Happy Thanksgiving Football Fans!

Although I was unable to actually sit down and watch any games this turkey day, I was able to celebrate in the home of a true Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Let's be honest, everyone in Pittsburgh is a die hard Steelers fan and they aren't afraid to show their colors. Driving from outside of Philly to Pittsburgh this afternoon we officially entered "Steeler Country" along the Pennsylvania Turnpike at the toll both. They had a sign in case any Eagles fans try to slip over the border. I was very close to buying some fresh gear at the K-mart but I resisted in the end. I don't really have room in my suitcase for a Steelers piggy bank, salt & pepper shakers, and some new sweatpants (note: thinly veiled Christmas gift ideas).
But back to football and the Thanksgiving Classic. I searched a little history in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and this game actually began when the Lions (formerly Spartans) were bought & moved from Ohio to Detroit in 1934. The new owner thought it would be a great way to introduce new fans to the team and created the gimmick of hosting a football game on Thanksgiving Day against my home team the Chicago Bears (the Bears won that game19-16 by the way). The games continued, with Detroit hosting and playing the Bears until 1939. Like most things at that time, WWII ruined it all. But the Lions picked it back up again in 1945 and have hosted the Thanksgiving Classic every year since. In 1966, Texas wanted in on the action and Dallas started hosting an annual Thanksgiving day game too. Now there's a 3rd game, but that has no historical significance and is therefore boring.
The one highlight I did catch, and sent the internet buzzing, was when Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was ejected in the 3rd quarter after holding down Packers lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith and hitting his head against the ground and then kicking him in the chest. It's blatant poor sportsmanship and he deserved to be kicked out of the game. But the real TV gold came after the game when he said it was all an "accident" and that his motions were just a result of him trying to get up after a tackle. Because, you know, it always happens that you bounce your opponent's head off the ground a few times as you're trying to right yourself, and then to avoid falling when you stand up you need to put your foot on their chest. I'm sure this guy will have a great job as a lobbyist a la "Thank You For Smoking" after his NFL career is over with the spin he put on that situation.

Pro Pick 'Em Goddess

I am number 1 overall in my Yahoo! NFL Pro Pick 'Em pool; surpassing my man & all my co-workers! Unfortunately this hasn't translated into winning actual money each week, but it does entitle me to some bragging rights. I almost won this week, but it was a 3-way tie and I lost in the tie-breaker. I think the football gods were punishing me for ignoring my teams the last 2 weekends. I only caught the 2nd half of the Patriots versus Chiefs game last night. No one cares when the Patriots win.

Steelers vs. Ravens

Oh man. I was so disappointed in my team this Sunday that I just couldn't write about the game. And when my co-worker brought it up on Monday it brought all those bad feelings back again. But I've had 3 full days to recover and it's time to face the fact that we lost. We were so close! But those Ravens just kept control of the game and kept on making those 3rd down conversions (14 out of 21 to be exact).
The game started out exciting enough and the teams appeared evenly matched. Both the Steelers and the Ravens had several incomplete passes in the first half and the defensive teams were on fire. Unfortunately there weren't any taunting plays this time around, but Steelers safety Ryan Clark did get an unnecessary roughness call after he hit the Ravens tight end Ed Dickson. Turns out he also got hit with a $40K fine; much worse than a parking ticket.
I think one of the big turning points was when Ravens offensive linebacker Terrell Suggs intercepted the pass from Roethlisberger. Even though the Steelers took the lead after this play, they started making poor defensive plays and were getting sloppy. Regardless, some Steelers players stood out. First was linebacker James Harrison, who sacked QB Flacco 3 times. The man was on fire! Then kicker Shaun Suisham scored 4 field goals this game. He's become a frequent player on the field this season, scoring 15 field goals overall with a 75% completion rate. In our house we now call "Sushi Time" every time he steps up to kick.
Obviously I didn't want to Steelers to lose, but this game was super exciting. I was on the edge of my seat and actually yelled at the TV! And that's really what football is all about. You want to see a good, old fashioned rivalry and you want lots of back and forth on the scoring drives. I'm hosting a party when these two teams meet up in the playoffs.

Movie Night

It's Friday night, what's a girl to do? Apparently, it's time to troll around the interweb with my man and look at animal attack videos. Somehow, this also led us to videos of NFL players being "mic'd up" and intimidating each other. I thought it was worthwhile to showcase a particular video - I was surprised to learn that threatening anal rape is a part of football trash talking. Who knew? I thought that kind of intimidation was only available in men's prisons.

At first this sounded shocking, but after several views it became totally hilarious. I guess if doing the Haka and sticking your tongue out is no longer effective you have to resort to saying you're going to tear some one's ass up.

Don't fret; there's a kinder, gentler side too. Butt humping is also considered affectionate in the NFL, as evidenced by Rashard Mendenhall affectionately dry humping Ben Roethlisberger. Now Ben knows what it feels like on the receiving end.