At Least Someone Named Francisco Does Something Good

Well, I guess the Niners won today.  So, Francisco is actually a very lucky name today.  Let's hear it for the one-handed catch!

I love my Colts.  To pieces.  But I am not loving this down-to-the-wire winning stuff.  Then again, I kind of grumble when the games are boring.  Upon further reflection, I don't know if I can handle this kind of nerve-wracking excitement.

When I first got home, the pre-SNF highlights showed all the games that my picks got wrong, so I thought that I had done terribly.  But I actually made a pretty decent 7-4 today (with the Titans-Jaguars game still to come).

I'm so glad that Johnny is NOT ribbing me about anything tonight. Whenever the Colts play in primetime, Johnny sits over here and makes his stupid little comments and snide little remarks (he doesn't like the Colts - he'd rather watch Backstreet Boy rejects masquerade as NFL quarterbacks). When the Colts lose, he is unbearable and I want to pop the little twerp. But when the Colts win, Johnny quietly takes his leave so I don't come down on him - I rarely do in these cases. It's like he thinks because he rags on me when the team I'm cheering for loses, that I will do the same to him. Granted, I sometimes do, but only if he's been overly obnoxious about it.

Bottom Line - Colts win! I can face the week *sigh in relief*



ETA:  My cousin had this little tidbit on her blog and I was on the floor.  I'm making it official - Tom Brady's new nickname is "Justin Bieber in a Helmet."   I seriously want someone from ESPN to pick this up - Boomer, Keyshawn, Frank Caliendo (even though he's with Fox Sports) - I don't care - just someone please make fun of this! (give it a spot on "C'mon Man!" - please!)

Supporting Your Team: Priceless

In the midst of typing up my football rehash, I had the thought that I've never really said why I like the Colts so much.  This is actually kind of a neat story that I ought to chronicle:

I went years without an NFL team that I routinely cheered for (I wasn't terribly interested in football, to be honest.  Didn't see a need to have a team).  My dad has the Lions, the 49ers and the Redskins (yeah, his life stinks), Mom is a Rams fangirl, my brother pulls for the Lions and a couple other teams (he's more involved with certain players), and... well... baby sister liked the Steelers, but then she switched to the Saints when she found out there was a French Quarter in New Orleans (she's got a thing for France - it's quite cute).  Not-quite-baby sister used to like the Packers, but then she got girly and didn't like football anymore (maybe she's come back from the abyss?  Truly, I haven't got a clue).

Back to my point - I decided I wanted to have a team, but I didn't know who I wanted to be a fan of.  Not Dallas or New England - those are dirty words in our household.  Nor did I want to cheer for a team that someone in my family already supports (I didn't want to share).  I tried the Eagles for a while in high school, but I wasn't feeling it with them.  Don't know what "it" is, but the Eagles didn't have it.

Anyway, my mom liked Peyton Manning.  Even though she is a hardcore Rams fan, she thought Peyton was a funny guy with all the goofy commercials he did.  Myself personally, I think it's great when a football player is really good, yet he can still lighten up and not be all OMG - DIVA! all the time *insert Edward sparkle here*  (I still quote "Cut that meat!" at random times).  Anyway, Peyton Manning plays for the Colts, so I picked the Colts - and I still wasn't aware just how good they really were (at the time, the defense needed lots and lots of help - they weren't going to no Super Bowl any time soon.  Then they went to the Super Bowl and won and life was cherries).

Like I said in my previous post, I do like that the Colts are pretty classy.  There's very rarely any extra-curricular drama unless the media or what-have-you creates some.  Even then, the players don't get into it - there's not any press-conference rants or threats to get traded - no Playboy bunnies in the VIP box.  Sure, you've got Peyton in those DirecTV, MasterCard and Sony ads, but that just adds to his appeal.

(And when I say "drama," I mean the Lady Gaga crap that TO and Ochodorko pull.  I can't stand any team doing that - that's part of why I can't watch NBA games outside of the Jazz.  They freaking think they're auditioning for "The Young and the Restless."  But that's another topic for another day.)

Anyway, the Colts are great and wonderful.  They're my team and I like them. And now you know why.  Thank MasterCard.

Good Job New Orleans Saints

... sigh... it was a great game - close right up until 4 minutes to go. And that stupid interception ran back for a touchdown... I maintain that if that ding-dong Zoobie Collie had made the play before that, there wouldn't have been an interception... now all the sports media are going to be snotty and sarcastic about my boy Peyton and that he's not that great and he has to win another Super Bowl to have any credit and blah blah blah. I don't know why people don't like him. Just because there isn't any of this craptastic drama with the Colts...

I think it would be more fun to watch the Saints win the Super Bowl if they didn't beat my favorite team to do it. But they're a classy team too and I can't begrudge them the victory. I'd be pissed if it was someone I didn't like. But the Saints are a good team and they deserve this. And it was cute when they showed Drew Brees with his little boy.

(There will not be a sober person in New Orleans tonight - party it up, folks!)

(The kids at school tomorrow are going to be disgusting...)

Some Thoughts on Commercials:

How about that "Avatar: The Last Airbender" movie? Or... I guess they're not calling it "Avatar" because Dances With Smurf-Gully already stole that. M. Night Shymalan - however you spell it - is going to direct it, so this should be interesting.

The Green Police - that was a creepy ad, I'm not going to lie. I had the jibbilies just watching it. I'm going to have nightmares of cops in green pants coming after my Explorer... *shudder*

Doritos did some pretty crazy things. They always do.

Budweiser - the longhorn and the Clydesdale buddies was endearing.

Survivor - does anyone get the feeling this franchise is on its last legs? *tries not to sound hopeful - but fails*

Timmy and Ma Tebow: That was what all the Feminazis had their panties in a twist about? I almost missed the whole thing. Seriously, I didn't realize that was the commercial.

Head-Slap: Best commercial - NCIS and everyone trading handshakes for head slaps.

Second Place: I would have nominated the commercial-bump with Sheldon Cooper from "The Big Bang Theory" hacking his way into the Super Bowl and wishing your team luck - but that's not exactly a commercial (but "Go whatever team you're cheering for and may the opposing team play less effectively" FTW!)


ETA: I thought of a few things to add as my post Super Bowl funk has progressed:

1) The Saints used to SUCK - like, fans would wear paper bags over their heads at the games because the team was so bad. But since they have now won a Super Bowl, this means that there is still hope for the Detroit Lions (and Detroit is pretty much a train wreck - not unlike New Orleans was after Katrina. Except Detroit's woes weren't caused by a colossal natural disaster. Just socialist government meddling.) If anywhere else deserves some winning-team joy, it's Detroit (and I'm not just saying that because my great-uncle played for them years and years ago).

2) Also - the last four years has been a see-saw between the two conferences - in 2007, the AFC Champion (Colts) won the Super Bowl; 2008 was the NFC Champion (Giants); 2009 was the AFC (Steelers) and now 2010 is the NFC (Saints). How long do you think this trend will go on?

3) Another thing that occurred to me that makes this loss easier to take: Peyton Manning grew up in New Orleans (his dad, Archie, played for the Saints back in the day). I can be happy for the hometown of my football hero.

ETA2: I seriously need to go to bed...

Super Bowl Celebrations - Go Colts!!

Thus beginneth the weekend to end all weekends! Since I have class all weekend, I have to post this now. And I am quite pleased with the Super Bowl this year. As I've said before, I was pulling for a Saints-Colts Super Bowl when they were both going undefeated (and I spit in the general direction of the Cowboys for ruining that - oh well, they're all sitting at home with a bowl of Cheetos this weekend anyway). I have to say - it's much more fun to cheer for someone rather than cheering against a team you despise. In 2008, I was pulling for the Giants to win because I hate the Patriots - but that performance gained the Giants another big fan.

And I'm also happy that the Colts are playing the Saints. Honestly, I would not be too upset if the Saints did win, other than they would beat my team to do it. And I'm glad we don't have any big scandal or controversy to deal with either or no drama-queen thugs running their mouths off (Chad 85 from Cincinnati, Terrell Owens from Buffalo - those kinds of idiots. I guess that's why they had to drum up the Tim Tebow ad crap so the news media would have something to talk about). Both these teams are very classy and very disciplined, which will make for an exciting game, but it doesn't make TMZ or ET (they're mourning the fact that none of Tom Brady's model girlfriends had a baby this week). And it's going to be an offensive shoot-out and that's always fun :)

So, whether you're a Colts fan, Saints fan, football expert, football know-nothing, cheerleader or just like watching the commercials - everyone have a Happy Super Bowl Weekend and I'll see you at the after party.

I've Seen This Movie Before and I Don't Like It

The Colts lost to the JETS???? The freaking JETS??? You don't lose to the Jets!! I don't care if you have the playoffs wrapped up - I WANT AN UNDEFEATED SEASON!!! DON'T PUT IN YOUR JV BOYS, DAMMIT!!

Okay, okay - the undefeated season would have been nice, especially if they won the Super Bowl (because it's something the Patriots couldn't do - neener neener), but it wasn't a necessity. What I'm pissed about is this: Whenever the Colts clinch the first-round bye in the playoffs, they sit their starters and throw the last two games of the season. Then, they crap out in the playoffs and let the Patriots or the Broncos through, which ticks off the rest of the world ("the rest of the world" meaning me). The only time the Colts won the Super Bowl was when they went into the playoffs as a wild card team and went the distance and beat the Bears. They didn't rest anybody at any time and that, in my educated observations, was the difference.

I'd like to see something really revolutionary: play Manning and the rest of the starters all the way through the regular season to get some winning momentum for the post-season and then see what happens. If nothing changes, then I won't get on their case ever again. But they didn't so I'm ranting about it. And you all have to deal with it. Tough turtles. I'm mad and real life people are being asses about it. After I listen to their rantings and ravings... (that's another story for another day - this is why I have a blog).

Bottom Line: Colts First-round bye + Sitting starters=playoff disaster. Not cool.

I have decided something...

When the Colts play the Patriots, I need to not watch the first half and then the Colts will pound the Patriots well before my blood-pressure goes skyrocketing.

It happened in 2007 - when the Colts played the Pats in the AFC Championship game, I turned off the game at halftime because New England was up a bazillion to 3 and I couldn't stand the Brady bootlicking. Then I turned on to see highlights later... only to find out that the Colts were going to the Super Bowl thanks to some fantastic 2nd half heroics.

It happened in 2009 - just two minutes ago - I turned off the TV partway through the 3rd quarter because Chicken-Neck drooling over the Patriots was making me physically ill. Then Dad called to see if I was watching the game and told me to turn it on because the Colts just might win. Good thing I did because then I could see the wonderful, wonderful-ness of Peyton Manning's last-minute scoring drives.

A few thoughts:

- I hate the Patriots.

- If there was one guy I could count on to screw things up, it's Austin Collie. WAY TO FREAKING GO LASSIE!!! WHY DO YOU DROP A PASS FROM PEYTON MANNING???!!! In the name of all that is good in heaven and earth, WHAT IS WITH THE RETARDED INTERFERENCE CALL???!!! Can't you at least pretend you're making the Utes fans miserable again? The Patriots do have red in their uniforms. I have two words for you: REDEEM YOURSELF!!

- I hate the Patriots.

- I find it hilarious that, during the post-game press conferences, Peyton Manning is dress like he just played a football game (ball cap, t-shirt) and Tom "Backstreet Boy" Brady is dressed for his next GQ shoot. Something that was pointed out during the game was that Brady and Manning are on a lot of magazine covers. And they showed some samples. Most of Brady's appearances were GQ and Esquire while Manning was on Sports Illustrated and ESPN Magazine. Gee - who's the more focused quarterback? (not to mention I think Peyton's a LOT more attractive than Brady).

- Pierre Garcon= LOVE

- Dallas Clark=LOVE!

- Reggie Wayne=DOUBLE LOVE!! (and love for the "Blue Crush" leap a la Lambeau there at the end. Every team needs something like that).

- I hate the Patriots.

- I hate Bill Belichick. I hate Tom Brady. I hate Randy Moss.

- I LOVE the Colts.

- It's interesting that the two 9-0 teams are the Colts and the Saints. For those who are uneducated in NFL history, Peyton's dad, Archie, played for the New Orleans Saints back-in-the-day. They weren't very good then, but obviously they've improved over they years. How would it be if the Colts played the Saints in the Super Bowl? Hm....

- Now Al and Chicken-Neck are talking about the idiocy of Belichick going for it on 4th and 2 - well, it's not hard to figure out. Belichick likes to run the score up on teams. If there's an off-chance he can beat the Colts by more than a touchdown, he'll take it and statistics be damned. Belichick and the Patriots are freaking emotional two-year-olds and they like to win as such. And they're pretty poor losers as well.

- I love how the Colts can win when they have no business winning a game. (see Week 2 vs. Dolphins) How can you not cheer for a team like that?

- I hate the Patriots.

- I LOVE THE COLTS!!

- (Austin Collie has some repenting to do)

- 9-0 SQUEE!!!

Well, I've Never Done This Before

You'd all laugh at me - I'm sitting here with a cold washcloth perched on top of my head because I cracked my head on the corner of our very poorly designed kitchen cabinet. And it won't stop bleeding (at least it isn't pooling blood like it was an hour ago - oy, that was scary). So, now I have a goose egg on my head (and I gave it a nice cold-compress nest to sit in. I'm sooo nice).

Just what you all wanted to know, I'm sure.

PS, The Colts won tonight. They basically won in the first half, so we football TV watching-types have to suffer through listening to Chicken Neck try to make a 28-9 game exciting. I almost feel sorry for Tennessee, but it's their fault for not playing better. But my vomit reflexes at all the Austin Collie-love are getting more and more under control. I guess it helps when he scores touchdowns for your team. It would make it easier if they didn't keep referring to the fact he went to Zoobie-land. My flashback reflexes are as good as any (again, I blame Collinsworth. Everything bad that happens is Collinsworth's fault because I can't stand the idiot).

Oh - here's another question that people can't seem to shut up about: According to the NFL Players Union, it's not okay that Rush Limbaugh wants to buy part of the St. Louis Rams. If it's so terrible that a political commentator wants to be involved in professional sports, why in the world is Keith Olbermann doing analysis for Sunday Night Football? I'm more irked that Dave Checketts is connected with the deal - it's his fault I can't watch the Utes on KJZZ anymore - him and his stupid mtn. scheme to fund his retarded soccer team. But that's neither here nor there.

If anyone stands to gain, it's the Rams. They've pretty much sucked the last few years (sorry, Mom, it's true). Rush Limbaugh is a football guru. He's not going to make a bad investment on a team that stinks (notice he's not buying part of the Detroit Lions). Insofar as owners have a bearing on team success, he's going to protect his investment by doing everything in his power (hiring decisions and what-have-you) to help the team do better. So - if players want to win, they can tell the players union to put a sock in it.

I'm pretty skeptical of players unions anyway (actually, unions of any kind are bad news). They're the reason professional seasons get locked out and everybody loses out on watching the games. As far as fans are concerned, players unions are run by Satan himself. Oh for the day when he is bound!!

(That was a long PS)

I Hate it When Chicken-Neck Tries to Make Jokes

Sunday Night Football - I missed the first quarter because of a church meeting and I got back to see the score as Colts 0 Cardinals 3 with the first quarter almost over. I was surprised - but not as surprised as the Cardinals were about to be.

Come on, folks. It's Peyton Manning. Colts went through and scored three touchdowns. Cardinals scored a bit, but the score ended up being 31-10. Nothing much happened in the fourth quarter. Except NBC had a graphic of Peyton Manning in a suit, which sent the fangirl in me reeling ^_^

The fourth quarter was dead boring. I know my Colts ate the Cardinals' lunch and I'm happy that they did. But I came to the point where I was quietly cheering for Arizona to score, just to make things interesting. Anything to shut Cris "Chicken-Neck" Collinsworth up. He and Al Michaels should never eye Jay Leno's job, just so you know (actually, I wish Collinsworth hadn't been eying John Madden's job, but what do you do?)

Chris Berman is wonderful, speaking of commentators. One of my favorites.

(I've always said that the Lions could do with a logo update. They've had the same logo and colors that they had when Uncle Jack played for them in the 1930s. And I just am now seeing a replay of their win and I see that they added some detail lines to their lion. Yippee. Yes, you read right, the Lions beat the Redskins. Begin the Second Coming watch).

Whoa - I'm watching SportsCenter right now and saw that Tim Tebow got hurt and sent to the hospital. That's intense - wish I was back on my mission and in Gainesville. There are some Florida fans that could use some religion right about now.

EDIT - Wow - there's a Wikipedia entry for Uncle Jack. That's awesome. I should expand on it.

A Win in Fifteen Minutes or Less or This Game's Free

The Indianapolis Colts beat the Miami Dolphins 27-23 on MNF. And I have a few thoughts:

1. It Helps When You Score in the First 12 Seconds: Proving once again that Peyton Manning is freaking made of awesome - and Dallas Clark is a stud in his own right - the first possession of the game and Manning throws to Clark. Clark breaks a potential tackle and cruises into the end zone. So, the whole third quarter, the commentators are carping about how little time the Colts' offense has been on the field, I can't help but think - "Yeah, but what did Miami do with the ball all that time?" In the end, the Colts wound up winning the game with only having had the ball a total of 14 minutes and 53 seconds. Apparently, that's a record of some kind (I missed the ESPN graphic and I'm too lazy to go look it up). When you're the Indianapolis Colts, it's about quality, not quantity, my friends.

2. Lassie Stayed Home: The Ute in me cringed when I realized that Austin "Last Minute Stab to the Heart" Collie was starting for the Colts offensive line. There's an unnerving trend that occurs when a BYU alum starts playing in the NFL, particularly for teams that I like: when they're in college, they beat up on the Utes and gloat about it incessantly, but then they trip over their own (tied) shoelaces when they make it to the NFL, thus undoing all that "Quest for Perfection" crap that the pansies at KSL pee themselves over every week. Luckily, Lassie stayed nice and quiet and didn't let the Zoobie curse impact the game (thought I did roll my eyes after he missed a pass and the commentators chose that moment to mention that he'd served a 2-year mission for "The Church of Latter-day Saints" *headdesk* He just freaking missed a catch and you choose that moment to mention his religious affiliation? Must you lump him in with us when he does stupid stuff like that?)

3. I Find it Interesting that There's an Ad for the Paris Hotel in Vegas on the Side of my Screen Right Now: Rookie Pierre Garcon made the game-winning catch for the Colts. There will be more shouts of "Run Little French Fry!" coming from my living room this season (I doubt he's actually French, but it works. Heck, he's playing down the line from the white Mormon boy. Football doesn't discriminate).

4. Win or Lose, You Still Look Like Lisa Frank: I know, I know, I missed a year of football and apparently the Dolphins are a renaissance team. Yippee for them. I can't ever cheer for them (Sean Smith notwithstanding - though I'm glad he's doing well for himself). They're still wearing that craptastic turquoise and orange motif. Look, I know Miami has this weird affinity for the '70s - what with the 1972 Dolphins' perfect season, blah, blah, blah. But can't you update the logo and the uniforms? You're already represented by a mascot that gives Greenpeace reason for being - why make it worse for your dignity? I'm sure the Williams sisters would be happy to draw up a new design for you - something that doesn't say second grade and pigtails. That's all I'm saying.

(Guess I shouldn't talk - the Utah Jazz play in purple and powder blue. Hard to take something like that seriously.)

5. The Term "Paydirt" Should Not Be Taken Literally: Can we not play on those hybrid base/football fields? Beyond the fact that the referees' safety is in danger when they get their signals mixed up (for the non-sports educated, the signal for "No Good" in football is basically the same for "Safe" in baseball), baseball's lost all its pride - I would rather not be associated with their brand of athleticism.