1. Super Bowl Party - February 6

The Super Bowl is more than a football game, it's more than a World Championship, it's like a matter of life and death, except more serious than that. It's also a major gambling and party event, and the best shindig in town is at Greg and Kathy's; has been for years.

In ordinary times, the week before the Super Bowl is all buildup to the big game. The media is abuzz as the press descends on Super Bowl City (Dallas, Texas this year) to generate colorful features about fashion, food, gossip, scandal and filth. But this past week has been anything but ordinary. Instead of Super Bowl frivolity filling television screens, we saw how Texas is slip-sliding though ice and frigid temperatures, bludgeoning patrons on the sidewalks. There was talk that the snowy weather will hinder people from going to the game because the airport has shot down to a crawl. Amazing!.......in a state of global warming no less……… I know, because Al Gore says so.

……..back to Super Bowl Sunday: We arrived at the party 1 ½ hours before kick-off, which gave us plenty of time to put our hard earned cash on the boards. You don’t need to know “Jack-Schitt” to participate in the betting, because it’s more like a lottery than point spreads and football statistics.

Both Dick and I favored the Packers, largely because Aaron Rodgers is a Cal Golden Bear and he has been lights out fantastic for most of the postseason. On the other hand big Ben Roethlisberger is nearly impossible to take down and has a knack for making big plays when it matters. Unfortunately, he also has a knack for sexually assaulting drunk girls (allegedly), which, in my opinion, negates his Super Bowl pedigree.



At 3:30 Christina Aguilera murdered our National Anthem with her own terrible spin and forgetting the lyrics. After two or three more commercials the game finally started. My hands were sweaty and my throat was dry. I intended not to hit the bottle before half-time but when they rammed several more commercials down my throat, I ran to the well.

The Packers scored first – it was 7-0. Then 14-0! WOW! We have a good chance to win here! Okay, the Steelers made a lousy field goal and the game stood at 14-3. At halftime Green Bay was ahead 21 to 10, and with that comfortable lead I was able to enjoy the delicious lasagna and another glass of Red.

The third quarter turned a bit violent. It seemed like the Steelers had thrown a couple of hungry lions into the mix, coming within 4 points. 21–17! Too close for comfort, so I poured myself a third glass of Red. Both teams scored again in the fourth quarter. It looked more like a bunch of crazy guys getting together to mow a big lawn with their bodies than a football game. Then time ran out for big bad Roethlisberger. Ultimately the Packers hoisted the Lombardi Trophy – and Aaron Rodgers took it home to Green Bay where it belongs. And the Pittsburgh Steelers went home with the booby prize. The final score was 31 to 25. In spite of the weather, Super Bowl 45 was a sell out, with an attendance of 103,219.

Aaron Rodgers was named the Most Valuable Player and Dick and I were happy as larks. Others used all of the "Thirteen Bad Words You Can’t Say On Television." That’s how the ball bounces.

The game itself was utterly exciting, but it was the food and wine and the people that trumped the Super Bowl. Thanks Greg and Kathy for being our friends and for a swell party.