at the same time I don’t need to have the greatest Russian caviar to realize I don't like it. 

Underrated: (Cereal). 

If you know me then you’re probably aware of my affinity for this food. The reason’s it’s underrated….versatility. It can be breakfast, lunch or dinner and makes for an incredible snack. 

It can be relatively healthy 

or relatively unhealthy.

But, honestly who doesn’t like cereal? It’s perfect. Easy to make and easy to enjoy.

TV Shows: 

Overrated: (The Walking Dead). 

Simply the easiest decision on this list. This show's Season 3 premiere episode had more viewers than the season premiere of Breaking Bad and Mad Men....combined. This should alert you to the relative lack of knowledge society possesses. Each time I sit down to watch show I expect to be disappointed. The acting is atrocious, the plot is dull and slow, and the idea is incredibly far fetched. Why do I watch it you ask? Good question. I treat it like the Jersey Shore. (1) I realize it's worthless, but watch it anyway (2) I feel like I’ve invested so much I probably should stick with it (3) I root for the ultimate demise of every main character...

Underrated: (The Wire)

Far and away the best TV show I have ever seen. Unfortunately, it was on HBO and ended a few years ago so not a lot of people (who follow this blog) are aware of it. This is a travesty. Unlike other TV shows (Like Lost or the Walking Dead) the shows creator obviously had the entire show mapped out before he started. This results in a show that constantly develops characters with a plot that weaves throughout 5 seasons. 

The shows greatest accomplishment is it's ability to make a  gay gangster one of your favorite TV Characters of all time. I cannot emphasize this enough - You need to rent or buy this series….seriously.

Books:

Overrated: (The Hunger Games)

I’m willing to bet that if I had read the Twilight series I would list that instead. Thank God I’m not knee deep into a series about vampires and werewolves. I did however dive head first into a made up world where an evil president causes little children to try and kill each other for sport. The premise sounds promising enough. The result….disappointment. I understand that this series is not designed for a 26-year-old male. However, any book that causes mass public hysteria but instead has me rooting for the heroine to die is not a good sign. By the end of the series I was hoping for both Peeta and Gale to decide that Katniss was an obnoxious, self involved B and give her up to President Snow. The ending is terrible, confusing and pretentious….I’m done.

Underrated: (The Bible) 

Did you know that the Bible is the best selling book of all time, or that it is divinely inspired? Do you know that I’m actually kidding? In all honestly you should read the Bible... however it’s not the most underrated book. That designation goes to.....

(The Book of Basketball) 

My favorite sports related book, about my favorite sport, by my favorite columnist. It's over 800 pages of pure basketball information. He ranks the top players of all time, the top championship teams of all time, and the greatest "What if's?" in NBA history. It's basically the Bible for NBA fans. In fact I'm not sure why this isn't the greatest selling book of all time...

Movies:

Overrated: (The Hangover)

Do you laugh really hard at  movies whose characters when constantly presented with a series of outrageous circumstances only respond with “What the F?”” If so check this movie out. If not spare yourself. This is the only scene from the movie I enjoy.

Underrated: (Ace Ventura Pet Detective)

Which Ace Ventura do you ask? The first ? or the Second? Easy, Both (but definitely not this one) Just know that there are an entire generation of people who think Jim Carrey’s greatest movie is “Yes Man”. This is a travesty. The dude was a genius. This deserves an entire blog post….stay tuned.

 Fast Food:

Overrated: (In N’ Out)

Growing up in Texas I would always hear about this awesome burger chain out in California that I had to visit if I got the chance. Flash forward to 2012, In N’ Out moves to Texas. There is a 2 hour line to get food for a solid 2 months.  I eventually tried it. Good but not great. Not any better than Whataburger. I think this company made a mistake moving to Texas, because it was only in California it had a mystical property to it. Now it’s just another burger chain on every corner in DFW.

Underrated: (Chick Fil-A)

I don’t know about you but besides being my go to stop for fast food, Chick Fil-A doubles as my moral compass. Actually their stance on gay marriage has no bearing on their rating, you now what does? Their nuggets with barbecue sauce.

Board Games:

Overrated: (Every board game)

I don't like board games. Well Trivial pursuit is okay. Board games suck. They take too long (Monopoly) they make no sense (Apples to Apples) or they require no skill (Risk)

Underrated: (Trivial Pursuit)

The blog’s namesake and the only board game that requires knowledge.

Athletes:

Overrated: (Shaquille O'Neal)

Tim Tebow is a gimme. I’m all about challenging myself. So Let’s go with Shaq. Every ounce of Shaq’s success was due too the fact that he was a 7 foot 300+ dude, who when young, ran like a deer. He had no post moves to speak of and was a terrible rebounder and defender for his size. Also he sucks on TNT’s Inside the NBA and ruins every chance for Kenny, EJ and Chuck to have good conversation. He’s not funny, he’s childish, he think's it's cool to use Superman as a nickname (and gets upset if other athletes try to copy him) and is responsible for this, oh and for this too.

Underrated: (Tim Duncan)

The greatest power forward of all time, and one of the top 10 players ever. 4 NBA Championships, 3 NBA Finals MVP's & 2 MVP Awards. He's averaged 20 and 10 over his 15 year career. He also is quietly having an incredible start to this his 16th year. Why is he underrated? Simple. He is the antithesis of Shaq. He hasn't attempted a rap career and is devoid of a spotty IMDB page. His signature move is a bank shot from 15 feet, not exactly SportsCenter material. He's not interested in publicity, he's interested in winning and he's done it his whole career. Could have left the Spurs for more money (and a bigger market: more commercials, endorsements, coverage etc...) multiple times, and has repeatedly taken less money to ensure team cohesion and success. Somehow this dude gets less coverage than anybody, maybe he needs to look into circumcising some folks.....