Bear Problems

I've spent the last couple of days re-watching one of my favourite shows, "Happy Endings." This was a great show (which takes place in Chicago...we'll circle back to that shortly) that was cancelled WAY too soon (after three seasons). I'm about halfway through the second season so far. So funny (actually, as I was writing this, one of the lines had me laughing so hard I could barely breathe). Anyone who has seen this show LOVED it. It's just a damned  shame there weren't enough of those people while the show was in production.

Another great show premiered earlier this month called "Sirens." This show is also hilarious in many of the same ways as "Happy Endings" and I have loved watching it so far. This show also just happens to take place in Chicago.

The thing about watching these Chicago-based shows is that inevitably, characters go on and on about how awesome the Bears are, or Mike Ditka (former coach of said Bears) is, or something like that. First of all, no to ALL of that. Second, I'm a fan of the Green Bay Packers. The Bears and the Packers have the oldest rivalry in National Football League history. Amongst the fans, this rivalry can get pretty brutal. As far as the shows go, every time the Bears get mentioned, I cringe and throw up a bit in my mouth.

At least there is "That 70's Show" which took place in Wisconsin. GO PACK GO!!!

FWP

2 Years Ago Today...

That was a VERY good day.

Bovine Excrement

This football season is not going well. In fact, I would go so far as to say that  it is a joke. Monday night's game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers is exhibit A.

For those who are unaware, there is a contract dispute going on with the NFL referees. Because of this, the league has had to bring in substitutes which are from...wherever (I'm not sure where offhand). They have been screwing up royally across the league. As to the aforementioned Monday night game, it ended up coming down to the last play with the Seahawks driving while being down 12-7 with only seconds left. The call on the field was...dubious. One ref said touchdown, another said the Packers intercepted the ball. It ended up being ruled a touchdown, giving Seahawks the victory. Everyone I know, including people who have no love for the Packers, is calling bullshit: from friends to commentators.

I'm left thinking that if this is how these "refs" are going going to operate, I would just rather not watch games until dispute gets resolved. Hopefully, this doesn't take long.

One Year Ago Today...

Aaron Rodgers' Popularity

Weekend Update: October 10, 2011

It was another marathon weekend at work. This time, almost thirty hours. Friday night, I didn't get home until 1:30am (I left work only 30 minutes before). Luckily I have today and tomorrow off to not even have to think about work.

Meanwhile, I came away from this weekend with a valuable lesson: always have beer/wine in stock at home. Friday and Saturday night, I wanted to have a night-cap, but there was nothing in my fridge (alcohol-wise) except a couple of 40's which I wasn't touching with a ten-foot pole. Here in Virginia you can get beer and wine at a grocery store (it works differently elsewhere is my understanding...maybe), but not after midnight. I didn't leave work in time to make it to a store and pick something up much to my chagrin.

On my way home Sunday afternoon, I did stop at a grocery store to pick up a 6-pack of Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat (haven't had that in a while) as well as some actual food). I had 1 of those beers during the half-time of the Packers-Falcons game when we were down 14-3. It knocked me the hell out. I felt incredibly drunk. Before you call me a lightweight, keep in mind I was at work for 14hours Saturday, slept less than 5 hours, then got up at 7am, walked 2 miles and worked another 7.5 hours. I was prime for a rash and lasting as long as I did was nothing short of a miracle.

Also, after a 14-point deficit, Green Bay scored 25 unanswered points to win the Sunday night game on the road against the Atlanta Falcons. Virginia Tech also played a hard game against the Miami Hurricanes and squeaked by with a 38-35 win that went down to the wire. GOBBLE GOBBLE BITCHES!!!

Weekend Update: October 3, 2011

I slept in today for the first time in several months. That should let you know how tired I was.

From Friday through Sunday, I was at work for over 26 hours (half of that was Saturday alone) and slept less than 10. I only got four hours of sleep Saturday night before getting up at 7 and not leaving until 3:30. That's a work load I am very unaccustomed to. To top that off, Virginia Tech suffered it's first defeat of the season, and it was a crushing defeat (23-3) to Clemson. Not even a single damn touchdown. Also, it was a home game. What. A. Shit-show. This was the first game this season that I didn't see any part of, and thank God I didn't.

Linebacker Desmond Bishop & Head Coach Mike McCarthy

On the bright side, Green Bay improved to 4-0 after beating the Broncos. A close(ish) first half was followed by a route in the second with a final score of 49-23. It was such a beat down that we ended up taking Aaron Rodgers out of the game and putting in backup quarterback Matt Flynn. Rodgers did throw his second pick of the season, but nobody's perfect I guess.

It was also a pretty cold weekend. Autumn is definitely making it's presence known. There has been an almost constant breeze, the leaves are starting to change and I actually had to turn on the heat.

I forgot to mention a while back that I finished "A Game of Thrones" and did so two days ahead of schedule (after having fallen behind almost a week behind schedule). It is an awesome book and as I have said before, I highly recommend it. Last Monday I went to Barnes & Noble and picked up the second book in the series "A Clash of Kings." It's looking to also be a great read. Given how busy I've been over the past few days I haven't really had the time or energy to just sit and read, but the next few days should be far more lax. Books like this are why literacy is such a great thing.

That's pretty much everything worth mentioning.

Weekend Update: September 25, 2011

My biggest flaw is laziness, as you can see from the fact that I'm posting about last weekend just in time for this weekend to start. Awful :(

No party crashing occurred. Maybe some other time.

Another shit-show at work Sunday morning (which is something I should expect I guess).

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler gets sacked...again

I got out of work in time to see some epic game endings to the one o'clock football games. This season just seems so backwards from last season. Atlanta sucking ass, New England losing to Buffalo (glad I'm not a betting man there), Detroit actually doing well at 3-0. Luckily one of the few constants is that Green Bay is doing well.

The highlight of the weekend was definitely watching the Packers beat the Bears. I was watching in a bar a block away from work...I was the loudest person there. It wasn't a pretty game (too many penalties), but we could always count on Jay Cutler (Chicago's quarterback) to turn the ball over or get sacked. Rodgers threw his first interception of the season. Regardless, a 27-17 victory for the Pack, and on enemy territory (outstanding performances by JerMichael Finley and Greg Jennings). I saw a guy today wearing a Chicago Bears hoodie and it made me wish I had worn that Green Bay Packers shirt that I saw sooooo close to wearing because we ended up exchanging looks ever so briefly. had I been wearing that shirt, I'm sure his look would have turned into a scowl and mine into a smirk. 

We play the Denver Broncos this coming Sunday. I'll be expecting some shit talk from a Broncos fan I know.

Weekend Preview: September 24, 2011

Here are some things I'm looking forward to over the next few days.

The first is actually something I'm not really looking forward to and it's the result of being awake right now. I got out of work late (2 hours ago) and I'm still not all that tired. However to keep up with routine, I'm still getting up at 8am. This pretty much means not getting much sleep for the second night in a row (for whatever reason, I woke up in the middle of the night last night and never really got back to sleep). Even though I have the time to sleep in it's something I don't like doing. I have some stuff I want to get done tomorrow before work. This means I'm probably going to be extra cranky at work (which is really saying something).

Virginia Tech football head coach Frank Beamer.

Speaking of which, I should be getting out relatively early tomorrow night. I need to find something to do, maybe crash a party or something. I pretty much owe it to myself because I almost always end up working late on Friday AND Saturday nights. Also, if Virginia Tech wins its game against Marshall (away), everyone will be all the more rowdy. This would make for an interesting night.

Green Bay Packers Wide Receiver Greg Jennings

I was originally supposed to be off Sunday but scheduling issues led to me working the long afternoon shift. Huge problem there because I had made plans before the change. Luckily someone switched shifts so I should be out in time to catch Green Bay play at Chicago. This is one of the oldest sports rivalries (and a rather bitter one) in U.S. sports. These two teams met 3 times last season (Green Bay lost the first, but had the last 2 laughs, the latter of which got us into the Super Bowl). Thank God this is a 4pm game. I'm already excited. I'm supposed to meet up with a mate (maybe some others too) to watch the game downtown. There's something really awesome about watching football with friends, drinking, and eating really unhealthy food.

This weekend has some promise, an unusual occurrence. Hopefully it lives up to that. Happy weekend everyone!!!

Weekend Update: September 19, 2011

I'll keep this brief because I don't even want to think about everything that happened:

-Overworked. My feet were killing me at least half the time.

-Ate way too much (stress eating, it happens).

-The one thing I was looking forward to, going out with some mates who were in town, ended up not happening because I had to work too late Saturday.

-I don't know if it's allergies, weather, or what, but my sinuses are uber-clogged. I had to break down and reach for the Afrin nasal spray last night.

-It has been cloudy here for the past week. Seriously, VERY little to no Sun, and the clouds won't really break until this weekend...maybe.

-I was visited by the "Ghost of Make-Out Sessions Past" which was bitter sweet...as always (emphasis on bitter).

I don't want this to be an utter bitch-fest so I'll end on a high note. Football pretty much saved my weekend. The Green Bay Packers won in what ended up being a squeaker against the Carolina Panthers (so much for the awesome Cam Newton, 3 picks) so we're 2-0. Virginia Tech beat Arkansas State so we're 3-0.

On a completely unrelated note, we are just hours away from the official end of Don't Ask Don't Tell. Definitely a great thing for this country. It's pretty hypocritical for this nation to be called the land of the free when many of the very people who defend the country were restricted from being honest about who they are. I won't get to into that here since I did on my other blog (that post is scheduled to be posted after midnight tonight).

Hopefully this week will be better than the weekend was.

The Men of the Gridiron

Today marks the beginning of football season. Even though I genuinely love watching football for the hard hits, masterful plays, and the on-field drama, let's face facts. Some of these guys are absolutely hot. The league is awash with some beautiful specimens. So, in honour of of the season starting today, I thought I would show you some my personal favourite gentlemen of the NFL.

In addition to playing wide receiver in Minnesota, Eric Decker also played baseball before joining the Denver Broncos. He also won the "King of the Hardwood" competition in 2011.

There has been some drama surrounding Reggie Bush. A career that started great (including a Super Bowl win with the New Orleans Saints in the 2009-2010 season) gave way to lesser production (though I think there was an injury in there) over the last two years. He is currently playing with the Miami Dolphins. I can forgive him for all of that. Him having dated a Kardashian (Kim) however, that will take time.

A former teammate of Bush is franchise quarterback Drew Brees. Adding to the hotness factor is the fact that he has done an anti-bullying PSA (not specifically anti-gay bullying for the record).

Honestly, I don't know much about Wes Welker. I know he plays for the New England Patriots, I know he is a wide receiver, and I know those eyes are gorgeous (I have stated before that eyes are my weakness).

Adrian Peterson, wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings, has a beautiful smile to go with the rest of that body (I decided to go conservative with his picture but Google him). It's enough to allow me to forgive him for playing for one of my team's division rivals. 

And last but DEFINITELY not least...

Clay "Clay-Maker" Matthews III. Of course this list would not have been complete without a member of my favourite NFL, the Green Bay Packers. I could gush and gush about this guy: not just the looks, but also how great he has been at the outside linebacker position and what he has brought to the team, including helping them get to and win this past Super Bowl. I'm in need of a new Green Bay jersey and #52 is definitely one of my possible picks.

Speaking of the Green Bay Packers, they will be playing tonight at Lambeau Field in tonight's season opening game against the New Orleans Saints (i.e. the previous two Super Bowl champs are gonna rumble). I have made my plans and will be wearing the green and gold of the Packers. I haven't been this excited for anything since the last Super Bowl. Defending the title starts tonight.

GO PACK GO!!!

Why Am I Just Now Seeing This???

I found this last night and it's all kinds of awesome.

Damn he's fine. I'm glad he's on my team (the Green Bay Packers that is).

Back in Action

A guy came into work today wearing a Chicago Bears T-shirt. I really wanted to make some smart-ass comment, but that wouldn't be professional (plus he was kinda bear-ish himself which just wouldn't end well for me). For those who don't know, the Bears and the Green Bay Packers (my favourite team) are bitter rivals who met 3 times last season: they beat us early, we won the second time during the regular season (which got us into the playoffs), and we beat them again in the NFC Championship which got us into the Super Bowl which we won (and was the second one that we won since the last time Chicago won it in 1989), so the Bears can suck on that for a while.

As you can probably guess, I'm really happy that the lockout is finally over and we can get to some football news. This baseball crap is killing me (I fell asleep during the one and only MLB game I actually went to...so boring). Meanwhile, a guy that I work with, also a Green Bay fan, is going to see them play in Charlotte against the Panthers this season (lucky bastard). Also, a friend of mine from grade-school is currently in Green Bay for a shareholders' meeting (lucky bitch). All of this has me incredibly jealous. I've never been to an NFL game, let alone one with the Packers. It's definitely on the life to-do list, especially if it's in the holy land (i.e. Lambeau Field).

Strap in cause I'll have football on the brain for the next 7 months.

The Promised Land

Title Town Bling

Green Bay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers

I'm not sure if I have mentioned it, but I'm a big fan of the Green bay Packers. Yeah, I watched the Super Bowl in February and was happy to down some celebration champagne. Some thing about that night just felt like the stars aligned, which is why I guess that I was so calm when Green Bay actually won versus going crazy and running around the room like a mad man. It was an uphill battle this season: a concussed quarterback, star players dropping like flies, and a loss to the Bears (which wasn't that bad since we ended up beating them twice later in the season, including the NFC Championship). I was told that I had the lamest reaction to the win, but a huge smile was all I needed to express how happy I was for us to bring the Lombardy Trophy back to where it belongs after 14 years.

So why am I mentioning this now? After all, the Super Bowl was several months ago. Well yesterday, the team got their well deserved rings.

Also, my big brother from my fraternity days is a Chicago Bears fan. I wish I had been around him to rub it in his face. I'm not usually a gloater, but I would have made an exception this time around.

Did I mention that Clay Matthews (Outside Linebacker) is a total stud?