Reminds me of a poem
Let’s see, the last stanza went on about how “there is no joy in Mudville“. True, the original dealt with the enigmatic game of baseball, but today it was all football. And, as the man said, there is no joy in Green Bay. I offer up the poem as the only one I can remember learning from my grandmother, so it must have been a long time ago. Today’s loss is only minutes old, and the cold lingers.
There was no better team, only an unexpected long one from a frozen football. With the temperature down to -4F (-20C) and the mighty wind sucking out the calories (or at least making it feel like) the “really cold” part was down to -19F (-28C). Cold enough to leave one dazed and confused after close to four hours on the bench. Happy the players who got to run around from time to time.
I love a good football game. One that is a championship matchup is even better, since I don’t have the time (or inclination) to tune in week after week. Give me a capsule view of the season. Make it easy by having one team dress in jerseys which vaguely resemble those worn by the Panthers long ago on a muddy field outside my window. My loyalties run very deep. This afternoon, some guys from New York came really close to getting beat by some guys from Wisconsin. No, not really; none come from the city that hosts their teams, but we all need something to identify with. For me, it comes down to green.
If pro sports are supposed to entertain, I was well done by today. No blinding snow storm, but the Favre made some wonderful passes. Here’s a guy that’s been on the field for 16 seasons now. He’ll not be on the field in two weeks time for the big show, but it was close. Overtime close. Three points from a lucky kick close. Nothing to be ashamed about there.
What was odd was to see that we were all watching this evening. The rest of the family, usually disinterested by anything involving a pigskin and a gridiron, were all drawn to the TV (thinks of moths and an outside light, circling but present). For hours, yet. When the final score was shown on the news channel a few minutes after the end of the game, it seemed anticlimactic. Hardly worthy; a footnote to hours of running, hitting and dropping the ball in temperatures that drive my dog indoors. In passing, to the three young ladies in bikinis: You’re tougher than anyone out on the field!
