Yes, I know that I promised to write a lot more often this year. Sadly, life has an unnerving ability to get in the way, cause me to spend weekends in the office, find me in various gin joints in the French Quarter with my special someone and just generally eat into my precious writing time. As I have mentioned before I am in the market for an assistant, not for work but more for my life. It doesn’t pay, you’ll have to deal with the fact that I have almost no ability to function in modern society but I can probably get you college credit. At least at the University of Phoenix. Anyway, some random thoughts at the moment….
1) As someone who has spent much of his life in the electricity business (slightly more than a quarter overall, which means that when I ask the rhetorical question “what have I done with my life?” my answer will be “Determined the amount of imaginary power in the circuit diagram”) watching the Super Bowl blackout was a bit of a thrill. First because I knew that there had to be a bunch of utility execs freaking out at the moment. Then because it was incredible to watch the sideline reporters struggle to understand concepts like fuses, circuit breakers and the fact that it takes time for stadium lights to warm up.
2) I miss the Bud Bowl. I’m sorry, I just do. I don’t care what type of new, hip beer Budweiser wants us to drink this year. I just want beer bottles playing football. Well, that and Bud Dry. Or whatever ice beer is hip at the moment.
3) What I miss about college / my misspent youth item #23: The annual changing of the hip drink / beer. Remember when everyone had to drink Red Dog? When you couldn’t step foot in a bar without hitting ten guys drinking Icehouse? Or that brief moment when people were drinking Zima unironically? Ah, those were the days.
4) Heard on the news today that Muzak is being rebranded. In a way that makes me incredibly sad. Not that the product is disappearing or changing because it isn’t. The company is still going to produce inoffensive, moderately upbeat versions of songs that are popular enough that you recognize the melody but are completely oblivious to the name of the song. They just aren’t going to call it Muzak anymore. I just don’t see the need for the change. We have a perfectly good name for a product we all barely tolerate, why should we be forced to change all of our default small talk statements just so someone in marketing can justify their existence.
5) Yeah, it is tough for me to believe that I was at one point that person in marketing trying to justify their existence. It was Kansas, though. Nothing makes sense there. Any place where the primary mode of transportation is tornado is one where logic need not apply.
6) I wish we could get to the point where we no longer cared about the Super Bowl halftime entertainment. We didn’t care when it was Up with People, we didn’t care when it was in 3D, we didn’t even really care when it involved Michael Jackson. To be honest we could go back to the days where everyone changes the channel for twenty minutes and watches something else and we really wouldn’t lose anything.
7) Oh, and the Ravens won. That was nice, I guess. Delaware’s own Joe Flacco now has a Super Bowl ring so that is nice to know. I believe that automatically makes him the next governor but there are only ten people in the state so it was probably his turn anyway.
Showing posts with label super bowl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label super bowl. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 05, 2013
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Let's get ready for a Super Blog
5:42 P.M.: And we are coming to you live from the Battling the Current Sports Headquarters for Super Blog 45! I am joined by…uh…Voltaire the Gargoyle that sits on my bookcase and Stanley the Black Bear carved out of a log that Kim and I got in Tennessee that sits on my dining room table. Yeah, my Super Bowl parties leave something to be desired.
5:43 P.M.: For those who haven’t been a part of my previous live blogs the rules are pretty simple. I watch and make cynical comments about what I see. Such as seeing Frank Caliendo impersonating Charles Barkley is both unfunny and vaguely disturbing.
5:46 P.M.: This is a strange game for me as I don’t really have a rooting interest. I’ve got a natural hatred for the Packers and cheering for Ben Rothelisberger makes me feel like I need to take a shower. I’m still pulling for the Steelers because I can’t stand to see people from Wisconsin happy,
5:49 P.M.: Also, I just want to state that for last year’s Super Bowl Kim and I happened to find ourselves in New Orleans watching the Saints win the Super Bowl in what was the biggest party that I have ever been a part of. Somehow I have a feeling that the experience in Delaware is not going to be quite the same.
6:18 P.M.: I apparently missed the reading of the Declaration of Independence and the team introductions due to watching the Puppy Bowl. But Jack the Black Lab is so cute! I turned back in time to see the Walter Payton award. I’m still pissed at Ditka for letting the Fridge score a touchdown in the Super Bowl over Payton.
6:20 P.M.: We now have someone from Glee singing America the Beautiful. No explanation is given other than “Hey, what can we do to get one of those kids from Glee on the show.”
6:22 P.M.: Christina Aguilera gets the nod for the national anthem. She has five Grammys? Who knew. I wish she would just sing the song straight. It’s not meant to be sung like you are auditioning for American Idol.
6:27 P.M.: Coin toss time! I’ve got 50 bucks on a Heads / Steelers parlay. Not that I have a gambling problem or anything…
6:30 P.M.: Richard Dent made the Hall of Fame. That is cool. And how the hell Ed Sabol from NFL Films took this long to get in is a travesty. Probably due to the fact that he made a mint by signing the deal before the league knew how much it was worth.
6:31 P.M.: Deion Sanders tosses it and it is heads! Got half of my parlay right though as the Steelers had tails. Oh well, at least Deion properly tossed the coin. Now on to the kickoff. Finally.
6:37 P.M.: Steelers go three and out but the punt is a comedy of errors leading to one of those fun fumble scrums but the Packers recover. Packers at least get a first down but do nothing much else. Time to the commercials.
6:44 P.M.: Bud Light gets the first commercial and, meh. Audi at least provides us with a Kenny G cameo for those of us who were wondering if Kenny G was still alive or not.
6:47 P.M.: Rashard Mendenhall is a former Illini. Just saying…
6:50 P.M.: Doritos is using the “let’s really disturb our customers” advertising technique while Pepsi just went with the always successful “let’s see a pretty girl get injured”. People getting hit in the head is fun!
6:57 P.M.: The Rock and Vin Diesel in the same movie? Maybe Vin could let the Rock know how his career is going to turn out. And Alex Rodriguez being with Cameron Diaz is both sad but fitting. Packers have put together the first actual drive of the game and are near the Steelers 30.
7:00 P.M.: Green Bay touchdown on a really nice pass play. The Old Milwaukee is flowing right now as well as wheels of cheddar.
7:02 P.M.: Seriously, I think Pepsi Max’s slogan is “Drink it or use it to bean someone in the head. Or the groin. Groin is probably funnier.”
7:07 P.M.: Well Big Ben just lobbed one up there in the vague direction of a receiver and Nick Collins intercepts it and takes it to the house making it a 14 – 0 Packers lead. I might be forced to do Puppy Bowl coverage. At least I’m not Eminem and have reached the point where I have to shill iced tea for a living.
7:23 P.M.: Steelers put together a nice little drive but it fizzles out with just a field goal to make it 14 – 3. I can also go without hearing the song Tiny Dancer or seeing another Transformers movie.
7:33 P.M.: The Volkswagen mini-Vader commercial is pretty awesome even if only for the fact that the commercial reminds me of myself when I was younger. I am not sure about the Thor movie though mainly because I was never a big fan of the Thor character. It just never seemed realistic to have a Norse god in comic books. Being bitten by a radioactive spider giving you the abilities of a spider makes sense; Norse gods less so. But hey, it’s another Natalie Portman movie. The Avengers might feature Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johannsen, Natalie Portman and Robin from How I Met Your Mother.
7:36 P.M.: I know that I am not doing much game analysis as for the most part I don’t have that much to say. The Steelers are moving the ball now but they are pretty beat up and it is only the first half. There is a lot of hard hits though no concussions so far.
7:40 P.M.: Snickers follows up on last year’s Betty White commercial by having Richard Lewis and Roseanne with Roseanne being hit by a log. I’m not anticipating either of them having as big a career comeback as Betty White did. Oh, and careerbuilder.com goes for the “monkeys equals jobs again.”
7:42 P.M.: Ben throws another interception. I’m hoping Byron Leftwitch makes it into the game if only because he was shown wearing his iPod on the sideline earlier.
7:45 P.M.: Another touchdown for Green Bay on a Rodgers to Jennings pass. This game is getting out of hand pretty fast. 21 – 3 Green Bay with about two minutes left in the first half.
7:50 P.M.: I really don’t need my car to access Facebook for me. In fact, I can’t think of a single time that I’ve been in my car and thought “you know what, I really wonder what random people I went to high school with are posting to Facebook right now.” Oh, and Carmax has the best commercial that I have seen so far tonight.
7:56 P.M.: Steelers put together a nice two minute drill combined with injuring much of the Green Bay secondary. That results in a touchdown to bring the score to 21 – 10. Game has gotten better but it really hasn’t been a spectacular game in any sense of the word. It’s been most notable for the number of players who have come off the field injured which is great for those of us who think that an eighteen game regular season is the worst idea ever.
8:00 P.M.: Halftime. Black Eyed Peas for those of you who are interested. I’m going to watch some puppies.
8:21 P.M.: Well, at least we know where all the excess Tron costumes went to…
8:31 P.M.: Charles Woodson is out of the game. As much as I want the Steelers to win I would prefer it not be a result of everyone on the Packers getting hurt. Also, even though a lot of people weren’t behind Woodson getting the Heisman all those years ago he did turn into one hell of an NFL player.
8:36 P.M.: Packers shooting themselves in the foot here. Dropped pass that could have been big and then a bad facemask penalty on the punt. Also, has the eTrade baby gotten older. And I am embarrassed to see Ozzy on the same set as Justin Bieber. Mainly because I am embarrassed to see Justin Bieber on a set.
8:42 P.M.: Rashard Mendenhall for the touchdown. Oskee Wow Wow!!! Note: I have no idea what Oskee Wow Wow and I have never met a fellow Illini who knew what it meant either. Steelers with all the momentum though they are down 21 – 17. Packers defense is just completely beat up at the moment and they don’t have a running game to try to hold a lead.
8:43 P.M.: “Cram it in the boot?” Yeah, that sounds vaguely….yeah. I’m pretty sure that will be talked about around the water cooler tomorrow though I don’t know if any offices have water coolers anymore.
8:49 P.M.: Packers have absolutely nothing going right now. Dropped pass, sack, they haven’t had a single good play in the second half. Apparently they were too depressed by the Black Eyed Peas halftime set and are in no condition to play now. Oh, and Groupon is using the “screw helping the planet when you can get a good deal on a dinner” advertising philosophy.
9:03 P.M.: Interesting little series of events there. Steelers try a 52 yard field goal and they would have been better off having that girl who delivered the game ball who wanted to be the first female NFL kicker take the try. Packers get the ball in good field position and immediately makes a nice play. In between Chrysler was alternating between advertising a car and Detroit itself with the second Eminem sighting of the night.
9:21 P.M.: End of the third quarter with the Steelers driving while down 21 – 17. I’m tiring. Please send buffalo wings or cute puppy dogs.
9:25 P.M.: Mendenhall, who probably never went to class anyway, fumbles the ball away to start the fourth quarter.
9:31 P.M.: Packers make a number of good plays ending with a Rodgers to Jennings touchdown pass. The story of the game has been the Steelers turning the ball over and the Packers making them pay. Also, Johnny Depp is apparently playing a lizard or Hunter S. Thompson or maybe both simultaneously. 28 – 17 Packers.
9:41 P.M.: Here is the problem with living in the eastern time zone. I’m dead tired right now and there is still eight minutes left in the game with the Steelers driving. This game is going to go down to the wire especially now that Pittsburgh just scored on a really nice pass to Wallace to make it 28 – 25 (including an option play to Radall-El (who is still in the NFL)). If I was in the Midwest it would be an hour earlier but no. Heck, if I wanted to watch Glee I would be up until midnight.
9:44 P.M.: Great Bridgestone commercial involving a beaver. Less impressive GoDaddy commercial involving….yeah, I’m better off not going there. I can’t wait until Jillian Michaels uses this as encouragement on the Biggest Loser, “work hard and you can be a GoDaddy girl.”
9:52 P.M.: While the Steelers have cut it close a big pass to Jennings and a run that actually moves the ball forward for once and the Packers have it within a long field goal range. They are slowly beginning to run down the clock with four minutes left.
9:56 P.M.: Packers add a field goal with two minutes left so it is 31 – 25. The game has turned into what most people thought it would: the ball in Roethlisberger hands with a chance to win. Should be a fun ending. Also, for once all of the people who ended up on the five line in the office pool have a chance to win. There is nothing worse in an office pool than ending up with a five.
10:03 P.M.: One minute left with third and five from the Steelers 33 and it is incomplete. One play left for the Steelers. And it is incomplete. That is ballgame.
10:05 P.M.: Not a bad game. More interesting than I thought it would be much of the time. The Steelers had every chance to win the game but they kept on blowing their chances. Turn it over three times and you will lose. Simple as that.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) The Blacks “Just Like Home”
2) Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit “Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit”
3) The Sundays “Blind”
4) The Shins “Chutes Too Narrow”
5) Terrence Simien “Jam the Jazzfest”
5:43 P.M.: For those who haven’t been a part of my previous live blogs the rules are pretty simple. I watch and make cynical comments about what I see. Such as seeing Frank Caliendo impersonating Charles Barkley is both unfunny and vaguely disturbing.
5:46 P.M.: This is a strange game for me as I don’t really have a rooting interest. I’ve got a natural hatred for the Packers and cheering for Ben Rothelisberger makes me feel like I need to take a shower. I’m still pulling for the Steelers because I can’t stand to see people from Wisconsin happy,
5:49 P.M.: Also, I just want to state that for last year’s Super Bowl Kim and I happened to find ourselves in New Orleans watching the Saints win the Super Bowl in what was the biggest party that I have ever been a part of. Somehow I have a feeling that the experience in Delaware is not going to be quite the same.
6:18 P.M.: I apparently missed the reading of the Declaration of Independence and the team introductions due to watching the Puppy Bowl. But Jack the Black Lab is so cute! I turned back in time to see the Walter Payton award. I’m still pissed at Ditka for letting the Fridge score a touchdown in the Super Bowl over Payton.
6:20 P.M.: We now have someone from Glee singing America the Beautiful. No explanation is given other than “Hey, what can we do to get one of those kids from Glee on the show.”
6:22 P.M.: Christina Aguilera gets the nod for the national anthem. She has five Grammys? Who knew. I wish she would just sing the song straight. It’s not meant to be sung like you are auditioning for American Idol.
6:27 P.M.: Coin toss time! I’ve got 50 bucks on a Heads / Steelers parlay. Not that I have a gambling problem or anything…
6:30 P.M.: Richard Dent made the Hall of Fame. That is cool. And how the hell Ed Sabol from NFL Films took this long to get in is a travesty. Probably due to the fact that he made a mint by signing the deal before the league knew how much it was worth.
6:31 P.M.: Deion Sanders tosses it and it is heads! Got half of my parlay right though as the Steelers had tails. Oh well, at least Deion properly tossed the coin. Now on to the kickoff. Finally.
6:37 P.M.: Steelers go three and out but the punt is a comedy of errors leading to one of those fun fumble scrums but the Packers recover. Packers at least get a first down but do nothing much else. Time to the commercials.
6:44 P.M.: Bud Light gets the first commercial and, meh. Audi at least provides us with a Kenny G cameo for those of us who were wondering if Kenny G was still alive or not.
6:47 P.M.: Rashard Mendenhall is a former Illini. Just saying…
6:50 P.M.: Doritos is using the “let’s really disturb our customers” advertising technique while Pepsi just went with the always successful “let’s see a pretty girl get injured”. People getting hit in the head is fun!
6:57 P.M.: The Rock and Vin Diesel in the same movie? Maybe Vin could let the Rock know how his career is going to turn out. And Alex Rodriguez being with Cameron Diaz is both sad but fitting. Packers have put together the first actual drive of the game and are near the Steelers 30.
7:00 P.M.: Green Bay touchdown on a really nice pass play. The Old Milwaukee is flowing right now as well as wheels of cheddar.
7:02 P.M.: Seriously, I think Pepsi Max’s slogan is “Drink it or use it to bean someone in the head. Or the groin. Groin is probably funnier.”
7:07 P.M.: Well Big Ben just lobbed one up there in the vague direction of a receiver and Nick Collins intercepts it and takes it to the house making it a 14 – 0 Packers lead. I might be forced to do Puppy Bowl coverage. At least I’m not Eminem and have reached the point where I have to shill iced tea for a living.
7:23 P.M.: Steelers put together a nice little drive but it fizzles out with just a field goal to make it 14 – 3. I can also go without hearing the song Tiny Dancer or seeing another Transformers movie.
7:33 P.M.: The Volkswagen mini-Vader commercial is pretty awesome even if only for the fact that the commercial reminds me of myself when I was younger. I am not sure about the Thor movie though mainly because I was never a big fan of the Thor character. It just never seemed realistic to have a Norse god in comic books. Being bitten by a radioactive spider giving you the abilities of a spider makes sense; Norse gods less so. But hey, it’s another Natalie Portman movie. The Avengers might feature Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johannsen, Natalie Portman and Robin from How I Met Your Mother.
7:36 P.M.: I know that I am not doing much game analysis as for the most part I don’t have that much to say. The Steelers are moving the ball now but they are pretty beat up and it is only the first half. There is a lot of hard hits though no concussions so far.
7:40 P.M.: Snickers follows up on last year’s Betty White commercial by having Richard Lewis and Roseanne with Roseanne being hit by a log. I’m not anticipating either of them having as big a career comeback as Betty White did. Oh, and careerbuilder.com goes for the “monkeys equals jobs again.”
7:42 P.M.: Ben throws another interception. I’m hoping Byron Leftwitch makes it into the game if only because he was shown wearing his iPod on the sideline earlier.
7:45 P.M.: Another touchdown for Green Bay on a Rodgers to Jennings pass. This game is getting out of hand pretty fast. 21 – 3 Green Bay with about two minutes left in the first half.
7:50 P.M.: I really don’t need my car to access Facebook for me. In fact, I can’t think of a single time that I’ve been in my car and thought “you know what, I really wonder what random people I went to high school with are posting to Facebook right now.” Oh, and Carmax has the best commercial that I have seen so far tonight.
7:56 P.M.: Steelers put together a nice two minute drill combined with injuring much of the Green Bay secondary. That results in a touchdown to bring the score to 21 – 10. Game has gotten better but it really hasn’t been a spectacular game in any sense of the word. It’s been most notable for the number of players who have come off the field injured which is great for those of us who think that an eighteen game regular season is the worst idea ever.
8:00 P.M.: Halftime. Black Eyed Peas for those of you who are interested. I’m going to watch some puppies.
8:21 P.M.: Well, at least we know where all the excess Tron costumes went to…
8:31 P.M.: Charles Woodson is out of the game. As much as I want the Steelers to win I would prefer it not be a result of everyone on the Packers getting hurt. Also, even though a lot of people weren’t behind Woodson getting the Heisman all those years ago he did turn into one hell of an NFL player.
8:36 P.M.: Packers shooting themselves in the foot here. Dropped pass that could have been big and then a bad facemask penalty on the punt. Also, has the eTrade baby gotten older. And I am embarrassed to see Ozzy on the same set as Justin Bieber. Mainly because I am embarrassed to see Justin Bieber on a set.
8:42 P.M.: Rashard Mendenhall for the touchdown. Oskee Wow Wow!!! Note: I have no idea what Oskee Wow Wow and I have never met a fellow Illini who knew what it meant either. Steelers with all the momentum though they are down 21 – 17. Packers defense is just completely beat up at the moment and they don’t have a running game to try to hold a lead.
8:43 P.M.: “Cram it in the boot?” Yeah, that sounds vaguely….yeah. I’m pretty sure that will be talked about around the water cooler tomorrow though I don’t know if any offices have water coolers anymore.
8:49 P.M.: Packers have absolutely nothing going right now. Dropped pass, sack, they haven’t had a single good play in the second half. Apparently they were too depressed by the Black Eyed Peas halftime set and are in no condition to play now. Oh, and Groupon is using the “screw helping the planet when you can get a good deal on a dinner” advertising philosophy.
9:03 P.M.: Interesting little series of events there. Steelers try a 52 yard field goal and they would have been better off having that girl who delivered the game ball who wanted to be the first female NFL kicker take the try. Packers get the ball in good field position and immediately makes a nice play. In between Chrysler was alternating between advertising a car and Detroit itself with the second Eminem sighting of the night.
9:21 P.M.: End of the third quarter with the Steelers driving while down 21 – 17. I’m tiring. Please send buffalo wings or cute puppy dogs.
9:25 P.M.: Mendenhall, who probably never went to class anyway, fumbles the ball away to start the fourth quarter.
9:31 P.M.: Packers make a number of good plays ending with a Rodgers to Jennings touchdown pass. The story of the game has been the Steelers turning the ball over and the Packers making them pay. Also, Johnny Depp is apparently playing a lizard or Hunter S. Thompson or maybe both simultaneously. 28 – 17 Packers.
9:41 P.M.: Here is the problem with living in the eastern time zone. I’m dead tired right now and there is still eight minutes left in the game with the Steelers driving. This game is going to go down to the wire especially now that Pittsburgh just scored on a really nice pass to Wallace to make it 28 – 25 (including an option play to Radall-El (who is still in the NFL)). If I was in the Midwest it would be an hour earlier but no. Heck, if I wanted to watch Glee I would be up until midnight.
9:44 P.M.: Great Bridgestone commercial involving a beaver. Less impressive GoDaddy commercial involving….yeah, I’m better off not going there. I can’t wait until Jillian Michaels uses this as encouragement on the Biggest Loser, “work hard and you can be a GoDaddy girl.”
9:52 P.M.: While the Steelers have cut it close a big pass to Jennings and a run that actually moves the ball forward for once and the Packers have it within a long field goal range. They are slowly beginning to run down the clock with four minutes left.
9:56 P.M.: Packers add a field goal with two minutes left so it is 31 – 25. The game has turned into what most people thought it would: the ball in Roethlisberger hands with a chance to win. Should be a fun ending. Also, for once all of the people who ended up on the five line in the office pool have a chance to win. There is nothing worse in an office pool than ending up with a five.
10:03 P.M.: One minute left with third and five from the Steelers 33 and it is incomplete. One play left for the Steelers. And it is incomplete. That is ballgame.
10:05 P.M.: Not a bad game. More interesting than I thought it would be much of the time. The Steelers had every chance to win the game but they kept on blowing their chances. Turn it over three times and you will lose. Simple as that.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) The Blacks “Just Like Home”
2) Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit “Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit”
3) The Sundays “Blind”
4) The Shins “Chutes Too Narrow”
5) Terrence Simien “Jam the Jazzfest”
Monday, February 08, 2010
I was there!!!!!
Ok, time for the latest round of Where’s Waldo. Kim and I are somewhere in that picture. I think. Things are a little blurry as you might expect.
A few of you are probably wondering why there has been a lack of posts the past few nights. The reason is rather simple: Kim and I decided to spend the weekend in New Orleans. How we happened to get caught up in the greatest party in the history of mankind is slightly more difficult to explain.
As I have mentioned before, Kim and I had our first date on Valentine’s Day in the French Quarter. She had never been to New Orleans and it is my favorite city so we felt that it would be a perfect first date destination. If it worked out well then we would have the greatest story ever and if it didn’t, well, at least we could drink beer on the street. What we really loved about that weekend, which is the weekend before Mardi Gras weekend, is that there is the Krewe of Barkus parade. A parade in which all of the residents of New Orleans dress their dogs up in costume and parade them through the French Quarter. It is hysterical and joyous and we immediately decided that we would be at the parade every year from that point on.
So a few months ago I booked our hotel and flights for our return trip. A few days later I realized that it was Super Bowl weekend. A few days after that I realized that the Saints had a legitimate chance to be in the Super Bowl. Two weeks ago I realized that we were in for the biggest time of our lives.
I’ve been going to New Orleans for about fifteen years now and I have never seen the city like this. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was wearing black and gold. The streets were filled more than I had ever seen them before and outside of Mardi Gras and the Sugar Bowl I have been down there for the busiest days of the year. It was wild but in a completely joyful way. I don’t recall seeing any fights or arguments or anything outside of the normal lunacy found in the French Quarter. It was days and nights of people drinking and celebrating and screaming “Who dat!” at the top of their lungs. And this was before the game even started.
You could feel the roars in the French Quarter as the game went on. The entire place would shake after a good play. And after the game it was just bedlam. I’ve been in Chicago for the Bulls championships and nothing could compare. As we left today we saw Bourbon Street as they were trying to clean it and you couldn’t believe what it looked like. It was like a war zone if the war only took place inside a brewery. And no one had a care in the world about it.
Many more stories to come. Until then, here is the song (specifically starting at the 3:34 mark) that almost brought me to tears before the game even started.
A few of you are probably wondering why there has been a lack of posts the past few nights. The reason is rather simple: Kim and I decided to spend the weekend in New Orleans. How we happened to get caught up in the greatest party in the history of mankind is slightly more difficult to explain.
As I have mentioned before, Kim and I had our first date on Valentine’s Day in the French Quarter. She had never been to New Orleans and it is my favorite city so we felt that it would be a perfect first date destination. If it worked out well then we would have the greatest story ever and if it didn’t, well, at least we could drink beer on the street. What we really loved about that weekend, which is the weekend before Mardi Gras weekend, is that there is the Krewe of Barkus parade. A parade in which all of the residents of New Orleans dress their dogs up in costume and parade them through the French Quarter. It is hysterical and joyous and we immediately decided that we would be at the parade every year from that point on.
So a few months ago I booked our hotel and flights for our return trip. A few days later I realized that it was Super Bowl weekend. A few days after that I realized that the Saints had a legitimate chance to be in the Super Bowl. Two weeks ago I realized that we were in for the biggest time of our lives.
I’ve been going to New Orleans for about fifteen years now and I have never seen the city like this. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was wearing black and gold. The streets were filled more than I had ever seen them before and outside of Mardi Gras and the Sugar Bowl I have been down there for the busiest days of the year. It was wild but in a completely joyful way. I don’t recall seeing any fights or arguments or anything outside of the normal lunacy found in the French Quarter. It was days and nights of people drinking and celebrating and screaming “Who dat!” at the top of their lungs. And this was before the game even started.
You could feel the roars in the French Quarter as the game went on. The entire place would shake after a good play. And after the game it was just bedlam. I’ve been in Chicago for the Bulls championships and nothing could compare. As we left today we saw Bourbon Street as they were trying to clean it and you couldn’t believe what it looked like. It was like a war zone if the war only took place inside a brewery. And no one had a care in the world about it.
Many more stories to come. Until then, here is the song (specifically starting at the 3:34 mark) that almost brought me to tears before the game even started.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Loreena McKennitt "The Visit"
2) R.E.M. "Reconstruction of the Fables"
3) Ryan Adams "Gold"
4) The Sundays "Static and Silence"
5) R.E.M. "Document"
Monday, February 02, 2009
Super Bowl Roundup
Some other notes from the Super Bowl and the sporting world over the weekend.
1) I sadly did was not on one of the cable systems that received free porn from Comcast during the fourth quarter of the game last night. As a Comcast subscriber I find it rather disappointing that this was not a universal feature of their Super Bowl coverage. Given that I typically do not receive the channels that I actually purchase and have to deal with an on screen channel guide that states that the show I am currently watching is called “To Be Announced” I feel that at the very least I deserve some free porn now and again.
2) I can’t agree with the Super Bowl being the best ever. It may have had the best second half of the fourth quarter in Super Bowl history but the entire game would not rank as one of the best ever. The first half was rather boring, way too many penalties, and let’s face it, Pittsburgh should have blown this one away. It was a hell of a game to watch but just not the best ever. (I mean, compare this to the Chargers – Dolphins playoff game that is universally referred to as the greatest game of all time. That was a game full of highlights and reversals of fortune.)
3) For those of you wishing to own your own Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl Champions t-shirt I recommend traveling to your favorite third world country over the next few weeks. I am not making this up. As you know immediately after the game the players are all given the commemorative t-shirt which makes you wonder what would happen if the other team won. Well, they print up two versions of all the merchandise and the losing teams gear is given to charity. So this means that in some remote village at the edge of civilization we have an entire culture that is convinced that the Buffalo Bills are the greatest franchise of all time.
4) I guess the only commercials of note that I did not comment on are the annual Godaddy.com ones. I’m sorry but every time I watch those all I can think about is how bad of an agent that Danica Patrick has. Here is a beautiful, articulate woman who happens to be a race car driver so the best promotional vehicle for her that they can come up with is by placing her in bad T and A ads that just remove everything that makes her an interesting personality. Also, I’m still not quite sure the connection between scantily clad women and internet domain registration is. Between scantily clad women and the internet, yes I get the relationship, but I doubt that most people who list their occupation as “dancer” can help you with your DNS settings.
5) In the other big sports news of the weekend Michael Phelps was caught smoking pot. My response: wait, didn’t the Olympics end months ago? I thought that I didn’t have to care about Michael Phelps any more. I think this will turn out to be more interesting for how much of a non-story this will become. A lot of people will view that as an indication that the country has turned a more lax eye to marijuana. I mean, this is an Olympic hero who was caught with a bong in hand and you would have to expect this to greatly tarnish his squeaky clean reputation. Except for the fact that for the most part the Olympics have completely vanished from peoples’ minds and no one cares about a guy who we paid attention to because he was better than everyone else at not drowning. We don’t care about Aquaman so why should we care about Michael Phelps?
1) I sadly did was not on one of the cable systems that received free porn from Comcast during the fourth quarter of the game last night. As a Comcast subscriber I find it rather disappointing that this was not a universal feature of their Super Bowl coverage. Given that I typically do not receive the channels that I actually purchase and have to deal with an on screen channel guide that states that the show I am currently watching is called “To Be Announced” I feel that at the very least I deserve some free porn now and again.
2) I can’t agree with the Super Bowl being the best ever. It may have had the best second half of the fourth quarter in Super Bowl history but the entire game would not rank as one of the best ever. The first half was rather boring, way too many penalties, and let’s face it, Pittsburgh should have blown this one away. It was a hell of a game to watch but just not the best ever. (I mean, compare this to the Chargers – Dolphins playoff game that is universally referred to as the greatest game of all time. That was a game full of highlights and reversals of fortune.)
3) For those of you wishing to own your own Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl Champions t-shirt I recommend traveling to your favorite third world country over the next few weeks. I am not making this up. As you know immediately after the game the players are all given the commemorative t-shirt which makes you wonder what would happen if the other team won. Well, they print up two versions of all the merchandise and the losing teams gear is given to charity. So this means that in some remote village at the edge of civilization we have an entire culture that is convinced that the Buffalo Bills are the greatest franchise of all time.
4) I guess the only commercials of note that I did not comment on are the annual Godaddy.com ones. I’m sorry but every time I watch those all I can think about is how bad of an agent that Danica Patrick has. Here is a beautiful, articulate woman who happens to be a race car driver so the best promotional vehicle for her that they can come up with is by placing her in bad T and A ads that just remove everything that makes her an interesting personality. Also, I’m still not quite sure the connection between scantily clad women and internet domain registration is. Between scantily clad women and the internet, yes I get the relationship, but I doubt that most people who list their occupation as “dancer” can help you with your DNS settings.
5) In the other big sports news of the weekend Michael Phelps was caught smoking pot. My response: wait, didn’t the Olympics end months ago? I thought that I didn’t have to care about Michael Phelps any more. I think this will turn out to be more interesting for how much of a non-story this will become. A lot of people will view that as an indication that the country has turned a more lax eye to marijuana. I mean, this is an Olympic hero who was caught with a bong in hand and you would have to expect this to greatly tarnish his squeaky clean reputation. Except for the fact that for the most part the Olympics have completely vanished from peoples’ minds and no one cares about a guy who we paid attention to because he was better than everyone else at not drowning. We don’t care about Aquaman so why should we care about Michael Phelps?
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