Enjoy the Big Game: Super Bowl Bingo!

When I was in high school (and still didn’t like football), my English teacher Mr. Fenlon told us that if we guessed the combined Super Bowl score for that weekend’s game we would receive a 100% on our weekly vocab quiz. Which, in hindsight, was not a very big deal. But I thought it was so completely awesome.

Sadly, I had no clue what a reasonable football score might be, so I just guessed at random. That Sunday, I paid more attention to the Super Bowl than I ever had before. I’d chosen a pretty high number–something in the 70s I think–so every time the score went up I was genuinely excited.

In the end, I didn’t get that 100%. But the point is that because I had a reason to be interested in the goings on of the game, I was interested.

And that, dear FifGers, is why I have created an exciting game that YOU can play at home this Sunday! Ta da!!

Super Bowl Bingo

2-4 Players
Materials: Game Cards (1 per player); M&Ms, pennies, or just a pen/highlighter

Directions:
1. Download the Super Bowl Bingo pdf. (Created by me.) (Seems to work better on Explorer than Mozilla.)
2. Print and cut out a game card for each player.
3. Fill in the Bonus square with something you think you will see during the game.
4. Watch the Super Bowl. Each time an item on your card appears on the screen, cover the square with an M&M, a penny, or just draw an X on the square.
5. The first player who marks 5 squares in a row wins! Or, if you want to go all out, the first player who marks the entire board wins.

Game Card Key:
white squares = things you see
dark gray squares = things announcers/reporters say
(doesn’t have to be word-for-word)
light gray squares = things that happen in the game

Need more coaching for the Super Bowl?

Make these cupcakes, or these.
Root for your favorite Gossip Girl.
Or just take this quiz to pick your team.

Who Should I Root For: The Quiz

I think this was really helpful for FifG’ers last year, so I thought we’d try it again.

Directions: Choose A or B

1. In competitive situations, who do you root for?

A. the underdog
B. the superstar

2. What color(s) do you bleed?

A. black and/or gold
B. blue and/or white

3. What does your Patronus look like?

A. I don’t believe in those, silly. I have religion on my side.
B. a horse

4. Which celebrity girlfriend/wife do you find more likable/less annoying?

A. Kim Kardashian
B. Kendra Wilkinson

5. American Express commercial is on the air for the zillionth time today…

A. … Ugh.
B. … Priceless.

6. Fill in the blank: When I hear the name Thomas Moorstead, I think ______________

A. Who DAT!
B. Who dat?

7. You’re choosing a book at the library. Which kind of story would you prefer to read?

A. a tale of rebuilding and overcoming the odds
B. a tale of an epic hero

8. My favorite things include…

A. … good food and jazz music.
B. … basketball and cornfields.

Results:

Count the number of times you chose A and B.

If you chose more As: Geaux Saints!

If you chose more Bs: Indyay Colts! (Yeah, so the Colts don’t have any slogans.)

Super Bowl Cupcakes: Saints

Yesterday I showed you some Colts cupcake ideas.

Today it’s the Saints turn, and I’ve got to make like Paula Adul and tell you Straight Up that Saints cupcakes were way harder to make than Colts cupcakes. Mostly because the Saints’ logo is a fleur-de-lis. Which is for realz harder to make than even a cardinal.

Darn you, fleur-de-lis!

Anyway, here’s what I came up with to make life a little easier:

This was the best compromise I could think of. It’s just a white cupcake with dark fudge frosting, topped with a Werther’s Original candy. Because it meets the black and gold color scheme in a simple, easy-to-make way. You will notice that I tried to draw fleur-de-lis-es on top of the candy wrappers, but they look more like (from left to right) a blotchy disease and a bird. (Note to self: Next time you need to draw a bird, aim for fleur-de-lis.)

So next I tried to actually incorporate Saints things.

The “Who Dat” is a pretty easy way to manage a Saints cupcake. You’ll see that I attempted to fancy up the one on the right. Yes, it’s supposed to be a fleur-de-lis. Close, right? (Also, use an exclamation point, not a question mark. My bad.)

And finally, a little more easy lettering, and one more shot at being artistic.

Who Should I Root For? Gossip Girl Edition

I love chatting with other girls who love football, but I also understand that some folks who are not into football are forced to watch the Super Bowl. (For instance, when I was a kid, the halftime show was the only thing I enjoyed. Dancing children in multicultural costumes! Random singing people! Audience members with color-coded cards that form stadium-size pictures!)

So for those of you who are going to watch whether you want to or not, please trust me when I say that you will have much more fun watching if you pick a side to support. And I am here to help.

First of all, the two teams playing are the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints.

Now, let’s put these teams into perspective, Gossip Girl Style.

In the world of Serena vs. Blair, the Colts are Serena and the Saints are Blair.

Let me ‘splain:

The hair! So pretty!

Indianapolis Colts, aka Serena: The Colts are good. They have been good for years. They will be good for years to come. That’s because they have an amazing QB in Peyton Manning. Manning is, in fact, one of the best QBs of all time. Like, top 5 easily. The rest of the team has had its ups and downs, but as long as Peyton is around, they have always been able to pull it together. Never the underdog, always lauded by the media, they lead sort of a charmed existence, but somehow still manage to be likable.

Just like Serena, who gets whatever she wants, whom every boy loves, no matter how weird or stupid her actions are. And yet, you can’t really hate Serena. Mostly, I think, because she has awesome hair. Which doesn’t really apply, but it’s just the truth.

Chuck + Blair = Awesome

New Orleans Saints, aka Blair: The Saints, on the other hand, have been perpetual losers in their NFL life. This will be the team’s first ever trip to the Super Bowl. And though their QB, Drew Brees, is also amazing at what he does, he flies way under the radar compared to Manning and his 20 bazillion commercials (he’s the one on those American Express ads). The Saints are having a charmed run this NFL season, but they’ve been through a lot–not just the fact that they are city representatives for post-Katrina New Orleans, but even in football terms, the team has been championship caliber for years, but always fell apart due to injuries, poor coaching, etc. This is their time to shine, and suddenly they are becoming the most likable team around.

Just like Blair was the underdog all along–sure she had all the advantages, but no matter what she did she always fell short in the eyes of boys (Nate loved Serena more), her mom (who loved Serena more), and everyone else (her school, the media, etc.). But then she started dating Chuck, and the show became hers. No arguing it, right? She has the TV season in the palm of her hands with awesomeness. Granted, she is also way privileged and super-bitchy, which isn’t Saints-like at all, but it’s all about context.

So who would you rather support: Serena’s Colts or Blair’s Saints?

Up in the Air

As I mentioned might be the case, I was booked on a jetblue flight this Sunday at 7:40. My thought was that if the game started at 6:40, I would catch most of it on-board. We’d probably get on the plane around 7:10, so I would miss the first 20 minutes, tops.

But of course, there was rain at JFK, and though I arrived at the gate by 6:30, the plane was delayed. (Side note: I was “randomly chosen” to be X-ray scanned. There were only 2 of us in line–me and an elderly man–so I have to figure that I was the more interesting option of the two, and the most mobile. I tried to avert my eyes when I passed the row of scanner people. Awkward.)

Airport Bar

So instead of watching the first half of the game on the plane, I watched in the bar. I stood next to a pillar with my bags and North Face coat and listened to a New Orleans-based flight attendant chat with a guy who is apparently friends with the Saints’ Charles Grant. Their flight to Atlanta was supposed to have taken off at 3:00. A little more careful eavesdropping, and I realized that the bar was filled with Atlanta passengers, and four hours into their delay they were drunk as skunks. One lady left her husband’s side to drape herself over Charles Grant’s friend. She kept repeating, “We have to work at seven in the morning. Can you believe it?”

A few of the Atlanta flight ladies were fielding attention from the male majority. There was the blond with fancy clip-cloppy boots who didn’t seem particularly interested in any of the guys, but definitely was interested in their interest in her. There were the blond’s friends, who congregated around her to get some of the leftover attention. And then there was the small brunette who seemed to be working her section of the bar really well–there were about 4 guys buying her beer. When one wouldn’t take a shot she said, “You drink like a girl.” He loved it. Fascinating. Point one for small girl.

They called the Atlanta flight to board at around 7:30–The blond was pivotal in corralling everyone. Booming voice, that one–and the place cleared out. There were only 3 or 4 of us left. But then, five minutes later, the small girl came back with a napkin and a pen and walked up to the leftover guy whom she’d been talking to and asked him for his number. Gutsy! Point two for small girl.

(Another side note, this one to self: Best strategy for meeting guys does not include sitting in a corner watching other people interact.)

On the Plane

We finally boarded the plane at 7:45–including the phone number guy–and were told that we would take off at 8:05 if we were all seated by then, but if not, we’d leave at 9:30. Panic ensued, and no one turned on the TV system. Gah!

The pilot very friendly-ly came out to thank us for sitting so quickly and asked if we had any questions or concerns. The phone number guy yelled, “FOOTBALL!” The pilot didn’t hear, and instead he told us that Don Zimmer had been on the previous flight and that he’d had his picture taken with the former baseball manager. Then he asked if we had any more questions, to which phone number guy replied, “FOOTBALL!” But since that was a statement and not a question, the pilot didn’t respond.

Since we were good little plane sitters, we took off before 9, and I got to watch the entire second half of the game. Which was crazy. And though I usually love to watch live events on jetblue because of the communal joy, the lady I was sitting next to was decidedly not watching the game. (Third side note: according to a friend, communal jetblue joy can also be scary if you are, say, not watching the Olympics and don’t understand why everyone is suddenly screaming in unison.)

Because the lady was not football savvy, every time I gasped (fumble!), she looked at me like I had three heads. And when I made the mistake of accidentally clapping (I’m a clapper), she grunted. Which was ridiculous because, a) football is important–duh!, and b) she spent the entire flight watching some old dude playing the piano on The Lame People Channel, or something, and she was conducting the music with her hands the whole time. I MEAN, COME ON. I felt sad when I heard phone number guy cheering several rows in front of me and when the guys three rows behind me discussed the game after we landed. They would have been fun seatmates. Oh well. At least the pilot was gracious enough to allow us to circle the airport for 30 minutes before landing so we could see the presentation of the trophies.

How did everyone else watch the game? Are you happy that the FifG approved Super Bowl is a go?

Playoffs: Conference Championship Schedule

Long day in the life of FifG, so I’ll just give you this weekend’s schedule.

(I might be watching one of these games on a plane this Sunday. Go jetblue!)

Sunday, January 24

NY Jets at Indianapolis Colts, 3:00 PM on CBS

Jet Darelle Revis. Watch out for him, Colts.

Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints, 6:40 PM on FOX

Viking Sydney Rice. Cute! Who knew?

Playoffs: Saints vs. Cardinals

New Orleans Saints vs. Arizona Cardinals (4:30 P.M.)

About the game:

This one pits the NFC’s #1 seed against last year’s Super Bowl loser. It’s big news for the Saints, who have not ever reached a Super Bowl. The fan support in New Orleans is huge, especially after the city went through so much devastation in Hurricane Katrina. Arizona was the top team in the lowly NFC West. They are definitely the underdog here, but then they were the underdog last year, too. And came very close to a Super Bowl victory. So don’t count them out.

Want to make Cardinals cupcakes? Get some ideas here.

Players you should mention in discussion:

Kurt Warner, QB, Cardinals
Sample question: Do you think Warner will retire at the end of the year? After all, he is 38 years old.
Fact you should know: Kurt Warner took the St. Louis Rams to the Super Bowl after the 1999 season. They won the game and Kurt was MVP.
Also: Kurt Warner’s wife is like 10 years older than he is. And before he went to that first Super Bowl, he worked as a grocery store stocker.

Vintage Kurt Warner

Darren Sharper, Safety, Saints
Sample question: How much of a difference did Sharper and the improved defense make for the Saints this year?! Right? OR: Do you think the last three losses suffered by the Saints are signs that the team is not going to do well in the playoffs, or was that just fatigue and injuries?
Fact you should know: This is Sharper’s first year on the Saints. He most recently played for the NFC #2 seed Minnesota Vikings.
Also: Sharper had 9 interceptions this year. He returned the interceptions for a league-record 376 yards this season. (Meaning, he caught the ball that the other team threw, and he ran it back in the other direction for a total of 376 yards this year. Which is a lot.)

Darren Sharper. How often are these player pictures adorable?

Who should I root for?

Typically I’d say you should root for the Cardinals as the underdog, but there’s a bigger picture here. Which is that the Saints are the underdog of the NFL, if not the season. So, if you want the underdog, go Saints.

Also, if you root for the Saints, you can say “WHO DAT!” a lot. (That’s the fan slogan. It’s fun!)

As for the Cardinals, they’re the team you want to root for if you want to support an aging QB (maybe) on his way out of the league.

Or if you really like birds.

Weekly Wrap-Up

Hey, look at me! I’m writing a weekly wrap-up! During the week!

I know, I know, I’m an amazing blogger.

Anyhoo, let’s wrap-up.

Football-related:

• Full disclosure first: This is a really difficult season for me to care about. Why? Because my team (the Bucs) are 1-10. Last year this time I knew every team in the league’s records. I knew who was in position for a wild card playoff slot. I knew all of the top players and who was struggling and all that jazz. This year I’m like, uh, now are the Steelers like 7-4? Or 4-7? Or maybe they decided to sit out this year? Dunno. So anyway,  football depresses me. A lot. So I haven’t been writing as much.
• That said, holy cowza did the Saints win on Monday! I did not see that coming. I mean, a win sure. But a trouncing of the Pats? Who knew. It seems like the Saints are set for a straight shot to the Super Bowl, but I guess the Vikings will probably have something to say about that. I still think that a NFC Championship with Saints vs. Vikings, followed by the winner playing the Colts will be the most awesomely awesome end-of-postseason possible. (Because the Bucs can’t make it, obvi.) Can you imagine Brees and the city of New Orleans vs. Brett Favre? And either one of them vs. Peyton Manning?!?!
  If the Super Bowl turns out to be the Cardinals vs. the Chargers I am seriously canceling my NFL fandom.
• I watched the MNF game on my computer. It was live-streaming from Australia. Fun fact: In Australia, Burger King is called Hungry Jack’s. And instead of saying the burger is topped with “lettuce,” they say it is topped with “salad.” Fascinating.
• Who loves the new Peyton Manning commercial? I do! I know I’m supposed to have jaded feelings about him and say how he’s so overexposed, and I’m so over him. But I can’t.  I’m sorry. I love everything he does.
  (“It’s a football.” “Who told you?!” Priceless.)

Non-football:

• Happy birthday to Friend Cupcake, on whose behalf I made delicious chocolate chip cookies last night because I am just that thoughtful. However, I just ate one of said cookies, and it cut the top of my mouth. A leetle crunchy, those. Sorry, Friend Cupcake.
• So You Think You Can Dance:
  1) The final 3 had better be Jakob, Ellenore, and Russell.

  2) Yay for a dance that I loved finally! Care of Ellenore and Jakob, whom I hope will “coincidentally” pick each other as partners every week, like Katee and Josh did. The dance is Sonya Tayeh, and it’s weird awesome and amazing (just like Ellenore and Jakob, respectively).

  3) Why would anyone give their kid a name that ends in a double-e? It basically ensures that your kid will be a perpetual toddler. Case in point: Mollee.

  4) Who else applauds every time Anya or Pasha shows up in the audience? And who else started shrieking when they saw (an uncredited) Katee helping one of the choreographers a few weeks ago? Everyone did? I thought so!

  5) New idea: Every time the judges give a critique, show the choreographer’s reaction. Especially when the choreographer is Spencer, the new Broadway guy.

  6) Newer idea: Every time the judges give a critique of any dance, show Spencer, the new Broadway guy.

  

  Newest Idea: After every dance, show Spencer in a bikini!

FifG Game of the Week: New Orleans Saints vs. New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints [10-0] vs. New England Patriotst [7-3] (Monday 8:30 p.m., ESPN)

Why it’s good football: This is easily the game of the week. A potential Super Bowl match-up. Two high-scoring offenses. Great coaching. Top QBs in Drew Brees (NO) and Tom Brady (NE). It’s going to be a shoot out, and it’s going to be fun!

Why you might care: I know you have an opinion on Tom Brady. So if you are all about the hot dude who’s expecting a baby with his supermodel wife, this is your chance to cheer on the Pats. And if you think Brady is an overrated pansy, or have issues with the fact that he dumped his pregnant girlfriend and then started dating a supermodel, who claimed to mother his ex-girlfriend’s baby, well, then it’s your big chance to root against the Pats.

Love? Hate?

Football is just like Pop Culture!

If this game is Tough Love on VH1, then the Patriots are Taylor, who had success in previous seasons and was down at first this season but is making a big comeback and is a real contender for winning the heart of a man at the end of the season. (Which would be the Super Bowl in this semi-metaphor.)

Of course, that’s if she can get past Rocky, the fierce “rocker” with a heart of gold. Or maybe silicon. And probably it’s not her heart, actually. So Rocky would be the Saints. Playing hard. Rocking out. Ready to face off with Taylor in her quest to find a good man.

Um, ok, so once again this connection totally sucks, BUT who else loves Tough Love? Best. Show. On. Television. Seriously, what is it about this show that sucks me in every time? Who is everyone’s favorite? I think I like the reeeeeeally old and washed up bartender (who’s 31). Or maybe the stripper who doesn’t pay attention to her dates.

I really don’t like the fat-girl-gone-thin. It’s like, boo hoo, I have no self-esteem. Boo hoo, keep telling me how beautiful I am so I can feel better about myself. Need-y. (Ok, that’s mean, but I firmly believe that low self-image is best kept to oneself and sometimes close friends and family, but NOT the viewing public. Because then it comes across as fishing.)

And, also, has anyone else noticed that the adorable blonde Southern belles always ends up in a serious relationship within 2 days of arriving at the house? How does that happen? I mean, do they really need this show? I think  not.

Steve is all about Tough Love. And sculpted eyebrows.

Oh, and what does everyone think about the host being all like, hey, don’t hurt guys’ feelings because they won’t like you anymore. But don’t give them a hard time if they hurt yours, because it happens. 

Ok, that is all.

Boyfriend/Husband/Dad/Other will be so impressed!

Conversation Starters:

-Who do you like for MVP this year? Drew Brees? (Brees has a 105.8 QB rating in 2009, 22 touchdowns, and only 9 interceptions.)
-What was up with that 4th down play Belichick called against the Colts 2 weeks ago? Is he getting senile, or is the defense really that untrustworthy?

Fun Facts:

-The Saints are now 10-0, and only 6 games away from a perfect 16-0 season. The only team to ever accomplish that feat? The New England Patriots, of course. (The 2007 Patriots won all but 1 game that season/post-season: the Super Bowl. Oops.)
-This week’s NE Cute Football Player of the Week, Wes Welker, had a career game against the Jets last week, catching 15 passes for 192 yards. Opposing defenses have to find ways to cover both Welker and Randy Moss.

Player Pronunciation:

Junior Seau (NE): joon-yer say-ow
Jabari Greer (NO): juh-bah-ree greer

Cute football player(s) of the week:

Wes Welker, New England Patriots

 

Ha.

Darren Sharper, New Orleans Saints

 

With Melanie Fiona. Whoever that is.

FifG Game of the Week: New Orleans vs. Atlanta

New Orleans Saints [6-0] vs. Atlanta Falcons [4-2] (Monday 8:00 p.m., ESPN)

Why it’s good football:

The undefeated Saints are blazing their way through the season. They’ve had a power offense for years, but the defense is finally catching up. As for the Falcons, they had a breakthrough year last year with a rookie QB and rookie coach, and many thought they would take the NFC South this year. This could be their big chance to stake a claim against the Saints, if they are good enough…

Why you might care:

Well, if you don’t live in the South, you might not. But this is the first shot the post-Katrina Saints might have to win one for the city of New Orleans, so maybe you want to get on board with that. If not, well, this could be a high scoring game, and those are fun.

Football is just like Pop Culture!

Honestly, I am suffering from post-Europe trip jet lag. Meaning my brain is unable to come up with anything clever. Anything at all. Which is why I will just remind you that the Saints’ Reggie Bush is something of a pop-culture fixture. Like, seriously, this is news?

So long as things are "awesome" with Kim K, Reggie will be in pop news. Which, based on the above, is ok.

Boyfriend/Husband/Dad/Other will be so impressed!

Conversation Starters:

-Why do you think Michael Turner is slumping this year? Too many touches last season?

- What effect do you think it will have that New Orleans fullback Heath Evans was placed on injured reserve this week? (Heath had 10 catches for 70 yards this year and 3 touchdowns.)

Fun Facts:

-The Saints’ defense has forced 18 turnovers and scored six touchdowns so far this season. Of those touchdowns, new Saint Darren Sharper has scored 3.

Player Pronunciation:

Marques Colston (NO): mahr-kuhs cohl-stuhn

Ovie Mughelli (ATL): oh-vee muh-hay-lee

Cute football player(s) of the week:

Lance Moore, Wide Receiver, New Orleans