aying I'm not interested but the hype alone is somewhat entertaining. I no longer follow the sport like I once did but I do try to keep up so I can discuss the games with others including my boys. In fact, Sunday afternoon while in choir practice I asked a fellow who came in late if he knew what the final score was in the Patriots, Chargers game. He said he wasn't sure but he would check it on his IPOD. Within a minute or two he pulled it up 
and gave me the final score. I had been watching that game off and on, more off than on, but for some reason I wanted to know the final score. Deep down inside I think it was because I was pulling for the Chargers to upset the Patriots. It's probably just me but those folks up in the Boston area they do tend to go even more off the 'uppity' scale whenever they have a winning team.I also
was keeping up with the game up in Green Bay, primarily because our eldest is a huge fan of Brett Favre but although the Packers had all the advantages of their dreaded frozen tundra they still lost to the surging New York 
Giants. The Eli Manning story is hard to resist. Here he is doing things they thought only possible from his big brother Peyton and the script just gets better and better. The Mannings are an unbelievable story as a family and having two sons playing quarterback in the NFL is amazing, but having the potential of back to back Super Bowl wins by brothers. Wow! Now that would be something!
was keeping up with the game up in Green Bay, primarily because our eldest is a huge fan of Brett Favre but although the Packers had all the advantages of their dreaded frozen tundra they still lost to the surging New York 
Giants. The Eli Manning story is hard to resist. Here he is doing things they thought only possible from his big brother Peyton and the script just gets better and better. The Mannings are an unbelievable story as a family and having two sons playing quarterback in the NFL is amazing, but having the potential of back to back Super Bowl wins by brothers. Wow! Now that would be something!But alas, I digress because I'm honestly not that plugged in to the whole deal. I know I've mentioned this before but it's hard for me to think about Super Bowl history without remembering the Joe Namath and New York Jets win over the Baltimore Colts in 1969. It had not been that long since we had moved
back to our small rural community from Alexandria, Louisiana, with a transfer I took for a job at Fort Polk, Louisiana. While in Alexandria I was able to watch the NFL teams and I became certain along with the majority of people drawing breath on the planet that AFL parity was nothing more than a pipe dream. But Joe Namath changed that in one game and the rest as they say is history.
back to our small rural community from Alexandria, Louisiana, with a transfer I took for a job at Fort Polk, Louisiana. While in Alexandria I was able to watch the NFL teams and I became certain along with the majority of people drawing breath on the planet that AFL parity was nothing more than a pipe dream. But Joe Namath changed that in one game and the rest as they say is history.I can only tell you that not only did this game change football history but it also was the occasion for one of my most humiliating experiences. On that
fateful day we all gathered at my brother-in-law's house for lunch after Church and then to watch the game. They lived out in the country and couldn't pick up anything other than one station that carried only AFL games so my brother-in-law, Kenneth, he took the Jets, and, of course, me being the more seasoned and well travelled expert on football, having lived in a town of 50,000, and with access to four different channels, I, in my own way of unsubdued haughtiness, laughed at his poor, misguided, and uninformed choice.
fateful day we all gathered at my brother-in-law's house for lunch after Church and then to watch the game. They lived out in the country and couldn't pick up anything other than one station that carried only AFL games so my brother-in-law, Kenneth, he took the Jets, and, of course, me being the more seasoned and well travelled expert on football, having lived in a town of 50,000, and with access to four different channels, I, in my own way of unsubdued haughtiness, laughed at his poor, misguided, and uninformed choice.He was a big kidder and we went on and on before the game started. It was all in fu
n but also serious because by the time the game began everyone there knew exactly how the sides were divided. Women folk who had most likely never even watched a game were drawn into this contest between the two vocal combatants. Then the game began. Much laughing and much enjoying but it was not what I thought would happen. The Jets were holding their own against a vau
nted Baltimore defense that was supposed to get hold of Broadway Joe and make a wish before breaking him in half. Big bad Bubba who was supposed to terrorize the offensive line of the Jets didn't and worse still, he couldn't.
n but also serious because by the time the game began everyone there knew exactly how the sides were divided. Women folk who had most likely never even watched a game were drawn into this contest between the two vocal combatants. Then the game began. Much laughing and much enjoying but it was not what I thought would happen. The Jets were holding their own against a vau
nted Baltimore defense that was supposed to get hold of Broadway Joe and make a wish before breaking him in half. Big bad Bubba who was supposed to terrorize the offensive line of the Jets didn't and worse still, he couldn't.Now I do
n't mind losing that much, (at least that's what I say now), but whenever we had made such a big deal out of this game and I most likely went way over board in my portrayal of how it was all going to turn out, the taunting and jeers from the entire family was almost more than I could take. I think my wife even was saying good riddance to my cockiness. To make it better for them I no doubt went from glowing red to a deep shade of purple. I can remember it so well. I wasn't on the field but I ended up with a broken ego and crushed pride that still causes me to wince forty years later.
n't mind losing that much, (at least that's what I say now), but whenever we had made such a big deal out of this game and I most likely went way over board in my portrayal of how it was all going to turn out, the taunting and jeers from the entire family was almost more than I could take. I think my wife even was saying good riddance to my cockiness. To make it better for them I no doubt went from glowing red to a deep shade of purple. I can remember it so well. I wasn't on the field but I ended up with a broken ego and crushed pride that still causes me to wince forty years later.It was good fun for nearly everyone but me. Back in those days I no doubt to
ok it way too personal. And, perhaps that's why today I more or less am a bystander who no longer takes on an entire family over a silly football game. They took me down a notch that day and let me assure you we all need to be put in our place at times. I well remember that after the Jets win, one of the big problems was the network had no cameras in the Jets locker room. They had to scramble to get interviews in a makeshift way because they never dreamed the Jets would win. See there, I, at least was not alone in my assessment. This was embarrassing for them but not nearly as much as it was for me sitting in that living room with no answers t
o those men, women, and children who laughed me to scorn. Then when it was all over everyone hugged and we went home and after a few months I was able to show my face again! Just kidding but this was certainly how I felt. Here's my advice: Stay cool and don't get too wrought up over this upcoming game because there can be consequences! .....More later.
ok it way too personal. And, perhaps that's why today I more or less am a bystander who no longer takes on an entire family over a silly football game. They took me down a notch that day and let me assure you we all need to be put in our place at times. I well remember that after the Jets win, one of the big problems was the network had no cameras in the Jets locker room. They had to scramble to get interviews in a makeshift way because they never dreamed the Jets would win. See there, I, at least was not alone in my assessment. This was embarrassing for them but not nearly as much as it was for me sitting in that living room with no answers t
o those men, women, and children who laughed me to scorn. Then when it was all over everyone hugged and we went home and after a few months I was able to show my face again! Just kidding but this was certainly how I felt. Here's my advice: Stay cool and don't get too wrought up over this upcoming game because there can be consequences! .....More later.
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