Merry Superbowl.

[Wild Wassa]

Super Bowl Eve is more fun than Christmas Eve ... in our household.

In Eastern Australia the game starts at 10am a most civilised time to have a party. So have a very Merry Super Bowl.

Both of my sons and I are taking the day off work to watch the Superbowl. It is traditional for a Monday here.

My eldest son Mike and I went to my football club an Australian Rules Football club, and laid our bets last night. I've studied the post season stats for Arizona and Arizona shape up well.

Mike has backed the Steelers but the odds were so high on Arizona I covered all areas on Arizona winning up to 18 points.

At one stage last night I scored odds of 15/1 on Arizona to beat the Steelers. I also had savers on the Steelers. My football betting money is my leftover bank from winning on the Giants last year.

Good luck and may Ben Roethlisberger be the lazy player that I think he actually is.

Warren.

[walterick]

Go Cards!!!!!

[ciddog91]

GO CARDS !!!!!!!

[Wild Wassa]

Obviously this thread has been seen by the right people.

In Australia we see a warning which accompanies all games that says, no account assessment or comment can be made about the game without the expressed written permission from the NFL (or who ever else).

Over here we still believe in freedom of football speech ...

Warren.

[Wild Wassa]

I'm really surprised that James Harrison survived that run ... he wasn't the only one at the end of it calling for oxygen ...

An interesting game so far, now at half time. Being a foreigner I can make comments.

Springsteen ... "I'm going to make a million dollars in the next 12 minutes .. but OWWW!! smaking into the camera hurt!" He might have been born to run but not born slide? The Boss still has that macho football ambience and halftime pain.

Mike's cooking the hamburgers at halftime ... no Prince and wardrobe malfunctions nowadays sadly, so I'm going to help cook burgers.

Enjoy the rest of the game.

warren

[Wild Wassa]

As a coach you would have to know that you were going to get the Gatoraid bath ... can all coaches say "cliche."

How on earth can such a lame team win the Superbowl?

Honestly, if Guildford Girl's School had of played they would have won. I still enjoyed the game for the low quality of play from both teams that didn't at any stage indicate who were the hungriest to lose but mostly the stagering number of personal fouls reinforces my thoughts about this poor quality game.

No one on TV has the guts to say what a lame game this really was ... it is now all about engratiating each other. Truly pathetic. I know pathetic because I'm a Cheesehead.

Warren.

[Frog]

Too bad the Cards didn't mess around longer before throwing to Fitzgerald.
The Steelers are the only team in either league I dislike.

[ciddog91]

Cards blew that one. just rushed 3 on D at the end??? WHY when all game they stuffed Pit with blitzes and stunts...:mad2: :mad2: :mad2:

Oh Well, next year maybe the Lions will make it and I will have "my" team to root for :yikes:

Phil

[Wild Wassa]

Wouldn't you have thrown a hail Mary towards the sideline within the first 2 seconds in that last 15 seconds if you were the Cards QB? ...it took Warner 10 seconds to wait to be sacked.

It is a very poorly officiated game that required every major decision to be video reviewed ... if you watched the game the mistakes were far too many from the refs?

Then to say this was a classic Super Bowl game is an insult to the great Super Bowl games.

I like the black guy on CNN who was commentating. "This has taken everything out of me, I can't go on." To me this was the best feature of the game.

It was so good not listening to Madden's pre recorded comments ..."and?" ..."and?" ... "and?"

To the Steeler supporters ... next year dudes. Your team were lucky, they are not good. They are just lucky. The Steelers defence has more holes in it than Plaxico Burress.

Warren.

[Anbesol]

last years was better....

[WildlifeNate]

The personal fouls really made me irritated. I understand it happens sometimes, but bowling over the holder? Punching a guy when he's on the ground? That was cheap.

[SmartWombat]

Stayed up until 3am watching the game.
Scrappy performance from both, no way a classic game.

Personal fouls, I agree some calls were just plain weird.
Particularly since the faceguard rule changed - according to our commentator - so that just holding it is no longer enough but it requires a yank (sorry, not mean to be a joke) to be a foul.

The running over the holder looked to me like a trip started it, he seemed to be stumbling and running to stop ploughing face first in the dirt. Again our commentator said in all the games he's played in that's happened a few times and it was not called a foul before. Stopped short of admitting he did it

And running 100 yards requires oxygen?
They ought to try playing rugby, a sport with real contact.
And no advert breaks and team changes after every play.

[brmill26]

Very scrappy game indeed, but pretty entertaining for the most of it. Of course, that's coming from the view point of a neutral; I couldn't care less who won. But I wasn't surprised. Anyone familiar with American football knows the saying "defenses win championships." It's not exciting but it's true. Having attended an SEC school (Auburn) with a very traditional powerhouse defense, I know first hand, it's true. That's what makes the SEC such a difficult conference. Edit: that's NCAA college football if any of you non-natives are confused.

Anyway, I don't think you can say the sportsmanship was really any worse than the Chelsea v. Liverpool game on the same day. Bosigwa's boot to the backside? Shameful. And Gerrard kicking the ball right into the player on the ground... etc.

[walterick]

Frickin Steelers.

[SmartWombat]

Bosigwa's boot to the backside? Shameful.

I don't understand how the linesman missed tat one.
Should have been a yellow, if not a red for that.

[adina]

Loved it!

Considering how much everyone talked about the Cardinals being the underdogs, I think they held thier own pretty well. Commercials were dumb tho. Springsteen was pretty good for an old guy.

Here's what made the news here Monday night. Apparently Aaron Rodgers was in Tampa for the game, the local news guy interviewed him down there, asked him if he's heard from Favre since the whole mess at the beginning of the season. They also talked about what Green Bay's plans are for next year.

Now that football is over, we are planning on picking up some Admirals tickets (hockey). They are a heck of a lot easier to get than Packer tickets.

[Wild Wassa]

"Commercials were dumb tho." - Adina.

It is amazing how the Super Bowl is now marketed for the half time commercials. I'm finding this marketing strategy as-lame-as and most disrespectful to the finest code of football going.

Apart from the Dorito adds ... the other half time adds were about irresponsible pet owners. They should have been about recycling scrap iron.

Brad, you don't have to explain any aspect of the game, for my benefit as a "non native" ...? I started this thread and I though that I was talking to people who know the game. I though all two non-natives here interested in this thread, knew the game, you figure? I prefer to be called a Green Allien, by the way.

In my little town, out in the sticks of OZ well away from civilization and any form of real humanity and culture, the game was directly telecast on 3 channels. Go figure again Mate.

There is no lack of support here for all levels of the game ... and didn't you know that Oz is actually New Texas the 51st State? ... you have just been told again.

I've been a Gridiron fan for longer than you have been alive ... looking at your avatar. What do you want to know about the game?

Warren.

[brmill26]

I didn't mean to offend, Wassa. Clearly you understand the game, I didn't doubt that; but I have no idea how much or little college football is shown in Australia. I had presumed not at all, and thus my tagline explanation (which was for all readers from foreign countries, where other countries may not know of the NCAA's SEC). But the term "non-native" simply means you aren't a native of the U.S., right? Alien would refer to a non-native who is present in the U.S., which as far as I know, you are not. I'm sorry if that offends you, but I don't know what other way to refer to someone who is not native to the US except as either "non-native" or "foreign," and I chose the former thinking it was less abrasive. If you prefer another term for generalizing a group of people who are not citizens of the speaker's country, please let me know. So again, my sincere apologies. Anyway... who's your favorite college team?

[Wild Wassa]

The Auburn Tigers.

Warren.

[brmill26]

Haha, well War Eagle, mate!

[Wild Wassa]

"... strike up the band."

I support Auburn Uni because one of my past friends David La Blanc who died from cancer about 2 years ago, went to Auburn and Auburn was his team. Supporting Auburn is the nicest way that I can now remember Dave. Dave's friends, some I also know, are all sailors or seamen. Dave's home was in Seattle.

When Dave was undergoing chemo' ... I used to call him Bald Eagle. Dave was only 48 when he died.

It is a very small world at times.

Warren.

[brmill26]

Wow, that's quite a story Warren; very sorry to hear about the loss. But yes, it is a surprisingly small world indeed. Pretty cool to have an AU fan on the other side of the world.

A few pics from my tenure at Auburn:



Capacity crowd on game day


This was taken by a friend of mine. He was in the Air Force ROTC, and he shot this out of the refueling window as they flew over the stadium.


Two of my friends in front of Samford Hall


Samford at night