Skeet Football, Starring Matthew Stafford

Just in case you missed it (as Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is on, well, late), the possible (likely) first overall pick in Saturday's NFL Draft appeared on Jimmy Fallon's show Thursday night. For all those Detroit Lions fans wondering what sort of player they might be getting as of approximately 4 p.m. EST on Saturday, Matthew Stafford is lethal at skeet shooting with footballs.



That could be our quarterback, Detroit. (Though I'm among those who hope the Lions draft an offensive tackle, even though they really, really need a stud quarterback.)

The Lions are formally announcing their new logo and uniforms today (which have been the worst-kept secret in Detroit sports over the past few weeks). But maybe they should put a plate on the front of the jersey instead. Stafford would hit Calvin Johnson between the numbers every time.

A Superb Super Bowl

With six to seven months until meaningful football is played again, the final game of the NFL season - the one that determines the champion, the one that millions of people have essentially turned into a national holiday - should leave a lasting impression. And Super Bowl XLIII most certainly did not disappoint.

After the Steelers' Santonio Holmes caught the winning touchdown, somehow reaching high into the air to snare the football, while also dragging his toes along the grass to stay in bounds, I briefly thought I might not ever watch football again. Because I'm not sure any future games can match this.


What chance do they have? This game had everything! Pittsburgh gained the upper hand, but then Arizona fought back. And when it looked like the Cardinals might take the lead for the first time, the game turned with probably the most spectacular play ever made in the Super Bowl: James Harrison intercepting Kurt Warner's pass at the Steelers' goal line and running his 242 pounds the entire 100-yard length of the field to score a touchdown. Instead of a 14-10 Arizona lead, the first half ended with Pittsburgh up 17-7.

That could've been a knockout punch for the Steelers. So often, an opponent can't recover from a blow like that.

But the Cardinals did, pecking away at that 10-point deficit, until they finally had a breakthrough when Larry Fitzgerald found a crack in Pittsburgh's defense and ran like he was shot out of a rocket, streaking 64 yards for what had to be the game-winning touchdown. And most of the time, it would be.

(Incidentally, I've always admired Fitzgerald as an athlete, but I officially became a fan when a pre-game feature mentioned that he's kept his mother's drivers license in his wallet ever since she passed away. I do the same with my father's drivers license.)

Yet with just enough time remaining on the clock (2:30, I believe) for one last comeback, the Steelers did just that, putting together the kind of game-winning touchdown drive that fans talk about with reverence for decades.

I didn't think Ben Roethlisberger (or as my mother calls him, "Burger," apparently because she's intimidated by all those consonants) was that great of a quarterback. Good, yes. But drives like that make a player legendary, up there with Joe Montana, John Elway, and Tom Brady. At first glance, Roethlisberger doesn't appear to belong alongside those names. And maybe he doesn't in terms of overall career achievements. But he's right with them in Super Bowl performances.

For anyone who would ask why I love sports, I'd point to that game-winning touchdown. Besides the dramatic backdrop, it's the feat itself that amazes me. Roethlisberger threw the football exactly where he had to, over three Arizona defenders, toward the back corner of the end zone where only his receiver could catch it. Just high enough, just far enough. If he had to make that throw again, who knows if he could? Maybe he'd think about it too much. Or throw it too low. Or throw it too far. But hell, maybe he could. Maybe Roethlisberger is just that good.

There is one thing about the very end of the game that really bugs me, though. The outcome became official once it was ruled that Kurt Warner fumbled the ball and turned it over to Pittsburgh. Yet if Warner's arm was coming forward in a throwing motion, the play would've been ruled an incomplete pass and Arizona would've kept the ball for at least one more chance to try and win the game. The play, however, was called a fumble. And the determination was made so fast by the referees that the evidence would seem conclusive. I think it was anything but.


It's not just that the call may have been wrong. It's that it wasn't even reviewed. Which is baffling, because officials had taken second looks at every questionable play in the game, utilizing the multiple camera angles that were available. Why the rush to make such a quick decision? Considering the stakes, how can you not even take a look at that play, to make sure the right call was made?

Oh, and I can't write about last night's game without mentioning Bruce Springsteen's halftime show. More than the music, I was impressed by The Boss giving America a closer view of his crotch than they may have been ready for.

Obligatory Super Bowl Pick

I realize the popular consensus seems to be that the Steelers' defense will rule the day, but I'm not so sure their offense can outscore the Cardinals. And I like the fact that Arizona's coach, Ken Whisenhunt, used to coach with the Steelers, and is familiar with their scheme and personnel.

It'd also be more fun to see the underdog win. So...

Arizona 26, Pittsburgh 20.


I know - I should be rooting for the Steelers. Rust belt city, same colors as Iowa, etc. But I really dig Kurt Warner and his story. Even if he lays the Jesus talk on a bit thick.

The Cardinals also have more players who went to Michigan (five, to the Steelers' two), which is how I've determined rooting interests in the past. And I'm thinking of growing my hair like Larry Fitzgerald's. Though I'm not sure that's a good look for my people.

But a clean, exciting game, with some funny commercials thrown in, should make for an enjoyable evening.

Some Water For Detroit's Football Desert?

I'm late to the party on reading Michael Lombardi's wonderfully insightful writing and reporting at National Football Post - probably because it took me a while to work my sports appetite back up after baseball season (mercifully) ended - but his stuff is a must-read for me these days.

And maybe I just need any little kernel of hope to make me feel good about the Detroit Lions now (thanks to the Arizona Cardinals) being one of five teams (three of which are newer, expansion franchises) never to make it to the Super Bowl, but I was encouraged to read this from Lombardi about the Lions' new head coach, Jim Schwartz:

I know the Lions hired a great young coach in Jim Schwartz, who is someone I believe will do a wonderful job. We hired him in Cleveland in 1992 to work with me in the personnel department. He is extremely smart (third in his class at Georgetown in economics) and hard working. He knows how to build a program, and he understands the Bill Belichick approach as well as anyone. Given enough time, he will restore the roar to the Lions.

So hopefully, The Schwartz is strong with this team. And for a guy who said the Lions were dead to him, I'm suddenly quite a bit more interested than I was at this time a year ago.

History is Upon Us!

So when the Detroit Lions set an infamous NFL record by finishing off an 0-16 season today, do you think members of the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers will get together and have a champagne toast?

It would kind of be like what the 1972 Miami Dolphins do every time an undefeated team fails to break their record. (Although Snopes.com says that's a myth.) Except I imagine those '72 Bucs would be more than happy to get knocked out of the record books. (Unless they had a few Brian Kingman types on that roster.) Lee Roy Selmon and Steve Spurrier will surely gladly pass that baton of suckitude over to Dan Orlovsky and Cory Redding.

If you regularly stop by here, you know where I stand on the Lions and 0-16. I want to see it happen and resent anyone who says I'm not a true fan for that. Maybe it's delusional to think that fresh grass can only grow after the old, dry stuff is burned away, but at least that provides some hope.

Kudos and condolences to my buddy Big Al at The Wayne Fontes Experience, who will be following the march of Detroit's gridiron heroes to the historic oh-fer. Having devotedly blogged the Detroit Tigers' 2008 last-place finish, I know what a drag it can be to follow consistent losing day after day, week after week. Maybe he and I can have our own champagne toast sometime after the New Year.

Rooting For 0-16 Does Not Make Me Less of a Fan

So I'm watching "SportsWorks" on Fox 2 Sunday night, as Dan Miller, Jamie Samuelsen, and Sean Baligian try to pick apart yet another loss (the 14th of the season) by the Detroit Lions. And there's really only so much to say when the losing continues week after week. Maybe the Lions are showing a little bit of fight at the end of the season, especially as it tries to avoid becoming the first team in NFL history to go winless over a 16-game season, but with only two games left on the schedule, they're running out of chances to avoid pro football infamy.

But while discussing that very possibility, Miller asked Samuelsen and Baligian if they're part of the "moron contingent" of Lions fans that is rooting for the team to go 0-16. And when I heard that, I sat up. Because I count myself among the segment of Detroit sports fans that want to see the Lions suck on a historical level. And maybe my perception is influenced by the echo chamber of my friends, but I don't believe I'm in the minority on this. I think many Lions fans believe that the only way the team has any chance of getting better is for the ownership to suffer the kind of humiliating indignity that they'll never want to experience again.

Apparently, that makes me a "moron." Or as MLive.com's Tom Kowalski put it, not a real Lions fan.

If you want these things to happen and you still want to call yourself a Lions fan, I have a huge problem with that. It might be a silly little pet peeve of mine, but I firmly believe that once you start rooting for your team to lose, you're no longer a fan.

My response to Miller and Kowalski on this consists of two words.

Fuck you.

(What, did you think they'd be "Merry Christmas"? I'm sorry, but no other words better capture how I feel about this.)


Let me get this straight: two members of the credentialed Detroit sports media - who are paid to attend games and watch them from what is essentially an office environment in the press box - are going to tell people whether or not they're fans? Miller, as the radio play-by-play man for the Lions, is literally a professional mouthpiece for the team. Kowalski is presumably impartial as a beat reporter, but when you spend that much time around a group of coaches, players, and executives, it's impossible to remain completely objective. And he doesn't.

Am I less of a Lions fan than I was three years ago? Absolutely! This team - and its entire organization - has given me nothing to root for. Their games are a frustrating, joyless ordeal. And I can't even watch another, better team that might play more enjoyable football. (Believe me; I've tried to find a new team. But what fun is it to root for Pittsburgh's team? Or New York's team?) The Lions have actually drained my love of the sport right out of me.

Would I be more of a fan to blindly surrender my loyalty to a team that has given its fans an utterly inferior - and progressively worse - product for eight years? Am I not a fan because I want the team that represents my community to get better and know, deep down, that it can only be rebuilt once it's completely destroyed?

Miller and Kowalski dispute that line of thinking, asserting that changes are going to be made, so there's ultimately no difference between a 1-15 and 0-16 season. No, there is every bit of difference. Other teams have gone 1-15 or 2-14 before. No team has gone winless. And if the Detroit Lions have to carry that weight around their collective necks, maybe they'll work that much harder to make us forget what a laughingstock they've been.

The fact that I'm hoping for that, that I care enough to have typed out 600 words about all this, makes me a fan. How dare someone in the media try to tell me otherwise.

College Football Change We Need

Barack Obama tackled some tough issues facing our country during his interview with Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes. Restore the economy? Sure. Reform health care? Soon, hopefully.

But he saved perhaps the most important concern for last, surely for dramatic effect. What about a college football playoff, President-Elect Obama?



Hey, the man isn't going to let his mandate go to waste. This is important, sir. Break glass in case of emergency? The emergency is here! Down with the BS BCS! Give us a real college football champion!

The Long Millen Nightmare is Over

People of Detroit, there is once again hope for your football team.

Millen out as Lions president, GM

Quite possibly the worst executive in the history of professional team sports has received a long, long overdue dismissal. By kicking this clown to the curb, the Detroit Lions instantly go from NFL-wide laughing stock to a smouldering pile of rubble ready to be reconstructed.


And with that, the team I insisted was dead to me is showing a heartbeat. (And some balls!) Mom, you still might be able to see the Lions win in your lifetime!

First, Kwame; now, Millen. Of course, the Lions' 2008 season is still utterly, completely fucked over. But I might actually believe in now.

Today's Reading - 03/04/08

● I Need a Virtual Break. No, Really.

The NY Times' Mark Bittman (whose new blog is very enjoyable) pledges to take a day away from the internet, computer, and cellphone. As someone who also battles a serious internet addiction, I'm looking forward to my trip to New York this weekend, during which I should be offline. I might need Mis Hooz's help in staying disconnected, however.

● Thank you sir, may I have another?

For bloggers who yearn for press credentials, be careful what you wish for. Check out where some of the traditional press has to file their stories from. On the bright side, there is a very, very short walk to the bathroom.

● Online Scrabble Craze Leaves Game Sellers at Loss for Words

Getting through a day without playing Scrabulous on Facebook has become more difficult than I ever would've guessed. I've come to love it and am embarrassed to admit how many times I click over to see if my opponents have made their next move. Don't take that away from me (and countless others), Hasbro.

● Green Bay Packers QB Brett Favre retires after 17 seasons, says he’s ‘tired’

As a Detroit Lions fan, I can't say I'll entirely miss Brett Favre. (Though at one point, before the Matt Millen regime, the Lions actually beat him and the Packers occasionally. Fire Millen!) But it'll be strange to have a NFL season without Favre. The guy has played for the Green Bay Packers for almost as long as I've followed pro football.

● Sleepy-Eyed Writer, Wandering Byzantium

One of my favorite authors, Richard Price, has published a new novel, titled Lush Life. It might be quite a while before I get to it (maybe - ahem - when the book comes out in paperback), but I'll get there eventually (though I should probably read his previous novel, Samaritan, first). In the meantime, profiles like this, which follow Price through the neighborhoods that inspired and informed his writing, are almost as compelling.

Hulking Out

Some pictures of a scale model that will be used to promote the Incredible Hulk movie leaked onto the internet on Friday. Anyone wondering just how different this new incarnation of the Hulk might differ from Ang Lee's giant beast got some solid confirmation with these photos.


Judging from the size of the model and a couple of images on the film's official site, it's apparent that Edward Norton and company are nodding more toward the TV show than Lee's version, which should lead to a somewhat more believable (and coherent) interpretation. Not as outlandishly large, not as brightly green, and maybe more savage. Just like Lou Ferrigno used to be.

I know the new Hulk is supposed to be roaring and flexing and hulking in that pose, but from certain angles, he also looks like he could be dancing. Kind of like the Baltimore Ravens' Ray Lewis before he takes the field.


Maybe that can be the subtitle of this new movie. The Incredible Hulk: Bust a Move.

(via The Movie Blog)

This is Why We Watch Sports

Giants 17, Patriots 14


As elementary as it might sound, the team that played better won the game. It's just that no one expected the New York Giants to be that team.

It feels too soon to call this the greatest upset in NFL history, as some are doing right now, but given what was at stake for the New England Patriots and how the Giants were largely viewed as a speed bump on the way to football immortality (guilty as charged), I'll probably come around to sharing that opinion after sleeping on it.

Nothing is a sure thing in sports these days. That's why despite all the stories about steroids, shootings, dog fighting, or whatever else that surrounds our favorite games, we still care most about the final result on the scoreboard. The games are what matter the most.

Why I'll Probably Watch the Super Bowl Alone

On Wednesday, Rob suggested that I let go of my inhibitions and just embrace my man-crush on Tom Brady. Well, if I'm going to do so, Super Bowl Sunday (the national holiday that's not an official national holiday) is probably the right day for it. I'll embellish the sentiment with an e-card that Mis Hooz sent me last week.


(Courtesy of someecards.com)

Oh yeah - the game. My score looks like Patriots 37, Giants 16. Is picking the 18-0 team to win one more game really taking a chance? Regardless, I'll enjoy watching excellence be rewarded while the Patriots make pro football history.

Besides the gridiron competition, I'll also be looking forward to the Iron Man trailer during some commercial break and may be more excited than I've ever been about a Super Bowl halftime show, with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers supplying the musical entertainment. (Please let there be no dancers on the field.) One of the best (yet criminally underrated) American rock bands ever finally gets the huge stage it deserves.

Tom Brady: Smooth On and Off the Field

I've managed to contain what's developed into a healthy admiration for Tom Brady (I'm not sure this is man-crush material, though I've professed such feelings before to friends, only to be greeted with awkward silence) because I didn't want to be labeled as a bandwagon New England Patriots fan. But I have been (quietly) rooting for the Patriots to go undefeated, so they'd shut up those grumpy old men ("It was better in the old days!") of the 1972 Miami Dolphins.

And I'll always root for Brady, because I think he overcame a pretty raw deal that Lloyd Carr gave him at the University of Michigan. (I don't know if I'll ever get around to writing this post, but I think jerking Brady around in favor of local golden boy Drew Henson is the biggest stain on Carr's legacy as Michigan football coach. By doing so, however, Carr likely unwittingly molded the quarterback we see today.) I realize that Brady's become the kind of guy you don't root for because he appears to have everything. (And if you look at that photo to the right, he seems to know it.)

Anyway, this was a long-winded introduction of getting to some amusing video from today's (always absurd) Super Bowl Media Day, during which a Spanish reporter asked Brady to marry her. And he handled it as calmly as he does an opposing pass rush.



What a gentleman. Of course, Brady has some experience facing the ridiculous at press conferences.



Always smooth, never bitter. Brady should do beer commercials after he's done with football.

(via Awful Announcing)

UPDATE: Here's a good look at the amorous TV reporter from TV Azteca.

Today's Reading - 01/17/08

● Sour CREEM

By the time I started reading CREEM as a kid, I don't think it was the magazine that's celebrated in this article, with writers like Lester Bangs and Dave Marsh.  And if it was, I was far too young to appreciate stuff like that.  All I really remember is flipping through magazine like that while my parents were shopping for groceries.  So I guess I'm thankful for articles like this one (and a book to come).

● Baltimore Sun's 'Wire' Portrayal Fuels a Hot Debate

Oh, you could've seen this one coming. David Simon's critique of the newspaper industry in season five of The Wire is rattling some cages.  In particular, Simon may just working out a vendetta against two of his former bosses at the Baltimore Sun with his current storyline. Shouldn't every former disgruntled employee have his own critically acclaimed TV show for an outlet?

● REFLECTIONS #229: BRYAN FULLER PART 1

One thing that's gotten me through the TV drought that the writers' strike has wrought is the handful of Pushing Daisies episodes saved on my DVR.  (I appreciate the lead actor, Lee Pace, even more after seeing him play the homicidal Dick Hickock in Infamous.)  Here, the series' creator talks about many of the influences that went into creating the show.

● Anthony Bourdain | the A.V. Club

I'm a week late with this, but thought it was still worth posting.  I cringe when anyone refers to a public figure - especially a celebrity - as his or her "hero."  But man, I wouldn't mind Anthony Bourdain's life.  He might just have the sweetest job in the world right now.  And he knows it.  (Not necessarily in an arrogant way, either.)  I can only hope to live a little of the Bourdain life some time this year.

● The 27-Hour Day

Here's something to think about in lieu of Apple's new movie rental plan for iTunes.  Is 24 hours (the span in which you have to watch a rental once you begin viewing) really enough time for busy people - especially those who might have kids - to watch after a long day?  If you begin at, say, 9:00 p.m., crap out, and decide to watch the rest the next night, what happens when you sit down at 9:00 p.m. again? Poof!  Movie gone.

● Booed PPK Girl To Get The Star Treatment From The Pats

Did you see that 14-year-old girl get booed during the Chargers-Colts playoff game last Sunday because she was wearing a New England Patriots jersey?  (Hilarious!)  So did the Patriots' owner, who invited her to this Sunday's AFC championship game.  The team will honor her at halftime.

Today's Reading - 12/27/07

● The Top Player in This League? It May Be the Sports Reporter

Both the Wall Street Journal and Slate wrote articles on ESPN's hiring trends, as well, which is an interesting coincidence.  (Though the Slate piece was a response to the WSJ article.)  When the big boys come callin' (and ESPN has put a lot of reporters on TV over the years), sportswriting can be a lucrative field.

(To anyone from ESPN, Fox Sports, etc. who might be reading this, I humbly refer you to the Detroit Tigers blog, Bless You Boys.  The author is a very close, personal friend of mine.  Ahem.)

● 'The Wire' gets the newsroom right

Just in case the media gets too puffed up after reading that NY Times piece, consider that HBO's The Wire is coming after that profession next.  Considering David Simon's previous social commentary on law enforcement, the war on drugs, city politics, and the public school system, there could be some bruises inflicted.

● 23 Reasons Why A Profile of Pete Carroll Does Not Appear in this Space

One reason I hate most football movies is that they usually try to make the coach seem like a cool guy.  Football coaches aren't cool guys.  They're mostly anti-social control freaks who live, breathe, eat, and sleep football at the cost of almost everything else in their lives.  Except for USC coach Pete Carroll.  This guy is cool.  And if I were a stud high school football player ready to play in college, Carroll would be the coach I'd want to play for.

● The Afterlife Is Expensive for Digital Movies

Kind of film geeky, but I thought it was noteworthy.  I was often under the impression that digital filmmaking would make movies less costly.  Maybe not so much, especially in the long-term.  Film studios should consider hiring the Be Kind Rewind guys for film preservation.

● Be Kind Rewind Director Michel Gondry Forgoes Dreamy Plots for Straight-Up Comedy

Is Michel Gondry the most creative filmmaker working today?  He might be especially so when you consider that some of his "tricks" were constructed more simply than you might think.  Be Kind Rewind looks quirkily hilarious, and a movie about two guys remaking blockbuster films on cardboard budgets seems just about perfect for our current YouTube culture.  Maybe "unconventional" is a better word for Gondry's work.  (Pete, I promise I'll be watching The Science of Sleep soon.  It's in rotation on HBO.)

Making the Uncomfortable Hilarious

Is this funnier if you have or haven't seen those dumb Coors Light commercials that use NFL coaches' post-game press conference footage?  Anyway, if you're not familiar with Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy's tirade at a local sports columnist for something she wrote about one of his players, here's an explanation and a video of the outburst.

But tonight, we are here to laugh.  At a man.  Who's 40.  And had his tantrum turned into something hilarious.



The only thing that would've made this more hilarious is if they could've somehow incorporated Gundy's "This was brought to me by a mother... of children" into the gag.

(And I really hope this YouTube video isn't taken down by the time you get to read this.  I've had bad luck with that lately.)

Weekend mix

• Does anyone else have someone in their lives that adds unnecessary drama to relatively trivial events? Someone who spouts ridiculously embarrassing hyperbole ("really suffering," "a major burden of life") in order to give rather pedestrian circumstances some sort of artificial significance? Why do such people do this? Is it a sign that the scope of their lives is just too small? Do they need the drama to make their lives seem more important? Just curious. I'm - ahem - speaking completely in hypotheticals, of course.

• "In Good Company" is a good movie, but I wonder if it suffers at the box office (#4 last weekend) from marketing. It seems like the studio isn't quite sure how to sell this one. Is it a satire of corporate culture? Is it about older, yet not-ready-for-retirement professionals being pushed out by young, ambitious up-and-comers? Yes, on both counts. But I think it's also about the fulfillment of a complete life, not just career success.

And maybe that's why I enjoyed this movie - it's got several layers to it. Not all of them work - maybe because the story should've eventually found a focus - but Dennis Quaid and Topher Grace are so good that they make you care what happens to their characters, and that covers up some of the movie's flaws. Also, Scarlett Johansson is much better than the part she's given. Yet she takes what she has and makes something interesting and believable out of it. It's hard to believe this is the same woman from "Lost in Translation."

• A note of gratitude to Lysol® Mildew Remover for taking care of some ugly black spots that were growing near my windows. (Nothing says "Hey, you should come over to my apartment" to the cute cashier at Target more than buying mildew remover.) The apartment smells a little bleachy, but some open windows and a fan (in 20-degree weather - whoo!) took good care of that. Black spots, bye-bye. I wish I'd have taken "before" and "after pictures.

• I noticed the NFL's San Francisco 49ers hired Mike Singletary as assistant head coach yesterday. Singletary was a fearsome linebacker for the Chicago Bears during the 1980s, who always intrigued me as a kid because he had a teddy bear face with intense, bulging eyes that looked as if he'd tear out your belly and eat it. I wish I had a picture of those eyes, but can't find one. Hopefully, this assistant coach position is the next step toward a head-coaching job for Singletary.

• Let me repeat: Patriots 20, Steelers 16. Eagles 31, Falcons 23.

• One more football note: here's an interesting column from Sally Jenkins in the Washington Post that wonders exactly why some quarterbacks like New England's Tom Brady excel in late-game pressure situations, while others wilt under the stress. (Why do some students do well on practice tests, but freeze up when the stakes are real?) Is there something in Brady's physiology that enables him to perform well in those circumstances? He was cool under pressure in his college days at the University of Michigan too.

• And the real reason I'm not getting anything done this weekend? VH1's "I Love the 90s - Part Deux." This series is television crack for me. I'm not sure why this version is better than the first attempt at "I Love the 90s" - Funnier topics? Better talking heads/"commentators"? I'm just glad it's the beginning of the semester.

That’ll do, pig. That’ll do.

Some schools play football games for trophies like Paul Bunyan’s axe, little brown jugs, spittoons, or buckets. Iowa and Minnesota play for a pig.


That is “Floyd of Rosedale.” It represents a bet made back in 1935 between the governors of Iowa and Minnesota. (See what you have time to do when you don’t have to worry about issues like gay marriage?) That is a trophy, my friends. And grown men are happy to win it.

Iowa held onto Floyd yesterday, by the way, beating Minnesota, 29-27.
College football – ain’t nothin’ like it. Here’s a ridiculously comprehensive site that lists the many rivalries in the sport and the trophies that are at stake.

Football - Sorrow & Joy

From a Roar To a Whimper

Last Sunday, my beloved Detroit Lions lost to the Washington Redskins, 17-10, and I failed to be a man and answer for that to my friend in Maryland, who's a big 'Skins fan. All season long, I'd been talking trash, taking joy in the fact that my Lions were playing well while her Redskins were struggling. A win for Detroit seemed assured, which I made clear. Unfortunately, the Lions played one of their worst games of this season, and after a surprising start have now fallen back to their typical inept play. One would think I'd learn after all these years.


So since I didn't send an e-mail to take my medicine, Stephanie, I'll do it here on my blog. My Lions stink. The Redskins are their daddy. I will now go back under my rock and sulk.

Nothing Like the First Time

And I haven't written about my first University of Iowa football game last week vs. Purdue. The weather was great: sunny and 70 degrees. Mother Nature wanted me to have a good time. The game didn't disappoint either. Purdue made it close at the end, but Iowa generally dominated the game and won 23-21. The only thing I missed out on was eating one of the famous "Big Ass Turkey Legs." (The sign on the food stand actually says that.) They looked good, but I didn't want to carry around a giant drumstick of meat. Maybe some other time, when I can share one...


Did I take this photo? Yes, I ran onto the field, snapped this and ran off, quick as a flash. Coach Kirk Ferentz wants to sign me up as a running back for next season. No, all the photos I took with my spy-sized digital camera didn't turn out very well. I'm a terrible photographer, especially with a camera so small that it's affected by my slightest movement. All you could tell from my photos was that I was outside and that someone with a giant head was sitting in front of me. Too bad, because I would've loved a record of the experience. (I really wanted a picture of "Big Ass Turkey Legs," too.)

My sister will hate hearing this, but the Iowa fans are a lot louder and much more enthusiastic than the Michigan fans. Some say the design of Michigan stadium, with a bowl that stretches back farther, lets more noise escape. Maybe that's true, but I do think Michigan fans are quieter. They sit back and expect their team to win. Iowa fans feel like they can influence the game with their cheering. It makes a big difference.

I've become an old man when it comes to attending football games. (Baseball games are different to me. Someday I'll write about why that is.) "Oy, it's too crowded and uncomfortable. I hate being wedged in between people - what if I have to go to the bathroom? And I can see the game much better at home on TV." But a college football game has a lot of atmosphere that can only be appreciated in person. The variety of fans (the old-timers, the students, the townies), the marching band playing fight songs (I still have to work on learning Iowa's) and rallies, school colors, and raucous enthusiasm - ain't nothin' like it.

One more thing about Iowa football: I know this will sound goofy, but two years ago, I visited Minneapolis, thinking I'd move there. It was difficult to find a place to stay because the hotel rooms were all taken by Iowa fans, in town to see the Hawkeyes play Minnesota. But once I did find a room (and desperately paid a ridiculous amount for a room bigger than my current apartment), I met some Iowa fans in the lobby and was impressed by how nice they were. And I was impressed that so many of these people had made the five-hour trip to cheer on their school. I missed being in an environment like that.


(After Iowa won the game, by the way, those fans ran onto the field - at the other team's stadium - to celebrate winning a share of the Big Ten conference title. Those crazy kids tore down one of the goalposts! I would imagine Minnesota is still sore about that.)

I'm not going to say that I decided to go to Iowa that day, because that's just not true. But for a guy that was looking for a sign to tell him which direction to go, I sometimes wonder if the seed was planted that day. On the drive back to Michigan, I'd decided that I wasn't going to move to Minneapolis. Shortly after that, I remembered that Iowa had a great writing program. The rest could be history...

What a game

And what were you watching Saturday afternoon/evening? The annual Michigan-Michigan State football game was a classic. The east coast can have their Yankees vs. Red Sox; I'll take U-M vs. MSU. This was a great game. The insides of my chest moved on almost every play. It was draining to watch. Sports at its best, man.

And the Spartans got their hearts broken yet again, blowing a 27-10 lead to lose in triple overtime (!!!) 45-37. I attended MSU for a year (when I watched U-M kick MSU's butt), and I know how seriously they take this rivalry in East Lansing, so I imagine the whole town is in a serious funk today. That one had to hurt. If my lifetime loyalties weren't tied to Michigan due to my upbringing, I'd feel bad for the Spartans.

Having lived in Iowa City for more than a year now, I wonder if I'll ever feel for the Iowa football team as I do for Michigan's... ?