Trick Shot Wednesday: Northwestern Week

When I was a wee lad, one of my favorite movies was Disney's The Jungle Book. As shocking as this might sound, my young mind didn't enjoy it based on its storytelling merit, social messages, or anything like that; no, I loved watching it because the characters were flawed, relatable, and just downright silly.

The reason I bring this up is because these characters encapsulate what most of the ND fanbase went through this past weekend. Let's imagine that Baloo, the goofy and carefree bear, represents overly-optimistic ND fans who--like myself and Punter Bro--love to see the world through green-tinted glasses. On the other paw, you've got Bagheera, the sarcastic panther who is much more of a cautious and realistic fellow--kind of like a wide range of ND fans who cover the spectrum from a reasonable "honestly, we're probably a 9-3 team" to a pessimistic "this season is going to be the worst."

Now picture how the movie unfolds: Baloo indignantly tells Bagheera that Mowgli (ND's playoff chances) would be able to survive in the jungle (regular season) just fine, as long as Mowgli looks for the "bare necessities" (quality wins, no losses, etc.). After a close shave with Kaa the python (Florida State), Mowgli is still in pretty good shape. However, disaster strikes when a gang of jungle monkeys (Arizona State) swoop down and whisks poor Mowgli away. Needless to say, Baloo is angry, confused, and helpless...which leads to a little exchange that sums up the different reactions from the fanbase quite nicely:

Yes, my friends, I am Baloo. I am Baloo, and so are many of you. Thankfully, we have plenty of even-keeled and reasonable Bagheeras on this site. However, Baloo just saw Mowgli go bye-bye, and so Baloo might not appreciate Bagheera saying, "Well, it happened. Took a little longer than I thought, but it happened." My point is...you're all good peeps, so just understand that everyone will react to the (probable) loss of this year's playoffs differently, and please converse accordingly.

But enough with that--you came here for silly photos, not essays on silly things like "feelings" and "emotions" (amirite, guys?). This week's photo showcases (unfortunately) an ASU touchdown; however, unlike most touchdowns, it appears that an official has also joined their little celebration! Before anyone goes Bagheera on me and says something completely logical like, "He was probably just telling them to calm down," let me remind you that Trick Shot Wednesday is Baloo's playground. So set aside your Bagheera-ness and embrace your inner Baloo, little britches--it's captioning time!

Last Week's Nominees

Here are the entries from last week's Navy fannypack escapade that made our commentariat chuckle the most.

Ah, the classics. #neverforget

Makes sense, because y'know, crabs are in the sea? And the Navy's...aw, forget it.

Okay, now that's a classic. Well done.

And your winner, with a total of 15 rec's, is...Anachronism! Which is funny, because his quote is from an old book, and his name is "anachronism," and...I better bow out while I'm ahead.

Thanks to all who voted and submitted photoshops and captions!

Poll Results

Ah, Dublin. Here's hoping we play there again soon! Also, who was the schmuck who voted for FedEx Field? That you, Kevin Plank?

GO IRISH, BEAT NORTHWESTERN!