Well, today's the big day. Time to put away the Barbie dolls, poetry books and bottlecap jewelry and get manly because it's Game Day. Time to put on your G.I. Joe jungle face paint kit, practice your war whoops and get manly.If you're into that sort of thing.
Let's talk about the game. As if you're not tired of it yet. While channel surfing I noticed not one, not two, but at least three channels devoted on FRIDAY to showing all the goings-on there in Indy already. The pre-party is a three day affair this year. As if there's three days' worth of things for talking heads to talk about.
Ah, but they find a way to do it because that is the miracle of television. When there is nothing left to see they can pull out all the footage of years gone by. We can watch forty head coaches get sloshed beneath a wave of Gatorade. We can watch forty years of winning touchdowns... of losing interceptions... of smiling champions... of Super Bowl trophies being dedicated to heroes. It's all there in the mix.
Print media is lucky. They only have that set number of pages to fill. Television has gobs of air time. After dissecting and examining every facet of each team, they reach out to other sources, like the incessant buzz on Twitter. There's no better place for getting the mood of the moment.
Here's a Tweet from @crtrud: Chrysler CEO Marchionne says he likes Patriots in the Super Bowl. Tells reporters he won't be be betting on game here in Vegas.
And this one from former rugby player @Neemia Tialata: Can't wait for the #SuperBowl Don't mind who wins cz none are my team @Chargers. If the Giants win does that mean Eli is better manning?
That has to be the sentiment of a lot of folks who have had their favo teams excluded from the big showdown.
One story angle being cited is how this is a reprise of the two teams' 2008 battle. The quarterbacks and the head coaches are the same as 2008, but both teams are quick to say they are not the same. The Pats have 8 returning to reprise that loss to the Giants, who have 15 players from that roster.The 2008 game caused a special amount of grief for the Patriots who entered the arena as undefeated gladiators. The Giants set them straight. They were not superheroes. They were simply mortals who happened upon a great season.
Maybe the Patriots weren't as loose as they like to be going into that one. They had a perfect season on the line. It's always a bit easier when you have nothing to lose. The Giants were 12 point underdogs in that one. It has to be fun to be the spoiler.
So, Eli Mannings's back and rarin' to go at it one more time. Game Time Trivia: Did you know that Eli's full first name is Elisha, an Old Testament prophet and man of God who performed many miracles. We'll see today what kind of miracles Eli can pull off with his golden arm.
Don't know where you'll be this afternoon, but like a few folks around the globe I'll be watching. It's a tradition.
Oh, as for predicting an outcome... I might as well go on record to say it will be the Patriots by four. Not because I have the slightest clue, but both teams have ants in their pants to take home that trophy and get those rings, and despite all the distractions of the past two weeks I think both coaches and both quarterbacks will be ready to play football. Besides, I like Bill Bellicek and learned a few things from reading Education of a Coach by David Halberstam. My ultimate prediction: a surprisingly good game in spite of it all.