Super Bowl XLIV is already awesome.

I happen to edit stuff for a living, and the more I write this blog, the more I realize that I’ve not put any style rules in place at all. How did that happen? Like the title. Title caps? Sentence-style caps? I just do what I feel. Which I guess is freeing. Or maybe sloppy. One of those.

Annnnnnyway…

Who else is totally psyched about the four teams remaining in the playoffs?

I know Mr. Nielsen is, for one. After all, you’ve got a huge-market Jets team, two of the NFL’s most popular players (Manning and Favre), and a league underdog with a national storyline (Saints rebuilding after Katrina). People are going to watch this game fo’ sho’.

Here are the possible match-ups:
Colts vs. Vikings–Manning vs. Favre (or Battle of silent coaches: Caldwell vs. Childress)
Colts vs. Saints–Good guys of AFC vs. Good guys of NFC (or Manning and his unsung team vs. Brees and his unsung team)
Jets vs. Vikings–Favre’s old team vs. Favre’s new team (or Rookie QB vs. Anti-Rookie QB)
Jets vs. Saints–Big-market team experiencing Super Bowl drought vs. Smaller-marker team who’s never won before (or Big-time D vs. Big-time O… er, Offense)

I'll take one of these, please.

Me, I’m all about the battle of the good guys, as I’ve said for many weeks. But I would genuinely be excited to watch any one of these games.

What about you? Any favorite match-ups? Or are you just too excited about this weekend’s games to think that far in advance?

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.

Playoffs: Colts vs. Ravens

Indianapolis Colts vs. Baltimore Ravens (8:15 P.M.)

About the game:

The Colts are the #1 seed in the AFC, but they decided to rest their starters over the past few weeks (because they had already clinched the #1 spot in the AFC weeks ago). Which means that the main guys on the team haven’t played a real game in a long time. As for the Baltimore Ravens, they just completely obliterated the New England Patriots last week, so they are on a roll. Will the Colts win because they’ve gotten so darn much rest? Or will the Ravens win because they are on a roll?

Any Pop-Culture Connections for this Game?

So glad that you asked! Did you watch Roseanne? Great, then check out how the Colts and Ravens are just like Old Beck and New Becky here. Oh, and while you’re at it, why don’t you check out the Colts’ exceptionally cute rookies.

You know you're good looking when... THIS is a flattering angle. Colts Rookie WR Austin Collie

Who should I root for?

If you are an underdog kind of a gal, this one is all about the Ravens. They weren’t even a guaranteed a playoff spot until the last week of the season, yet they played amazingly well last week.

Then again, it’s easy to be a (Colts QB) Peyton Manning fan nowadays. The dude is sort of ubiquitous, but has a great sense of humor and knows how to not take himself so seriously. I think he’s one of the few athletes for which a Tiger Woods-like scandal would completely shake my confidence in humanity.

Also, if you are a Kendrank/Kankle fan (aka Kendra and Hank Baskett from E!), let’s remember that Hank is currently a Colt.

But if you hate Tom Brady (which many do), you might want the Ravens to win, just because the Ravens knocked the Pats out of the playoffs so humiliatingly early.

Playoffs: Wild Card Weekend, Day 1

So when I said I was blogging regularly I forgot that it meant I would have to come up with something to write. Details.

Two big games today, so how about a quick run-through:

Game 1: Cincinnati Bengals vs. New York Jets (Saturday, 4:30 p.m.)

Experiencing deja vu? That’s because these two teams played each other last week. The score was 37-0 in favor of the Jets, but this game is no sure thing. The Jets needed a win to get into the playoffs, and the Bengals had no reason to play hard last week, as their standing in the playoffs would not have improved with a win. Meaning, the Bengals played their D game against the Jets’ A game. This week will be A vs. A.

Conversation Starters:
-Do you think the Jets should even be in the playoffs? They played the Colts’ second stringers two weeks ago and a lame Bengals team last week!

-How do you think the sudden death of both Bengals’ defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s wife and injured star wide receiver Chris Henry during the season will affect the Bengals’ play?

-Do you think either team has a chance to make the Super Bowl this year?

Fun Facts

-FifG Cute Football Player of the Week is the only rookie QB who made the playoffs this year. (Though the Jets’ success is based mostly on the team’s stellar defense and their effective running game, under RB Thomas Jones and Nate Washington.)

-Bengals’ receiver Chad Ochocinco was born Chad Johnson. He changed his name to reflect his jersey number, 85, even though ocho cinco technically means 8-5.

More Mark Sanchez? Ok!

Game 2: Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys (Saturday, 8:00 p.m.)

Experiencing deja vu? That’s because these two teams played each other last week. The score was 24-0 in favor of the Cowboys, but this game is no sure thing.

Well, ok, last week’s game might be a little more telling than the Bengals/Jets game, because both teams had something to play for last week, and the Cowboys still killed the Eagles. On the other hand, the Romo Cowboys haven’t exactly set the playoff world on fire in the past (as in, they’ve not won a playoff game), and the Eagles have the DeSean Jackson/Donovan McNabb tandem that seems to make big plays at least a couple of times a game.

Conversation Starters:
-Do you think the Cowboys curse days are over–they sure had a great December this year?

-Rumor has it that this is Donovan McNabb’s last year with the team. What do you think about that?

-Which NFC East team do you hate most? (For me, it’s the Eagles, followed closely by the Cowboys. Tricky game to root for…)

Player Pronunciation

Gerald Sensebaugh (DAL): jar-uhld sehn-seh-bawh
Chris Gocong (PHI): kris goh-kong (and former FifG Cute Player)

Cute Player of the Week

DeSean Jackson, Eagles

Action Jackson

DeSean likes pretzels.

FifG Game of the Week: New York Giants v. Dallas Cowboys

New York Giants [11-2] vs. Dallas Cowboys [8-5] (Sunday 8:15 p.m., NBC)

Why it’s good football:Because the NFC East is the most popular division in football (see Pro Bowl voting), and this is a big chance for the Giants to prove that they have not been hindered by the loss of Plaxico Burress after last week’s less than stellar outing against the Eagles. This is also a huge game for Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys. They need to win to stay firmly in the NFC Wild Card playoff race,, and considering they were considered preseason Super Bowl favorites, it would be rather humiliating for them to not even make the playoffs. Romo was out with a bum pinkie for a while, but his return hasn’t had quite the impact some thought it would.

Why you might care:

If you’re a football fan, the odds are good that you are either a huge Cowboys fan or a huge Cowboys hater, and considering how crucial this game is to “America’s Team,” this is a fun one. Also, it’s on NBC, so everyone can watch. Because, really, Brothers and Sisters has just not been that good this year. And I was hoping they would Ephram or Jason Street to play Ryan–which would have made the whole premise of Ryan less stupid–but they hired this dude instead.

So, what I’m saying is, you’ll have the free time to watch the game anyway.

Football is just like Pop Culture!

It’s happening! It’s happening!

Shannen Doherty is getting kicked out of Charmed!

Read this awesome article, please. And this. Oh, it’s too good.

Owens still has one good comeback left in him. Right, Shannen?

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

Conversation Starters:

- Can Tony Romo win any big games? He sure seems to choke at the wrong time.

- Do you think the Giants’ loss last week was related to stress from the Plaxico incident, or did they just have an off week?

Player Pronunciation:

Andre Gurode (DAL): ahn-dray jur-ahd (I don’t usually feature offensive linemen here, but he’s a fellow Buffalo.)

Mathias Kiwanuka (NYG): mah-thī-uhs kee-wah-noo-ka

-Player name note: When I hear the name of Giants WR Amani Toomer, my brain goes right to Kindergarten Cop when Ahnold says, “It’s not a too-mah.”

This memorable catch-phrase has exactly the same number of syllables as the receiver’s name!

I recommend you do as I do, and every time an announcer says his name, repeat it like this: “A-mah-ni Too-mah.”

Cute football players of the week:

Jason Witten, Tight End, Dallas Cowboys

 

Jason Witten doesn't watch Charmed.

Witten and Mose Philips look away when 90210 comes on TV.

FifG Game of the Week: Um…

Ok, so things in Vermont are a wee bit busy, what with gorging on turkey and side dishes, skiing, and my new discovery of and addiction to Guitar Hero. 
So, I will just say that with playoff season near, now is the time of year that all thoughts turn to division wins and Wild Card spots. And with that, I encourage you to watch the following NFC battles: the Bucs vs. the Saints (In fact, take notes, and tell me how the game went since I’ll be flying home during the second half. Sigh.), the Giants vs. the Redskins, the Panthers vs. the Packers, and Chicago vs. Minnesota. Whew, you have a lot to watch.

In the AFC, you might want to check out Indy vs. Cleveland, the Steelers vs. the Pats, and Kansas City vs. Oakland. Haha, just kidding on that last one. Try the Broncos vs. the Jets instead.

Fantasy Note: Don’t play Plaxico Burress at wide receiver. He shot himself in the leg.

Cowboys? Redskins?

I think we’ve officially reached the point of the season where I’m supposed to root for certain teams over certain other teams based on the Bucs’ odds of making the playoffs. Cris Collinsworth (whom I love, and whom you should all love because of whom’s awesomeness) said that I should be rooting for Dallas on the pregame show. But I’m not sure I want to.

Being a fan is so difficult and complicated.

When the Redskins play the Cowboys, I root for the Collinsworth.