Super Weekend

My fellow Americans and Others,

there were three major events that occurred this weekend and they will possibly culminate in a major political event on Tuesday.

So, I will go in chronological order of my thoughts. (Sunday, Saturday, Thursday). My thoughts first turn to Sunday evening's best football game of the day, the Super Bowl (henceforth referred to as the "Superbowl".) On its own, the Bowl was an excellent game, but in context, it was a game for the ages. How many story lines could you want in one football game? 10? Let's try it out.

1) Beating of a Lifetime: this cool handsome quarterback, captain of his football team, looked more like the dork getting pummeled and wedgied in the bathroom of high schools everywhere (on TV. I was a huge dork and I was never beaten up.)

2) History Making Team, Fails to Make History: never has a team gone undefeated in a football season (and by never, I mean, since the 80's when life began.) This "best team ever" did not live up to their tremendous offensive hype, and their even greater offensive potential. Their solid, but exhausted defense failed them in the 4th quarter (including an Asante Samuel drop that would have effectively ended the game.)

3) Biggest Upset Ever: this was not the biggest upset ever, or even the biggest upset in Superbowl history, but its easily one of the great upsets of all time. The Giants played an amazing game, living up to their talent level, particularly on defense and they effectively beat a New England team that beat every major playoff team this year, (except the Favrettes,) including the Giants. What a magnificent game by the Giants defense, stopping the run entirely and hitting Brady over and over again. And, it was a very good game by the offense, producing when it mattered most. But, it's not the biggest upset ever because these were two great teams playing against each other. We did not necessarily know the Giants were a "great" team before the playoffs started, but by the Super Bowl, sorry, the Superbowl, we knew this was a team capable of competing with anyone. I still thought they would lose and thought people were naive to think the Giants would win, but they were a great team playing against a greater team (both teams were on the road) and those upsets happen all the time.

4) Manning 2- the younger, scraggly brother of last year's Superbowl champion comes out and wins the Superbowl, despite multiple seasons of doubting, and a full season's worth of detractors. He out-Brady-ed Brady, both of whom came down for late 4th quarter drives to take the lead and win the game, but of course, Manning won. He threw an interception that was not his fault, but he also threw other passes that could/should have been intercepted, so I leave the actual interception on his official and unofficial record as a fair estimate of how well he played, great at times, too loose with the ball, at other times. Overall, it was a very good game, and great day for him. He played better than Brad Johnson when he won his Superbowl, so he was more of a Manning than a Dilfer.

5) Stars Being Stars- Manning (discussed above), Brady (still had a great day despite the beat down with well over 200 yards passing and a TD, no interceptions, a fumble that meant nothing, and had a game winning drive (though not with 30 seconds left), Moss (1 TD), Plax (1 TD), Welker (11 receptions, 100 yards), Strahan, Umenyiora, Tuck (my choice for MVP of the game), Samuel, Adalius T., and many more. Notably, the running backs were weak, particularly the New England running backs (which may have contributed to the game's excitement). But, the hero of the game was... Giants wide receiver (scrub wide receiver with 4 catches this year and often plays defense), David Tyree, with the Helmet Catch. What? Wait... who?

6) The Helmet Catch- great games have defining plays, and this was it. It was 3rd and long for the Giants in their own territory with around 1 minute left in the game and a big play was required. It starts with a snap. Within moments, New England's defense had gotten through the offensive line's wall, as the Giants play, known as the Phantom begins to fall apart, and the Patriots get to Manning himself, with Adalius Thomas even grabbing a hold of the young gun slinger's jersey. Through sheer will, he tore himself from the clutches of the mighty defensive playmaker and found himself a bit of a clearing in a disintegrating pocket. Then, he waited a moment to gather himself (and possibly look downfield), before he launched what could only be referred to as a Hail Mary to Tyree, or more likely anyone who was beyond the first down marker. Already an incredible play becomes legendary as the ball hangs in the air for seconds, apparently destined for Patriot hands. But, out of nowhere, Tyree sticks his mitt in the air to try to catch it. Because the ball was out of his reach, the embattled receiver could not catch the ball with two hands, and because the ball was not thrown in a spiral, he had no chance to catch the ball in one palm (a rare feat that I have seen a select few players accomplish during a game, including Randy Moss). So, he brought the ball down with his hand and pressed it firmly against the back part of his round helmet. Did, I forget to mention that he was being hit by Rodney Harrison, one of the most feared and dirty players in the league, doing everything he could to prevent the catch. Harrison knocked Tyree flat on his back. To sum up, this guy must have reached 10 feet in the air, grabbed the ball with his outstretched hand and pushed it against his helmet, while being hit, and landing from that great leap, flat on his back. Of course he kept holding the ball long after his body collided with the floor resulting in a giant thud. If that was the go ahead touchdown play, that would perhaps be the finest moment in Superbowl history. Alas, it wasn't a touchdown, and Manning's touchdown pass to Tyree (yes, the same unheralded guy,) which occurred minutes earlier, was notable only as a good play design, a good route, and a great pass from Manning. But, the Helmet Catch will live on as the defining play of one of the greatest Superbowls ever and one of the great upsets in sports.

7) I Was Wrong: my prediction, Patriots winning by 13, was wrong, and my being wrong is rare. So savor the flavor. And it is one of the even fewer times, I am happy to be wrong, (even as a Jets fan.)

8) Coach-Off: Coughlin out-coached the man who is often considered the greatest football coach of all time*. (Asterisk refers to the 2007 cheating scandal that may extend as far back as 2002, where perhaps he cheated his way into Superbowl glory against the Rams by taping the Rams and Warner's practices.) The cheating coach and Coughlin coached together for the NY Giants under Parcells, before the New England coach landed in his current locale (and before his failed stint in Cleveland) and coached a Patriots team with very few big-named players to almost dynasty status during the age of parity and salary cap restrictions. His defensive schemes and planning are legendary, perhaps using the techniques garnered from watching the videos of the play calling. Maybe not, who knows? Coughlin, on the other hand, was on the firing block, as recently as, this year.

9) Karma Police: the Giants notably had good karma, having been mercilessly attacked for weeks on end because of coaching and QB questions, even by former running backs (see the Boston Sports Guy's (Bill Simmons's) Tiki Theory (formerly the Ewing Theory) for details about improving after the loss of a major star), but handling the questions with style and class. They played in England, sacrificing a home game this year (they were much worse at home, so it turned out to work in their favor, but that's my point). Then, of course, on Week 17, a game that meant nothing to the Giants, and risked injury to their players, they went out and fought valiantly and gave us a great show, only to fall in a shoot out to these Patriots. Additionally, New England was caught cheating, ran up the score against lesser opponents, and was generally surly towards the media. It's almost as if there is a balance in the universe that benefits the decent and the righteous.

10) Yankees-Red Sox square off again: the two most obnoxious fan bases in the nation, mainly because of their prolonged rivalry that enraptures the East Coast biased media, was set on a different stage. This game was not supposed to grow any rivalry because the Giants were not supposed to have a chance. But, guess what? They won. As a Mets/Jets fan, who bares no ill will for the fans of either fan base, I acknowledge that the rivalry between two major market teams is good for the sport and the revenue for the sport, the advertisers, and the media, ala the ulitmate sports rivalry, Bird-Magic. But, still, if you are not a fan, sometimes I am often off-put by their sense of entitlement (and long for a day when my teams are so good that I have that same sense of entitlement to championships). I often find myself cheering against both teams, but I still kinda like the Giants, and I like Jeter in the same way I like Brady, and it's tough for me to root against a New York team... unless it's the Knicks (who unceremoniously traded away all of my favorite players in Ewing, Oakley, Jackson, and then slowly declined to the depths of depravity.)

Lots of other stories arose, like might these two teams meet up in the future? But, the future is a tale for another time. So, I digress.

This Saturday, I made the novelty purchase that is the Wii. For those of you who don't know anything about it, it is a videogame system, in which instead of using your fingers to press buttons, you use your body and act out the movements as motion sensors inform the computer regarding your intentions. My friend arrived at the Wii location at 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning (and was 40th in line) and waited an hour and a half to acquire and obtain this system for his fiance. The company's strategy seems to be working as the system came out over a year ago, and people are still flocking at ridiculous times, for ridiculous spans to get the system. I was 97th in line, and there were only 3 systems left after I got one. The line still had 30 people who were not going to go home with a Wii that day.

The Wii experience is unique because the boxing game if played in succession is a thoroughly exhausting workout. So, of course, I played it until I couldn't move, and then I worked on my ducking. The most intense part of the boxing game is the 5 second break in between rounds. The other notable game that comes with the system, is the most popular game, as far as I can tell, tennis. It's a very solid game, that permits you to feel like you are playing tennis (even though I suspect, actual tennis form is not necessary.)

The third reason that I got the Wii is because it provided a great conversation piece at a dinner I was at, it brought over family and friend guests that have never before come to my apartment, as if the video game system, somehow gave my apartment newfound credibility and panache.

And the final Super thing from this past weekend, was the debut of Lost on Thursday. Doc Jenson pretty much explained everything I would say about the episode (and more), and www.melanism.com added incites and questions, except that I will add my favorite part of the episode was the befuddling line by Hurley in the flash forward, paraphrased, "I should have gone with you." Did that mean Jack was right to trust Naomi and the nearby vessel (it certainly doesn't appear so), or that Jack's plan was still preferable to Locke's plan, which doomed the castaways? Or did it mean something else entirely like the division of the two groups was hurt the group's chances of staying together (off the island)?

It was also a particularly creepy episode with the Oceanic flight attorney who had no business cards, (which makes him a liar,) Hurley's (hallucinatory?) visions of fish and Charlie), Jack shooting Locke sans bullets, and of course, seeing a shadowed Christian Shephard sitting in Jacob's rocking chair, with Locke's frightening eye to protect him and ward off all voyeurs.

Also, in the battle of faith versus science, is faith still in the lead? Probably, at least in part because Jack's opinion about going back to the island changes in between that Hurley visit day and bearded suicidal day in the future. What changed his mind? Was it Charlie visions? Was it Locke's/Ben's arguments? Was it me?

Who are the Oceanic 6? Kate might not count because she might have used an assumed name or snuck off somehow to avoid jailtime. Aaron might not count because he's a baby.
But, I will count, Jack (see last episode of Season 3), Hurley (first episode of Season 4), Kate, Claire (and Aaron because of Desmond's vision of Charlie dying to save Claire and Aaron), Sawyer (because he's a survivor), and Ben (who is not from the Oceanic flight, but I'm working on a theory). Your guess is better than mine.

If you can vote in the primaries/caucuses, which I rarely do and probably won't, I encourage you to vote. Since, you are voting already, you might as well vote for my candidates, McCain or Obama, because why not? Looks like these primaries are coming down to the wire like the Superbowl, with stars being stars and crushing hits. It's as exhausting as the Wii, and almost as mysterious as Lost. Yeah, generally, I don't like reality TV, but 5-10 years from now, this group of people might affect my life, unlike the Real World jerks or the dancing B list stars or the guy with gray hair who won American Idle (sic).

Hope everyone has a great Monday, followed by a Super Duper Tuesday.

Take care,
Papa Bear