I was home sick from work recently. Felt lousy. No energy. Couldn’t even focus enough to read.
I slept as much as possible, but after a point you just can’t sleep anymore. What to do?
Ah, here is something that might make me feel better… my tape of Super Bowl XLV! Yes, that proved to be very therapeutic, indeed (except for the National Anthem, which was as bad this time as I remembered it being back in February).
Meanwhile, on that subject of Super Bowl ‘entertainment,’ what’s the deal with the halftime show? When did it become such an extravaganza? And whose bright idea was that in the first place, anyway?
Think about it…
For 12 months, the Super Bowl is the target of every team, and for 10 months (i.e., from the time of the release of the NFL schedule and the annual NFL draft in April) the Super Bowl is the subject of all football conversation. This is the game. This is the raison d’etre for the entire enterprise. And yet, right in the midst of this -- the ultimate game -- the commentators (who are there in abundance!) are cut short in their halftime analysis so that we can do what…? Watch a mini-concert? What does that have to do with football?
Call me old-fashioned, but if it were a college marching band, I would at least feel like the halftime show was consistent with the event. As it is, though, it seems like a complete intrusion. If the Super Bowl were a kid’s puzzle, we could ask, “What’s wrong with this picture?” And I daresay that the halftime show would be recognized easily as the out-of-place thing: like a fish in a tree, a bicycle with square wheels, or the sun on a starry night.
Well, back to the game…
The first quarter-and-a-half were a masterpiece. The Packers were hitting on all cylinders. The offense had rhythm and production. The defense was aggressive, stingy, and picked off two of Big Ben’s passes. It was a thing of beauty.
But then the carnage began. Driver. Shields. Woodson. All down and out.
And then the momentum began to shift. It shifted entirely to the Steelers.
From the end of the 2nd quarter all the way through the 3rd, the Green Bay offense stalled. And the depleted Packer defense struggled to keep Pittsburgh from moving up and down the field.
Then came the 4th quarter. Then came the fumble -- Pittsburgh’s 3rd turnover -- and the Packers’ ensuing touchdown.
The Steelers still made a game of it, to be sure. And heading into those final two minutes, there was that palpable fear that Pittsburgh would do what it had done time and again.
But, no. It was Green Bay that did what it had done time and again. They played through injuries. They made the big plays when they needed to. They played a bend-but-don’t-break defense. And they won!
The Lombardi Trophy’s back home! Titletown, Baby!
(And the next time you’re home sick, may I recommend Super Bowl XLV as a wonderfully effective pain reliever.)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment