What’s going on everyone? It’s been awhile since I’ve written one of these. After a long winter break, everyone is back on campus. It feels great to be back in West Haven, especially since this is my last semester here! I’m sure everyone’s holiday was busy, but mine was really busy because over winter break I completed my internship which is required to graduate from UNH. I did my internship with the East Hartford Fire Marshal’s Office in East Hartford, Connecticut, and I basically worked a full time job the entire break to complete the 150 hours that are required.
One of the great things about doing an internship is that you gain the real-world experience that goes along with the University’s Experiential Education. It was a great experience and I’m glad I had that before graduation.
Since being back on campus a very special event occurred. This past Sunday was Super Bowl XLIII. Now, I don’t know how many of you like football, but I love it. I mean, really really love football. If I weren’t a Fire Science major, I would probably be a Sports Industry major. And I would love to have the opportunity to coach. With that said, Super Bowl XLIII was probably one of the best Super Bowls I have ever watched live. Definitely in my top 5 (and definitely biased):
1. Super Bowl XXXVI: New England Patriots 20, St. Louis Rams 17. Sorry Kurt Warner, this is your first agonizing loss in the Super Bowl. Tom Brady was the MVP coming out of obscurity, stealing the starting position from Drew Bledsoe. First of three rings for Tom, first of two MVPs. I love the Patriots, did I ever mention that?
2. Super Bowl XXXVIII: New England Patriots 32, Carolina Panthers 29. Two is twice as nice. Adam Vinateri comes out and kicks yet another game winning field goal.
3. Super Bowl XXXIX: New England Patriots 24, Philadelphia Eagles 21. Ok, how many times is Adam Vinateri going to do this game winning field goal thing? 3 times is crazy clutch. Best big game kicker in the league. Why did we ever get rid of him?! Despite Team Obliterator (Terrell Owens) actually showing up and having a huge game, New England hung on and won. The MVP went to Deion Branch who had a bigger game than T.O. and still he left for…Seattle?
4. Super Bowl XLIII: Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Arizona Cardinals 23. Wow, what can I say? The first half was quite literally the worst half of football I have ever seen. The entire time I was yelling “Throw it to Fitzgerald!” I had all my eggs in the Arizona basket. The only thing to take away from the first half is Harrison’s pick-six on Warner. I mean a 100 yard interception return for a linebacker? Amazing. * Side note* The absolute best half-time show ever! Bruce Springsteen. Simply amazing, and a million times better than Aerosmith/N’Sync/Britney Spears. Whoever thought of that combo should be shot in the face. With the exception of Prince, the half-time shows have been better since the little wardrobe malfunction of a few years ago. But, anyways…Second half – Still no life in Arizona. The third quarter stunk it up big time. But, something happened in the fourth quarter. Arizona finally did something, and guess what it was…THEY THREW IT TO FITZGERALD. I mean he was only the best wide receiver in the league this year, and his 30 receptions, 546 yards and 7 touchdowns in a single playoff are better than Jerry Rice’s numbers. He is crazy good. And that 60-something yard catch and run gave me hope. Hope, that for a third year, my pick for the Super Bowl wouldn’t lose. Hope, that finally my three-year slump is over. It happened with the Bears after they lost to the Colts. Perfection was lost last year. Then, Ben Rothlisberger and Santonio Holmes did it to me this year. It was David Tyree all over again. I was heartbroken. I felt bad for Kurt Warner, who put up monster numbers (that pick-six in the first half killed him) and still lost. Which brings me to my next point. Never go back on the puppy promise.
5. Super Bowl XXXIV: St. Louis Rams 23, Tennessee Titans 16. The first of Kurt Warner’s 3 Super Bowl appearances. He was the first QB to come out and win from nowhere. Everyone remembers that Titans player getting tackled and stretching to no avail on the last play of the game on the 1-yard line.
There it is, my top 5 Super Bowls. I gotta get going to do some homework, but eventually I will talk about the 5 worst Super Bowls I have seen, the 5 teams to watch out for next season, with a player from each team to especially watch out for, 5 dark horse teams, and 5 teams you should ignore next season. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll do a little research and figure out which 5 players of this year’s draft class will actually do something in the NFL.
