Where Are They Now, TJI Edition

Jimmy Fallon is preparing to take over as the new host of "Late Night" on NBC. I'm intrigued to see how he'll work out in this job, as I remember his performance as host of the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, and I wrote at the time that his stage presence was like that of a high school kid making his first speech in public speaking class.

That was back in the days of the old blog, or "Internet column" as I called it then (since the word "blog" hadn't become commonplace yet). This got me thinking about the other things I wrote about back in the old days, things and people I ripped apart, and whatever happened to them. So I went back and read some of those old "columns" and I put together this update on some of the many subjects of my criticism. I hope you appreciate it, since this is one of the few times that I will do actual RESEARCH for this blog (Research? What's that?)...

In one of my early entries, I attacked impatient sports fans who aren't satisfied with having a winning team; they need championship contenders. Every season. In the pros, this has become commonplace, and it gets worse when one of these impatient types is the team's owner. This was the case with the Washington Redskins in 2000, when owner Daniel Snyder whacked Norv Turner with two games left in the season because Snyder kept cutting kickers every time they missed an important kick and half the team got injured.

Well, Turner went on to coach for another impatient owner (Al Davis of the Oakland Raiders), and he got his walking papers two years later. Since he landed in San Diego, however, he's won 2 AFC West titles and done something that his recent predecessors couldn't: win playoff games. Meanwhile, the Redskins have gone through 4 different coaches, brought Joe Gibbs out of retirement (resulting in their only 2 playoff appearances of the decade), and now current coach Jim Zorn is on the hot seat after one season for going 8-8.

However, this kind of behavior was not just reserved for billionaire football owners. Also in 2000, Jim Donnan was fired as Georgia's head football coach because his 8 and 9-win seasons weren't good enough. Donnan never coached again. Georgia under Mark Richt has gone 74-19 and won 2 SEC titles so the administration got what it wanted, but at what cost? Several Georgia players have been arrested in the last year.

And of course here in Syracuse, Paul Pasqualoni was under fire in 2000 for not winning enough. After a 10-win season in 2001, the program fell apart. Pasqualoni was fired in 2004 but by then there was actual good reason; the Orange had gone 16-20 from 2002-04 and recruiting had suffered. Replacement Greg Robinson did even worse, going 10-37, and his failures made the people who still supported Pasqualoni in the end call for the heads of both Athletic Director Daryl Gross and the friggin' CHANCELLOR of SU. Because, of course, the most important function of a university chancellor or president is to make sure the FOOTBALL TEAM does well. As for Coach P, well, he's now the defensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins, and a big factor behind the team's sudden 1-15 to 11-5 turnaround this season. He also had former SU assistant Steve Bush brought in from West Genesee, and next thing you know everyone in football is talking about the "Wildcat" offense... named for West Genny.

Speaking of West Genesee... in 2000, Hall of Fame basketball coach Jerry Wilcox was being pressured by upset parents and fans because the team had slumped to .500 and certain kids weren't playing enough. One year later (after a league title), Wilcox became just the latest WG coach to say he'd had enough of being treated like dirt. He went to Liverpool and continued winning; now with well over 450 career wins, he's 3rd all-time among local head coaches. Steve Dunham took over as West Genny's head coach, won 6 games his first season (matching my prediction for that season), then led the Wildcats to several 2nd place league finishes but no Section III finals. The last 2 season, West Genesee has slipped to a combined 16-25. I haven't heard any rumblings, but I'll bet Dunham is on the hot seat.

One thing I loved to rip on were the one-hit wonders of the moment, counting down their 15 minutes of fame while their annoying songs got overplayed out on the radio. Wonder what's happened to some of the one-hit wonders of the early 2000s? Well, Lou Bega of "Mambo #5" infamy put out two more albums, but no hits. The Baha Men may have let the dogs out in 2000 but since then, they've managed three albums and one single that hit #94. Afroman has been the most prolific post-one-hit artist, putting out a whopping SIX albums... but no hits.

Of course in those days, we were all more concerned with the artists putting out more than one hit, namely the teen-pop junk that infested radio at the time. I predicted that of all the pop princesses of that era, Christina Aguilera would stick around the longest, and that's certainly been the case. She doesn't put out new material all that often, but when she does, it's a whole new flavor of X-tina. Now I know some may argue that Britney Spears lasted the longest because she's put out more albums and is much more active in that regard than her fellow pop tart, plus she's managed her second #1 hit (and first in nearly 10 years)... but the real reason she's stuck around so long is the (pardon the pun) circus that follows her. I know people who monitored her breakdowns like Rotisserie geeks monitor their fantasy baseball rosters. So maybe the debate is still open on that one. And then there's Jessica Simpson, who has only managed to get married, become a ditzy reality TV star, get divorced, get blamed for the decline of the Dallas Cowboys, turn country star, and now be the center of silly public scrutiny over her weight.

One prediction I am happy about regarding that era was when I said that Mandy Moore should follow Brandy into the world of sitcoms. Well, she did become an actress and a pretty good one at that, but in films. Speaking of popular music of past years, the rap-metal fad thankfully died. Linkin Park has really emerged as a one-of-a-kind survivor of the era, Limp Bizkit is long gone, and bands like Saliva and Papa Roach have extended their careers by phasing out the rap and proving that they can really rock when their lead singer is actually singing.

I devoted a 2002 column to atheist agitator Michael Newdow, who lives to sue the government over fleeting references to God. The big news of the time was his lawsuit to have the words "under God" taken out of the Pledge of Allegiance. He lost, but that hasn't deterred him. Most recently, he filed suit to have all references to God thrown out of President Obama's inauguration festivities. I presume that would include the phrase "so help me God" at the end of the oath of office... that would have messed up the oath even more than it already was...

I've gone after what I've termed "Average Syracusan" many times, and I will be doing so again in the upcoming months as the mayoral race heats up, but suffice to say, Average Syracusan still opposes any new ideas. The Town Shop in Camillus is still in its home on Main Street in Camillus, despite efforts by local blue-hairs to have them tossed. The Town Shop is proudly displayed on the Camillus Parks & Recreation website. Speaking of blue-hair opposition, I wrote a 2001 column about the Hellfest summmer music festival and the Mattydale residents who were convinced that these nice straight-edgers were actually evil devil-worshippers. I actually got a complimentary e-mail from a parent the next year who was concerned about his daughter attending Hellfest until he read my take on the concert. Well, in the end, Average Syracusan won out... the show was tossed out of the area after the 2003 edition, and following a successful 2004 Hellfest in New Jersey that featured Alt-rock powers like Coheed & Cambria, Hawthorne Heights, and Underoath, the next year's show was canceled and that was all for Hellfest.

It was really interesting to follow up on a lot of these past topics, and it keeps me thinking that I'm not just wasting Internet space by posting my thoughts and opinions every week or so on here. Who knows what will happen to the people of the moment in the late 2000s, but I'd like to think that when the time comes to wonder whatever happened to them, I'll still be here to blog about it.