Superbowl Week - Brief Storylines

[dlgood]

Some random comments as the super bowl comes up:

1. Everybody Loves Jerome. Pittsburgh running back, Jerome "the Bus" Bettis, is from Detroit - the site of the game. He's getting the key to the city. He's had a long and distinguished career, is a model citizen and a great interview, and is likely to retire after the season. Also, his parents go to every game. Upshot - casual fans will probably think this "Win one for Jerome" type stuff is a nice story. Long term football fans are likely very tired of this story. Some will point out that, while Jerome has had a great career, and "The Bus" is a great nickname... Bettis isn't actually one of the best at his position, either this year, or over the course of his career.

2. Gillette Fusion. My buddy Adam has picked up the Gillete Fusion, the first Five-bladed razor. I'm not a fan of the single blade safety razor. Doesn't really get the job done. Two blades okay, three blades better. I've used the four blade Schick Quatro, and really I'm okay with the three blades. But, out of curiousity, I do want to see what's the story on this Five Blader... A quick glance says it's going to blow. But we'll see. If my boy gives me a review, I'll be sure to post it here...

3. Seattle has a football team. Despite 95% of the storylines being about Pittsburgh (Big Ben Roethlisberger, The Bus, Troy Polamalu's hair...) there is indeed a Seattle team. You might recognize them by the ugly solid blue uniforms. Maybe the Curt Warner era uniforms weren't the sharpest in the league, but they were pretty good. The current combo, though, is probably the worst uniform in the NFL.

4. Big Al is going to the game. Not that this matters to anyone but me. Big Al is one of my coworkers who I sometimes tailgate with at Maryland and Navy football games. Presumably, he will be skipping the "NFL Experience" in Detroit, and will go over to Windsor for the Eugene Robinson experience. Hopefully he will return with some quality swag and good stories (Big Al is a Steelers fan). Also, he might return with tales of a Seahawks fan sighting. My understanding is that they're quite elusive. I know tons of steelers fans. 'hawks fans a bit rarer...

5. Take the Seahawks and the points. Tradionally, most Super Bowls were blowouts. Big blowouts. Not so much in recent years. Superbowls 35 and 37 were, but 32, 34, 36, 38, and 39 were close. Despite a superior record, the betting line is moving in the Pittsburgh direction. So while I would predict a Pittsburgh win, I do think Seattle will cover. Expect something like Pittsburgh 27, Seattle 24.

6. This week's drabble challenge was "Fairytales". I didn't write one, but I did imagine the various stories told to Baby Connor in AtS-3. Angel, no doubt, relating "The Gipper" while Gunn talked about that time the Robbin Juice got on his White Bronco and rode away from the wicked Sheriff of Furman-ham...

Comments

[thelastgoodname.livejournal.com]

I agree that Bettis isn't one of the great running backs (and isn't anywhere close to being a great running back), but he is one of the best short-yardage backs ever. But that's not really a recognized category.

And the worst thing about Seattle's new uniform isn't just that it's an ugly style — it's also the color they've got. It's an Arena uniform, or possible an XFL uni. They're horrid, and since the Steelers are wearing road whites, we have to put up with the things again.

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

I was not expecting Pittsburgh to go whites and I'm not happy. I will disagree on the color though. It's not great but the road whites are okay and I can live with the blue if it were just helmet or just pants. The whole thing, though, is awful.

he is one of the best short-yardage backs ever. But that's not really a recognized category.

Generally because they don't have carries broken out that way, the way baseball statisticians have. So you can't have objective measures. Just recollections. I don't know if I've ever seen a better short yardage back than Gerald Riggs - the year he played with the Redskins, he had 11 touchdowns in just 78 carries. Bettis seems that way, eyeballing it... but again, I don't know if we have the measures. I can say that he's not as good in short yardage as Emmitt Smith or Marcus Allen, but they were superior players in every phase.

But I think that's a pretty good comparison in terms of the sort of player he's been. A Pete Johnson or a Gerald Riggs kind of player. What makes Bettis really remarkable is that he's been able to stay healthy and effective for so long - and to be an everydown player, which Johnson couldn't be. To me, Gerald Riggs was certainly a better player in his prime that Bettis was. But Bettis has racked up about 3500 carries and Riggs couldn't get to 2000. And that counts for a whole lot.

I do think you could still steal another year or two out of Bettis if he were willing to play that late-career fullback kind of role that Riggs went to after he turned 27. Probably the role Bettis would have had if Staley was healthy.

[ludditerobot.livejournal.com]

I use a Mach3. The joy of the Mach3 isn't the three blades, it's the fact that it's open to the back so that the hairs actually get rinsed out. This does not true of any of the two-blade systems, and is very important when you shave as little as possible, like I do. I want to hear what you hear on the five, though.

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

The joy of the Mach3 isn't the three blades, it's the fact that it's open to the back so that the hairs actually get rinsed out. This does not true of any of the two-blade systems, and is very important

Very true. Having many dress shirts, I have a surplus of pins. And I will, with a multiblade razor, periodically run a pin between the blades to unclump hairs when rinsing. I find this is marginally beneficial.