The Myth of "Pull Me Out."

One of my favorite musical artists, Bebo Norman, opens his most recent album with a song called "Pull Me Out." As the title implies, the song is a desperate plea for God's rescue from this world. In my opinion, this song is a good example (though perhaps not perfect) of the "Coming of a Messiah" myth. The verses of the song express despair because of the way the world has stolen Norman's joy: "And now I feel like I'm treading water, and I'm hardly real - I'm just trying harder to make my way on the earth by standing still." This "everything is beyond help" mentality is something that is characteristic of this particular myth. In fact, according to the myth, things will never get better unless a messiah comes. "Messiah" does not necessarily refer to Jesus Christ; rather, it is any sort of a figure who comes to redeem a group of people and restore the way things were. However, in this song, the messiah figure is indeed Jesus Christ, whom Norman begs to "reach down here and pull me out."

Although this song does fit the "Coming of a Messiah" myth pretty well, I think it is not an exact match because Norman seems to advocate a complete removal from the situation. It seems to me that the myth describes someone who changes the situation to something better, rather than simply saving people from it. But all things considered, Bebo Norman's song "Pull Me Out" is a good example of a media text that predominantly exhibits the "Coming of a Messiah" myth.

A Life of Fantasy

My exposure to fantasy sports came much later than I had discovered my passion for the sports themselves. I had always had a deep love for the "big three" sports: basketball, baseball, and football. But for me, it was much deeper than simply playing them or watching them on TV (though I have always thoroughly enjoyed both). In fact, the thing about sports that thrills my soul the most is statistics - and due to the seemingly infinite amount of stats that are available for sports today, I have always had a bountiful source of pleasure from analyzing and even creating my own statistics.


It was roughly three years ago that I joined my first fantasy league, and I wish it were an exaggeration to say I've been addicted from the first. Fantasy sports, played online, allow a user ("manager") to draft, sign, release, and trade professional athletes while competing in an internet league. The manager's online team compiles the stats that his players are producing in real life, while the manager competes against other fantasy managers. This media text has been an awesome source of enjoyment for me as I connect my own love for sports and stats with the professional sports through fantasy. While I have to be careful that it doesn't take up time that I should be using for something more important, fantasy sports have offered me pleasure, release, and excitement over the past three years.