Superbowl Bound!

I was rooting for Brett Favre and the Packers to join the Patriots in Arizona on February 3. Perhaps this is remnant fondness from the Green Bay Replay book I worked on at Avon years ago (and how I wished I had insisted on attending a game at historic Lambeau then when the late Dick Schaap was able to get us tickets). In 1997, I organized a sweepstakes for all the Barnes & Nobles in Wisconsin: as I recall, each store got a pair of tickets which were supposed to be given to the salesperson who sold the most books. Most of the contests I tried to organize related to books were quickly rejected, and even that one was not supported by management but the stores were thrilled and very cooperative when I called them (confirming my theory that the farther one got from NY the more receptive staff were to promotional ideas, so long as they weren't overly inconvenienced).

In any case, Eli Manning and the Giants somehow managed to win in OT, much to my disappointment (although I have nothing against Eli). However, since the Giants are my former boss Dean's beloved team, I am happy for him and Will Pesce (Will has the good sense to root for my Blue Devils when he is not cursing - I mean, rooting for - the Giants). The local Boston media appears delighted that we are facing yet another NY team in an epoch contest. It is hard to believe they enjoy hanging out with the likes of the miserable Murray Chass but maybe they are softened by William Rhoden's acknowledgement of Bill Belichick as the genius coach of all time. I guess they realize the ongoing rivalry between Boston and NY will give them something fresh (?) to write about during the endless next two weeks. Despite my mixed feelings about Belichick and Brady, of course, I want the Patriots to win! And everyone loves Tedy Bruschi! I would have thought Tedy or Mike Vrabel would be the captain of the team but to my amusement I see there are SEVEN captains which seems like overkill.

Jeff Brown, don't you wish you had listened to me in 1992 when I urged you to ask Bill Belichick to do a leadership book?

Miss Manners has this advice for non-sports fans. If there are any besides my grandmother.