Connect Four
Each week our four Berning on Sports voices will sound off on a couple different topics going on in the sports world. Feel free to rip us apart in the comment section if you disagree or add a point that maybe we didn't consider.
First Topic: What is your favorite part about Super Bowl week? What's your least favorite part?
Jordan: My favorite part of Super Bowl week (like everyone else said, unless your team is in it) is the meeting of friends to watch the game. That may sound sappy, but it's true. I enjoy the fact that there's a sporting even that people congregate for every year. My friends and I are very busy usually and all run on different schedules, but we always manage to get together to watch the Super Bowl. It's like a guy's holiday, where you have a football game, beer, wings and the like to enjoy with your buddies. If it's a good game, it's a bonus. My least favorite thing is the saturation of hype that surrounds it, and the media day circus. But I've avoided it so far and would tell you that if you don't want the hype and the mindless breakdown, avoid ESPN for a week.
Scott: My favorite part about the Super Bowl, unless of course my team is in it, are the commercials. I know, that's stereotypically chick thing to say, but it's true. Besides the last two years, the game often is a let down. Which...leads me to my next answer. The worst part are the endless hours of pregame that seemingly start at around 9 AM on the day of. By noon, I'm exhausted.
Alastair: Unless your favorite team is playing in the big game, I'm not sure there is anything other than a "least favorite part". Mindless breakdowns and recycled reports on the same overplayed stories for an entire week, all centered around a game in which most people don't have a rooting interest. The game itself is fun to watch, especially when it's a great match-up like this year, but the buildup is nearly insufferable at times. By the end of the week, I might be able to personally conduct ankle surgery on Dwight Freeney. Will he play, won't he play? Unless you're a Colts fan or a Saints offensive lineman, "who gives a s***?" (to quote Happy Gilmore).
Sports Pants: My favorite part of Super Bowl is the classic replay of all the previous Super Bowls and the talk of where everyone is going to watch the big game. It hammers home just how big this thing is. Even Susan from production is planning on watching it. She may have no idea what is going on or who Drew Brees is, but she'll be there watching that team with the cute Fleur-de-lis on the helmet play the ponies. If I were actually working with other people, I'd probably be even more excited by this. Media day has to be my least favorite part of Super Bowl week these days. It's become such a beating with every media show on the face of the earth descending on the players every Tuesday before the game. It's barely digestible when it's about the game (really, what do want the players to say?) Nowadays though it's about some fake bride trying to marry the quarterback, Entertainment Tonight holding American Idol auditions with players, and an assortment of wannabe stars who use this day to show us all how talented and annoying they are. In the words of the Barenaked Ladies, it's all been done.
Second Topic: What's the best Super Bowl food? What do you normally do to watch the Super Bowl?
Jordan: Best Super Bowl food is wings, and you can't get better wings for my money than from Buffalo Joes in Evanston, IL. I'm not getting paid a dime by them, but let me tell you, their wings are fantastic. Al and Scott can back me on this. With the wings, pizza is always a good option, chips and salsa, and any other finger foods that you can slop all over your shirt by the end of the evening. I used to throw a party at my house to watch the game, but since my parents don't believe in having rooms that can entertain anyone other than themselves, until I move out, I'm going to buddies houses for the game.
Scott: The only thing I've ever "done" for the Super Bowl is watch it with my dad and family. We'd have some sandwiches and some other foods (wings, sausage, etc.) and just hang out. That's my ideal set-up.
Alastair: The Super Bowl is all about pounding wings, just putting back as many as humanly possible until you can feel your bloodstream screeching to a halt. Obviously chips and dip serve as a nice side dish to wash it all down, but wings definitely take center stage. Other than turkey on Thanksgiving, does any one food have as strong a stranglehold on a single day? As far as location goes, anywhere with a bunch of friends will do, preferably those that understand the sport of football. There's nothing worse than watching the big game with someone (ahem, usually a female) that needs to ask if the first down line is real. Plus, it's easier to be a pig when you know everyone else is a pig around you.
Sports Pants: Hmmm. Well, I don't eat too many salty snacks and my girlfriend hates buffalo wings (she doesn't like chicken with bones....sigh), so I'm not the guy to ask about this. I usually just eat a pizza or some other enjoyable food. I will have to say, however, that when I lived in New York City, I had a friend that made a great pot of chili. I don't usually eat chili, but his was so very good. Of course my girlfriend doesn't eat chili, but that was okay because another friend made a great spinach cheese dip that she loved. It all worked out. The Super Bowl food is really only there to take up space so you don't drink too much beer and get ill. It usually works unless you make a questionable decision and decide to drink some homemade Italian liquor as one friend of mine did. By the looks of him at the end of the night, that probably didn't end well.
Final Topic: Who do you like to win? Why?
Jordan: I would be happy for the Saints to win, because I think they're a great story. But I like the Colts, because you can't really root against Peyton Manning. I want him to continue to cement his already stellar legacy as a future Hall of Famer, and I'd like to see him improve on the less than stellar record he has in the post season (other than his previous Super Bowl year). A second win just puts him further into the NFL lore, and it's a joy to watch that guy play. So I'm rooting for him, and I think he'll win. The Colts are a superior team. They earned their Super Bowl berth. The Saints benefited from the Vikings choking to get to this game.
Scott: I honestly don't care who wins. As I said in a previous C4, I just want a good game. I really have no rooting interest in this game. To be frank, I forgot about the game entirely. The 2 week gap really kills momentum for people like myself that aren't huge football fans to begin with.
Alastair: I like the Colts, mostly because they looked far more convincing in beating the Jets than the Saints did slipping by the Vikings. Sure the New Orleans defense can force a few turnovers, but Peyton Manning is better, younger, and smarter than Brett Favre, and #4 had a field day at the Superdome before his asinine late interception. As crazy as it sounds, Indianapolis didn't have that dominating a season, doing just enough to win on numerous occasions. Still, the Colts know how to grind out a win better than any other team in football, and they've also been on this stage before (in the exact same stadium).
Sports Pants: Who do I LIKE to win? I'd like it if the Saints won just because they've never been there before and that city would have something to celebrate. I believe the Colts will win because they've been through the Super Bowl craziness before and they have one Peyton Manning at quarterback. That guy is on another level right now and I can't imagine the Saints can keep him bottled up long enough to win the game.
Didn't watch a second of Media Day, for the record, so I didn't have to hear the mind-numbing questions asked by fake reporters. But that's usually just a disaster anyway. Excited for my wings this weekend. And, after this weekend, excited to broaden my horizons this month before getting sucked back in by March Madness coming up. As always, thanks for reading Berning On Sports.