TheBanyanTree: Super Cold Super Weekend

[Margaret R. Kramer]

Well, it’s cold out there.  We’re in a wind chill advisory until 12:00 pm on
Monday, February 5.  The official current temperature is –10 (our reading is
at –13) and the wind chill is –31.  Brrrrr!  But it’s been colder here in
the past and obviously it’s colder in other parts of the world.  But it’s
cold for us for this wimpy winter.  We’re finally getting some fresh air to
freeze our lungs.

Nothing tastes better on a cold morning than a hot cup of coffee.  I got
that coffeemaker going as soon as I turned up the thermostat.  I fed the
black cat and the dog.  Axel usually will head outside for his first
bathroom trip after he eats his breakfast.  I opened up the door and that
cold air blew in, Axel got a feel of it and took off running in the opposite
direction of outside.

“I guess I got to walk him,” I thought, and went to get his fake leather
jacket.  “The dog has to pee and poop.” Axel saw me with his jacket and then
went back to the door to be let outside.  I opened the door and off he went.
What a brave little dog!  He did his business as fast as I’ve ever seen him
go and back in he came.  I was glad I didn’t have to get all bundled up and
walk him.

We’ve known about this cold weather heading our way for days and that gave
me time to prepare for it.  We have like milk and pop (for Ray), veggies,
fruits, snacks, and bread.  I made some great ravioli the other night and I
think I’ll make some kind of chicken dish in the crockpot for tonight’s
dinner.  The animals have food.  And doesn’t baking a batch of brownies
sound good?  Our gas tanks are full.  We have no where to go this weekend,
so we can hunker down in the house and stay warm.

I have some new CDs to listen to and move to my ipod.  We have DVDs to
watch – like “Crash,” which I haven’t seen yet, but my son really liked it.
I have books to read.  And then we have the Super Bowl . . .

I remember the first year the Minnesota Vikings were in the Super Bowl –
Super Bow IV back in 1970.  The game was in the afternoon then and wasn’t
the big extravaganza that it is today.  My dad had a few buddies over and
they watched the game in the family room while the rest of us were in other
parts of the house.  I remember I was learning to play Beethoven’s Fur Elise
on the piano, so I practiced that while the Vikings were losing the game.
When the game was over, my dad’s buddies went home and we had dinner.

Fast forward to 2007.  One of my coworkers is planning a huge Super Bowl
party with at least 50 in attendance to watch the game on their new HD TV.
There will be men, women, and kids at her home.  Liquor will be flowing and
beer will be drunk.  Her husband’s company is giving everyone the day off on
Monday, because the managers know a lot of them will be hung over and will
call in sick anyway.  The kids will run around like crazy people as the
adults try to focus on the game.  Yeah, right.  The Super Bowl game is
usually the most boring game of the season.

“But we watch it for the commercials,” people say.  I watched it for the
commercials last year and thought they were some of the dumbest commercials
I’ve ever seen.  Half of them don’t make any sense and the other half seem
to use crude and gross humor that isn’t very funny anyway.

The Super Bowl is a big business for bars, especially sports bars.  They
provide a place to go for the masses with lots of booze, food, and
camaraderie.

However, it seems churches are not allowed to host Super Bowl parties
because the NFL has some goofy rules concerning the use of projection TVs
with certain group sizes – see the article in today’s St Paul Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/16612138.htm.  The churches can’t
have their parties.  Now that’s dumb, isn’t it?  If you don’t want to watch
people drink themselves into oblivion, wouldn’t an alcohol-free party at a
church be the best place to go for Super Bowl camaraderie?  But no, it’s all
about TV ratings.  These few church goers in the vast Super Bowl nation
would probably skew the ratings so much that the TV station wouldn’t make as
much on the commercials as they planned.  Better that the people watch the
game isolated in their homes than to skew the ratings.

It’s difficult to avoid the Super Bowl, even on a cold weekend.  Our main TV
is in the living room and Ray will watch it, so I’ll hear it no matter where
I go in the house.  I know the pre-game shows start at noon, although I’ll
never figure out how they can find so much to talk about concerning only two
teams.

But in spite of the Vikings not embarrassing themselves with a fifth Super
Bowl loss this year, this game does have a lot of Minnesota connections.
Tony Dungy, the Colts coach, went to college at the University of Minnesota
and was the Gophers quarterback.  He was also the defensive coordinator for
the Minnesota Vikings for a few years.

Peyton Manning, the Colts quarterback, went to grade school in Minnesota
when his father, Archie Manning, played for the Vikings.  Isn’t that sweet?

I think it’s Ben Utecht – I can’t find a Super Bowl roster on the internet,
and I’m not even sure team he plays for – Colts or Bears – is a former
Minnesota Gopher.

Finally, we have good old Prince as the halftime entertainment.  Hopefully,
there will be no wardrobe malfunction.  Probably not much to see anyway.

What will I be doing on this cold Super Bowl Sunday?  Well, I got Turbo Tax
ready to load on the computer.  I got all our tax stuff in an envelope.  So,
I’ll probably begin the process of compiling and then filing our taxes.
Money and the Super Bowl just seem to go together somehow.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach.
~Elizabeth Barrett Browning