January 21, 2008

Football Rant

Well, the monastery is all abuzz with anticipation of Superbowl XLII. We are the "New York-New England" province of the Capuchins, of course, so the Giants-Patriots contest means a lot fraternally.

When you're from Connecticut, like me, people always ask you what team you support, because it's hard to tell. Do your allegiances go south to New York, or north to Boston? For me, it's neither.

When I was a novice out in Wisconsin, everybody supported the Packers, of course. Go to the late Mass that cut into the kickoff, and you were likely to be alone with the priest, who has probably himself pretty annoyed. But I met one man, my novice master's father actually, who did not support the Packers. In fact, he rooted against them because they had once done him some injustice with his season tickets or something. He didn't have any team he supported. He was just a negative fan, rooting against Green Bay.

I'm the same way, but with the New England Patriots. People don't remember this, even some of us Connecticutians (to our shame) but back in 1998 the Patriots announced that they were going to move to Hartford. Personally, I don't believe they ever planned to go through with it (and our government didn't approve their taxpayer-built stadium anyway), and I do believe that it was a bluff against Massachusetts in an effort to get a new stadium in Foxboro, which they got.

In this elaborate bluff the Patriots used Connecticut, co-opting the beginning of the local news every day for months. And I'm not talking about a quick check on what was going on. I mean that this non-news was the news for months. All a joke. All manipulation. That's no way to treat my home state!

So, go to the Superbowl with my special blessing, New England. May you be shamed by sacks, embarrassed by touchbacks, and may all of your passes be intercepted. Amen.

And cheers to my novice master's dad, who is probably pretty happy today.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ha! that's really funny!! (ps I am an Eagles fan, woe is me!)

Tausign said...

I think I live equal distance from Foxboro and Meadowlands so it's pretty interesting around here. Both teams are on local cable every Sunday.

I am a life long Giants fan but have 'allowed myself' to pull for Patriots in the AFC. But when the two come head to head..."Go GGGGGGGmen."

This years football drama with the Patriots and Giants has been palpable. The last week of the regular season was awesome for any diehard football fan. All the 'rules' were broken when both teams laid it on the line. Patriots and Giants had nothing (yet everything) to play for. Even the NFL was drawn into the mix when it was 'forced' to air the game on every network available.

Now the super-hype. Can the lowly and ascending Giants who were...'baptized and raised to new life in their loss to New England'...[hows that for spin]...can they pull the biggest upset ever and defeat 'THE PERFECT TEAM'?

[Regarding the big charade of NE not coming to CT...it was never in the cards...and we were spared a major mistake. GET OVER IT.]

Anonymous said...

Brother Charles:
Yea of little faith be thou proud of New England and forgive and forget the politics of NFL Economic Politics. Come back to
the true faith and support the Patriots!!!!!

Tausign said...

Fr. Charles,
The Giants have entered the Promised Land...one last Alleluia before Lent!

I'm curious whether you received my emails sent to you and Fr. Zachary Grant on 1/18 and 1/23. I'm finding that some of my messages are falling into spam or bulk traps. I kinda expected to hear back from Fr. Zachary.

Did you see this post of 'private revelation' prior to the game? http://tau-cross.blogspot.com/2008/01/superbowl-xlii-divine-drama.html