A Pair of Brown Eyes | Irish Rugby | Local Hoops | Local Puck | The Players Championship | YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Today’s Irish tune on this No (NFL) Football Friday is A Pair of Brown Eyes by The Pogues. Originally I was going to go with Kiss Me I’m Shitfaced by The Dropkick Murphy’s but a couple of Saturdays ago I heard this tune at the Irish Whiskey Bar in Astoria. It’s been stuck in my head ever since. This song was pre-Fairytale of New York (1988) and was the 1st Pogues song to make the UK Singles Charts, peaking at #72 in 1985. When the Pogues accordion player, James Fearnley, first heard A Pair of Brown Eyes he realized that Shane had raised his bar as a songwriter. He told The Irish Poet…
"Musically that song had a timeless eternal vibe. I really enjoyed the chords; it felt like there was a circular motion about the chord progression. The vocal melody was sublime and there was this instrumental section which had a real purity about it. I found that very appealing. Against that music you have lyrics which I found difficult to track, they were almost counter to the music and that was very exciting. MacGowan would smash up an image in shards and rearrange it as a way to find the story. I love the way you have Shane as the narrator and how he gets through the story of the song.” (Source: Song Facts)
Strong opening introduction. Shane MacGowan sets the scene in his own words, “It’s just about a guy getting pissed at a bar round here. He's getting pissed because he's broken up with this bird and... you know how it is when you just go into a pub on your own to drink and it's really quiet and you get this old nutter who comes over and starts rambling on you. So this old guy starts on about how he came back from the war, the First World War. Or the Second. One of them anyway.” The line Where the water lilies grow is from Agnes By The River, which came out in 1868. That song’s opening lines are “Oh my little bird, my Agnes.” Shane MacGowan was talking in riddles with hidden meanings on this one.
Sidenote: @Ladies did you know that women have been referred to as birds since the 1300s in English literature? The internet says it’s because you twitter and one in your hand is worth two in a bush.
The Johnny on the jukebox is about Johnny Cash’s tune A Thing Called Love. MacGowan then swiftly changes the lyrics from describing the music on in the background to the conversation with his fellow patron.
In Verse 2, the old man is chewing Shane’s ear off about what he saw in the war. James Fearnley said, “There's a jaded irony about it where he's making light out of dismemberment and the horrors of war; I always like that about Shane's songs-they pack an extra punch because he holds back the punch."
The old man is talking about a pair of brown eyes he saw from a fallen soldier while the only thing on Shane’s mind is his browned-eyed bird.
Rovin’ is Irish slang for adventuring or going on a journey.
Verse 3 has more multiple meanings. Shane could be describing how he’s had enough of hearing about the old man’s story. The old man’s brown eyes he described could’ve been an enemy soldier which would make sense for the hatred. It could also be that Shane is jealous of a new guy that his former brown-eyed bird is with. Ray Lynam and Philomena Begley covered the song My Elusive Dreams in 1974, so this shows the conversation has lasted a bit of time in the change of tune on in the background.
Finally, something clicks with Shane that he and the old man might be coming from a similar place of hurt.
In verse 4, Shane MacGowan explains, “In the end he gets to the stage where he says fuck it, and he goes stumbling out of the pub and he walks along the canal and starts feeling really bad, on the verge of tears, and he starts realizing that the old guy has had a whole fucking lifetime of that feeling, going through the war and everything, but his original reaction is to hate him and despise him. I'm not saying he goes back and starts talking to him but you know...”
So while Shane MacGowan is Stumblin’ Along, talking to walls, hearing sounds from old canals, he learned something from the conversation with the old man. The birds here again could have a double meaning, it could be women laughing at him for his drunken comeuppance or how after WWI once the firing from trenches stopped all the soldiers could hear was birds chirping peacefully.
This tune is class. Kinda a sad song, but brilliant and much deeper than Kiss Me I’m Shitfaced. Maybe next year’s No Football Friday of Saint Patrick’s Day weekend will be Browned Eyed Girl by Van Morrison.
On to the sports…
Irish Rugby
Ireland vs. Scotland | Sat. March 16 at 12:45 PM ET
Ireland and Scotland first started playing each other on February 19, 1877. This will be the 142nd match between the two nations. Ireland has won 70 of those contests, Scotland has won 66 of those matches, and they’ve drawn 5 times occasions. Dating back to March ‘18, Ireland has won the last 9 meetings.
Ireland sits atop the Guinness Six Nations standings with a 3-1 record to go with 16 points. With a win over Scotland or a loss where they score 4 tries, they will clinch their 2nd Six Nations Championship in a row. No nation has won back-to-back Six Nations since England in ‘16 & ‘17. I’d expect to see the Irish try to blitz the Scots and try to make this high-scoring match regardless of the outcome. Even in a loss where they don’t score enough tries, England still has to beat France, which is always a bloody match whenever the long-time rivals face off.
While the Irish are certainly disappointed with last Saturday’s result against England, head coach Andy Farrell has said everything right. After the match, Farrell said, “Everyone would love to be in our position. We’ve got to make sure we are loving that challenge as well.” Farrell will be running back the same starting lineup as last weekend. Calvin Nash, who left the last game with a knock, has passed his head examinations. Irish forward Tadhg Beirne will be making his 50th appearance for the Green, White, and Gold.
Scotland’s Finn Russell is a cross between a knacker and a chancer, but some player nonetheless. On the Netflix Rugby series, he proclaimed himself the Lionel Messi of Rugby Football and while that might be a stretch he is an elite kicker. For the Yanks reading this, after a team scores a try, the extra point kick afterward is lined up with where the ball was touchdown. If someone scores right between the uprights, they get to kick from the middle of the field. If somebody scores a try diving near the pylon, they have to kick from the sideline, so the guy kicking the extra points has to make them from all different angles. Finn Russell currently leads the Six Nations in points with 47 while Ireland’s Jack Crowley trails him with 45. The Scottish star is a player the Irish will need to lock down as he is not only a great kicker, but a very nifty passer.
Half-ass Opposition Research
The first mention of kilts is in 1538. They were worn as full-length garments by Gaelic-speaking Scots Highlander men. The knee-length kilt that we see today didn’t come around until the early 18th century. 55% of kilt-wearing men say they wear dark underwear and 38% go commando. Scottish women are huge fans of kilts, with 91% saying it is a very attractive look and the majority of them believe that nothing should be worn underneath. You ladies are scandalous.
After a rough February, the Knicks have flickered a bit of light with the return of OG Anunoby. The small forward was able to play 29 minutes and score 14 points in his first game back since January 27th. The Knicks are now on a West Coast trip of late-night games as they face Portland, Sacramento, Golden State, and Denver. They should handle business against the Blazers tonight, but hopefully, they can also win one against the Kings, Warriors, and Nuggets. It won’t be an easy task by any means as the Kings are tough at home (19-12), Steph Curry always seems to get up whenever he faces NY, and Denver is Western Conference-best 27-6 at home this year. The Knicks are still waiting on more reinforcements like Julius Randle, who is still out with a shoulder, but at least OG Anunoby is back.
Brooklyn
The Brooklyn Nets of New Jersey are in NBA purgatory. As the 11-seed 3.5 games out of the play-in game and without their own 1st Round pick, they might as well start drinking whiskey out the jar. One of the team’s bright spots is SG Cam Thomas. The 22-year-old has the Nets in scoring the last 3 games with 31, 29, and 21. In his 3 games in March, the LSU 1-and-done has shot 52.4% from 3, hitting 11 of 21. Thus far Thomas has proven he can hit from behind the arc, but drives and finishes like the GIF above could be the next step to his game that he could continue to develop the rest of this season.
Manhattan
This week the NHL World has been in a dizzy about Matt Rempe’s hit on Jersey’s Jonas Siegenthaler. Rempe, the rookie 21-year-old enforcer, has been suspended 4 games for throwing a bit of an elbow. Now we have a bunch of loud mouth-talking heads going on about hockey codes and whatnot. I know all of the hockey world has been waiting for Week to Week Notes to weigh in on this matter but I was waiting to receive all the facts… I still remember the days when men were men and they settled their business on the ice.* The first rule of Fight Club is to not talk about Fight Club, real puckheads like myself know. These hockey guys shouldn’t be gabbing about hockey codes, that’s not for the public to know about. Soft!
*Week to Week Notes does not condone any act of violence except for what goes on inside the rink of ice. I can’t afford a lawsuit, although there is no such thing as bad publicity in the media…
Out East
Last Sunday night the Boys from Out East were heard playing Ol Son’s Revival. It’s a great tune, no wonder they have been playing some great puck and have revived their playoff chances heading down the stretch of the NHL regular season. Fellas being fellas, getting after it after a win with ZB on in the background, gotta love it.
New Jersey
This season, for every Devils’ home game assist, they donate 150 meals to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey. With 17 games left to play, New Jersey is currently out of the playoff picture. If they ain’t making the playoffs, let’s hope the Jersey Boys can pass and score a bit more for a good cause.
THE PLAYERS Championship
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL | TPC Sawgrass - THE PLAYERS Stadium Course | $25,000,000 Purse | GOLF/NBC
Established in 1974, The Players Championship is an annual PGA Tour event that is considered golf’s unofficial 5th major. The winner of the tournament takes home $4.5 million. This year they are celebrating the tournament’s 50th anniversary. Jack Nicklaus won the very first The Players. In 1974, Nicklaus had gone 13 tournaments without a win, which in his prime was considered a “6-month famine” as the Des Moines Register, put it. It was a pretty facetious headline since the 34-year-old Nicklaus was still golfing well, finishing inside the Top 10 in 9 of the 13 tournaments during his drought. That said, when he was setting the standards as the game’s greatest champion, Jack’s standard was the standard. To this day, Jack Nicklaus is the only golfer to win The Players Championship 3 times. (Source: PGA Tour)
Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy was like one of us when he pulled a tee shot into the water on the 7th hole. As he was trying to figure out where he should drop, fellow members of his group - Jordan Spieth and Viktor Hovland - discussed where it should be. After the round, Rory told reporters, “I think Jordan was just trying to make sure that I was doing the right thing. I was pretty sure that my ball had crossed where I was sorta dropping it and it’s so hard because there is no TV evidence. I was adamant but again he was just trying to make sure that I was doing the right thing.” You should hear the banter when one of us hits one into the water in the Rooster Cup. McIlroy would double-bogey the hole but otherwise on the day he was excellent, shooting a 65 with 10 birds.
Xander Schauffele
The X-Man was extra on Thursday. He shot a bogey-free round with 7 birds to tie Rory at the top of the leaderboard. His best shot on the day was his approach shot on the Par 4 5th hole where from a tough lie near the water he stuck one to set up a birdie from 153 yards out. His 65 on the day was the lowest he had ever shot at TPC Sawgrass during The Players Championship.
Scottie Scheffler
Scottie doesn’t know how to shoot above a 70 at The Players. Well actually, he does from March of ‘22, but last year’s The Players Championship champion has now played 5 straight rounds of golf 60s golf at TPC. With his 67 on Thursday, Scheffler has set himself up to be around the top of the leaderboard this weekend. TPC Sawgrass has never had a defending champ win back-to-back. Scheffler’s goal is to be the first and to join a short list of golfers who have won 2 Players Championships: Jack Nicklaus, Fred Couples, Steve Elkington, Hal Sutton, Davis Love III, and Tiger Woods.
Maverick McNealy
As soon as I saw a tremendous name like Maverick McNealy at around the top of the leaderboard, of course, I dropped everything I was doing to write about it. What do you think this is? McNealy is a Stanford graduate from California. In ‘24, he has been playing some good golf, finishing tied for 6th at The Phoenix Waste Management Open and tied for 13th at the Mexico Open. After missing the cut at TPC Sawgrass in ‘21, McNealy has come in 46th and 60th the past 2 years. His 67 on the day is a career-best at The Players Championship. Like his 3 brothers, Dakota, Colt, and Scout, Mav McNealy is named after an American car because his grandfather worked in the Detroit auto industry.
Shane Lowry was featured on the 3rd episode of the Roots series where DP World Tour shot some behind-the-scenes about the Irishman from County Offaly. They led with him sitting down with family and friends at his local pub in Clara for a few pints of Guinness. Lowry was 1 under on the day, but I figured to give him a tag on Shane MacGowan’s tune. Also, since TPC Sawgrass is located 15 minutes away from Jacksonville Beach I might as well tell him a bit about the pints in Duval. I recommend Pete’s Bar if you’re looking for a bit of history, Ernest Hemingway had a few pints there. If you’re looking for live music, go to Lynch’s Pub. Poe’s Tavern also has a fair pint, but since he’s a pro golfer, you may want to check out Fly’s Tie Pub. It’s a quaint Irish Cottage style pub, but just be careful because it is a cigs inside type of joint.