We went to a Superbowl party on Sunday at a friend’s house and when I got there I had to ask who was playing. Yeah, I’m not exactly up to speed on football. I still don’t know who won, but I do know The Who played during half time which takes me back to 1985, my freshman year in high school when I went on a ski trip with my FHA group (Future Homemakes of America…is that club still out there?). After a day on the slopes we all decided to go down to the sauna and steam up our weary muscles or in teenager terms ‘see if there were any cute guys there’. Sorry Mom.
Anyway, where was I going with this post? Oh, right..The Who.
So, a few college guys from Nebraska were in the sauna too and they were listening to music and drinking beers and I was fairly certain I shouldn’t be in there with them. I was extremely shy and awkward around boys and had no intentions of speaking to any of these guys, so I sat in a corner next to one of my friends who was not shy and awkward and watched in amazement as she and one of the guys struck up a conversation and shared a beer. Just as I was pondering if I should leave I heard the guy across from me say, “So, do you like The Who?” I looked at him and surprisingly realized he was talking to me, “Uh, did you say, the who?” “Yeah, do you like The Who?” and I thought for sure he was trying to be stupid and make me look dumb so I answered, “Probably not.” and then he quickly reached over to the radio and pressed the stop button, looked back and me and said, “Oh, sorry, we’ve been listening them all day.” And that’s when I realized it was the name of the band and I felt like such a nerd. Later, I learned that the guy I was talking to was named Rocky. I met Rocky from Nebraska in the Rocky Mountains and discovered what The Who was. And that’s the trip down memory lane for today. Don’t worry Mom, I didn’t drink any beer.
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1985, huh? You do realize that the picture you posted is more like from 1965? (I actually met Keith Moon in 1967 — I was almost 17!)
It is FCCLA now. (Family, career and community leaders of America) Guess it isn’t cool to be a “Homemaker” any more! Funny post! The Who did an incredible job for a bunch of old dudes!
My son’s girlfriend bought him a t-shirt with The Who on the front. I asked him if he even knew who The Who was. He said not really. He and his girlfriend have been studying up on the group and watched with fascination the Super Bowl halftime show. There are rumors The Eagles will be there next year. Now that’s more like my kind of group! (I had been married five years in 1985.)
I’m not up on football either; since the people in my house during Superbowl all seemed to be for the Colts, I chose the Saints, and I cheered for them often from my spot in the computer room, coming out occasionally to see the commercials.
I love football. I love Peyton. I love the Cinderella story out of no where, Saints. I’m a marketing chick by day and love creative commercials. So why wasn’t I into the Super Bowl this year? I missed the whole thing!
Wish I had known The Who were performing. That’s entertainment.
Susan
Love it! Ah the memories!
A guy asked my sister (about fifteen years ago) if she liked REM. Like you, she’d never heard of them, and didn’t know what he was talking about. That led to her nickname of “Cave Girl” because yes, we were raised in a cave.
I must admit that I am not too up on my “The Who” music. Hubby keeps telling me when they are on the radio by saying things like, “Honey, can you gues WHO is playing this song?” Subtle, huh? I should listen to some of their music since I missed them on the Super Bowl – I was still messing with the new computer!
It took me back even farther. 1974.
My friend Diana danced in her living room and drank a lot of pop.
We got stomach aches.
My friend Diana and I danced.
Sorry about the mistake.
I have to say, that my first The Who recollection was of the stampede in some stadium where people died. Tragic. My last recollection was of The Who at the Super Bowl. Tragic.
Even my “older man” husband was disappointed. Sigh. Nostalgia is overrated, when will the Super Bowl people understand this? I mean, really….Janet Jackson, Paul McCartney…etc etc…
Who? Did they know Barry Manilow?
More importantly….what did you EAT during the Super Bowl??
Thanks – I feel old now – I saw the Who in concert sometime in high school in the mid-late 70′s (1976?) along with the Grateful Dead. I slept through the Dead and asking my friends to wake me up when Roger Daltrey was on stage. I remember it being great and the medley they performed at half time was a good mixture of their hits. But yeah, not quite the same – the Super Bowl is so over-hyped and sigh….they all look older too
The Who at the superbowl was an embarrasing display of off-key old guys. We turned the channel during half time, checking back every now and then so we could see the commercials.
My 19-year-old daughter always loved The Who because her dad and I listen to them. She texted me during the Super Bowl: The Who are really OLD!
In 1985 I knew who the Who was but it wasn’t until 1988 that my then boyfriend told me that the words to Pinball Wizard were not “That deaf, dumb, blind kid sure plays a mean trombone.” ‘Cause he’s playing pinball, not a trombone. So fortunately I married the guy and he STILL makes fun of me every time it comes on the radio. 22 years of this. Stupid boys.
Smiles,
Lisa
I once met an older, more sophisticated boy named Nicholas Bossinokas. He was so cute, mature and witty. None of this had any impact on the fact that I named my oldest son Nicholas. None at all.
I was kind of embarrassed for The Who but was really glad Pete Townshend didn’t break a hip!
Awesome! Reminds me of the time my then-boyfriend (now husband) took my country self out to eat at a nice steak place. He told me I should get the filet, and I told him I didn’t really feel like fish.
There used to be a cough medicine called REM when I was a kid…tasted just horrible….I wonder if they named themselves after the medicine…hahahaha…just kidding. :0b
So glad scientific murder and mayhem television got popular so The Who could have a come back. Love the shows, love the songs, had no idea who The Who were.
The Who always bring me back to being incredibly young, just married and just barely a mother. My girl wouldn’t sleep and I was so tired. So bone deep tired. And one day her daddy turned on The Who. And she smiled, she cooed, and then she slept. Bliss. It worked every time.
That just makes me squirm with discomfort since I’ve had so many of those moments myself. I just hate it when I have no idea what’s going on, but I try to pretend that I do.
I was never a fan of The Who but they were so bad during the Superbowl show that we had to mute them. What were they thinking when they hired those old geezers for the SB show? I’ll bet they won’t be fooled again.
Sadly, my Who expirience is via the credits on CSI & CSI NY.
I just lost $1.09 due to reading your blog…
I picked up “The Hurt Locker” at a DVD rental kiosk last night. It was $1.09 as long as it was returned by 9pm tonight.
I was sitting down to watch it and then the phone rang and I was distracted and starting clicking around the internet.
A few clicks later I landed here for the first time.
A few HOURS later, it is well past the 9pm curfew for the DVD and now I will be charged another $1.09.
Your hilarious writing, videos of family dance parties, memories of meeting, sister fashion shows and the like all conspired against my getting my a$$ out the door on time!
Worse than losing $1.09 however, is the fact that I am really sick and laughing causes great fits of coughing and choking so I had to do a lot of perusing with breaks so as not to die alone!
I couldn’t believe they were rockin’ like that the other night – that are circling thingy the guitarist (sorry not a big enough fan to know his name) would be hard for me to do. I wonder if he had problems lifting it the next day?
I feel the same about the superbowl being highly over-rated. I heard that the advertizements cost a cool 3 million for each 30 second ad. If the huge corporations have all this cash to spend for a 30 second spot ( or multiple spots), I think they have no excuse not to pay their employees well and give them great medical coverage. These multinational companies are so greedy it drives me crazy. Our society has all our priorities wrong. Sorry about the rant, but this hit a nerve. Great Post!
Trips down memory lane are always good for a laugh, but there’s just something about the 80s that makes them even wilder. So glad we left that decade behind.
I don’t know the year, but I was probably in middle school (sooo, late 70′s). My mom and I were walking thru the local Mall where there was a HUGE line of people winding thru the store, waiting to get to the ticket sales window.
My mom, being curious, asked someone in line, “What are you waiting in line for?”.
Response: “The Who.”
Mom: “Who?
Cool dude in line: “The Who.”
Mom: “Who???”
Meanwhile, I’m DYING (remember, I’m in middle school), trying to drag my mom away. Can a teenager get any more embarrassed????? Uhhh…maybe, because then I think we went into Sears to look for bras. Ugh.
Ahhhh, Roger…one of the best top five screamers of rock n’roll. I’m a good ten years older than you and remember them well. My kids are totally into The Who, which does their mama proud.
That’s funny!
At least when you said “Probably not” he was nice enough to turn it off.
Know this is late, but yeah, the Who sucked. It bothers me that people (even my *ahem* older co-workers, like in their 50′s, only knew them as the “CSI intro guys” sigh.) and I’m 25. I knew WHO they were (har har) Not that it made them sound any better. The Who used to be ok, like when my parents made me listen to them growing up, but now that CBS has milked that money cow for all it’s worth, they went down hill, fast. And who ever said that it’s lucky that Pete Townsend didn’t break a hip is right. I thought the same thing watching them the whole time.
Your story reminds me of when my mom and I attended a friend’s wedding reception. The DJ was playing “Paradise by the Dashboard Lights”, and a cute young guy jokingly asked my mom if she liked Meatloaf. She said, “Of course, doesn’t everyone? Especially with ketchup.” Jeesh!