We have a Wiener...

The NFL - for getting a bi-coastal big game. Every year, in every sport, there is a HUGE sigh of relief that goes up from the powers that be when a team from the eastern area of the country plays a team from the West. It makes the game relevant to a much larger audience, generates higher ratings, and of course, more money for the guys who already have more than they know what to do with.

But this isn't about classicism, this is about Football, which is American, which is classicist, which is not what Football is about (you follow? because I don't).

The NFL is all about parity, and for the most part we have seen a fairly balanced sharing of power among the league, with the possible exception of the Patriots (who, it should be noted, have not won a Superbowl since the '04 season). But there are teams that remain consistently good - such as the Steelers - and there are teams that remain consistently bad - such as the Raiders, Lions, and Cardinals.

Wait, what? Yes, the Cardinals, the punch line to just about every freaking football joke on the planet, have landed themselves a trip to the Superbowl. How cool is that? There is a long and storied history surrounding this franchise that I don't have the capacity to explain, dating back to a curse they received as the Chicago Cardinals (much deserved, it should be noted). However, they came out, and they beat the Eagles soundly for 3 quarters - the 1st, the 2nd, and the 4th - and in the end, that's all that matters. Warner to Fitzgerald, and goodnight. They launched the air assault, held the Eagles in check until they almost gave it away, and that was the ballgame. Also, props for doing the manly thing and going for the two point conversion to make it a 7 point game. You get the extra point, and 7 still wins the game, you miss the 2 point, they still need a touchdown, but you get it, and you force them to have to go for it to win, or play for OT. I was impressed by the manliness of the action.

The lack of manliness that irritated me though came from the Baltimore Ravens and calling almost exclusively pass the first two possessions. Joe Flacco missed his first pass attempt, and I groaned when the camera showed his face, because in his eyes you could see that the Steelers were already in his head, and he was convinced he could not pass on them. It was abysmal after that. Despite the fact that the Steelers were completely dominating the game, the score was 16-14, and I don't know that I could wish being a Steelers fan on anyone, where week in week out you witness your team dominate but be so close to the edge of defeat. When a stupid penalty nixed the possibility of the Ravens winning, I was convinced they could escape with my prediction of covering but not winning, but Flacco screwed us all as he threw directly to a wide open Troy Polamalu (possibly the manliest player to wear a uniform on all of Sunday - seriously, the hits he was laying and when he went over the pile to personally stop Flacco on the QB sneak...I think we all felt a little emasculated by that display of power) and every single player on the Ravens offense basically shrugged as Polamalu danced into the end zone. The Ravens D looked disgusted, and as well they should. They essentially got Tennessee'd, which is to say they held the opposing team to low score (16 instead of 13) and the offense couldn't manage 17 measly points in this case - 2 touchdowns and a field goal. Hell, they could have marched downfield to be in field goal range if not for a stupid penalty that brought the ball back to the 13. That was a long way to say, "Flacco screwed me." But he never should have been in that position, you can't expect Joe Flacco to win you that ballgame. Questionable playcalling, a rookie QB, and the look of defeat after the first series let me know the game was over after 7 minutes.

So who wins the Big Game? Please...we have 2 weeks to ponder that one...

-Jobimoto out.
He's so manly, you might as well rename him Bear Grills...