The Blackout Bowl and the Return of Papa Nizz

The last post I left on this blog was a preview of the Giants-Patriots Superbowl from last year. That's a full twelve months without activity. For those wondering: no, I did not go into a self-destructive tailspin after watching Eli Manning win his second Superbowl MVP in five years, nor did I slide into a crippling depression after the Eagles only won four games this year. I've simply been busy with work and life (weak excuse, I know), and haven't had the time to give this thing my full attention, which is something that's important to me. No one wants to read one post a month or anything like that. Ideally, I'd like to be able to post something every day, but I'm not sure how realistic that is. For now, I'm planning on trying to get something up here every couple days or so, so stick with me people. Papa Nizz's Story Corner: Take Two!

OMG he's back!!!

Since my last post was about the Superbowl, I figured it'd only be right for my first post back to cover the Superbowl as well. This year's game, as anyone who watched knows, was pretty awesome, even without a true rooting interest. Either team could've won and I would've been fine with it. Basically, it was the opposite of last year, when I was rooting for a third team to inexplicably show up at half-time, rush the field, cash in the NFL version of the Money in the Bank briefcase from pro wrestling, and win the title themselves. If only Vince McMahon ran the NFL, right? A guy can dream...

 

Anyway, I was stuck with the Ravens and Niners, two teams that I honestly had no problem with. So how did I decide who to root for? Simple, I used math...or more accurately a combination of math and self-delusion. But mostly math. Now follow my logic here: the Eagles beat the Ravens in week 2 of the season, clearing proving they were the superior team. So if the Ravens were to beat the Niners and win the Superbowl (becoming the alleged "best team in the league") then, by the transitive property, the Eagles would end up the top team in the whole NFL instead of, you know, the fourth worst. In the words of White Goodman: ipso facto...we're the champs. That, combined with the chance to tease my buddy Tmo (a diehard Steelers fan), made the choice an easy one for me. For one night, I was a Ravens fan.   

 

Things looked good for the first 31 minutes of the game, as the Ravens raced out to a 28-6 lead on the first play of the second half. After that, things got weird. First, the power went out in half the stadium (New Orleans revenge on Roger Goodell?), leaving the CBS crew and sideline reporters to fumble their way through a half hour of dead airtime. Then, minutes before the blackout ended, coach John Harbaugh was shown laying into a stadium employee or official of some kind while Temper Tantrum Jimmy remained relatively calm (this obviously didn't mean anything, I just thought it was weird that big bro John would lose his cool while binky-wielding Jim kept it together). Lastly, the Niners went on a 23-3 run after the blackout ended to bring the score within 2, prompting the normal media nutjobs to start screaming words like "conspiracy" and "asterisk" as if the Niners had purposely concocted some diabolical scheme to stop the Ravens momentum.

 

For a moment, I felt the Eagles title chances slipping away. I could barely believe the Ravens would ruin this for them. It just seemed like such a selfish, childish thing to do. Apparently, the Ravens players agreed, because they mananged to pull themselves together to get the 34-31 win, with or without an assist from the officials, depending on what team you were rooting for.   

 

What's that, Jimmy? You don't agree with the call?

Just like that, the Ravens were Superbowl champions, and, by the transitive property, the Eagles were something more. Ipso facto...we're the champs. Delusional? Maybe. Logical? Yes. Will I be holding my own parade in Oxford this weekend? Yes. Aside from that, was it a great game? Definitely.

 

Thanks for stopping in people!

-Nate