I'm a little late in talking about this. Because I'm lazy. The New England Patriots blew the sweetest lead ever on Sunday and now Peyton Manning finally gets to stop crying that he is the world's greatest quarterback ever and can take his team to the Super Bowl. I have a feeling Brian Urlacher smells blood and likes the taste of flesh and Peyton may not know what hit him on Super Bowl Sunday. We'll see.
At the beginning of the season, my husband said that the law of averages and statistics would keep Peyton out of the Super Bowl just so long. And he was right. I'm sorry that the Pats had to go down in flames in such a tremendously trainwrecky fashion, but it is what it is.
I have said it here many times over the last five years. I love football. And I'm pleased that there are two teams going to the Super Bowl that I enjoy watching. I don't think I would have cared at all if it were say, the Chargers going for the AFC and the Cowboys representing for the NFC. I like the Bears, and I like the Colts even though they spanked Brady and even though Peyton is a shill for any product that will pay him money and he cries and whines when he loses. At least they're good. Sometimes teams make it to the finals and to the Super Bowl and you sit there and scratch your head and go, what the hell is up with THAT? How'd THEY get here? This time, it's great that good teams made it.
The one thing I do have to say is that it only took 24 hours of mourning and whining to shut the Boston area sports jerks from talking about the Patriots. It is as if they are the only team that exists on the planet in the eyes of the media. And that annoys the hell out of me. Well, not just the media but everyone around here.
Last year when the Steelers were in the Super Bowl (and they won, thank you very much) I went to the Huge Conglomorate Sports Store in search of a jersey or a These Two Teams Are In The Super Bowl T-shirt for Doug for his birthday.
Nothing.
There were no Steelers jerseys. No Seahawks jerseys. There was a Brett Favre jersey, and a Michael Vick jersey, and a couple of NY Jets and Giants jerseys on the shelves. But they only had Patriots jerseys in the stores. I asked the guy behind the counter at one of the stores if they were getting any Super Bowl t-shirts in and he said "No, they're not sending any here because the Patriots aren't playing."
"Well, did it dawn on anyone at your corporate HQ that maybe people like the Steelers or just like Football in general and a shirt or two would actually sell in the store if they stocked them?"
"I guess not. I guess you could just use the Internet and go to the Steelers' website. We just stock the local team here."
And let me tell you -- last January they were selling like hotcakes (not). And this January the same thing -- I bet they're hanging and waving in the wind yet again.
Indeed. Thank God for the Internet.
So I just love how the sports talking head jerks on the news aren't even talking about Miami and the Super Bowl and the Bears and Colts. No mention at all of pigskin. They may bring it up the day before the game with an "Oh! the Super Bowl is today. That's right..."
But because the local team is out of it, why bother mentioning it. Let's talk about baseball!!! That starts in... 75 days.
It is this attitude that makes Greater Boston and New England Patriots fans look shitty. We end up looking a lot like Yankees fans. Hearken back to the playoffs when I sat in a bar full of New Yorkers who weren't even watching the game anymore because their team was losing. They didn't care at all, no investment. The "oh well" attitude and "our team has 26 championships so they'll get another one next year so let's just ignore them losing" kind of atmosphere was pretty amazing.
One of the links above takes you to The Sports Guy Bill Simmons' article where he talks about New England being like the Yankees of football. And he analyzes his hopes and dreams for that game day this Sunday past when the Pats actually lost in the end. I have to share my favorite part:
I can't believe how many readers predicted the following ending of the Pats-Colts game: Vinatieri shanks the game-winning field goal, rips off his jersey to reveal a Pats jersey, then runs across to the Pats sideline and jumps into Belichick's arms as Jim Nantz screams "Noooooooooo! Noooooooooo!" and Peyton Manning breaks out the greatest Manning Face of all-time. Would I sacrifice three months of my life for this to happen? Yeah, probably.
It is a really funny article, especially because he picked the Pats and the Saints to both win.
I love the Sports Guy. He's funny enough to just read even though you don't like sports. There is a lot of pop culture, and a lot of talking about his wife, The Sports Gal. They both crack me up.
Here's another favorite part of that article:
I can't believe how annoying David Spade's little dance was in the commercial for that CBS show that won't last for more than six weeks; I can't believe Dan Dierdorf didn't recognize who Puddy from "Seinfeld" was, then claimed that he watches a ton of TV; and I can't believe I took the time to write all of that down when it happened.
Ha. My husband hates Dan Dierdorf so that made me laugh a lot. Enough with the football. May the best team win.
Doug's birthday was this week. We went out for indian food and had the whole little restaurant to ourselves. They gave us free dessert. Geoff was fascinated in learning about what we studied in college. He wanted to know what one does when one studies Philosophy and English. So we enlightened him and he said it sounded really interesting but that he is going to study Chemistry. He asked Jess what she was planning on studying in college, and she said she didn't know. Nice to know she's planning.
I bet she does know. I bet she's got her life planned out for decades to come but just didn't want to talk about it with her bratty brother.
At school, Geoff signed up for a day of after-school program even though he doesn't need to go. He was passionate about the topic - TV news. So he's been watching the news and taking notes. If Doug, Jess or I scoff at the news story he gets mad. "This is SERIOUS!" he yells at us, so we have to settle down and let him really soak in the seriousness of the news.
I thought news reporters were serious back in the 50s and 60s. I think now they editorialize, make faces, tell you how they feel about stuff. I hate Katie Couric because she isn't a news anchor. She's a news interpreter and opinion giver. News isn't about reporting anymore, it's about telling you, the viewer, what to think.
The fact that Geoff takes it very seriously almost makes me laugh harder when I listen to news reports of "Tonight, we examine how many germs are on that doorknob in your office! What you don't know could KILL YOU!"
I'm glad he takes something seriously.
For those unfamiliar, Readyman is one of the rank requirements for cub scouts to progress to the next level. It is all about first aid and safety. Being prepared... being... "Ready, man!"
Earning these badges or rank requirements is rather time-consuming. There are several things that one needs to do, and often sitting and doing them all in one fell swoop is a near impossibility.
This past summer, Geoff's den mother took her son and a couple other boys camping and realized that the could knock off the Aquanaut badge because they were at a pond with a measured swimming line, and with PFDs so they could learn all about those and take a swim test. So they were able to pull that one off. We did part of it but need to do the measured swimming in order for Geoff to finish that one up.
So far, his den has completed all of the basic Webelo requirements, so Geoff is all set even though he hasn't finished Aquanaut. Basically, they're done with this rank.
They can now start working on the requirements for moving on to Boy Scouts... even though they've got another full year and a half of Webelos. So they've got plenty of time in this next academic year to work on Arrow of Light.
Most boys finish Webelos and then quit. That's what Doug did. So we'll see if Geoff continues after bridging over to the Boy Scouts. My little wolf cub has come a long way in two years.
What happens with Boy Scouts is that the dads start to play a much more serious part in the training. I don't think Moms do as much, the way we do with the Cub Scouts. So my major concern is Doug being interested in pursuing this with Geoff. The boys basically run their own meetings, and there is a more independent feel after the first couple of years. I watch the boys of our Boy Scout troop manage stuff for the cubs and do things and am constantly impressed with them. I hope to see that kind of self control and that kind of dedication coming from my son
This weekend is the Pinewood Derby, so we have to get our car worked up and ready for weigh in tomorrow night. Wish us luck.
We got our first traces of snow this past week or so. Some of it is still on the ground on our patio. I can't believe we've made it through this winter so far with less than 3 inches of snow total. Thank you El Nino.
Anyway -- I have to get ready for work now. Just wanted to get an entry out the door sometime this week. Aren't you relieved?
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