play-by-play.

a grey and sluggish superbowl sunday afternoon does little to encourage me to do any actually useful work. this morning's downpour and gusty breezes have left the pavement dark and damp and the trees a little happier. a new month goads a new post for my invisible audience, and as i write, heavy clouds outside my window crawl their way across a huge blank canvas, and large black birds stamp the scene with wavering v's. chill tunes and a heater set to toasty keeps me comfy at my desk, while a muted television prepares me for the big game - xlii, forty-two for the numerus romanus challenged.

as kegs are tapped and snacks spread, living rooms become sportsbooks and promises are made. americans will stuff their faces with enough food to make this sunday the second most gorge-happy day after thanksgiving, and companies who can afford it will pay 2.5 million electronic dollars for thirty seconds of commercial time. tom petty and the heartbreaks will take the stage at halftime, and the safely-dull and fairly-significant performance will pass without wardrobe malfunctions, rain, or sexual ambiguity. old memories of superbowl sundays surface, and it must have been in 1990, when i watched my hometown team play the broncos. as an eight year old, bounding about the living room sofas, i had little knowledge of football outside of how to cheer. i remember drawing up a "bet" sheet, which allowed family members to pick the outcome of the game by checking a box; there were only three choices - 49ers, broncos, and tie.

in today's day and age however, my niners are consistently in the bottom rankings, and this afternoon's appearances by joe montana, jerry rice, and steve young, along with bill walsh's family, overseeing the opening coin toss, will only serve to recall long-gone eras of when the 49ers were kings of the gridiron. unfortunately however, those days have pass, along with my childhood, and today's game will break bettors' banks, set a new record as the most-watched superbowl in history, and prove that all underdogs deserve a treat for their efforts. blue 42, hike!

one should always play fairly when one has the winning cards.
: wilde.