9:22 a.m. - February 05, 2007
Oh, There Was This Game...
So, there was this football game yesterday!
Yeah, and it was pretty darn terrific as well.
If you can indulge me, I�m still a bit, um, stunned. And cold. It�s feggin� 6 below here right now. But still, it�s a neat feeling.
The whole weekend was pretty nifty, I think. Busy, of course, but nifty. Well, except for Liz being somewhat ill, AGAIN. Hopefully, this winter she will have grown immunity to every disease known to mankind.
Saturday, I went to the store, and got ingredients for chili and other things, and then Liz went to Costco and stocked up on lifetime supplies of paper towels and diapers. (We only wish�). While she was out I made the chili (and, let me tell you, it was magnificent this year.) Then Wabash played a Saturday night game, as they double scheduled their gym and had to move the basketball game.
Sunday, we skipped church, and Liz and Katie cleaned up. Mt. Toypile, while I cleaned up the kitchen a bit, made some mix CDs, and changed out the kitty litter.
Well, I thought I did. Seems that somehow I got the trash bag we use as a liner on sideways, so the cats couldn�t access the litter and Liz walked into a mini-mess when she got home from the party. Oh, I�m getting ahead of myself.
The Super Bowl party was at a house that was within walking distance. So the plan was to drop off the chili and beer, then go back home and walk there. Liz and the girls would come over a bit later. That seemed like a reasonable plan.
There were about 20 to 25 people, including kidlets of all sizes, in this nice old house some friends of ours just bought and renovated a bit. It was perfect for a party like this, as the kids are all old enough to play on their own with occasional supervision (except for Kristin, who we had to make sure she kept off of the stairs) while the adults concentrated on the game and the commercials.
Of course, the Super Bowl is one event where people stay tuned for the commercials. I made my bathroom breaks during punts and late in the quarters after they burned all of the commercials, so Jim Nantz had to fill time by reading promos.
As for the commercials, I think it was sad that the ones by the amateurs (both Doritos commercials) were amongst the best of the bunch. The K-Fed commercial was great as well. I also liked the Blockbuster commercial where they used a real mouse! The crabs worshiping the cooler of beer was quite clever, as was using a real rock in rock-paper-scissors.
But what was Coke thinking? I mean, really. That one with the interior of the vending machine had to be done while someone was consuming �shrooms or something. It was, bizarre and made no sense (well, except for the sixth-grade daughter of a good friend of mine, who defended it.)
I do think that, �Federline! FRIES!� will be a catch phrase I�ll try to work into my conversation.
Prince�s performance was OK. Some people sniggered at his little silhouette guitar solo deal. Well, it was a bit�phallic, especially because he used his �love symbol� guitar. And, I think he should have played �Sexy MF�, or �Gett Off�, or �Head�, or �Sister�, or �Let�s Pretend We�re Married�, or �Darling Nikki�. What, CBS wouldn�t approve them? Ah, live on the edge folks!
I was worried that the rain would affect Prince, since he had to clomp around in platform shoes. Remember, he�s a tiny dude, and needs a lot of help elevating himself so he doesn�t look like he�s a member of the Lollipop Guild.
The food at this party was great. Besides my chili, there were chicken wings, hot dogs, chips and all kinds of other gastronomical pleasures, plus plenty of beer and soda and water. The hosts put the beer in the washing machine. It beats a cooler, because all you need to do after the beer is gone is to wait for the ice to melt, then put the washer on spin, and Frank Viola�no muss no fuss.
Katie had a great time playing with Matty and all of the other kids that were there, and Kristin was charming everyone in sight, as only she can! She now flashes a big toothy grin almost constantly. During the game, she kept moving from my lap to Liz�s lap, like it was a luxury for her to have both of her parents sitting on the floor next to each other.
Oh, and as for the game? Well�after the first 15 seconds I was a bit nervous. No, real nervous. And then when the Colts kept putting the ball on the ground, I got a bit more nervous. Then, of course, when the Colts started to rise to the occasion, I started to feel a bit better.
The Bears looked out of sync on offense and outfoxed on defense. The Colts came up with a perfect game plan against them. Nothing flashy, just move the chains and get points where you can.
I remember the last time Indianapolis had a title team. Of course, I was a wee bit younger. It was 1973, and the Pacers won the ABA title. It wasn�t this big of a scale but it was still pretty neat. Pacers tickets were hard to come by back then but we always went over to Indy for a couple of games a year. (In fact, I saw Julius Erving play for the Virginia Squires, alongside George Gervin.)
Oh, the minor league Indianapolis Indians won some titles, and I was on the ice and in the locker room with the Indianapolis Ice won the CHL title in 2000. (That was a fun roadie � all the way to Columbus, Georgia). But those weren�t on a national scale.
After all of these years with the Colts and Pacers coming oh, so close, and the experience of the Cubs collapse in 2003 lingering in my psyche to this day, I didn�t really know how to react.
I think is said �Woot!�, or something.
I stayed to watch the pomp and circumstance, and took my cooler and walked home. It was freakin� frigid, but that was OK. I just walked faster.
Indianapolis didn�t go crazy go nuts last night. Sure, there were a lot of people downtown, but they were orderly and polite. Of course, it being below zero probably deterred a lot of nefariousness. They are having a parade today, but I doubt if it will be a wild and crazy affair. But that would only fit this team. They weren�t flashy (despite having Manning and Wayne and Harrison), just blue collar.
This team is personified by who I think may be the best lineman in the NFL � Jeff Saturday. He was undrafted, unwanted, and working as an electrical supply salesman when he got an invitation to Colts camp a few years ago. And now, he�s the best in the business.
So, we have a title now here in Indiana. Everybody say Woot! Well, as soon as we thaw out, that is.
