No Tying in Baseball: Looking Back at 2002 MLB All-Star Game (The Most Meaningful Meaningless Game in All-Star History)

Entering the 2013 MLB All-Star game, there's been 10 mid-season exhibition games that have been played that have counted. And by counted, I mean that the winner of these glorified exhibition games, or at least that's what they should be (as they were for the seven decades before that) earned the right to home field advantage for its respective league.

It didn't have to be that way.

The 2002 All-Star game, held on July 9th of that season, was coming at an awkward time for the game. The players and owners were staring down the barrel of more labor issues...another strike. I remember this because I was a few days away from going on a 12-day baseball road trip and was considering making a sign to carry to games, "No Balls, Two Strikes, We're Out". I did not make this sign, somewhat out of laziness and also I thought it would be inconvenient to carry that sign around everywhere. Where was I....oh yeah, awkward times. The last thing the MLB wanted at this point was some controversial occurrence to mar everything that promised to be with the All-Star festivities.

Some of the best MLB players were on display*, a who's who of the steroid era: Bonds, Sosa, Giambi, A-Rod, Manny.

Bud Selig had nothing to worry about...right?

No way. In fact, the game started out with one of the best All-Star plays in recent memory, as Torri Hunter scaled the wall to bring back a Bonds dinger in the first inning of the game, prompting a rare playful Bonds to run out to the outfield to launch Hunter over his back.

Who would have known that play could be one of the reasons why the All-Star format changed the following year?  The use of 19 pitches (10 NL/9 AL) in the following 10 innings, and Bud Selig declares the game a tie in front of the Milwaukee fans, who greeted the news from their former owner by showering the field with beer bottles and tremendous hostility.

In 22 half-innings of baseball, Joe Torre and Bob Brenly managed to run out of pitchers to use. In less than a years-time, the two skippers go from battling in a memorable seven-game World Series (won by Arizona) to being the center of the ugliest non-steroid story that baseball has seen since the 1994 strike.

Why did they use all of these pitchers? Well, one of the traditions at this time in these games is to make sure as many of these All-Stars get to play as possible. A look at the box score shows that only two pitchers between both teams threw more than 30 pitches (Mark Buehrle & Freddy Garcia). Those two were among only five pitchers who toed the pitching rubber for multiple innings. It is understandable that managers do not want to burn these pitchers out in an exhibition, but to have 14 of 19 guys pitch an inning or less lends itself to a catastrophe such as this. Without increasing the total of pitchers allowed on the roster or allowing some of these guys back on the mound in case a game goes long, you were bound to have this happen at some point.

When Garcia struck out Benito Santiago in caught-looking fashion to end the eleventh inning, it was Selig and other MLB brass who were left caught looking at a result (a tie game) that could have easily been prevented. Whether it be forcing the managers to have better management of your pitchers, allowing pitchers to re-enter the game, or allowing for the addition of more pitchers, there were ways around avoiding this tie.

The irony of people booing at the end result of an exhibition game oozes with the tragic irony that Shakespeare plays thrived upon. It was the sole reason that Selig vowed that a tie would never happen again, bestowing home field advantage in the World Series to the team that won the glorified exhibition game.

And despite this World Series stipulation, the commissioner's office made sure to keep some of the format of previous games (i.e. mandatory one player from each team, no matter how undeserving the team may be) that directly conflict with the best of each league playing for the rights of the extra game for their league (ideally one of the players' every-day team).

It made no sense when it started in 2003. It still makes no sense now in 2013.

For a sport that is usually so rooted in the past that traditionalists have a hard time adjusting to changes in the game - interleague baseball, wild card, sabermetrics, instant replay - one item that it should revert back to its traditions is making the baseball an actual exhibition game, just like it was in 2002. Let every team continue to be represented. Let the game be fun, where even guys like Bonds can enjoy themselves without the extra burden of having to play for its league's right to earn the World Series home field.

Never thought I would say this, MLB, but for once, don't embrace the change you made ten years ago.

*couple interesting notes:

1. Three current Sox were selected for that game - Paul Konerko, Robin Ventura (as a Yankee...and a player) and Adam Dunn (Reds). If you count A.J. Pierzynski, there were four White Sox members in 2012 who were involved in the game played ten years earlier.
2. Five of the nine AL Starters (Giambi, Alfonso Soriano, A-Rod, Hunter, Ichiro) and two of the NL starters (Todd Helton & Jimmy Rollins) are on active MLB rosters. An additional nine AL bench/pitchers and two NL bench players are still active.

The Zimmerman Case & The Many Questions I Still Have

I tried staying away from blogging about this, but with so many random thoughts going on in my brain about the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case which just wrapped up last night, I had to try writing them out and maybe make some sense out of everything. It may very well be a fruitless activity, but here goes nothing...

In cases involving murder, rarely will you find one that does not have a passionate base of people rooting for a particular outcome - in recent cases, like Casey Anthony, the rooting interest is on the side of conviction (perhaps the result of the way the media may frame a case from the onset).

What I found most interesting in this case (Zimmerman) was that there was a clear line in the sand, with two different beaches of people just hoping beyond hope that "the right verdict" would be read to conclude the trial. More on this later...

When the verdict was announced, I was not shocked at the result.  My feeling all along was that this would happen. In the justice system, cases such as this have to have a prosecution prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty (or at least that's how they're supposed to work). It was not an issue of whether he killed Martin,  but whether it was in self-defense. Based on the details provided, there appeared to be a physical altercation before Zimmerman shot and killed Martin.  It was enough for the 12-person jury (another editor's note: mistaken again, I had 12 in mind when I wrote this last night and did not fact-check it. It was a 6-person jury) to find Zimmerman not guilty of the second degree murder charge.

Now just because I believe that he would be found guilty mean I think he should be? That's where my line of thinking starts going in different directions.

• If Zimmerman does not leave his car, then Martin is likely alive today.
• If Martin didn't "look the part" of someone who Zimmerman would find suspicious,  then Zimmerman likely leaves Martin alone, result the same as the situation above.
• In the moment where he left his car when he was explicitly told not to (editor's note: I mistakenly remembered the 911 tape as it had been played. No explicit instructions were given to Zimmerman to stay in the car, although one could argue that the operator response of "You don't have to do that" when Zimmerman stated he was going to leave his car would at least implicitly state that he should stay in his car and leave it to authorities), did Zimmerman waive any reasonable claim to the controversial Stand Your Ground in Florida? Or does it only apply when the actual altercation occurs (which starts the moments after Zimmerman leaves his car and likely does not occur if he stays put)? I have no legal background,  so I am not aware. Based on the verdict, it appears that the altercation is the basis of it and not the initial leaving his car.
• If Zimmerman was not carrying a gun when, by the accounts that I have read Martin was beating down on him in their altercation,  would Zimmerman have lost his life? Was he really worried that his life was in danger and thought that the gun was the only way to save himself? This seems to be where the case was decided - I think. The prosecution had to prove the Stand Your Ground didn't apply here.

Those who I have read supporting the verdict range in scope. Some respect the ruling on the grounds that the justice system worked because (in their eyes), the charges of second degree murder could not be proven to the full-proof extent of which is expected in criminal cases (civil court may prove to be a different battle altogether).

Then there have been those who have other issues and/or agendas involved in the case. Out of the people I have seen supporting Zimmerman, I know that many of these people have come out in full-support of conceal and carry in the past.  Was this the only reason that some people were rooting for Zimmerman to win? For some of my Illinois folks, who are still trying to figure out how the state's new conceal laws will be read/enforced, I believe it was. There may be a few other issues on the table which led some to Zimmerman's side, perhaps related to race. Whether someone would actually admit to that is another issue altogether. 

Those who are disappointed with the ruling believe that the justice system failed on many levels. The system (in their eyes) failed to convict a man who shot a 17 year old dead, one who posed no immediate threat to Zimmerman until he stepped out of his car when given instructions not to do so.

Not only do many think the system failed, but that it failed again. The reference of many in this sense refers to minorities, who have historically been on the discriminated side of the justice system. When a murder case contains the appearance of racial profiling (in this case, Zimmerman profiling Martin) and the victim's friends and family see a ruling like Martin's did, it's understandable to doubt the system.

While I understand the ruling of "not guilty" based purely on the legal system grounds of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Zimmerman wasn't acting in self-defense, I'm not understanding the social network celebration I saw from a select few, as if Zimmerman was their close relative about to be locked up for a long time. Were you celebrating something specific, like this was a victory for gun rights? Or were you a proponent of the verdict because you feel it upholds what a justice system is supposed to do in a murder case - make it the burden on the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty? Or was it something else altogether?

Like so many others, I have more questions than answers when this case came to a close. These questions include questions to people I know.

For those of you who side with Zimmerman, what are your thoughts on him disobeying the order to not approach Martin? If he was going to do whatever the hell he wanted anyways, why call the cops in the first place? These questions, as well as many others involved with this case, may never get definite answers.

While it may be difficult, given the emotion behind the case, to have a rational discussion, I welcome anyone's perspective on this that may have a different viewpoint or different spin on this. Feel free to message me (privately if you'd like, and we can keep it private); I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Fit Happens Chapter 17 - Post Interview 4 (B-Bo)

The Fit Happens series is finally done. After 181 days and several post-contest interviews, we've reached our conclusion.

The last post-contest interview is of the third-person variety. Yours truly was fortunate enough to be crowned the Fit Happens champion, losing over 32 pounds (almost 14% of my body weight) in the six-month contest. 

Here, I answered the same questions that I asked the other three gentlemen. I offer a different perspective in what surprised me the most about the contest and what I have done in the first month outside of the contest to motivate myself to keep in shape and hopefully lose more weight in the process.

1. What are your overall impressions of Fit Happens? This contest did wonders for me. It was exactly what I needed at exactly the right time.  It helped that I won, but more importantly, the best thing it did for me was get me to work out again.

2. What have you changed about your exercise regimen and/or diet during the contest? After stopping my workout and weight loss in 2010, I had not worked out consistently since then - so it has changed completely. I wish I could say my diet has changed dramatically -  it hasn't. That's my next major hurdle in weight loss.

3. What challenges were the toughest during the past six months? My biggest challenge was actually in the last month, when Jen and I moved to a new place. Our last place had a gym in the basement of the building, so I focused more on running in the neighborhood in June than previous months. Outside of that, I would say the occasional overeating was the biggest challenge.

4. Did you reach the goals you set forth at the beginning? Yeah, but I adjusted my goals once April hit and did not reach those new goals (reaching and maintaining a weight under 200). I can't complain with losing the amount of weight I lost in 6 months though.

5. How much did being in the contest motivate you to lose weight? Could you have done it w/o the contest? As mentioned above, it was the biggest motivation. When I heard about this contest in late December, I liked the money aspect of the weight loss but in the back of my mind knew that I needed something like this to get me back into working out. I may have eventually started working out again (like I randomly started getting into shape in November 2008), but this definitely kick-started the process.

6. Will you continue your weight loss journey? Yes. I am still looking to lose about 20-25 more pounds to get back to my adult-low from a few years back.

7. How will you keep yourself motivated with the contest ending? Back at the end of April, I installed a running app on my phone that I have used to track outdoor runs. I've been using one of my friends (who installed the same Nike app after me) as a measuring stick and a motivational source to run about 4-5 times a week. In fact, I've set a goal of running about 35 miles this month (the first full month out of the contest).

8. Did anything or anyone surprise you during this contest? How so? As much as others have said I surprised them the most, I didn't look at it that way. I knew I could lose a lot of weight once I motivated myself and made changes (I lost 20 pounds w/in 2.5 months of working out back in 2008, so I knew I could again). So short answer long, I would say that there were not any major surprises with anyone or anything. I expected all of us to have our ups and downs (which we did). I may have had less, but we all had our issues at some point.

9. How much more weight do you want or need to lose to get to your ideal weight? I would like to first get down below 200 and keep it that way consistently. Once I've established that, I'd like to focus on getting to about 175-180 pounds. At that weight, I am very light on my feet and will be very efficient in my neighborhood runs.

10. Should we keep tabs on each other as the months pass to keep each other motivated? If so, do you think we will? No doubt. I'm gonna give these guys a little space, but not too much space. I feel like checking up on each other will keep us more personally responsible to keep up with our fitness and dieting goals.

Chapter 16 Fit Happens - Post Contest Interview 3 (Hippo)

As you have read in the last couple of Fit Happens, I've reached out to all of the participants to get a sense of what they got out of the contest and what they might need to do in the near future to keep losing weight (or at least maintaining shape).

The next interview is w/ Hippo, who at the halfway mark was challenging for the lead. While he still lost over 7% of his body weight during the contest, he faded in the last few months. He speaks of those struggles as well as what he needs to do to get back on track.

1.    What are your overall impressions of Fit Happens?
It was a pretty good success. I thought it was telling that the two most overweight of the four competitors made the least net progress. I guess this makes sense since that's how they got that way in the first place.

2.    What have you changed about your exercise regimen and/or diet during the contest?

I ate a lot less and worked out more regularly, the two things I knew I needed to do a better job of. But I changed those things at the beginning and didn't make any other major change once we got going.

 

3.    What challenges were the toughest during the past six months?

I totally fell off the wagon in May and just now (early July) have I gotten back on. It was hard to stay motivated. Even with the contest going on, after the first couple of months it seemed like our group enthusiasm had waned and we weren't as active with each other.

 

4.    Did you reach the goals you set forth at the beginning?

No. I never set a weight loss goal, I just wanted to make it to the end without a major relapse and that didn't happen.

5.    How much did being in the contest motivate you to lose weight? Could you have done it w/o the contest?

It didn't play all that big of a role. It gave some extra motivation at the end of months, and because B-Bo just kept winning, but once it was clear he wasn't going to be caught it didn't help at all.

6.    Will you continue your weight loss journey?

I never went into this thinking of it as a journey because it was about changing my lifestyle, not just losing weight. I don't think I succeeded in that transformation so I am far from done.

7.    How will you keep yourself motivated with the contest ending soon?

With the contest being over I don't think it will impact me all that much. As I already stated, the contest wasn't motivating enough for me that I will miss it.

8.    Did anything or anyone surprise you during this contest? How so?

I never thought B-Bo would lose so much weight and dominate so much. I was surprised in general with how much B-Bo and Chris lost since I didn't think they had as much to lose. I also was surprised I fell so hard off the wagon *before* the  contest ended.

9.    How much more weight do you want or need to lose to get to your ideal weight?

I don't have an ideal weight per se. I really just want to be considered "healthy". Whatever weight I get to at that point is my goal.

10.   Should we keep tabs on each other as the months pass to keep each other motivated? If so, do you think we will?

I definitely think we should keep tabs on each other. Since B-Bo and Chris don't have a lot more to lose I think the goals of the contest should vary for each person for the rest of the year. Those of us who didn't lose enough should have to lose a bunch and Chris and B-Bo should only have to keep their current weights without relapsing.

Chapter 15 Fit Happens - Post Contest Interview 2 (Magic Bus)

As you may have read in my last Fit Happens chapter, I asked all of the guys in the contest to share their thoughts on the contest and how they plan on approaching their health and fitness post-contest.

The second in the series of interviews, Magic Bus shared some of the motivational issues that he had with as the contest progressed as well as his proposal to do another Fit Happens in the future.

 

1. What are your overall impressions of Fit Happens?

It was super helpful in the beginning to have some camaraderie and competition, but that tailed off during the second half of the contest for me. I'm to blame for that; I withdrew from the social aspects about mid-way through and that definitely hurt my progress.

 

2. What have you changed about your exercise regimen and/or diet during the contest?

I've still mostly focused on diet. I each much less fast food and processed foods than I did prior to the contest and am overall more cognizant of what goes into my body. During the last couple of months I've started walking and jogging as much as I can and have found it to be quite enjoyable actually. In the future, I think that will help a lot.

 

3. What challenges were the toughest during the past six months?

Exercising has been really challenging for me. With a small child, I never feel like I have enough time to go to the gym or take a walk. Of course, that's really just an excuse. The fact is, it was not important enough to me to sacrifice my personal time.

Something I'm still struggling with is sticking to my plan after I've screwed up. I'm prone to say things like "I'll start back on it on Monday" after I've binge eaten once during the week. The rational part of me knows that I should just pick up right away instead of waiting, but for some reason I feel like the week is shot. This is probably the biggest contributor to me not losing the weight I wanted to.

 

 

4. Did you reach the goals you set forth at the beginning?

Nope. I hoped to get down to 250 lbs.

 

5. How much did being in the contest motivate you to lose weight? Could you have done it w/o the contest?

At first, a lot. I would say the first 3 months were of the contest were fun and really pushed me to lose more, but after that, I sort of withdrew. In hindsight, I would have preferred a shorter duration with smaller goals. We could have had say, 3 or 4 one month contests where we could "reset" in between. I think that would have kept me motivated longer.

 

6. Will you continue your weight loss journey?

Definitely. This is not the end for me. I've got a small person's worth of weight to lose still.

 

7. How will you keep yourself motivated with the contest ending?

My wife has recently started a much more rigorous exercise plan and is training for some races coming up. I'm planning to get in on some of those to keep myself active.

 

8. Did anything or anyone surprise you during this contest? How so?

B-Bo! It's crazy that the lightest guy was able to lose by far the most weight.

 

9. How much more weight do you want or need to lose to get to your ideal weight?

70 lbs. That would bring me down to around 200 lbs. By no means would I be a small guy, but I think that's when I would be happy.

 

10. Should we keep tabs on each other as the months pass to keep each other motivated? If so, do you think we will?

Absolutely. I think we should take a month or two to reset and maybe kick off another shorter competition.

The Ultimate QB (QuarterBolek) Rating System: The Four Tiers of NFL QBs

From the moment that NFL coverage starts getting rampant on both the NFL Network and ESPN, you won't be able to watch a show that doesn't have a topic point relating to who should be considered the top quarterbacks (or the buzz word as of late, "elite") of the NFL.

Sometimes, there will be an oddball who is likely trying to create dialogue for dialogue's sake and mentions someone off the radar or someone who clearly is not a top-level quarterback. Otherwise, it's the same list, over and over. The term "best quarterback" gets overused to the point where it becomes meaningless. One moment, it's Tom Brady; the next, Peyton.

But why does it matter who is the best? The end goal is the same for all of these guys - the Lombardi Trophy. Ultimately, the best quarterbacks are the ones who will year-in, year-out always have a puncher's chance of winning a Super Bowl. History has shown that the quarterback position is where we can best judge a team's chances of winning it all. After all, most Super Bowl winners are usually Hall-of-Fame caliber. The one's usually discussed in the best conversation are indeed the ones who usually have the best chance, but a lot of times, a flavor of the week comes around to confuse some of these lists a little.

So instead of trying to constantly rank quarterbacks based on the last week's performance, we should consider there to be tiers of QBs, less flexible than the "pundit's" weekly up-and-down ranking:

• Those who have already won a Super Bowl
• Those who have the talents to win a Super Bowl but have yet to win
• Those who have slightly less talent, but could win it with the right cast of characters
• Those who would need to become a back-up later in their careers to win a title

If we break it down like this, here's how it would look, using the active list of quarterbacks. Note that in cases where the QB may not be known, I am either taking an educated guess as to who the starter will be or counting the QBs in the battle as one QB:

(1) Those who have already won a Super Bowl (listed in order by # of titles, then order of most recent title) - 7 QBs

• Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Flacco
  
  Notes: Well, this list is complete fact. No opinions on whether these guys won a Super Bowl title. For now, I think these are the first of QBs that should be used when discussing who the best is, and even some of these guys shouldn't be considered (Big Ben, Flacco - not yet anyways). Anyone else mentioned is a victim of the recency effect (i.e. one of the guys below might start out the season with a hot hand).
  
  It should be noted that Peyton's only Super Bowl win was against Rex Grossman. I could only imagine the labels that would be attached to Peyton had he never won a title and thrown that pick-6 to seal the Saints' title years back. The more I look at Peyton's career, the more I see Favre - a guy with a lengthy Hall-of-Fame career who wins a title and could/should have won more but for various reasons, didn't.

(2) Those who have the talents to win a Super Bowl but have yet to win (no particular order) - 6 QBs

• Colin Kaepernick, Matt Ryan, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck
  
  Notes: You'll notice that for the most part, these are guys who have only been in the league for a few years (with Matt Ryan being the exception). You may dispute Cam Newton being on this list, but I believe he has the talents to win a Super Bowl - he just hasn't had a chance with the Panthers defense on the other side of the ball. I am calling a playoff berth for the Cam Panthers this year.
  
  The draft class of 2012 showed itself to be the real deal. I believe all three (Luck, RG3, Wilson) will have a chance to compete in conference title game for the next decade. Who is the best of them - I have no clue yet. Who cares - let's just enjoy them without having to rank them.

(3) Those who have less talent but could win it with the right cast of characters (no particular order) - 8 QBs

•  Tony Romo, Jay Cutler, Matthew Stafford, Sam Bradford, Matt Schaub, Alex Smith, Andy Dalton, Ryan Tannehill
  
  Notes: The guys above have had wildly different paths in the NFL, a few of them young but most in the league for 6+ years, none of which has led to a Super Bowl appearance. This is the most intriguing group of QBs to me, because I do believe with the right situation, these guys can win a title. It's just that unlike the guys above, I don't think they can do it solely on the talents that they have shown.
  
  Romo - as much as I want to back him, especially with all the crap people give him, he's failed to take the next step as QB. Every year, it seems like you can pencil Dallas in for a chance to win the NFC East, only to fall flat - and no, it's not all Romo's fault as many make it out to be. But it is some of his fault.
  
  Cutler - I'm interested to see his talents used by Trestman, who has been known to be an offensive guru. For right now, he hasn't shown himself to be a guy who I think will win a title.
  
  Stafford - he seems to be more of a stat stuffer than a QB who can win a title. Problem is, he's getting paid like a Super Bowl-type QB but definitely not worth the money at this point.
  
  Bradford - this seems like it's going to be a make-or-break year for Bradford, who I could easily vault into the next category of QBs if he shows some of the talents he did while he was at Oklahoma. If he can somehow propel the Rams into the playoffs, I may consider elevating him.
  
  Schaub - he's nearing his chance of winning a title in my opinion. I'm thinking a Wade Phillips defense will need to be the catalyst, with Schaub playing a secondary role in winning a title. I don't see Schaub improving so much that I can confidently say he will not win a title by carrying the load.
  
  Smith - He had a breakout year in 2011 with the Niners and was just as effective to start 2012, but I believe Smith needs a system that suits his talents in order to succeed. KC will likely never win a Super Bowl with Smith carrying the team - they'd need a talented base around him to do it (a la Schaub).
  
  Dalton - He's about as intriguing to me as Bradford, maybe a little more so. What Dalton and A.J. Green have going is special, and I am a believer in the Bengals defense. This is my surprise team this year (I have them making it to the Super Bowl), so I will be keeping an eye on Dalton the whole year to see if he can have the big games (a la Rodgers & Brees) that will carry the Bengals to victory on days where the defense might be a little down.
  
  Tannehill - The jury is still out on him (as you could probably say on most of the 2012 draft class). I believe if he sticks with Miami long enough, he will have a shot to win some AFC East titles once Brady retires. He showed a lot more talent than many thought he would. I wouldn't be surprised if he never makes it to a AFC title game, but down the road, I wouldn't be surprised if he did.

 (4) Those who would need to become a back-up later in their careers to win a title - 11 QBs

• Michael Vick, Carson Palmer, Christian Ponder, Mark Sanchez/Geno Smith, Matt Flynn, Josh Freeman, Brandon Weeden, Philip Rivers, E.J. Manuel, Blaine Gabbert, Jake Locker
  
  Notes: Many of these guys have had their chances with their time in the league (notably Sanchez & Rivers, who have made 3 AFC title games between them - I don't see either one of them even coming close to these career achievements again, yet alone a Super Bowl as a starter). Vick, who made an NFC title game a long time ago (remember? seems so long ago) has seen his better days and is likely nearing his end as a starting QB in the next year or two. He's never shown himself to be reliable enough to win a title. Palmer has been like Stafford - a stat stuffer.
  
  Some of these first/second-year QBs, the jury is still out, although I'm just going off a hunch at this point that guys like Weeden & Manuel will never lead a team to a Super Bowl. I don't see Ponder ever leading the Vikings to the promised land (Adrian Peterson was the MVP for a reason). The others, I don't care to mention.

So there's my QB tiers. I think the third tier has the most flexibility in argument - a case can be made for many of those guys to be Super Bowl QBs and many of those, conversely, who have no chance. You may be able to convince me to lessen that third-tier list considerably.

Chapter 14 Fit Happens: Post-Contest Interview (Chris)

I've delayed a little on the release of these, still waiting for one member to submit the questionnaire (inserted passive-aggressive jab right there). Instead of waiting any longer, I will release the question/answers from everyone. 

First, starting with the runner-up Chris, who lost 28.6 pounds (11.56% of his weight) in the six-month contest. He shares his thoughts on the contest and what he is aiming to accomplish with long-term fitness goals.

1. What are your overall impressions of Fit Happens? Enjoyed it.  I accomplished exactly what I wanted and this was my motivation in part.  It helped to have some support/competition along the way.

2. What have you changed about your exercise regimen and/or diet during the contest? My exercise regimen was increased during this competition.  I barely missed a day up until about a month ago when I started tailing off.  I have since regained that steam and have been working out just about daily.  As far as diet, I still eat basically the same stuff.  I am much more hesitant to eat boatloads of things though.  I am better at portion control (although I definitely suffer lapses).  That is what I aim to continue to work on.

3. What challenges were the toughest during the past six months? I can't think of anything that was really toughest.  I guess maintaining the rigorous exercise routine was tough, but I generally enjoyed it.  The toughest part was probably resisting the urge to overeat.  I have been recalling moments where I had the willpower to do so and it is rewarding in its own.

4. Did you reach the goals you set forth at the beginning? I have surpassed my original goal and am teetering on the edge of my secondary goal of 215. 

5. How much did being in the contest motivate you to lose weight? Could you have done it w/o the contest? I probably could have done this without the contest, but it was nice to experience it with friends and have your own cheering(jeering) section.  That extra motivation made it easier, plus sharing an experience is always better than going at it alone.

6. Will you continue your weight loss journey? I hope so.  I am going to attempt to make my eating habits a lifelong deal.  As far as working out, I don't anticipate I will slow down all that much, so hopefully I will continue to slim down, even if it is at a much slower pace.

7. How will you keep yourself motivated with the contest ending? My motivation has been to continue to live healthy.  The contest was all but over about halfway through, so I have conceded that much.

8. Did anything or anyone surprise you during this contest? How so? Cannot believe B-Bo was able to drop so much weight.  Especially since he was the lightest at the start.  I guess he had a lot less of a muscular base than anticipated.

9. How much more weight do you want or need to lose to get to your ideal weight? I don't know that I really have an ideal weight at this time.  I guess long term, it would be cool to drop below 200.

10. Should we keep tabs on each other as the months pass to keep each other motivated? If so, do you think we will? Absolutely.  One of my heroes, Adam Carolla, is an advocate of public shaming as a motivator.  If any of us start to slip, I think a public shaming is in store.  On a serious note, yes - it is good to keep tabs.  Again, we have a shared experience and can relate to one another.  It should continue on that way with encouragement and the occasional shaming.