SUPER BOWL LII WRAP-UP

SUPER BOWL LII WRAP-UP
By Andy Weddington
Monday, 05 February 2018

Civility is a choice. Dana Perino

We attended a for all intents and purposes obligatory neighborhood Super Bowl party.

I did not watch the game, per se. 

Not so much out of any sort of protest but for having not watched professional sports for more than 30 years. 

I just don't care. 

Time is too valuable to sit around and watch others do something they love (and get paid for it). 

And my life's loves cannot be undertaken by sitting around watching a screen. 

But the party was fun. 

A few highlights ... 

1. Plenty of time to visit and laugh with neighbors not seen often enough for hectic lives; 

2. An impromptu visit with a friend whose spouse just completed a horrible cancer treatment protocol; responded wonderfully; is on the road to recovery; and given a good prognosis. It's a wonderful thing to see the spark back in a friend's eye and a complementary smile;

3. Two youngsters (less than 4 years of age), having consumed too much sugar, too quickly, and rough-housing a little too much simultaneously vomited in front of the TVs;

4. Amusing to watch moms and dads hustle to clean up the mess without too much interruption to the encircled crowd glued to the TVs;

5. A British woman remarked she did not understand the game and was a bit bewildered by all the hoopla. Me too as to the hoopla;

6. When comment was made about the outside temperature but the teams playing inside, I remembered watching a game back in the 60s dubbed the Ice Bowl. The Packers and Cowboys - played outside in temperatures below 0 and with windchill more than -50. I remember Jerry Kramer's block - allowing Packers quarterback Bart Starr to sneak into the end zone for the winning touchdown. What a game! The days when men were men. Days gone by;

7. Sudden piercing shrieks, by a few die-hards into the game, whenever a score - momentarily silencing conversations of the disinterested. Ho-hum; 

8. Tired, we bid quick farewells and departed with 4 or 5 minutes to play - with no concern as to who won.

Reports were no player took a knee before our flag and to our anthem. 

So in a sense a small victory for America. 

The Eagles won the game.

The city of Philadelphia not so much.

Breaking, stealing, torching - in "celebration"?

Such makes me want to vomit. 

And wonder a solution to preclude the need for law enforcement or even National Guard presence to not prevent but control?

Since civility is indeed a choice ...

How about for every person captured on video (positively identified) behaving uncivilized and destroying property - public or private - the city dispatch a demolition crew to carry out quid pro quo damage on their home and motor vehicle(s)?

Seems fair enough and a civilized response.  

Football. Schmootball. 

Now Atlanta prepares to host Super Bowl LIII. 

There's history of burning that city down.

Wouldn't it be eerie if that game's MVP was someone named Sherman?