Author: Michael

The Worst 2nd Place Zwift Race Result Ever

3 years ago, I finished third on a Zwift group ride. Yes, it was a group ride and not a race, but nearly 200 people participated so I felt it was a good result. I never did so well again until a few days ago.

I finished 2nd place in my group (B), 3rd overall in a field of 20. I should be thrilled, but ZwiftPower only recognized 6 total competitors and in my group I finished last. Thus I didn’t even get positive ranking points.

So still waiting on my first true podium finish and good result.

My Only Thoughts from the 49ers Super Bowl Loss

I couldn’t do enough to offset the curse. The 49ers lost anyway in what has felt like an extremely long week. After a painful loss (playoffs) to one of my sports team, I disconnect completely from information or analysis around the team. In this case, I’ve decided to disconnect from all sports news completely for at least a month. Over the past 5 years, I’ve disconnected from tech / startup news, and then news, including politics. Basically, I don’t know anything about anything and it’s been great.

On to my notes, and I’ve never read or listened to any other thoughts about the game or events surrounding it, though I accidentally heard that Steve Wilks had been fired and someone died or got shot during the Kansas City parade?

  • It was a hard game to watch, but it was a great game. I don’t know if there’s still doubt about Purdy, but he played fine relative to Mahomes.
  • Purdy was a bit low on a number of throws and I wonder if he felt rushed on them or was trying to avoid takeaways.
  • The McCaffery fumble reminded me a lot of the 49ers red zone interception vs the Ravens. They were on their way to a great start to the game and instead gave the other team a chance to reverse momentum and lead a route the other way. The 49ers survived it, but there’s still a what if the 49ers had led the game with a big score, given the offense’s inability (I assume credit the Chiefs’ defense) to push consistently.
  • The big decision I didn’t understand was with under 2 minutes to go and a third down with 4 yards to go, the 49ers went for a pass instead of run. The run would have cut another 30+ seconds from the clock or forced a Chiefs timeout. The Chiefs pass rush was very good at creating pressure in critical situations and that’s what happened here – Purdy had a quick incompletion. The Chiefs got the ball back and had extra time and timeout to go down the field. Which forced OT. Even if the 49ers had run for 1-3 yards, you set up a great 4 and short decision that could have put the game away. The thought surely should have been we have to keep the ball away from Mahomes to close the game.
  • Special teams return fumble. I don’t understand why McCloud went after the ball in a crowded situation like that.

The Loser’s Curse of Wearing a Jersey

I have a fairly extensive collection of sports jerseys from various sports, thought I rarely actually wear them. Of all sports, I think the soccer jersey is the best for wearing in normal every day life, especially as jerseys in other sports tend to be oversized for the average American male. Player-level (what they wear) jerseys tend to go as small as 40 (men’s medium), and I’d normally wear a 36 (small).

That said, I do like to wears jerseys to support my fandom, either going to a game (rare now) or watching key games from the team on TV. Unfortunately, I’ve convinced myself that my jersey wearing is strongly correlated (if not causal!) to my team losing.

I don’t remember a win while watching a game on TV with a jersey. Some of the brutal losses:

  • Warriors lose to Cavs in 2017 Finals, Game 7
  • 49ers lose to Chiefs in 2020 Super Bowl
  • 49ers lose to Ravens, this past Thanksgiving, the only time I wore a jersey this year.

I am sure there are a few more, because this guilt has been building over time. Am I typically superstitious? No. But last night went too far.

I wore my Patrick Willis jersey watching the 49’ers fall behind 24-7. I decided to take off the jersey, just in case.

The 49ers went on to overcome the largest half-time deficit in NFL conference championship history. It didn’t even take the full game, it took 12 minutes, less than a quarter. to overcome the curse.

No jersey wearing for the Super Bowl.

The Outdoors is Expensive

This year, our family committed to doing more in the snow. Lake Tahoe is about 2 hours away, and we wanted our kids to take advantage of winter activities that neither my wife or I were in a position to do from our youth until really, now.

I wanted my oldest son (5 years old) to start snowboarding so that I could learn as well, but little did I know what I was actually getting into. – I thought cycling was expensive, but it turns out most of the outdoors is expensive. Here’s a breakdown of the equipment we had to buy:

Keep in mind I spent over $2k for myself and him, even after over 30% in combined off-season discounts. This also doesn’t include the family pass ($450 for a season, considered to be a bargain) and one time private lessons at $200.