12/30/24
March 21, 2008
Open Other End:: Our own Ben Saunders, whose South-Pole-on-foot trip has been postponed a few times in the last few years, seems to have decided to go for a speed record to the North Pole instead.
wc2k2, that investment might just pay off after all.
posted by chicobangs to gametime at 10:22 AM - 32 comments
Apparently (I've heard from a third party) the SOUTH expedition is still on the schedule, somewhere around year-end. And yeah, that would be one for the books.
posted by chicobangs at 10:48 AM on March 21, 2008
Sorry if this is snarky, but with the second mention of Ben being one of "our own" I am curious as to what determines such terms. I didn't recognize bsaunders’s username so I checked his profile. He registered in July 2005 and was last seen one month later (nearly 3 years ago). In that time he posted 0 links and 1 comment. As to the topic at hand, good luck, Ben. Stop by and say hi sometime!
posted by scully at 05:52 PM on March 21, 2008
I wouldn't doubt he hasn't been back, but the last visit feature on sportsfilter is pretty unreliable. It's very often wrong.
posted by justgary at 07:04 PM on March 21, 2008
Okay, he's not exactly a one-digit spofite with 150 FPPs or anything, but when someone who's on our rolls is trying to accomplish something this massive, then we should take as much credit for his success as we can without stepping on him. So yeah, he's heard of us, he's doing something really large and pretty cool (one might say cold, even), so I'm prepared, for the purposes of this thread, to just go ahead and call him One Of Us.
posted by chicobangs at 07:29 PM on March 21, 2008
Hell yeah! You think those turds over at Deadspin have a guy trekking across the poles? Oh, I don't think so! In fact, we should meet those guys behind the 7-11 after school!
posted by The_Black_Hand at 10:27 PM on March 21, 2008
Word, it's a hell of a time to be pulling hall passes when a kid is walking beyond the Pole.
posted by yerfatma at 11:16 PM on March 21, 2008
but when someone who's on our rolls is trying to accomplish something this massive, then we should take as much credit for his success as we can without stepping on him. And I would argue he stopped by only to defend himself. In fact, he is "one of our own" only because we stepped on him the first time wordlcup2002 mentioned his name. Perhaps he'll see me slagging him and stop by again. ;) All his membership means is that he has a Google alert on his name and goes where he is mentioned. Sorry. It may be pretty cool to walk to to the poles (personally, I am in the not-a-sport camp, and don't care for so-called extreme sports, but that is not why I am taking this position), but I bet even Ben doesn't consider himself a SpoFite. Good luck, Ben... whoever you are. Besides, Ben's no Adam Savage ;)
posted by scully at 08:25 AM on March 22, 2008
One time at band camp... errr.... on MetaFilter, someone posted something about Steve Wozniak. And shortly thereafter, The Woz stopped by the thread and posted a long response. He never returned, but the geeks wet themselves (as we should). Is Steve Wozniak MetaFilter's own? Personally, I do not think so. BTW, I am not arguing this so much as curious by the usage of the words. I don't care if everyone else thinks of Ben as their own, and that they somehow share his journey by being associated with Sportsfilter. If you all do, that is cool. I won't beat this sled dog any longer.
posted by scully at 08:41 AM on March 22, 2008
Heh heh. You said beat your sled dog. Heh heh. I don't know who this Ben guy is (Good Luck!) but one time Bill Brasky went to the South Pole with his team of sled dogs and on the way there, he got hungry and ate the entire team fur and all. And since he and the dogs swam to Antartica, he had to walk all the way home. Even over the water. Bill Brasky is 12 feet tall!
posted by THX-1138 at 08:11 PM on March 23, 2008
Whether you consider Ben one of us or not, I've still got $100 riding on SpoFi's name showing up at Mile 27 of the SOUTH expedition, presumably after October this year. (Wow, at my last check just a minute ago, all links to Ben Saunders, including SOUTH, are redirecting to the NORTH expedition, the topic of this post.) Also, at the rate the polar ice caps are melting, Ben better step to it, or he might be doing his expeditions by kayak instead.
posted by worldcup2002 at 09:30 PM on March 23, 2008
And here's the NORTH blog. Ben's sat at a refueling station waiting for his dropoff plane to be fixed. He's currently 3 days behind schedule - he was supposed to be dropped at Ward Hunt Island to begin the expedition Mar 21.
posted by worldcup2002 at 09:41 PM on March 23, 2008
I'm sorry. What I said upthread may have been construed as dickish and snarky. I don't for one minute propose we take any actual credit for anything he's doing or has done. He's just someone who's passed through here, has been a person of interest on SpoFi before, and is trying to do something big and interesting. I figured it was worth an update. The rest is me being mouthy. To be very clear, past wc2k2's investment, we do not, and have never, had anything to do with him, nor, except for one comment, he with us. That I implied otherwise was just my feeble and apparently ham-handed attempt at a joke.
posted by chicobangs at 10:14 AM on March 24, 2008
Ben Saunders once punched a hole through a cow just to see what was on the other side. That's a beef-handed attempt at a joke.
posted by THX-1138 at 12:21 PM on March 24, 2008
I heard he had to cut open a Tauntaun, and crawl inside to stay warm.
posted by BoKnows at 12:53 PM on March 24, 2008
Ben Saunders will roundhouse you in the face.
posted by worldcup2002 at 01:04 PM on March 24, 2008
Bill Brasky is 12 feet tall! I don't know what's sadder. Your use of an obscure SNL joke from over ten years ago, or the fact that I (and I'm sure, many other spofites) got it.
posted by tahoemoj at 01:43 PM on March 24, 2008
I heard he had to cut open a Tauntaun, and crawl inside to stay warm. And I thought they smelled bad on the outside.
posted by HATER 187 at 09:17 PM on March 24, 2008
Bill Brasky jokes are funny. It's just like you all to make fun of me because you're all sporty jocks who trek to the poles and I'm a geek who comes to a sports site and makes obscure pop-culture references. Excuse me while I go tape my glasses back together.
posted by THX-1138 at 11:45 PM on March 24, 2008
Huh? I don't get it.
posted by tahoemoj at 04:20 AM on March 25, 2008
Don't get what?
posted by THX-1138 at 11:08 AM on March 25, 2008
I really don't know.
posted by tahoemoj at 12:34 PM on March 25, 2008
Well I could show you where to get it. Cheap. Just tell them Vinnie sent you.
posted by THX-1138 at 01:00 PM on March 25, 2008
posted by scully at 06:44 AM on March 26, 2008
Good Luck!
posted by THX-1138 at 10:19 AM on March 26, 2008
Do we know that, terrapin? Just because he said it doesn't mean they hang out. Maybe they just traded emails. Maybe that Google alert brought him there, and Kottke just took the same liberty I did. Again, terrapin: I'm sorry for implying he and SpoFi hang out.
posted by chicobangs at 11:40 AM on March 26, 2008
ArmKottkeChairTwitterGm.com is claiming Mr. Saunders as their own. I'm not sure what to think of it.
posted by BoKnows at 12:07 PM on March 26, 2008
That two-timing bitch! Ben Saunders once had an affair with ArmKottkeChairTwitterGm.com and videotaped the whole thing. Made us all here at SportsFilter watch the entire sordid event. Most beautiful two hours we ever saw. Good Luck!
posted by THX-1138 at 12:46 PM on March 26, 2008
It's true. I came twice, in my heart.
posted by chicobangs at 02:06 PM on March 26, 2008
Careful. That shit'll clog yer arteries.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 06:19 PM on March 26, 2008
posted by NoMich at 10:07 AM on April 01, 2008
chico: I am not sure why you appear to be taking this so seriously. I just happen to see that Kottke had linked to Ben's site and referred to him as a friend. They may or may not be friends. I can ask Jason if you want? He doesn't know me, and we aren't friends, but I hear he and Meg visit Vermont (They are Vermont's own power blog couple afterall ;)). I just thought it was an interesting coincidence. And as I said, I don't care if you or anyone else want to think of Ben as "SportsFilter's own." No skin off my bum! Have at it, mate!
posted by scully at 08:43 AM on April 04, 2008
Hmm, doesn't say if this replaces the SOUTH expedition. It would be quite a feat to complete both North and South Pole expeditions in one year.