XLII Reflections

Wow, 17 to 14! What a close game! We were all glued to our seats--and the screen--that whole fourth quarter!

I must admit, however, even though my team was playing--and won!--this year's XLII Super Bowl game, I watched it in it's entirety mainly for the commercials. For that very reason, both my oldest and I took our potty breaks and "ran errands" during the game!

Having majored in Art in High School and taken an Advertising Art class in College (for my Photo Tech degree) many moons ago helped develop my appreciation for such things. To boot, my super tough professor who worked on Fifth Ave in NYC, drilled into us what made for good advertising. The element of surprise was always good, and how you presented it was imperative.

Our favorites were:
* Fed Ex (giant carrier pigeons--a new reason to fear birds!)
* Bridgestone Tires (the screaming squirrel, animals, insect (loved it!), and lady passenger (my reaction to this type of situation to a "T"!))
* Budweiser (dalmatian training the horse for next year's team)
* Coke (the balloon characters clambering and scrambling for the bottle and Charlie Brown getting something good, for once!)

Others I enjoyed were:
* Bud Light (where the poor, flying man "living his dream" gets sucked into a plane's engine only to have another passenger ask, "Rough flight?")
* Bridgestone Tires (with Alice Cooper (so that's what he's been up to!) and Richard Simmons, my fitness guru during my college years (he hasn't changed a bit!))
* Coke (I hate politics, but liked this political one, for some reason)

As far as the game went, I found it to be exciting, like when a Giants player caught the ball on his helmet! (Sorry--don't remember who caught that one.) And with that close of a game, when the Giant's scored in the fourth quarter, our poor poochie leaped out of his fur with the deafening roar made in our family room! (He's not used to hearing all five of us shout all at once at the top of our lungs--he doesn't go to soccer games!)

Congrats to Plaxico Burress for that final touch down (yes, the Lord did allow him to play, and for a good reason!!!), Eli Manning for his admirable leadership, and to all the Giants and Giant's fans out there! And condolences to the Patriots and their fans who played a super season! --LKR

Go Giants!!!

It all started when we got home from a luncheon held at church. Hubby became glued to the tube down in our family room. After 16 years of marriage, I finally figured out that you don't just watch your team play, you also watch who they might be playing in the Super Bowl. In earlier years, Hubby was held captive by the radio, making frequent calls to his die hard, fanatical, Packer-loving parents.

There was no use in trying to make anything formal out of dining, tonight, so, the kids and I snacked our way through the rest of the afternoon and into dinner. What else where we to do?

Throughout the afternoon, one child or another would search and find me, excitedly reporting the plays and giving updates on the score. My son was jubilant when the Packers were winning, the girls when the Giants scored.

I did want to watch at least part of the game since my team was also playing--against my Hubby's. Hearing it was the end of the game and they were tied, I raced downstairs to watch the finale. When Lawrence Tynes missed the field goal, I had to leave. It was just too much. I couldn't watch it one minute more. Simply watching them play on that frigid field gave me frostbite, made my muscles cramp, and teeth chatter. Dampened spirits of looming defeat added to my discomfort.

I did come back after the kids told me my team had won. The above picture was the replay of the winning field goal.

Go Giants!!!

--LKR

What are Your Colors?

My colors are pink and purple, but my hubby informs me that there has never been a football team with such colors! Sniff!

But seriously, I root for the red and blue, the blue and orange, and the green and gold in that order, mainly because they are from places I've lived.

Years ago in NJ, we'd sometimes see ununiformed Giants roaming through our streets or at the Short Hills Mall, possibly before or after a practice session on the fields of Fairleigh Dickinson University the next town over. There was a certain amount of familiarity with that particular team back then. It was and still is something synonymous to home.

Without knowing much about the team, I also like purple and gold, merely based on their colors. But, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. So when we get together annually for our friend's combined Packer/Double Birthday Party in Chippewa Falls, I resist the temptation to wear another team's colors.

Our collective children, for the most part, are oblivious to the adult addict's passions. Instead, the girls this year disappeared to watch a Hannah Montana marathon while the boys took turns playing computer games on Game Cube before the siblings opened their gifts. A win-win situation for all. And even without my embroidery with me this year, as someone noted, I still had fun--too many people to talk to between plays!

This Sunday, the scores were: Packers 23, Vikings 16; Bears 27, Lions 37; Eagles 3, Giants 16. Well, two out of three ain't bad! --LKR