Super Bowl Recap: Football, Beyonce, and More!

When neither your nor your fiancé's football team makes the Super Bowl and you don't care too much about who wins, it's a relaxed, fun evening. It's also fun when your team does make the championship, but it's a lot more intense and much less enjoyable when your team loses. Again. *cough* Patriots losing to the Giants. *cough, cough* Moving on! I'm writing this in chunks so those of you who only care about certain things can skip to the section you want or skip the sections you don't want. ;-)

The Football
After a couple of amazing pre-game performances (see below) the football started! Flacco came out swinging for the Ravens. The 49ers couldn't get anything started--on offense or defense. Kapernick threw an interception. Randy Moss was being double and triple covered, making him a non-factor in his second championship game. The Ravens were up 21-6 by halftime. It wasn't looking too great for the 49ers. I had been looking forward to a great game between two great teams and that was not happening. I was pretty disappointed.


The second half started off with a play that seemed appropriate to follow such a great halftime show: a 108 yard kickoff return by the Ravens' Jones! At first, they called it at 109 yards which would have set an NFL record, but it was later changed to 108 yards, only tying the record. The 49ers got the ball, down 28-6, and then on third and long, suddenly half of the stadium was thrown into darkness. The lights just went out! It was a thirty-five minute disruption that some say shifted the momentum to the 49ers. I'm not sure about that. It was on their first possession after halftime--we don't know what their locker room chat was like or what their game plan was for the second half. Regardless of the reason, the momentum definitely shifted: after a great touchdown pass to Crabtree, a quick touchdown run by Kapernick, and a lucky field goal by an injured Akers, it was 28-23 at the end of the third quarter!

The Ravens marched back down the field in the fourth quarter to go up 31-23. The 49ers countered with another touchdown; and a botched 2-point conversion attempt. 31-29: the Ravens wanted to make it an eight point game again, but didn't quite get there. Tucker banged through another field goal, though: 34-29. Five point game with just over 4 minutes left. The Niners ran/passed it straight back down to the red zone. And missed the touchdown pass. Controversial call, or lack thereof. There was a lot of holding on that last pass. On both sides. C'est la vie.

But it wasn't over! The Ravens went three and out. Well, three and...safety? Yes! They had to punt with 12 seconds left in the game. So they had their punter hang out in the end zone for eight seconds before he was shoved out of bounds! Brilliant. Then they kicked it away and the return was good. But not good enough. Ravens win: 34-31! Great game!


The Performances
Last night was great! It started off with a great performance of "America the Beautiful" by the Sandy Hook Elementary children's choir and Jennifer Hudson. The kids were adorable and loving the cameras, and Jennifer Hudson was amazing, as always. After that wonderful performance, Alicia Keys took the stage. I've never heard our national anthem sung like that before. What an incredible performance. It was slow, to the point, not too showy, and just phenomenal! Loved her look, too, in a red dress hearkening back to the inauguration look she sported less than a couple of weeks ago.

After a lopsided first half, I was disappointed. But then Beyonce took the stage. What a bombshell! She both looked and sounded amazing. If there had been any doubt about her ability after the inaugural lip-sync, there is no doubt now. She belted out eight songs in twelve minutes, joined for a couple of minutes by Michelle and Kelly from Destiny's Child! They all sounded great! And looked amazing! Beyonce was in a gorgeous three layer leather and lace creation by Ruben Singer. She took off the top two layers as she sang, throwing them into the crowd. Michelle and Kelly were also in great leather bodysuits by Singer.

My one tiny criticism is this: yes, Beyonce looked absolutely stunning, as did Michelle and Kelly. Stunning. My fiancé wasted no time in voicing his admiration of Beyonce's costume. ;-) And I'll agree: she looks so good! But. It feels like every year the costumes get smaller. By the time I have kids, will they even be allowed to watch the halftime show?? I don't want my six-year-old watching strippers on stage. How far is too far?

In my not very humble opinion, Beyonce's show was the best halftime show I've ever seen. Ever. She can sing, she can dance, the technology was fantastic, the costumes were memorable and relevant to fashion today (as opposed to last year, when there were grecian goddess costumes surrounding Madonna), and Beyonce generally just threw down. :-) I loved the show and it will be remembered in history, for sure!

The Commercials
The commercials weren't that good this year! I was pretty disappointed in them. The worst ones were the Bud Light commercials that had Stevie Wonder in them. He kind of looked like Flava Flave, no? There were three commercials I loved:
1. This Budweiser clydesdale commercial definitely made me tear up! So glad I was leaning on my fiancé's chest--don't think he saw...! It's so sweet. But is it good marketing? Yeah--I really want a clydesdale now! Oh wait...I guess that's not what they were selling...

2. The Dodge Ram commercial "So God made a farmer" was so great. Didn't make me tear up, but it really made me appreciate the farmers in our country. We are so lucky to have them and it's so sad they've had such a rough year.

3. This Axe commercial is the only ad that actually made me laugh out loud. Very cute and funny!

The Storylines
The "Har-bowl" was the first time two brothers have coached against each other in the Super Bowl. Can you imagine being their parents?! One of your kids is going to be a world champion, the other is going to lose in the world championship and may or may not ever get a chance at redemption. Oof.

Ray Lewis announced two months ago that he was going to retire at the end of the Ravens' season. And went out on top! Regardless of his past, how great for him!

The Super Bowl was Colin Kapernick's tenth ever NFL start. There is some part of me that is so happy he didn't get a ring. He seems like an arrogant jerk. When other players make a touchdown, they do a dance; when Kapernick makes a TD, he kisses his biceps. How attractive.

This was Randy Moss's second Super Bowl appearance. And his second Super Bowl loss. I really wanted him to get a ring.

Culliver, on the 49ers defense, made an anti-gay comment last week. I cheered every time he botched his coverage and the Ravens receiver he was guarding made a catch. :-)

Flacco. In all honesty, he is the most underrated quarterback in the entire National Football League. Five postseason starts in his first five seasons? Never been done before. He's good. He's consistent. But he's not flashy. Which is why (I think) he doesn't get talked about as much as a Brady or Rodgers or Manning (Peyton, not Eli).

Conclusion
Was it the perfect end to the 2012 season? Nope. The Patriots didn't beat the Packers in the championship. Ha! But it was a really great end to the season. Two great teams playing a really great game with a fantastic Beyonce concert and Destiny's Child reunion in the middle of it! Awesome. Can't wait 'til the fall!

Newtown and the Nation: Looking Forward

I know that all of you have been inundated with the news of the Newtown, Connecticut school shooting on Friday. There's some part of me that feels like I shouldn't write about it, since that's all we've been hearing about since Friday. There's a larger part of me, however, that sees this as something that warrants pause and thought. So here goes.

The children and teachers who were senselessly killed on Friday will leave a hole in the hearts of not only their parents and families, but our entire nation. We've been hearing stories over the last couple of days about those children: their favorite activities, what they'd hoped to do in the future, and the joy they brought to their families and everyone around them. They sound like amazing kids. The faculty who were killed sound like stellar teachers and administrators. They will not be forgotten.

Last night President Obama attended the interfaith memorial service in Newtown. The speech he gave was, in my opinion, one of the best he's given. The overall message was incredibly poignant: "...every parent knows there's nothing we will not do to shield our children from harm...This is our first task, caring for our children. It's our first job. If we don't get that right, we don't get anything right. That's how, as a society, we will be judged. And by that measure, can we truly say, as a nation, that we're meeting our obligations? Can we honestly say that we're doing enough to keep our children, all of them, safe from harm? Can we claim, as a nation, that we're all together there, letting them know they are loved and teaching them to love in return?...I've been reflecting on this the last few days, and if we're honest with ourselves, the answer's no. We're not doing enough. And we will have to change...For those of us who remain, let us find the strength to carry on and make our country worthy of their memory."

While some people take the most obvious issue from this tragedy (gun control) and talk about it, I think we can do better than that. Yesterday, like every Sunday in the fall, I watched football. During the commercials, there were a few previews for television shows that were incredibly disturbing. At the end of them, they all had "Viewer Discretion Advised" written at the top of their last frame. But the previews were shown during the day in the middle of a football game: something that's on in millions of households across America. There was another commercial during the game for a new video game (I don't remember, nor can I find the name of it) in which you have "kill or be killed." It was horrifying. Even though it had an "M for Mature" rating, little kids saw that commercial during the football game and the ones without strict parents will get it if they say that they want it.

We can let the people in Washington argue about what laws they feel are important to pass. A lot of us have opinions on that, too, and that's fine, but that's just the political side of it.

We need to change our society. We have to decide to change. We have to turn off the TV when our kids are home and we know there will be scary things shown, even if it's "our game" that's on. We have to choose to parent our kids and tell them "no" about certain things. We have to teach our kids to love by showing them the love we have for them from the minute they take their first breaths. We have to teach our kids what's right. We have to teach peace. We have to work to "make our country worthy of their memory." We cannot depend on laws to change our society and instill peace in our nation. It starts at home with the family.

And it is work. I love football so much and I hate to think that I'm going to miss watching a lot of "my games" once I have kids, but I'm not going to let my kids watch that. It is work to be a good parent. You have to fight those fights that are hard. But you have to fight them. I was such a stubborn kid when I was little and my parents fought those fights with me and never let me win. I was so angry with them every time I lost those fights. But now I understand why they fought those fights with me and why they were right. Parents need to remember that it's not a popularity contest with their kids and they don't need to be their kids' friends when they're 10 years old. If parents do the hard parenting when their kids need it, the friendship will come later.

Tonight, hug your kids. Talk with your husband or wife about how your family will get through this hard, sad time. Let your kids feel whatever they're feeling right now and express those feelings in the safe ways they need to express them. Never forget this tragedy and victims of it. Let's work together to make sure that we "make our country worthy of their memory."

An angel hand-painted by my great-great aunt Ida Collins. It seemed appropriate for today.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

Should Tackle Football Be Banned?

One of the news stories getting the most attention in the twitter world this morning is a GMA story about a retired doctor who has said that it is "a moral imperitive that we at least begin the process of ending this game" in high schools. The game he was talking about? Football! This doctor, Dr. Paul Butler, says that the research is too obvious that football is a dangerous game for underage kids to be playing.

ESPN says that some of the blows that even high schoolers can take to the head are the equivalent of getting hit in the skull with a sledgehammer.

This is what happens when you marry outside your team...

Even players like Tom Brady are advocating for new rules and safer equipment for players, as seen in this absolutely hilarious NFL Evolution commercial!

Here is the twitter conversation on GMA's status about this. No one, at least in this twitter feed, is interested in banning football! It's fascinating to me that the research obviously says that kids are getting hurt by the tackling, but people love football so much they don't want to stop it. Do these people love the sport more than their kids?

I love football! Any of you who know me know that I am a massive Patriots fan. My fiancé and I are such big football fans that we had our engagement photos done in our jerseys (we love our quarterbacks: Brady and Rodgers)! But when we have kids, if tackle football is still being played in youth leagues and high schools, I'm not sure if we will allow them to play. I played flag football and touch football growing up--I didn't really play tackle until college (full disclosure: I had to quit the team before we played a game). I had an absolute blast playing touch and flag. We had a youth flag football league in my town and it was fun--and safe.

There are also a lot of other sports that are available to kids: track, soccer (heading is under fire, too, though), volleyball, field hockey, basketball, etc. I am very aware that all of these sports have athletes in them who get hurt. The difference to me is that the premise of these sports is not to intentionally run into other players. It happens, sure, but it's not the point of these games.

So, what do you think? Is it worth risking your son or daughter's life or brain function so we can continue to watch tackle football in high schools? Please weigh in!

We want YOU to share your opinion!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

All photos by Bailey Richards.

DIY NFL Catnip Toys

For the record, I'm a Patriots fan;
my fiancé is a Packers owner.

Good Friday morning, everyone! :)
My kittens have completely destroyed the toys we bought them a month and a half ago. I went to the pet store and started looking for new toys. They're expensive! So I came home and started looking at the materials I had at my house. I realized I had some polar fleece left over from some previous projects, some polyester filler, and catnip! It's football season, so I decided our kittens should have the opportunity to "participate," too! These are the finished products I've made so far, and the instructions to make them are below! Pick your team and watch your cats enjoy football season!

Dead store-bought mouse toys...

First, get a remnant (50% off at Jo-Ann Fabrics) of your favorite sports team's polar fleece (polar fleece is the best fabric for this, in my opinion, because the kittens can get their claws into it).

Cut out two logos that are opposite each other.

Put the pieces together right sides in.

Sew almost all the way around the edge.

Turn the toy right side out. Use a pencil or pen to help, if necessary.

Get some poly-fill.

Stuff the toy about half full.

Then get your catnip, and put a few pinches in to the toy. Use your finger to push it around the fill to the outside. If you leave it in the middle of the poly-fill, the kitties won't be able to smell it as easily and will ignore the toy.

My kittens were so excited--they didn't want to wait!

Once you've filled it up all the way with the poly-fill, you should have a bit of a gap left open.

With a needle and thread (doubled), sew it up!

Make sure you knot it quite well. These kittens are going to attack this thing!

Finished product!

 Test run...

Success!

These are the toys I've made so far.

The kittens love them!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend filled with football! :)

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

Professional Athletes' Salaries: Too Much?

Professional football is finally back! I am a huge football fan (Go Patriots!) and the offseason feels so long! The US Tennis Open has also been going on for the last couple weeks (Congrats to Serena Williams who won yesterday! Murray v. Djokovic today! Wish Federer was in the final!) and Rory McIlroy just won another PGA Tour event yesterday. Great couple of weeks in sports!

Before you read the rest of this I would like to make it very clear that this is just an observation, I love sports, and I am not disrespecting any of the players I am about to mention.

Have you ever thought about how many millions of dollars professional athletes make?! It's amazing. Let's start with some of the lower paid professional athletes:

• Rory McIlroy won $1.44M yesterday in the BMW Championship on the PGA Tour. The total purse for the BMW Championship was $8,000,000.
• Yesterday Serena got $1.9M for her US Open win. Today the winner of the men's final will receive the same amount. *Quick Side Note: How awesome is it that men and women get the same amount of prize money in the the Grand Slam events?! The Open will have spent $24,054,000 on prize money this year. The Grand Slam events actually are on the lower end of the USTA and WTA tournaments when it comes to prize money. Players are working to raise the purses at Slams so they will be "in closer line with their own tour events in terms of the percentage of prize money."

Those are the sports with athletes who are paid on the low end of the scale when it comes to professional athletes. In the NFL, it's another story. 

• The highest paid athlete in the NFL is Peyton Manning, making $18M this year and having a $96M contract for the next five years. To put that in perspective with another athlete in a different sport, this year Manning will be paid three times the amount Serena Williams has made this year. He will have made 3/4 of the amount of the entire purse of the US Open. To put it in perspective with the rest of the country (median income is currently about $51,000), Manning will make about 350 times the amount of the average worker this year. WHAT?! There is no possible way I can comprehend that amount. Wow.
• My favorite player, Tom Brady, is going to make almost $8M this year (about 150 times the amount of the U.S. median income). His contract through 2014 will end up making him $78,000,000. Again, wow.

These guys and gals play sports. And they are paid amazing amounts of money. While I know that they are paid by the teams (which are private organizations, so it is not our tax dollars or anything paying these players), sports bring a lot of money into cities that have pro teams, and sports are highly valued in our society, the sheer volume of these figures is staggering to me. The fact that these players feel like they deserve these kinds of salaries makes me a little nauseated. 

Wes Welker is a prime example of a player I love who was in contract negotiations this summer who, frankly, disgusted me. He wanted $11.42M this year with a long-term contract because he felt he was worth that much to the Patriots organization. He is now on a one year contract, making about $9.5M this year, and I'm pretty sure that yesterday in the season opener he got a total of 14 yards (fourteen?!?!! Is this a high school stat???) and let a perfect pass bounce off his helmet.

So. It's crazy! I know that a lot of players have their own charities that they've started and they do good in their communities, so that's really great! It just seems like our society values athletes much more than police officers, teachers, and firefighters. I feel like I'm going to get a lot of crap for that comment, but if I'm wrong, then why don't we pay the men and women who keep us safe, educate our children, and rescue our families more money? Should we pay more taxes so we can pay our public servants more? Is privatizing law enforcement and education the answer? I don't know, but just by looking at the figures, I feel like I can say our priorities might be a little mixed up.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

First World Problems

Well it's Saturday so I think a fun post for the day might be in order. :) One of the things I find pretty interesting to reflect on every now and again are all the "problems" we face here in the States. Here is a list of a few I have had in the last few days:

• My DVR didn't record the show I wanted.
• I had too much food at dinner last night and felt sick today.
• The delivery wing place only had 9 kinds of sauce and none of them were teriyaki.
• My football app didn't tell me what channel the Michigan game was on and I had to use the guide on the TV.
• One of the things I was most frustrated about today was how this week's Project Runway turned out.

It makes you think a bit. Hope everyone has a good weekend! We are getting our engagement photos done tomorrow, so I don't know if I'll post or not. Maybe I'll have a good photo or two to share on Monday!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."--Gandhi