Ok. we're going to keep this draft idea going... we'll just switch up the topics each time. Fors this draft we're going with famous UCLA Bruins. The only rule up for debate is whether this should only include students, because John Wooden actually went to Purdue. First up, Scott, then MP, then Aaron, then Royce... standard snake style draft and all.
I think Wooden has to count; he's the most famous UCLA person associated with UCLA, period.
ReplyDeleteSo, we're including everyone who was affiliated with UCLA? Or, only those who gained (began) their fame with UCLA? Do noted professors/faculty count? What if they gained notoriety elsewhere, and then ended up teaching at UCLA afterwards? What about the opposite of that (gained fame after a significant time away from UCLA)?
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly my point, if we include Wooden, then we need to include professors and all other coaches, etc. I also vote to include all though associated with UCLA. Now what does Steve Lavin get selected before or after James Franco?
ReplyDeleteI think we want to say that the person was either a student, or gained their fame along with their association with UCLA. So Michelle Kwan counts, because she was actually a student. But if Stephen Hawking came to teach at UCLA and never published anything else or did any more research, then he would not be included. His fame is not related to UCLA or occurred during his time at UCLA. (Now let me go check Wikipedia to make sure he didn't actually teach at UCLA at any time....)
ReplyDeleteAwesome - with the first pick of the 2009 UCLA is Awesome draft, The Winners select...damnit I have no clue...TBD
ReplyDeleteHow can you not draft Wooden first?!!?
ReplyDeleteThis would be like having a Most Badass Beards draft and failing to take Chuck Norris in the top spot
One final question before the pick comes in: are we drafting solely on the individual's "famousness" (famosity? I know both are wrong; someone help me out here), or are we incorporating an individual's importance to UCLA/the World?
ReplyDeleteFor example, if the person who cured cancer was a professor at UCLA, but opted to remain anonymous, would (s)he be #1 since they had an ENORMOUS impact on our society, or not picked at all since they weren't famous?
No, we're going with Q-rating type fame. An individual who more people can identify by face and/or name who is recognized for an association with UCLA. Professor X (not Professor X) from UCLA who cured cancer is famous, but not as famous as John Wooden or Lew Alcindor or even James Franco or Michelle Kwan (maybe...MAYBE...Steve Lavin).
ReplyDeleteOK - be ready to be blown away by the awesomeness of my first pick...
ReplyDeleteReally - how come awesomeness is a word, but famousness isn't?!?!
Are you sure awesomeness is a word? And are you sure famousness isn't? Wait, no, it's just 'fame'. How do we measure someone's fame? And I like how Google's spell-check tells me awesomeness is a word, but famousness is not a word...or I'm spelling it wrong.
ReplyDeleteI claim both awesomeness and famousness as words.
ReplyDeleteWith the 1st overall pick of the inaugural FIWK Famous UCLA Bruins Draft, The Winners select Jackie Robinson
DAMMIT!!!!!!!! That was my pick!!!!! I thought I had the 4 sport letterman at #3. DAMMIT!!!!
ReplyDeleteI was even careful never to mention his name to any of you just in case it subliminally made you want to pick him. I agreed with Royce that Wooden was the slam dunk pick and that you should take him and not look back.
ReplyDeleteI CAN'T STOP USING CAPS AND EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (which, by the way, is probably the only punctuation that is named sufficiently that you know what it means and how to properly use it. Period doesn't count, because the finality aspect arises from the punctuation, not the other way around, like the exclamation point.)
ReplyDeleteI might allow you to argue "quotation marks"
ReplyDeleteQuestion mark...?
ReplyDeleteWooden's going to be the MJ of this draft, because I'm selecting
JIM MORRISON, '65, lead singer of The Doors.
DAMMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As soon as Scott took Jackie Robinson, Jim Morrison was my go to guy!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMORE CAPS AND EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!!!!!!!!!
But, I do want to bring up a rules discussion. There was another guy from the The Doors who went to UCLA and there are a few bands that went to UCLA, but you may not be able to identify any individual names. I propose including the entire band as one entry, so MP gets Jim Morrison along with The Doors.
I mean, no disrespect to the other Doors, but doesn't that kind of drag down the power of my pick? Jim Morrison IS the Doors, and he is the only member of the band that can exist independently of the group. You don't have people flocking to a Paris cemetery to visit...(Googling the other members of the band)...dammit, I'll admit I knew Ray Manzarek's name. And, well, he isn't dead.
ReplyDeleteBut my point remains: off the top of my head, I couldn't name any other Door. I thought of Morrison .6765 seconds after I saw this post. That has to count for something. We should stick with single individuals.
Ok, I'm planning way down the line, but all the guys from Linkin Park and Maroon 5 went to UCLA. Can you name a single guy from either of those bands? But the bands themselves are famous. I will agree that Jim Morrison makes a lot of sense as the second pick, especially independent of The Doors, but I don't think Ray Manzarek gets drafted unless it is part of the group.
ReplyDeleteSo, with questions like these, I like to get at least one opinion from another gender and another generation (like the alliteration there?). As hard as it is to believe, no female knew who John Wooden is.
ReplyDeleteI really don't like this pick, because it's not nearly as interesting as Jackie Robinson or Jim Morrison, but I'll take Ben Stiller.
Wooden may be god in Westwood, sports, and college basketball (in that order), but not everyone's a sports fan. To be famous - REALLY famous - you have to transcend your occupation or title.
ReplyDeleteHow weird and inadequate do "Jackie Robinson, baseball player" and "Jim Morrison, singer" sound?
Wait, Ben Stiller went to UCLA? Wikipedia objects.
Alright, alright, I correct myself: the damn Wiki entry didn't have "UCLA" but the cumbersome "University of California, Los Angeles" (which isn't even correct) and Stiller was in Westwood for 9 months.
ReplyDeleteMel Lavin Jr. has some questions about your pick but can't give it lower than a B- based on Zoolander alone.
In interest of full disclosure and fairness (I was planning on keeping both resources to myself you selfish bastards, not that they were that hard to find), but here are two lists that I consider relevant: Wikipedia and UCLA Alumni.
ReplyDeleteThis means I get Wooden?!!?!?!
ReplyDeleteDo you have any idea what a steal this is? I'll give you Jackie Robinson, who is in the MLK-Rosa Parks-Jackie Robinson trinity of most influential figures in American Civil Rights. But Wooden and his Pyramid of Success are so famous that people from every discipline known to man look to his teachings for advice. This is the guy who Jim Morrison would go to for living advice, the guy who Ben Stiller would feel lucky just to be in the same room with! Someone throw some water on Mel Lavin Jr.
With the first pick of the second round.... Lew Alcindor, aka Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, everybody!
ReplyDeleteA disciple of John Wooden, the most dominant college player ever, the NBA's all-time points leader, a legitimately funny actor in his crossover role on Airplane!, and an all-around nice guy, he's a second round sleeper who could've easily gone in the first round.
Most vicious 1-2 punch in the draft, hands down.
Royce, walk into your office Monday morning and take a poll among the women asking how many know who John Wooden and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are? Then ask how many know who Jackie Robinson, Jim Morrison or Ben Stiller are.
ReplyDeleteThen ask them if they have heard of Francis Ford Coppola, the 6th pick of the FIWK Famous Bruins Draft! This man is responsible for 2 of the 3 highest rated films according to IMDB.com and 3 of the top 35.
ReplyDeleteEverybody in my office knew who John Wooden and Kareem were (except for one person who immigrated here from China via Canada a few years ago, and she does not know who Francis Ford Coppola is either).
ReplyDeleteBy the way, regarding your musicians in famous bands debate... you do need to pick them individually, but I think needing to describe them in one sentence doesn't necessarily reduce their value. So if Aaron takes Mike Shinoda, and someone asks, who? He could say, the frontman of Linkin Park. And that would provide enough context for anyone who knows recent music to give that pick a solid Q rating. Is that reasonable?
I agree with Royce, and think that it's probably a better resolution to the whole "famous as a group" question than I could have given us credit for. (did that make sense?). Wow - good work Royce.
ReplyDeleteYour other argument matters not after Jackie Robinson destroys all comers single-handedly; in fact, I may not need another pick. Speaking of next picks, how deep are we going here?
As deep as we need to go until someone takes Tom Skerritt, best known as Viper from Top Gun (round 47?)
ReplyDeleteI hate to be a one-trick pony, but I can't pass up JOHN TOWNER WILLIAMS.
ReplyDeleteIf you've ever watched a movie or the Olympics, you've heard his music. He has more Oscar nominations than anyone in history and 5 wins to his name.
And, I'm pretty sure we can bestow legendary status upon his themes from Star Wars, Superman, Jaws, and Indiana Jones. That's right, Schindler's List doesn't even crack the top 4. What?
I love that so far I'm all-sports, Aaron is all-movies, and MP is all-music. Scott, can you make it... all-... all-something? All-world changers? All-transcendant sports figures? All-heroes of human rights? My God, that Jackie Robinson pick is looming as incredibly dominant right now...
ReplyDeleteScott...you need to take Arthur Ashe right now!!!!
ReplyDeleteWith the final pick of the 2nd round, The Winners, in keeping with the "all-transcendent team", select James Dean.
ReplyDeleteif I say "DAMMIT!!!!" does it still convey my emotion well enough? Or it just old at this point?
ReplyDeleteold...but still amusing... :D
ReplyDeleteI seriously considered James Dean with my second pick... I couldn't decide if the fact that I didn't really know much about him was a negative, or the fact that I know about him at all as a "cultural icon" - given his temporal distance from my cultural vantage - was a positive. In reading about him I did not realize he died so young, or that he had only three starring roles and still won two posthumous Academy Awards.
ReplyDelete...and was arguably (HA!) the first gay icon.
ReplyDeleteI knew he died young, and that was a big part of his cultural impact. The "Rebel Without a Cause" dies in his early 20's? The bigger question...would he have been as big a cultural icon if he hadn't died so young?
ReplyDeleteAlthough, I did not know that he won two posthumous Academy Awards...that's pretty crazy.
Please note that that "HA!" reference was to Royce's hatred of the term "arguably", and in no way shape or form was related to my awesome 2nd pick.
ReplyDeleteJames Dean was gay?!?! Really?
ReplyDeleteJudging by his Wikipedia article, I'd argue that he'd be more of an icon if he lived longer (but, you really cannot overestimate the "value" to one's legacy by dying young). Dean was originally cast into the film "Somebody Up There Likes Me" which jump-started Paul Newman's career; he's also (possibly) on record for wanting to make the switch to directing at the time of his death, which, if allowed to happen, would have still given him an acting career that was "too short".
ReplyDeleteMy "hatred of the word arguably" was really an echo of solidarity with Simmons, who first wrote about the stupidity of using that word. But Aaron made a solid case for it in certain situations - care to do so again?
ReplyDeleteWe can all agree that "it is what it is" is dumb
With the 1st pick in the 3rd round, The Winners select Anthony Kiedis, front-man of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
ReplyDeleteWith the addition of Kiedis, The Winners complete their trifecta of Sports, Cinema, and Music transcendent all-stars, which, as an independent observer, I must say will not be beat by whatever rag-tag selections his competition makes in the coming rounds.
James Dean was allegedly gay, and a gay icon.
ReplyDeleteDean was gay, and would not be nearly as well-known or revered now if he had lived longer. The mystique would be lost, the unanswered questions would be lost, and nothing cements a legacy like tragedy. Solid, solid pick.
ReplyDeleteThis one was tough for me as I try to solidify my Sports foundation. I narrowed it down to 2, and I'm picking...
BILL WALTON, Class of '74. Widely regarded as one of the best college players of all time, with hands-down the most dominant championship game performance in history. He then reached mythical status by winning a title with the Blazers and the Celtics (the 86 Celtics considered one of the best NBA teams of all time). Throw in his legendary support of the Grateful Dead and his NBA announcing canon, and he's my guy.
And we're not holding fathering Luke Walton against him.
Ugh, the YouTube video of Bill Walton announcing "When I think of Boris Diaw, I think of Beethoven and the Age of the Romantics" is no longer available for some reason. But on the basis of his mad ramblings alone, strong pick.
ReplyDeleteWith my third pick, I am taking Troy Aikman. Three time Super Bowl winning quarterback for America's most popular (and most hated) team.
ReplyDeleteI'm throwing out an Agte-style DAMMIT!!!!!! right here. There goes one of my sleepers.
ReplyDeleteCowboys suck.
It's my pick right?
ReplyDeleteWith the final pick of the 3rd round I will select... Tim Robbins! Star of innumerable films, one of the great acting icons of our time, and also really tall. So there's that.
With the first pick of the Fourth Round, the Wizards of Westwood (aka the Fightin' Woodens, aka the Pyramid of Success) select....
ReplyDeleteJACK BAUER!!!!!
And boom ges the dynamite!
Mel Lavin Jr is in shock! Nobody saw this coming! He saved the world like eight times! A fictional character with a joke pedigree to rival Chuck Norris! The all-time most badass TV character of all time! Unbelievable! Boom! The competition has been demolished!
Don't you dare try to overrule this pick. Jack Bauer knows where you sleep. And yes I was so excited for this pick that I used two separate boom goes the dynamite links.
Time to get metaphysical...
ReplyDeleteEither he's a fictional character and doesn't count, OR...
(in the interest of full disclosure I have never seen 24 [and don't go lecturing me how it's the greatest show ever and my lfe isn't complete until I see it...just let it go] so if Bauer has had some kind of victory parade, this doesn't make sense...)
He's a spy and works for the CIA and the general public doesn't know who he is or what he does, which is the complete opposite of famous.
Now, do you still want go argue that Jack Bauer qualifies for the Famous Bruins draft?
Aaron, I think you meant it's time to get metaphysical
ReplyDeleteAnyway, he counts. Period.
Why can't a badass fictional character count? Jack Bauer's Q rating is probably higher than Bill Walton's!
But he's a spy...it's his job NOT to be famous!
ReplyDeleteI veto fictional characters, only because Westwood has produced enough real, honest-to-God heroes for you to choose from. Cheater!
ReplyDeleteFine, you aguafiestas
ReplyDeleteIn the fictional FIWK Bruin Draft, I take Jack Bauer in the 4th round. In the actual FIWK Bruin Draft, I select Jack Black. At least I got a Jack.
He's young where his Q rating could still grow quite a bit, too.
The Princess Bride, This is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, Misery, A Few Good Men, The Bucket List... these are just some of the wonderful movies (that's right, "wonderful" and I'm willing to defend that term) movies directed by Rob Reiner, the second pick of the 4th round in the FIWK Famous Bruins draft. For every single person, there is at least one Rob Reiner film that wants to make their heart wax poetic.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe Royce actually had a back-up Jack. Amazing. That's dedication. Reiner is also a solid and very underrated pick. But I'm about to blow you all out of the physical and metaphysical water...
ReplyDeleteI am using the 3rd pick in the 4th round on our first female pick: HEATHER LOCKLEAR.
Boom goes the dynamite!
"For every single person, there is at least one Rob Reiner film that wants to make their heart wax poetic." - Aaron, can you break that sentence down for me? I know what you're getting at, but I've never heard the turn of phrase "want to make your heart wax poetic"
ReplyDeleteDAMN you guys are killing it with these picks... I considered Reiner but figured Black was more recognizable, and Locklear is hot but aging and unlikely to raise her profile too much more in the coming years.
There are some other smoking hot actress alumnae (its fun to use that plural form, never happens), why'd you go with Locklear?
Yeah, I'm worried about my team's performance 4 years down the line when we're reevaluating these picks and breaking it down. Pshhh.
ReplyDeleteLocklear is easily the most famous of the Bruin alumnae actresses, with Elsie Snuffin a close second. Autumn Reeser is only known from The OC and a brief stint on Entourage. If anyone is going to approach "legendary" status from the She-lumni Actress Group, it's Locklear.
I mean, Wayne and Garth worshiped her! She's a mega-babe.
It has been conveyed to me by MP that I have failed to make my 4th-round pick. For that, I apologize to the masses.
ReplyDeleteWith the 16th overall pick in the 2009 Famous UCLA Draft, the Winners select .... Gabrielle Union of She's All That, Love & Basketball, 10 Things I Hate About You, Bring it On, and Bad Boys fame.