This last Sunday was set to be a great TV football day. The big rivalry between Green Bay and Minnesota was to play out at 11:00, followed by the Steelers and the Chiefs at Arrowhead at 2:00, and the Giants were in Denver for the 6 o’clock game. It doesn’t get any better than that. I planned to watch the early game at home in my jammies, go to a small party at my son’s for the afternoon game, and fall asleep on my couch watching the Sunday night game. I was excited; I’m a fan of a club in each of these games.
The morning paper had the 4 and 1 Packers over the 3 and 2 Vikings by 3 points. I’m only sort of a Green Bay fan but my son’s babe is from there, and she worships everything green and gold, and I enjoy watching Aaron Rodgers, who is one of the best quarterbacks in football, and their 6-time all pro outside linebacker, Clay Matthews. The game was going as expected when Rogers goes down in the first quarter with a broken collar bone. As I watched Aaron being carted off the field I said goodbye to the Packers’ division lead and their chances for the playoffs this year. I was right the Vikings beat the Packers 23 to 10. That’s okay; I’ve still got the Chiefs and the Broncos coming up.
My son, Rob and his lady friend, Toots had a big spread of hot wings, munchies, and beer on ice for the game. Rob invited a friend and his wife over to watch the game as token Steelers fans. My son was all decked out in his Chiefs’ getup. He wears a Derrick Thomas, 58 jersey proudly and he eats and sleeps the Chiefs. We’re all tired of him asking, “Who’s the only undefeated team in the NFL?” Before you can answer he shouts, “THE CHIEFS!”
The paper called this the Game Of The Week and had the 5 and 0 Chiefs over the 3 and 2 Steelers by 4 ½. I’ve watched the Chiefs play a couple times this year and their two stars, running back Kareem Hunt and wide receiver Tyreek Hill are treats to watch as is Alex Smith, who has become a serious quarterback. The Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger threw five interceptions last week and admitted after the game that he didn’t have it anymore. I was ready for a matchup between an up and coming quarterback versus an old and worn out one. This is gonna be a walk in the park for the Chiefs.
The Chiefs couldn’t do anything. The Steelers held Hunt, the league’s leading rusher, to 21 yards on nine carries. They also spent the afternoon chasing and sacking Smith, holding the NFL’s top-rated passer to 246 yards and a single TD. The ordinarily super-loud Arrowhead stadium was mum as the Steelers walked off with an easy 19 to 13 victory. Our party was stunned. While Rob’s friend gloated we washed away our miseries and shock with the tequila he had bought for the victory party. So much for the Chiefs, I’ve still got the Broncos coming up.
The 3 and 1 Broncos were favored by a whopping 11 ½ over the winless Giants. What did the odds makers know; the Broncos stunk so bad that their highly partisan crowd actually booed them as they raced to the locker room trailing by 17 to 2 at the half. Things didn’t get any better in the second half. The Broncos seemed lost, they hollered at each other in the huddles, couldn’t convert third downs, and their defense gave up more big plays then they had all season. The Broncos gained just 46 yards on the ground and C.J. Anderson failed to punch it in from the 1 yard line. Bush league football at best.
I had just spent an entire Sunday watching my teams play really lousy football and getting beat up by much weaker underdogs. I would have had a better time watching old reruns of As the World Turns.
I can’t wait ’til next week.
Too Much Tequila, Too Little Sunscreen 