Skills Challenge (the Lance Bass edit)
Jul. 19th, 2003 06:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aruanWherein we bless the weather powers (cloudy with a lovely seabreeze, merci) and learn to enjoy the irreverence that seems to have become the traditional theme of this event.
Where to even start.
Well, Lance now readily takes off his shirt at the slightest provocation and has gotten a fairly large tattoo of a bull's head [ETA: Later reports confirm a bass clef inside it] on his upper back along his spine. (This was especially amusing to finally see after all the rumors and speculation about it all weekend - we went from wings along his shoulders to the 'rock on' hands at his nape, so to finally see what it really was was half the fun.) Joey got into everything with his usual gusto, which is always appreciated. Chris seemed less than enthused, though with fairly good reason (either that or the Knights really were cheating as much as the refs accused. I'm disinclined to go with the latter.) He seemed to enjoy the Good Charlotte boys though. Justin needs to be fed something nutritious and desperately. Some sun wouldn't have hurt, either, the poor lad. He might really be ill, especially considering the way the concert went on Wednesday, so here's hoping he's alright. In other news, however, looking adorable in flip-flops with loose shaggy hair was JC, unofficially on the Knights team in that he came out in jeans and a long-sleeved white shirt and disappeared about halfway through the festivities without having participated in any of the events. Simon Rex was awful lonely after he left, too. [ETA: Apparently, those close enough watched him attempt a stretch, at which point a very angry-looking red stripe appeared starting about an inch above the waistband of his jeans, which would explain a lot. Poor kitten. He must've fallen asleep on his belly in the sun. We're not going into how especially he of all of them should know about the Florida sun, no we're not.]
The refereeing was as high-caliber as ever, which is to say there were disputes after every event so the boys dunked a couple in the pool for sport every now and then. The games were as random as ever, which meant explaining them at least three or more times and having the teams make up the rules along the way. Lance took it upon himself to know what was going on though, being the first to understand the games then acting them out to as many people as many times as necessary. Yes, I might love him a lot.
Lord of the Ringies was the first event as well as the beginning of more Lance nudity than I ever hoped to bargain for. It involved swimming (which apparently was not on the list of things a cosmonaut should be able to do well) for rings in an above-ground pool and other miscellany. Before things began, Joey made his way to the Daze side to schmooze with Lance, even though they were both competing, for opposing teams. I had to mention that because in case we haven't met, I'm an irredeemable, helpless sucker for JoLa, and those two love each other just as much as ever. Lance looks good; really, really good. His hair is a bit longer than it's been in recentish photos, he's tanned and gained a bit of weight back to his cheeks, and don't even get me started on his arms: Making the Tour type squeeing would ensue. Also, I actually do like his tattoo quite a bit - because that matters you know. And he does devil hands at the slightest provocation. Possibly a whole heck of a lot.
Ready-Aim-Splat marked the triumphant return of the rubber band launch, an event Lance felt he had particular mastery over, and acted out copious and detailed pointers for all his teammates. He was originally just one of the people holding the band but took over the job of launching them when things weren't going satisfactorily enough. Lots and lots, I think.
National Flipper League should be an official sport so we can see Justin running around in fins all the time. He's good, yo. Lance himself, though a stickler for rules, regulations, and respect, is not above helping his team out any way he needs to. That this event ended in a dance-off ("the only way to decide this" *g*) that involved Alfonso Ribero imitating Michael Jackson in Billie Jean, complete with lip synching, made it definitely memorable. And speaking of which, Chris and Joey were at it again with their harassment of referees who made unfavorable calls on their team - they threw one, then the other into the pool when they'd found out the first had called on their side.
The Scrabble Scramble event saw Lance once again readily and enthusiastically volunteering to be the one in the pool to fish out the letters, shedding his shirt even before the emcees even had a chance to announce the teams. There was some confusion of the word 'recalcitrant' as 'recalcitrate' (not, in fact, a real word) so there was a rematch, which brought us our word of the day, courtesy of Chris: "disquali - freakin' - cation."
After a particularly convoluted explanation of Sand Trap, even Lance had a question, which was the one and only time they handed him a microphone - there were cheers all around as he finished asking it. Yeah, his voice is just that delicious. As far as the event, they had several kinds of real trouble with defrosting the shirts. Though it was all worth it to see Lance and Justin working like washmaids at the side of the pool (which wasn't technically legal even if the emcee said so, and Lance stood there for a moment to make the most annoyed face at this blatant defiance of the rules of engagement before jumping back into play, the big adorable control freak that he is.) While it was originally Lance's idea to whack the frozen blocks against the railing around the court, it was Justin who decided diligence wasn't the way and really, really took to them hardcore, heaving around his body weight and slamming them onto the ground from dunk height. The Daze ended up winning this one, with Lance in the lead coordinating four people strapped to two land skis across the finish line. The Knights were unhappy with the way events transpired. Justin's response? "Y'all are just jealous 'cause you can't spell." Continuity! Or you know, something.
In more de facto celebrity news, Joey's parents were sitting center court, with Trace, Steve Fatone, Lynn, and Diane sparsed out a few seats down. JC's parents were in attendance as well, though they were reported to have left when he did.
I'm so glad we were sitting on the bleacher side we did if only to bear witness to Lance's cheerleading as he mimed and yelled 'Pull!' at his hapless teammates during Tug-O-War. He was getting red in the face from just standing there. Yep, definitely, definitely love him.
We met a couple of fans walking out the gates and stayed to chat. Others rushed the opposite end of the stands to watch the not-so-red-carpet departure of the players. Tonight looks to be quiet and may well involve make-up sleep for those of us whose budgets lay outside the realm of SPI's VIP party. Good times.
The two choice photographs from today's festivities, taken by me with the ingenious 100mm disposable zoom cameras of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
giddyupnow (cutting away because they're fairly large):
Where to even start.
Well, Lance now readily takes off his shirt at the slightest provocation and has gotten a fairly large tattoo of a bull's head [ETA: Later reports confirm a bass clef inside it] on his upper back along his spine. (This was especially amusing to finally see after all the rumors and speculation about it all weekend - we went from wings along his shoulders to the 'rock on' hands at his nape, so to finally see what it really was was half the fun.) Joey got into everything with his usual gusto, which is always appreciated. Chris seemed less than enthused, though with fairly good reason (either that or the Knights really were cheating as much as the refs accused. I'm disinclined to go with the latter.) He seemed to enjoy the Good Charlotte boys though. Justin needs to be fed something nutritious and desperately. Some sun wouldn't have hurt, either, the poor lad. He might really be ill, especially considering the way the concert went on Wednesday, so here's hoping he's alright. In other news, however, looking adorable in flip-flops with loose shaggy hair was JC, unofficially on the Knights team in that he came out in jeans and a long-sleeved white shirt and disappeared about halfway through the festivities without having participated in any of the events. Simon Rex was awful lonely after he left, too. [ETA: Apparently, those close enough watched him attempt a stretch, at which point a very angry-looking red stripe appeared starting about an inch above the waistband of his jeans, which would explain a lot. Poor kitten. He must've fallen asleep on his belly in the sun. We're not going into how especially he of all of them should know about the Florida sun, no we're not.]
The refereeing was as high-caliber as ever, which is to say there were disputes after every event so the boys dunked a couple in the pool for sport every now and then. The games were as random as ever, which meant explaining them at least three or more times and having the teams make up the rules along the way. Lance took it upon himself to know what was going on though, being the first to understand the games then acting them out to as many people as many times as necessary. Yes, I might love him a lot.
Lord of the Ringies was the first event as well as the beginning of more Lance nudity than I ever hoped to bargain for. It involved swimming (which apparently was not on the list of things a cosmonaut should be able to do well) for rings in an above-ground pool and other miscellany. Before things began, Joey made his way to the Daze side to schmooze with Lance, even though they were both competing, for opposing teams. I had to mention that because in case we haven't met, I'm an irredeemable, helpless sucker for JoLa, and those two love each other just as much as ever. Lance looks good; really, really good. His hair is a bit longer than it's been in recentish photos, he's tanned and gained a bit of weight back to his cheeks, and don't even get me started on his arms: Making the Tour type squeeing would ensue. Also, I actually do like his tattoo quite a bit - because that matters you know. And he does devil hands at the slightest provocation. Possibly a whole heck of a lot.
Ready-Aim-Splat marked the triumphant return of the rubber band launch, an event Lance felt he had particular mastery over, and acted out copious and detailed pointers for all his teammates. He was originally just one of the people holding the band but took over the job of launching them when things weren't going satisfactorily enough. Lots and lots, I think.
National Flipper League should be an official sport so we can see Justin running around in fins all the time. He's good, yo. Lance himself, though a stickler for rules, regulations, and respect, is not above helping his team out any way he needs to. That this event ended in a dance-off ("the only way to decide this" *g*) that involved Alfonso Ribero imitating Michael Jackson in Billie Jean, complete with lip synching, made it definitely memorable. And speaking of which, Chris and Joey were at it again with their harassment of referees who made unfavorable calls on their team - they threw one, then the other into the pool when they'd found out the first had called on their side.
The Scrabble Scramble event saw Lance once again readily and enthusiastically volunteering to be the one in the pool to fish out the letters, shedding his shirt even before the emcees even had a chance to announce the teams. There was some confusion of the word 'recalcitrant' as 'recalcitrate' (not, in fact, a real word) so there was a rematch, which brought us our word of the day, courtesy of Chris: "disquali - freakin' - cation."
After a particularly convoluted explanation of Sand Trap, even Lance had a question, which was the one and only time they handed him a microphone - there were cheers all around as he finished asking it. Yeah, his voice is just that delicious. As far as the event, they had several kinds of real trouble with defrosting the shirts. Though it was all worth it to see Lance and Justin working like washmaids at the side of the pool (which wasn't technically legal even if the emcee said so, and Lance stood there for a moment to make the most annoyed face at this blatant defiance of the rules of engagement before jumping back into play, the big adorable control freak that he is.) While it was originally Lance's idea to whack the frozen blocks against the railing around the court, it was Justin who decided diligence wasn't the way and really, really took to them hardcore, heaving around his body weight and slamming them onto the ground from dunk height. The Daze ended up winning this one, with Lance in the lead coordinating four people strapped to two land skis across the finish line. The Knights were unhappy with the way events transpired. Justin's response? "Y'all are just jealous 'cause you can't spell." Continuity! Or you know, something.
In more de facto celebrity news, Joey's parents were sitting center court, with Trace, Steve Fatone, Lynn, and Diane sparsed out a few seats down. JC's parents were in attendance as well, though they were reported to have left when he did.
I'm so glad we were sitting on the bleacher side we did if only to bear witness to Lance's cheerleading as he mimed and yelled 'Pull!' at his hapless teammates during Tug-O-War. He was getting red in the face from just standing there. Yep, definitely, definitely love him.
We met a couple of fans walking out the gates and stayed to chat. Others rushed the opposite end of the stands to watch the not-so-red-carpet departure of the players. Tonight looks to be quiet and may well involve make-up sleep for those of us whose budgets lay outside the realm of SPI's VIP party. Good times.
The two choice photographs from today's festivities, taken by me with the ingenious 100mm disposable zoom cameras of
giddyupnow (cutting away because they're fairly large):
