Super Bowl Thoughts

1. I have an idea for what I would do if I were in charge of creating a commercial that would air during the Super Bowl.

It would require some cooperation from the network. It should be near the beginning of the 4th quarter. The commercial would start with the actual announcers for the Super Bowl – the viewers should not be able to tell that it is a commercial, they should think it’s the game returning from commercial break.
The announcers would say something like “Welcome back to Super Bowl XLVII, where the Baltimore Ravens are about to”
And then, abruptly, cutting off the announcers, viewers would see the opening of Heidi. Of course, Heidi would run for several seconds before giving way to the actual product pitch. I have no idea what products would be a good fit, or how that transition would occur, but that’s what I have so far.

2. In case you’re wondering, my favorite commercial was the Ram truck farmer commercial. In case you’re not wondering, my favorite commercial still was the Ram truck farmer commercial.

3. We watched the game at my brother-in-law/sister-in-law’s house. The plan was to watch the first half, drive home during halftime (during which the younger kids would fall asleep so we could transfer them right to bed), and watch the second half at home.

Things didn’t go as planned. Halftime started and we realized that we didn’t start the dessert on time. So we made and ate dessert during halftime.

Since the Ravens were winning by a significant amount, I didn’t feel bad missing the 3rd quarter. As I was warming up and loading the minivan, my nephew informed me that the Ravens ran the kickoff back for a touchdown, so it was now 28-6. “Perfect!” I thought. So we left.

“Can we listen to the game?” Alpha asked, as soon as we left the driveway. He seemed to be into the game. I found the station I thought should be carrying the game, but it wasn’t coming in very well. But they were talking about the game, so I left it and figured we would deal with the poor signal. We soon found out that the radio signal was fine – it sounded bad because the announcer was talking through a telephone because the Superdome power went out.

The half-hour drive home happened during the Super Bowl power outage instead of during halftime. Things didn’t go as planned – they went better than planned. Who would want to sit and watch a blackout for 30 minutes of TV?

I figured the younger two would fall asleep and I would transfer them to bed but the older two would want to watch the rest of the game – especially since Beta is into sports as much as he is. Beta fell asleep on the drive. I woke him when we got home, asked him if he wanted to watch the game or go to bed, and was surprised when he chose bed. So, Alpha and I watched the rest of the game. He doesn’t normally stay up that late. I bet that teachers don’t like the day after the Super Bowl because they have to deal all day with a bunch of kids that stayed up too late. Monday was an early bedtime.

4. The Ravens players certainly time things well. I’m not talking about their playing – I mean the administrative-type stuff. Ray Lewis won the Super Bowl for his very last football game, and Joe Flacco won the Super Bowl on the last game before his first real contract negotiation. That’s quite a bargaining chip.

5. If you are to perform the national anthem, the only thing you should add to the song is emotion.

6. My sister-in-law knew the Ravens were going to win when she saw the Harbaughs greet each other on the field before the game. John looked relaxed and Jim looked tense. Of course, they always look that way. She’s right though – in general, if you are relaxed you will play/coach better than if you are tense. Not too relaxed though – you still want to care about the game.

7. I knew the Ravens were going to win because, of all the players the camera showed us during the national anthem, only one was singing along. That was Ray Lewis, of the Ravens.

The base expectation is that a player will stand respectfully and face the flag during The Star-Spangled Banner. But if players are doing something else, I will judge them accordingly. A lot of times, I know nothing else about a player, so my only knowledge of him is how he behaved during the national anthem. If he is goofing off or warming up or otherwise not paying attention, I’ll root against him (if I have no other rooting interests). Likewise, if a player is singing along, I’ll cheer for him.

I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!”

Psalm 91:2

The Navy SEALs

I wonder why navy seals get all the publicity.

image of seal silhouettes colored navy blue, making them navy seals

I think gray seals are just as good.

image of seal silhouettes colored gray, instead of navy seals

But if you think seals should be blue, here are some other options in the blue-ish family:
Cyan Seals:

image of seal silhouettes colored cyan, instead of navy seals


Royal Blue Seals:

image of seal silhouettes colored royal blue, instead of navy seals


Aqua Seals:

image of seal silhouettes colored aqua, instead of navy seals


And, my favorite name, Teal Seals:

image of seal silhouettes colored teal, instead of navy seals

It is changed like clay under the seal;
And they stand forth like a garment.

Job 38:14

Annual Hockey Game

Since Beta enjoyed last season’s hockey game so much, we scheduled another one for this year. We expanded and brought Gamma too.

This year’s event was a little more eventful than last year’s – overtime and shootout just like two years ago.

Traditions

It is our tradition that, during the first intermission, Beta gets a cup of hot chocolate. This year was no different, except I got Gamma a cup of hot chocolate too. Most of the second period was spent blowing on his hot chocolate so that it would be cool enough for him to drink.

I got a soft pretzel and shared it with the boys. That worked out well, much better than the overpriced almonds last year.

Another tradition is that we sit by the Zamboni entrance. That way the kids can watch closely as it drives by.

picture of kids watching a Zamboni about to enter the rink

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Careful Driving

comic of a person being pulled over by the police for reckless driving but they confuse it with wreckless driving; hilarity ensues.

Transcript:
Officer: I’m pulling you over for reckless driving.
Driver: It’s true I haven’t had any accidents…but I didn’t expect a commendation.
Officer: Commendation? No! It’s a ticket.
Driver: A fine? For not having any wrecks?
Officer: No, for reckless driving.
Driver: Right, wreckless driving.
Driver: Just what is “reck” anyway?
Officer: ?!?
Driver: I mean, I know what a wreck is and why I don’t want one.
Driver: But why do I want more reck?
Officer: They don’t pay me enough for this.

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you?

2 Corinthians 3:1

Playoffs Margin of Victory

I thought I would see if there were any correlation between margin of victory (MOV) in the NFL playoffs and victory in the Super Bowl.

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Noooooooo.

Real answer: Maybe.

I went back over the last 15 years and found that the team that wins the divisional round by the most points (not scores the most points but has the highest margin of victory of the 4 divisional-round games) goes on to win the Super Bowl about 33% of the time.

This year, that was the 49ers. So they have only a 30% chance of winning the Super Bowl.

Then I wondered about the conference round. The team that has the highest margin of victory in the conference round goes on to win the Super Bowl about 30% of the time.

This year, that was the Ravens. So they have only a 30% chance of winning the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl Odds:
33% chance the 49ers will win
33% chance the Ravens will win
33% chance left over – apparently it’s a 1 in 3 shot that no one will win.

But since that can’t happen, I checked what happens when the Super Bowl pits the team with the best MOV in the divisional round against the team with the best MOV in the conference round. That has happened 3 times in the last 15 years – once the division round won and twice the conference round won.

So I guess that means the Ravens will (likely) win the Super Bowl. But since that was only 3 samples, I doubt there is much in the way of correlation there.

As a Michigan fan, I was cheering for Tom Brady. I know he lost, but there is still hope since there is another former Michigan quarterback in the Super Bowl – Harbaugh.

I haven’t decided yet for whom I will cheer in the Super Bowl. Probably the Ravens, but I don’t know why. I don’t have a strong inclination either way. I just hope it’s a good game and the ads are appropriate for all ages.

But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it and struck the Philistines; and the Lord brought about a great victory.

2 Samuel 23:12

Cycling Update

Inspired by Lance Armstrong’s news from a couple days ago, I have updated the list of the last several years of cycling world champions.

  • 2011
    • 1st: —
    • 2nd: —
    • 3rd: —
  • 2010
    • 1st: —
    • 2nd: —
    • 3rd: —
  • 2009
    • 1st: —
    • 2nd: —
    • 3rd: —
  • 2008
    • 1st: —
    • 2nd: —
    • 3rd: —
  • 2007
    • 1st: —
    • 2nd: —
    • 3rd: —
  • 2006
    • 1st: —
    • 2nd: —
    • 3rd: —
  • 2005
    • 1st: —
    • 2nd: —
    • 3rd: —
  • 2004
    • 1st: —
    • 2nd: —
    • 3rd: —
  • 2003
    • 1st: —
    • 2nd: —
    • 3rd: —
  • 2002
    • 1st: —
    • 2nd: —
    • 3rd: —
  • 2001
    • 1st: —
    • 2nd: —
    • 3rd: —
  • 2000
    • 1st: —
    • 2nd: —
    • 3rd: —
  • 1999
    • 1st: —
    • 2nd: —
    • 3rd: —
  • 1998
    • 1st: —
    • 2nd: —
    • 3rd: —
  • 1997
    • 1st: —
    • 2nd: —
    • 3rd: —
  • 1996
    • 1st: —
    • 2nd: —
    • 3rd: —
  • 1995
    • 1st: —
    • 2nd: —
    • 3rd: —
  • 1994
    • 1st: —
    • 2nd: —
    • 3rd: —
  • 1993
    • 1st: —
    • 2nd: —
    • 3rd: —

It seems that every winner is eventually accused of doping or otherwise using performance-enhancing drugs, so this is what the list of champions should look like. The cycling world can save some time by immediately stripping the next winner of his title, right after after they award it to him.

May they be blotted out of the book of life
And may they not be recorded with the righteous.

Psalm 69:28

Solution for Bankruptcy

comic of chemical company being declared insolvent because of a leak at their factory.

Transcript:
Underling: Sir, we have a problem!
Boss: What is it?
Underling: Our production lines are leaking so our factories are flooded and we can’t make any shipments so we are losing more money than we can afford.
Boss: Wait, are you telling me that we are … insolvent?

But since he [x]did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made.

Matthew 18:25