Super Bowl 2014 - A Live Blog by a Fair Weather Football Fan

Alright folks, here's the back story:

Official Blog Fiance is from Seattle, and (it should probably go without saying) he's a Seahawks fan.  I've never been a huge football lover personally, but in an effort to add to pre-marital bliss, I'm now officially a Seahawks fan myself.

Official Blog Fiance unfortunately had to go on a business trip to Abu Dhabi over Super Bowl Sunday (whaaaaat??!), so he had to miss one of the few times that the Seahawks actually made it this far.  Because I didn't want him to miss out entirely, I figured I'd do a live-blog version so he can experience the game without having to watch the entire thing after the fact.


6:17 - The Seahawks head to the field.  Kurt Russell gives them a glowing intro speech.

6:19 - The Broncos hit the field.  Kurt Russell gives them a glowing intro speech too.  (Why didn't they pick two different celebrities for that?)

6:23 - Renee Fleming sings the national anthem five million times better than anyone else who's ever sung at a Super Bowl.

6:32 - Three out of the four of us miss the kickoff while going on a house tour.  Peyton Manning apparently misses catching the football, and Seattle mysteriously ends up with two points.

6:57 - We all finish making homemade pizza.  Seattle is up by 5 points, and we're six and a half minutes away from the end of the first quarter.

7:11 - I take the pizza out of the oven.  Seattle scored a field goal during the 10 minutes I was in the kitchen.

7:16 - First quarter ends.  Score report: Seattle: 8.  Denver: 0.

7:22 - Seattle makes a touchdown!  The following field goal brings the score to 15 - 0 (Seattle).

7:24 - Commercials.  More pizza.  This is definitely the best homemade pizza I've made yet!  Pepperoni and ham.  Good combo.  Tim Tebow's commercial gets shown!



7:38 - Denver has possession, Seattle intercepts, and runs the ball ALLLLL the way to the other end.  Touchdown!  Seattle: 20.  Denver: 0.  Shoot.

7:39: Field goal follow through.  Score report: Seattle: 22.  Denver: 0.

7:52 - Finished my pizza!

7:54 - Peyton gets to around 20 yards on 4th down.  Seattle intercepts and it's back in their hands.

7:57 - End of the second quarter.  Time to make cookies!  Oh.  And the half time show.  "Oh yeah yeah.  Oh yeah yeah yeah yeaaaaaaah...."

8:10 - WHAT.  Bruno Mars can play drums?  Really well?  "That's cool," says the audience in attendance here.

8:11 - Bruno predictably starts with the few measures that have been in every halftime commercial up until now.  Who knew that there's more to the song that "Oh yeah yeah..."

8:13 - This is a shocker.  I'm actually enjoying the halftime show.  I think I'll dance around the kitchen while making the cookies.

[via Google images]

8:16 - Well, scratch that.  The Red Hot Chili Peppers are pretty much the worst.  I mean, they're shirtless and wearing black shorts with patterned leggings.  What the heck.

[via Google images]

8:20 - It's ok.  Bruno came back, told everyone that we're beautiful just the way we are, and redeemed the show.

8:31 - Quarter 3 starts, and it's Seattle's ball.  

8:31 - Seattle gets an immediate touchdown.  DUDE.  Percy Harvin takes the cake.

8:32 - Field goal.  Score report: Seattle: 29.  Denver: 0.

8:55 - Yet again, we have a ball turnover from Denver to Seattle.  I'm starting to feel pretty bad for Peyton.  But...Seattle's winning.  So I don't feel that bad.

8:57 - Awww.  Budweiser outdid itself with commercials this year.



9:01 - Mmm.  Framboise Lambic is good from a bottle.  Now it's gone.

9:02 - Seattle makes yet another touchdown!  This. is. crazy.

9:03 - Field goal.  Score report: Seattle: 36. Denver: 0.

9:10 - I'm beginning to think that my high school SAT class teacher was right - I'm the world's worst guesser.  I guessed that the Broncos would win, and it looks like I'm being proved wrong.  I'm glad about this fact in this particular case.

9:11 - The Broncos finally get a touchdown!  There are zero seconds left in the third quarter, but they still get a 2-point conversion attempt, I guess, since they're still playing.

9:12 - Annnnnnd they get another 2 points.  Yay, Denver.  (Pity yay.)

9:13 - A commercial with a montage of teams including Seattle shows Pete Carroll saying, "We're going to New Jersey!!"  Audience member responds, "Wow, that's the first time that going to New Jersey is good news..."

9:15 - Fourth quarter starts, and it's Seattle's ball.

9:23 - Seattle makes another touchdown.  WOOOOOO.

9:23 - All the Broncos players look totally demoralized.  Pete Carroll looks beyond elated.

9:23 - Field goal.  Score report: Seattle: 43.  Denver: 8.  11:45 minutes left in the game.

9:28 - Richard Sherman is apparently hurt (for the second time).  Timeout.

9:32 - We're back, but we're now on injury number two.  Didn't quite catch which Seahawk it was.  Richard Sherman is out for the rest of the game.

9:41 - 6:30 left.  This is looking good.

9:44 - 5 minutes.

9:46 - 3:45.  Another ball turn over from Denver to Seattle.

9:50 - Richard Sherman is on crutches, but they're all so happy that he doesn't seem to care at all.

9:50 - 2 minute warning.

9:52 - I'm racing my computer battery here.  14% to 1:59 on the clock.  YOU CAN DO IT, OLD COMPUTER!

9:54 - Russell Wilson dumps an entire cooler of yellow Gatorade on Pete Carroll's head...out of extreme joy?

9:55 - THE SEAHAWKS WIN THE SUPER BOWL!!!

[via Google images]

Well.  There you have it.  And if you too want to become a Seahawks fan, just watch this video and you'll never turn back.

More than a basketball game

Having gone to yet another basketball game this evening - I don't really know why I keep doing this to myself, knowing full well that I do not enjoy watching basketball - my impression of team fans has not grown any more positive. In fact, I think it has gotten worse. Except this time, the fans whose behavior shocked me the most were from my own school. Curses.

I'll start from the beginning. Upon arriving at Middlebury College, where the game took place, we bought our tickets and sat down on the bleachers near center court. The Middlebury fans were loud and rowdy, which just got our fans riled up as well. I think there were really two games going on: the actual basketball game along with the Battle of the Team Supporters/Other Team Bashers. Insults were being flung across the court liberally, more directed at the other fans than at the teams themselves. For the first half of the game, all the fan competition was limited to that. However, after the break at half time, our school's fans, commonly known as the "Pit," decided to stand up. As previously stated, we and the Pit were sitting front and center, and standing up fully blocked the view of anyone sitting two to five rows behind. Needless to say, this event did not please most of the people sitting in those rows. They started talking, saying things to the effect of, "Hello!! You're blocking our view! SIT DOWN!" They were completely ignored by the Pit, until one or two of them got so annoyed that they went down front to speak to them all as a group. I figured that they would apologize and, if not sit down, at least move somewhere where they weren't directly in the way of anyone else. I was utterly wrong; they grimaced, rolled their eyes, laughed before absolutely refusing, and rudely told her to bug off. She was clearly insulted, and after she returned to her seat, it wasn't long until I heard the following conversation: "I can't believe their behavior! Maybe we should just leave! I'm fully intending to write a letter to their athletic director as soon as I get home! We paid to watch this game...we should be allowed to see it!" But the worst of it was this: "They are supposed to be representing their school! And they call it a CHRISTIAN college?!?!"

I think it's so easy to forget that we do attend a Christian college, but I also think that it's one of the most important things that we need to remember. Whether at a sports game, a concert, or just hanging around in our local Starbucks, we need to recall that we are representing more than just a college; we are representing our school's reputation, our faith, and ultimately, our Savior. It could be argued that the angry people behind us were out of line, asking a teams fans to sit during a game. But I think that the moral implications of the dilemma stretch further than whether it was right or not. Our responses to a request, reasonable or otherwise, speak more 0f our character than the original motivation. Or at least, they do in the case of this particular basketball game.