Green & Yellow, Green & Yellow! 31-25!

Tonight was my version of Black Friday. My own personal Christmas morning. The ultimate goal. The glorious culmination of the greatest sport on earth. The Superbowl.

Now, I'm no Nostradamus, but I may or may not have predicted a Superbowl appearance by the Packers in September.

Unfortunately for me, I also predicted the Ravens would be the representative for the AFC. Those damn Steelers...

At any rate, the game did not disappoint. Most of the game was spent pacing anxiously in my living room, making pessimistic comments and hiding behind my enormous cheesehead.

Blog-version of the highlight reel: Rodgers looking razor-sharp. TD pass to Nelson, 7-0, Green Bay. *cue the belt celebration* Big Ben throws an ugly interception to Nick Collins, which he returned for a TD. 14-0, Green Bay...and boom goes the dynamite. The Steelers' kicker actually hits a 33-yarder. 14-3. Green Bay had a ghetto fabulous, "Oh hell nah" moment - Rodgers to Jennings. 21-3. Sighs of relief from the Cheeseheads. No team has ever overcome a deficit of more than 10 points to win a Superbowl. Even I allowed myself some breathing room.

Then, suddenly, disaster struck. The Steelers began a nearly-historic comeback when Roethlisberger threw a touchdown to Hines Ward (the bane of my existence). 21-10 at halftime. Battered by injury, the Packers had a rough third quarter. Pittsburgh, 21-17. Who cares how or why? However, man-beast Clay Matthews took charge in the fourth quarter - combining with Ryan Pickett to force a key Mendenhall fumble. Moments later, Rodgers to Jennings (again), 28-17. Roethlisberger answered in his usual way - dancing on some bars, following young girls to the restroom, and making a huge pass to Mike Wallace. 28-25, still Green Bay. My mom expertly captured my exact reaction:

Of course, instead of calming my nerves and easily putting the game away, Green Bay marched down the field for a field goal, not a TD. 31-25, Green Bay with a couple minutes left. Too close for comfort. Nausea. Sweaty palms. Chewing on the cheesehead. Luckily, the Steelers turned the ball over on downs. Aaron Rodgers goes all Mortal Kombat with two "FINISH HIM!" knees. Game. Over.

The Green Bay Packers become the champions of Superbowl XLV and bring the Lombardi trophy back home to Wisconsin for the first time since 1997. Proud big sister moment. In addition, Aaron Rodgers was named MVP (3 TDs, no interceptions) - helping him move even further out of Favre's gloomy, sexting shadow of betrayal. Hooray!

All in all, the game was close to perfect. Dramatic until the very end. I forgot to mention: Midway through the game, the Packers lost their all-time leading receiver Donald Driver and defensive captain Charles Woodson to injury. Why not? Yes, waiter - I'll order another side of adversity, please.

I do wish my brother had been home to watch the game with me. He would have been in his green and yellow glory.

In other news, Christina Aguilera messed up the words in the National Anthem. Yikes. The halftime show performance by the Black Eyed Peas was just what I expected. Techno, light show, choreographed dancers, Fergie sounding awful live. Special appearances by Slash and Usher? Bizarre. What did you guys think of halftime and the commercials?

Originally, I intended on listing my top five favorite commercials, but I really didn't like any of them. Disappointment. The best one? The Doritos finger-licker commercial. Thank you for being creepy, Doritos. I approve.

Tomorrow, Man Meat Monday. Glee-cap on Tuesday. Promise.

Because you knew it was coming...

...a football update.

Today was a huge weekend for NFL football. This, of course, translates into a huge day for me. Both the AFC and NFC championship games were played today, resulting in the Superbowl 45 matchup for February 6th - Packers vs. Steelers

Game 1: Packers vs. Bears

I was beyond torn for this game. Although my family allegiance and my heart lies with the Green Bay Packers (in fact, my grandma is a team stock-holder), my beloved Brian Urlacher plays for the Bears. He's getting close to retirement age and I would love for him to win a Superbowl ring before his glorious career is over. Although the Packers shot out to an early lead, the Bears battled back, despite losing their starting quarterback Jay Cutler in the 3rd quarter to a "knee injury." In a championship game, I think it would take a very severe injury to keep a player from helping his team win. The Superbowl is on the line and it would take something catastrophic to keep me from playing. From my admirable position as couch quarterback, it appeared to me that his injury was a bit exaggerated, due in part to his poor performance. Only Cutler knows just how "injured" he really was...and I'll let his sexy (yet wimpy) conscience deal with that.

At any rate, Brian had an interception, a sack, and led the team in tackles. However, his heroic efforts weren't enough to carry the Bears to single-handed victory. The Packers won, 21-14, clinching not only a spot in the Superbowl, but dominance of the NFC North, some bragging rights for cheeseheads nationwide, and a little closure after the horrifying Favre aftermath. GO PACK! Oh yeah - Aaron Rodgers and his belt celebrations are amazing. However, absolutely nothing beats big BJ Raji and his phenomenal touchdown dance. There is nothing I like more than a 338-pound defensive player scoring his first touchdown and getting down with his bad self.



Game 2: Jets vs. Steelers

Yikes. I absolutely loathe the Steelers, so my game-time enthusiasm was directed solely toward Rex Ryan and his Jets. The first half looked atrocious. The offense forgot to show up and Mark Sanchez looked more afraid than me at the dentist. 3-and-out mania. Because the defense was constantly on the field, they wore down easily. The Steelers took a 24-0 lead by halftime. Ugh. Then, I'm not sure what happened in the locker room. Rex Ryan must have lit some serious fires under people because the Jets came out ready to play. They started a nearly-heroic comeback, posting an impressive 19 points and holding the Steelers to 0. However, in the brilliant words of teen star Jojo, it was simply 'too little, too late.' The Steelers, aka the bane of my existence, held onto the lead, winning the AFC title for the third time in six years. *vomit*

So, in order to distract myself from this horrible news, I've decided to show you a little something special that happened during tonight's big game. Although I used to love Ben Roethlisberger (he is the pride and joy of my alma mater), I've come to terms with the fact that he is a pompous jerk who doesn't make the best life decisions. Everyone knows about the rape allegations made against Big Ben in the past. So, does anyone else find it funny that he got a tiny taste of his own medicine from his own teammate tonight? Hump away, Mendenhall. Hump away.



*throws flag for roughing the passer*

In other sports' news, QB Carson Palmer is demanding a trade from the Bengals and threatening to retire if said trade isn't made. I, of course, am throwing a giant party at my house to celebrate my long-awaited retirement as the conductor of the Carson Palmer doubt train. Feels good.

...and Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin aren't playing in the NHL all-star game this weekend. Sid is still recovering from his "mild" concussion (who the hell labeled this 3-week concussion as 'mild?'). Geno has a banged-up knee and a sinus infection...that he clearly got from violently making out with me. For which ailment am I to blame, you ask? The cold or the knee? I'll let you decide. ;)

Finally, my little brother left for boot camp today - for real this time. I could not be more proud of him. Today felt so much easier than last time. The timing wasn't right in December and everyone could feel it. It felt so hard to let him go. I still had a hard time today, but something felt better...and I can't quite put it into words. Either way, I'm thankful we had the extra time with him and I cannot wait to see him graduate in April.

These are a few of my favorite things.

One day, I will finish the 30 day blog challenge. Today is not that day.

First and foremost, my Bengals. This week, the Bengals battled our bitter rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in the coveted Monday night spot. As could be expected, almost the entire nation predicted nothing but doom and gloom for the Bengals (who have previously made largely embarrassing appearances in nationally-televised games). In fact, all but one of the seven commentators predicted a Steelers' victory. Even worse, our beloved ex-running back Rudi Johnson predicted a 44-0 loss. Ouch.

I must say - although the game ended in defeat (27-21), I am very proud of my team. NO ONE expected them to give the Steelers, a Superbowl favorite, a run for their money. Despite a few mistakes, the Bengals played very well, creating an exciting comeback in the final quarter. T.O. had a tremendous game, Cedric fought hard, and the defense held the Steelers quite well (considering 10 points came mostly from turnovers). I am excited to say that the Bengals lost admirably and that the rest of the country finally saw what our team is capable of. With losses like that, I don't care what the record is. I'll continue to proudly proclaim, "WHO-DEY?!"

...and another favorite thing...

Today, the Penguins took part in the annual Project Bundle Up, a partnership between the Salvation Army and Dick's to provide winter clothing for children from less privileged families. The Penguins help the kids shop, try on, and pick out the perfect clothes. Here is what Geno had to say about his time spent with 10-year-old Brendan: "It's great to help the kids and it warms my heart." Geno even bought the same hat Brendan wanted so that they could match. "Brendan said this is the new style. We buy together," Geno added.

Don't worry. It's not like I fantasized about Sid and Geno lovingly shopping with our future children...helping them try on new coats before taking them for ice cream...that would be weird...

...and finally...

OH. EM. GLEE.

Warning: This entry may contain spoilers. If you watch the show and didn't see tonight's episode yet, stop reading. Now.

Unlike my last Glee update, this entry will be filled with mostly positives.

+ The Kurt storyline is probably my favorite running plotline. Kurt is amazing and Chris Colfer is an incredible actor.

+ The return of Noah Puckerman. Thank you. Side note: His rendition of "One Love" was amazing.

+ Kurt's probable boyfriend (Blaine) is gorgeous. No surprise there. I have a tendency to fall for gay guys.

- Sue Sylvester's character wasn't very funny. She needs some more hilarious one-liners.

+ Finn Hudson. Duh.

- Why does Schue always make bad decisions? Telling Bieste the truth about the kids? Stupid. Kissing Bieste and leading her on? Idiotic. Trust me. Coming from a perpetually single girl, I know how it feels to be led on. She will be obsessing over that kiss for years to come.

- Great. Did I just compare myself to Bieste?

+ The Warblers' rendition of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream." Can I listen to this on repeat for 6 days? Probably.

+ I loved the surprise kiss from Kurt's bully! Typical confused teenage boy. American Beauty moment brought to you by Ryan Murphy.

I absolutely love that this show tackles serious issues like homophobia. If I had to choose one issue I am the most passionate about, it would definitely be gay rights. Hands down. Homophobia is unfair - whether it manifests itself in malicious bullying or not. Every single person deserves the same treatment, regardless of skin color, gender, sexual orientation, etc. Gay slurs, even when used unintentionally, are offensive and do nothing but perpetuate existing prejudices. In fact, I think denying same-sex marriage is no different than prohibiting interracial marriage. Who is anyone to deny someone else love and happiness? Homophobes should not be able to use the Bible to mask their fear and intolerance. One day, people will look back at this time in disbelief and utter regret. I hope I live to see the day when homosexuality is widely accepted and everyone is free to marry the love of their life. It will come.

In the meantime, I'm just glad that shows like Glee are here to raise awareness and preach something that is worth preaching, acceptance and love.

Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. - 1 John 2:9-11

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. - 1 Peter 4:8