Rams 23 - Bengals 20, and Other Super Bowl Thoughts

 THE GAME

What had been an absolutely terrific Playoffs Season for the National Football League culminated this past Sunday with a Super Bowl that, if it wasn't one for the ages, it was certainly a damn good game.  As I stated in the run up to the game, I, and many others, was looking forward to watching young budding superstar Joe Burrow lead the Bengals to victory.  Burrow played well, but the inadequacies of the Bengals offensive line, coupled with the great play of the Rams defensive line, led by Pitt's Aaron Donald, proved too much for both the Bengals and him.  The quarterback play on both teams, was okay, but nothing epochal.  Matthew Stafford threw two interceptions, and the Bengals had managed to to forge a 20-16 lead into the fourth quarter.

However, when the lights shined the brightest and the heat was the hottest, it was Stafford, the 12 year vet, who came through when a quarterback absolutely has to do so.  He led a lengthy drive in the fourth quarter that ate up much of the clock, and culminated in his second touchdown pass of the game to the marvelous Cooper Kupp that ended up winning the game for the Rams.  As he has been all season, Kupp was fantastic in the game and earned MVP honors.  He sealed it on that last drive by not only catching three passes, including the game winner, but by rushing for a critical first down on a third and long play early in the drive.

Even then though, the Bengals got the ball back with slightly more than a minute to play, and Burrow did complete a few passes, and it looked like Cincy was driving for at the very least, a game tying field goal attempt.  Until that is, Donald and the Rams defense took charge and forced Burrow to hurry a throw that fell incomplete on a fourth down play, and that was all she wrote.

Early in the 2010's, I saw Aaron Donald playing defense at Pitt.  He was easily the best player on Pitt's team that year, but none of us watching those games could have possibly foreseen what he was to become:  the hands down best defensive player in the NFL of his generation.  His performance on Sunday was typical of him.  He took charge of the game when the Rams needed it the most.  Kupp was voted MVP, but if Donald had received the award instead, no one would have argued the point.

As for Burrow, he shows signs of becoming one of the faces of the NFL in the 2020's.  The Bengals need to get him some help on that line to protect him, but there is every indication that we will see him again on this biggest stage in the future.  However, it's a tough game, and when contemplating this thought, it is impossible not to think about Dan Marino.  He, too, made it to the Super Bowl in his second year and lost, but everyone was sure that he would be back.  He went on to a Hall of Fame career, and he is one of the all-time greats, but he never played in another Super Bowl.

THE HALFTIME SHOW

In his column in the Post-Gazette on Monday, Tony Norman pointed out that the musical art form known as Hip-Hop made it's debut to the world in 1972, fifty years ago.  FIFTY YEARS AGO!  So it is quite possible that there were some early twenty-somethings watching the halftime show who said "what are they doing dragging those old guys out to perform?  How about something current?"

The point is, popular music is generational.  My parents didn't get Chuck Berry or Elvis, perhaps my twelve-years-older-than-me sister didn't get the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, so while the music of the '10s and '20s might not be my cup of tea, I am not going to shout at the clouds about it.  So, what the hell, bring it on.  That show on Sunday might not have been for me, but I did like seeing Snoop Dogg perform.  Actually, I could watch Snoop's Corona beer commercials run on an endless loop and enjoy those.  "It's the fine life, baby."

Which leads us to....

THE COMMERCIALS

I don't pay as much attention to the commercials as I used to. There was time when I would actually write them down and take notes.  No more, so I can only give you my impressions of the ones that I liked and stayed with me.

• The Chevy electric truck commercial that was a riff on "The Sopranos" opening credits and featured the actors that played Meadow and Anthony Jr. in that series.  (Note to self: Check IMBD later to see if those two have actually been in anything since "The Sopranos" went off the air.)  I loved it, but at the same time, I have heard from people who had never watched "The Sopranos" (??) and had no idea what was going on.  For your enjoyment, here is that commercial.

• Any commercial with the Mannings in it.  (The one in the bowling alley with Peyton, and the Caesar's Sports Book with Peyton, Eli, Archie, and Cooper.)
• Larry David for crypto-currency.
• The E*Trade Baby is back!!!

I'm sure that there were others, but three days after the fact, these are the ones that are sticking with me.

THE BETTING

I put my money on the Bengals +4, so good.  Also, a month ago I made wagers on a couple of different teams to win the Super Bowl, including the Rams, so good.  Had a few prop bets that came through as well.  All in all, I finished in the black on my Super Bowl wagers.  Not a lot, mind you, but I didn't lose money, so hooray.  Oh, and I won fifty bucks on a block pool for having 7 and 3 for the first quarter score!  Thank you, Jen Wickert!

Super Bowl and Other Sports Thoughts

 Some Sporting Thoughts on a Saturday afternoon.....

Tomorrow, of course, is Super Bowl Sunday.  I have not commented upon the NFL Playoffs in this space, not sure why that is, but over the three weekends of Playoff action, we have been treated to some terrific football, most notably during the weekend of the Divisional Round, which was culminated by that epic win in overtime by the Chiefs over the Bills.  It has now come down to the Cincy Bengals and the LA Rams.  An up-and-coming team that was the worst team in football just two years ago versus an older team that has mortgaged the future in an effort to go all out and win this game this year, a game that is being played in their home stadium.

I never thought that I would ever find myself rooting for the Bengals, but these are not the Bengals of Marvin Lewis, Pacman Jones, Vontaze Burfict, and the Soul Crushing Interceptions of Andy Dalton.  They are no longer the Cincy Bungles.  Instead, they are now a young and exciting team and are led by second year  QB Joe Burrow, a player who appears to be so good that he could become the next face of the NFL as the decade of the 2020's marches on.   He makes watching a game involving the Bengals Must See TV.

It is the defense of the Rams, led by Pitt's Aaron Donald, that has made them the favorite in tomorrow's game.  Indeed, it is that defense that could allow the Rams to prevail against a Cincy offensive line that is not among the best in the league.  That said, I am counting on the youth and all round brilliance of Burrow to win the Big One tomorrow.

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On the heels of the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady announced that he is retiring.  Twenty-two seasons, ten Super Bowl Appearances, seven Super Bowl championships, and playing with a flair and skill to such a degree that I cannot summon the words to adequately describe.  If you doubt this, go back and watch a replay of the Super Bowl where he led the Patriots back from a 28-3 third quarter deficit to an overtime victory against Atlanta a few years ago.

He is, simply, the greatest quarterback of all time.

My grandfather saw Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb play baseball.  My Dad once saw Babe Ruth play baseball.  I got to see Tom Brady play football.

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The 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing have now reached their halfway mark.  

I have yet to watch any of them.  There are a variety of reasons for that...the time difference, the difficulty in knowing which TV/Streaming/Internet platform to find which events, the fact that the Summer games were held just six months ago...all contribute my sense of ennui to one degree or another, although each objection can be overcome relatively easily if the desire was there.  I think that I made my decision to stay away  because of all that we know that goes on in China and with a government that has such a brutal disregard for basic and simple human rights.

I won't preach about it or tell you that YOU are wrong if you are fully into these Games, and I know that what I am doing here half a world away will make not an iota of difference in Chinese government policy, but somehow I feel a little better by not supporting these particular games.

Another reason to avoid these Games is to offer yet another negative vote toward the International Olympic Committee.  In a sporting world that includes FIFA and the NCAA, the IOC could be the dirtiest, most hypocritical, and most corrupt governing body of them all.  

Here's one example:  Because of their cheating by the rampant use of illegal doping agents and performance enhancing drugs, the nation of Russia was banned from participating in the Olympics.  Russian athletes, however, can continue to compete under the banner of the "Russian Olympic Committee", which, of course, is RUSSIA!!!  The IOC can trumpet how hard they come down on drug cheating nations all they want, but, folks, RUSSIA IS STILL COMPETEING IN THE OLYMPICS!  Why else would none other than Vlad Putin himself be in attendance at the Opening Ceremony last week?

Oh, and in the news this week was the reports of drug cheating among athletes from, wait for it.....Russia. Oh, excuse me, the Russian Olympic Committee.

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Baseball.  Major League Baseball.  It's February, the time of the year when Spring Training opens, and hope springs eternal for fans of their favorite teams.   Not so in 2022.  There is a lockout.  A new CBA needs to be negotiated and agreed upon.

Wake me when it's over.  At this point, I could not care less about how several billions of dollars will be apportioned between Owners and Players, especially when I know that the eventual outcome will be yet another middle finger to teams like the Pirates, or, more to the point, to fans and followers of teams like the Pirates.

Whenever they decide to come back and play, I will be in front of my TV watching and I will be at PNC Park for my normal share of ball games.  Baseball and the Pirates, for all of their ills, is too much a part of my sports fan DNA for me to ever walk away.  However, the current stewards of the game should be aware that people like me will someday all be, you know, dead, and there are not enough younger people out there to take our places.  By the middle part of this century, baseball will be what horse racing and boxing are today, just another niche sport that mainstream America just won't care all that much about.