Super Bowl XXXIX

Well by now you know of the New England Patriot's dynasty establishing 24-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 39. Hopefully what is not lost in the story is the heroism of Terrell Owens, and the stupidity of Super Bowl parties.

Owens, the Eagles receiver who broke his ankle 7 weeks ago, caught 9 passes for 122 yards, a huge game for someone who critics were calling an ego-maniacal distraction five days ago. And because I watched the game at a very large gathering, I missed the gags on most, if not all, of the commercials.

First to Owens. I like the dude. I have never been one to shy away from showtime. I thought the Randy Moss thing, mooning the Packer fans after the TD catch in response to the many moonings the Vikings had received on the bus after Lambeau Field losses - that was fucking brilliant. T.O. got what he deserved when he tried to celebrate on the Cowboy's 50-yard line, but the pom-pom routine and the sharpie gag - priceless. So, I was hoping he would be a factor tonight, and thankfully he was.

Unfortunately, his quarterback, Donovan McNabb, must face another season of bullshit from the redneck nation that believes (thanks to right-wing pigfucker Rush Limbaugh) a black man can't quarterback an NFL team. Believe you me, the red states were rooting for the blond haired blue-eyed Tom Brady, while the blue states were pulling for McNabb. He made some ill-advised throws tonight, for sure, but his brilliance was immortalized with that 10 yard thread the needle pass to Westbrook for a 3rd quarter TD. In the end, he came up short, but hopefully he came up short in the vein of "too bad someone had to lose" rather than the redneck agenda's "stupid nigger ain't goin' to win no Super Bowl". Not trying to be controversial, but I grew up in the south, and I know people that still think that way. Sorry.

Back to the party. There is so much food that we shouldn't eat, and booze that we shouldn't drink, but we do. And it forces us to pay less attention to the game than we normally would, and less attention to the ads than we probably should, so what's the point?

I have hosted Super Bowl parties in the past, without contemplation of these great questions. But I always tried to make sure that the serious TV viewing room was scarce with smalltalk and loud with TV volume. So perhaps I was simply a victim of a too big of a party thrown by an amateur football fan that didn't have his shit together. Or maybe I am getting old and crumudgeonly, and will never be satisfied with watching a Super Bowl anywhere but my own chair. Who knows, we'll find out in the years ahead, but for me, this year's Super Bowl experience, despite a B-plus game, only rates a C-minus.

And next year, watch out for my Buccaneers, bitch.