Well, 18 and a half. Fallen soldier sitting here on the desk. Started drinking at noon, didn't stop until slightly after the Super Bowl. I don't think I lived to see 8pm. Somehow managed to set my alarm clock for the correct time, found myself on the floor, puked for two solid hours into my bedroom's garbage can until nothing but green-yellow bile was coming out in large gooey blobs. I'm late for work now, so I call in and tell them so. Missed the first two hours and only stayed until a quarter to five, with a thirty minute nap somewhere in there.
I've got a little cut on my enlarged knuckle, but the discoloration's down. Thought Jerramy Stevens made a catch to bring the Seahawks down inside the five yard line. Turns out the television cameras took a bad angle and he actually DIDN'T catch the ball. In my excitement in what turned out to be a disasterous second half, I jumped out of my chair and punched a hole in the ceiling.
I started out drinking at a decently slow clip. One or two beers an hour. It accelerated throughout the game. And afterword, I was toast. I ate two taquitos this morning so I'd have something ELSE to vomit up. Then, on the bus ride to work, I was seriously contemplating getting off and going back home. Came close to puking on the bus, stumbled into work, came close to puking at work, ate nothing all day, came close to puking on the bus ride home, sat around all day at home drinking 7up and eating Chex Mix, watched 24 and now I'm still woozy but better.
I did find time to write a Super Bowl recap at work. Here it is, I call it:
"How the Seahawks Lost to the Inferior Team in Super Bowl 40"
Listen, let's get one thing clear. Darrell Jackson made contact in the endzone with the defender, Sean Locklear held on that Jerramy Stevens catch late in the game, and the ball cleared the goalline, if ever so minisculely. Don't let anyone try to tell you otherwise.
But, I just can't believe the refs CALLED that shit!
The offensive pass interference on D-Jack was the worst call against the Seahawks I've seen since Vinnie Testaverde's touchdown in New York. Speaking of Vinnie, when did he grow a beard and start playing for the Steelers? Wait, though, I take that back. The "illegal block" called against Hasselbeck when he was going in to make the tackle after the interception, THAT was the worst call I've seen . . . since the refs "forgot" to start the clock against Baltimore a couple years ago.
But, that's being a fan. One team's fans will see things differently than the other's. However, it's supposed to be the IMPARTIAL judges of the NFL's rules who are supposed to see things fairly and objectively. If you're going to call Jackson on a ticky-tack penalty, then you've got to take a look at what the Steelers receivers are doing, because I guarantee SOMEONE who made a catch for the Steelers in that game had just as much contact with one of our defenders as Jackson had with his.
Still, having said all that, I don't blame the refs. I can't blame the refs. Did they drop four easy receptions that would've kept drives alive and aligned us for touchdowns? Did they have a complete mental lapse and allow a first down completion on 3rd and 28? Did they bungle the clock management on late-half drives? Did they lob an interception at a crucial point in the game? Did they punt ball after ball into the endzone when the Steelers could've been backed up inside their ten? Did they choose to run the ball on a managable 3rd-and-long, leaving us a couple yards short on another failed third-down conversion?
No, but they did throw flags. Some of those flags were legit. Some of them probably should've been kept in the pocket. And SOME weren't thrown at all. Like on that Locklear play when the end came offside, leaving Locklear with no other choice but to hold. Or, how about the horsecollar on Alexander? Did he have to tear an MCL for a flag to be thrown? Maybe fake a little whiplash? And what in the bloody hell made that 4th down call on the fringe of the endzone magically turn into a touchdown? Was it the sincere look in Roethlisberger's eyes as he ever-so-gently nudged the ball over the line? I can understand why it wasn't overturned (as this ref's career mission has been to never question the calls of people in his administration . . . sounds like a stubborn president I know), but I can't understand why it was called a touchdown in the first place.
Then again, there was one fundamental difference between the two teams that played on Sunday. While both were shakey, looking vastly inexperienced at times, and forgetting any conspiracy theory of the refs trying to win one for the Steelers, there's something there that everyone's overlooking. The Pittsburgh Steelers entered that game hungry for a win, using whatever motivational techniques at their disposal. Like most first-time Super Bowl teams, the Seattle Seahawks were just happy to be there. And on Sunday, it showed