Lamenting The Super Loss

from TremendousUpsidePotential.com...

BobbyStompy is bummin'


My name is Bobby. My favorite NFL teams are the Patriots and Bears. Equally. (Yes, I know I'm stupid and dumb. I can't change it. I've tried. I'm sorry.)

My favorite college football team is the Michigan Wolverines.

In a year that began with the Appalachian State upset, how fitting was the Giants toppling the Pats? Pretty fitting, I guess.

I remember when the Bears and Pats both lost in the divisional playoffs two years ago. I remember writing in 2006: "Pats and Bears lost their respective playoff games this past weekend. So that was pretty depressing. Hopefully that's the last time in my life where my two favorite NFL teams are eliminated from the playoffs about 22 hours apart from each other."

You know what's worse than the Bears and Pats both losing in divisional playoff weekend? The Bears and Pats losing back-to-back Super Bowls! Way worse. ARGH.

The worst part is, I don't even mind the Giants. I'm not laughing now, but I know Eli Manning is funny. I know he deserves it. I know Strahan deserves it. I know Coughlin deserves it. I know Barber didn't deserve it. I know the game-deciding play was a fade route (my absolute favorite of all routes). I know the Pats already attained three rings in the last decade, and that alone should give me little to complain about. Am I not grateful? No, I really don't think that's it.

That's the difference between being a Michigan/Pats/Bears/Bulls/White Sox fan, and being a fan of the Atlanta Hawks, or any team based in Philadelphia or Cleveland. Being able to feel the pinnacle of a sport, knowing how great a championship truly does feel -- it just makes it that much worse when it doesn't end up happening.

It's like the Chicago Bulls this year. They suck. They piss me off. And I've pretty much given up on them. But in the end, it's pretty much disappointment combined with reservation. It's horrible, don't get me wrong, but it's nothing compared to aggressively following the 18-0 -- oops, 18-1 -- Patriots and their stumble on the big stage.

With a season that began with the biggest upset in college football history (even though point spreads don't agree), I imagine it's fitting to finish with the biggest upset in NFL history (even though point spreads don't agree).

I'll be the first to say it: if I wasn't a Patriots fan, I'd probably be rooting for the Giants. But I am. And I wasn't.

The only solace I take is knowing that this loss brings Pats fans -- the insufferable ones -- down a notch. The rest of the NFL teams' fans will have this against us for pretty much ever (just like cough cough Appalachian State cough cough). No more full-on smugness. If the Pats pinball the scoreboards next year, we'll know why. But I don't think that's going to happen again.

The solace I won't take is knowing how happy Mercury Morris is right now. I hate him.

As I made my somber walk home through Iowa City from the Super Bowl party I'd attended, trudging through about 8 inches of snow and twenty degree weather for about 40 minutes, I began to feel like Jack Nicholson during the last five minutes of The Shining...

Just depleted, and about ready to give up.

Myths About Super Bowl XLII

from TremendousUpsidePotential.com...

BobbyStompy talks pigskin, cold weather, stupid commercials.

If I have any math skills at all, I think we're less than 48 hours away from the Super Bowl, right?

It's so difficult to try and get a word out regarding the game without feeling like a broken record, so I figured I'd use this space to debunk a few myths about the big game.

Week 17 gave us a good indication of how these two teams match-up...Well, not really. For maybe the first week of Super Bowl hype, I really started to buy into this claim. But thinking more into it, I realized it's not totally true. You look at the box score, see a three point Pats victory, and think, "wow, these teams match up really well."

Wrong.

The Giants needed a late touchdown just to make it look respectable, and this was after blowing a double-digit second half lead. On top of this, one of the G-Men touchdowns was from a kickoff return. It was the only Giants kickoff return touchdown this season (including playoffs). It was also the only time the Patriots gave up a kickoff return touchdown this season (including playoffs). Just seems pretty flukey, you know?

There's at least a small chance Tom Brady might be hurt...Listen closely: Tom Brady is not hurt. Other than his record breaking right shoulder, which has been a mainstay on the injury report for years, the Golden Boy should be ready to go. Even as a Patriots fan, with absolutely everything invested into this game, I have no concern about the health of QB1.

It's actually pretty cold in Arizona...Really? Let's review my 'Winter sucks in the Midwest' checklist:
Is it snowing? Nopes.
Below zero? Please.
Below 32 degrees? Hah.
Are cars covered in weird salt-dirt? Don't think so.
Can you stand outside and be relatively comfortable? Seen plenty of people pull it off.

You're in Glendale for America's biggest sporting spectacle. Stop bitching.

The New York Giants will hoist the Lombardi Trophy...Did I miss something? Are the Patriots not 18-0? Did they not set a gazillion offensive records? I really don't get sports, sometimes. I feel like I've seen more Giants upset picks than I saw Patriots upset picks back when they played the Rams in '02. There were less people taking the Rockies in the World Series. Jesus, did the Rockies really play in the World Series? Man.

The Eagles game was close, yes. The Ravens practically beat them, I know. But this is the playoffs. It means ultra-preparation. Every little detail scrutinized, analyzed, and processed. This isn't the five-day layoff both teams had last time. Two full weeks to scheme, design, and come up with a plan. Against Eli Manning.

Bottom line: the Patriots are not invincible, and it's sports, so anything could happen. And yes, that includes a Giants win. But, to paraphrase Aaron Schatz from the Bill Simmons Super Bowl Podcast, picking the Giants is saying you think they have a greater than 50% chance to win.

I just don't think that's possible to say.


Other items of note:

• There's some dumb local commercial here in Iowa City where a car dealership is advertising some Super Bowl related sale, but since the game is trademarked, the commercial says, "Come down for our Super (BLEEP) sale!" Seriously. The bleep is really loud, too. And they do it three or four times. One of the stupidest, tackiest things I've ever seen in advertising.
• Pau Gasol to the Lakers. Aargh. Luckily for Bulls fans, firearm purchases have waiting periods.
• Props to the immortal Johan $antana for finally cashing in, leaving the AL Central, and setting himself up for what could be a monster year. The only thing left to do is the obligatory lighting cigars with hundred dollar bills ritual.