Title Town

Did you ever live in Title Town? A moment ago I heard something on the radio about the NCAA basketball tournament, which got me to thinking about my profound apathy in the face of most sports competitions. But then it occurred to me that if my city was home to one of the Final Four college teams, I'd probably be at least mildly excited right now, and if my city's college went to the final, I'd almost certainly watch the game. That's saying something, because other than the Olympics, the occasional college football match, and the odd pro-am golf tournament, I seldom watch sports on television.

In short, it's pretty exciting to live in Title Town. I know because I lived in Chicago when the Bulls were winning all those pro basketball championships, and I was watching vastly more professional sports on TV than I have before or since. It helped that the Bulls had such marvelous players, from super sexy Michael Jordan to sexually ambiguous Dennis Rodman (though my sexually ambiguous Bull of choice was the late Bison Dele, n� Brian Williams).

It's strange how a successful team can rouse even sports agnostics like me. At some point in the Bulls' run the Chicago public-radio show "This American Life" did a program about various Bulls' turning up in Chicagoans' dreams, and the topic made a lot of sense to me--those guys had a way of insinuating their way into the consciousness of virtually everyone in the Windy City.

I suppose living in a metropolis like Chicago increases your chances of finding yourself in Title Town, since the big-city pro franchises can better afford championship players. But the remarkable thing about college sports is that, theoretically at least, even a lil' ole town like Madison or Knoxville or Norman once in a while gets to be Title Town.

Laurels

On Sunday the Junkers won a Mama for our 2003 release Live Characters Nightly, and I couldn't be more thrilled. It's a marvelous capper to a great four years of music, and I'm right proud of LCN, I must say.

But question: why, for me, must ceremonial occasions always coincide with zits?