Deals, Dollars, Apathy

Yes, I love football. The games, the stories, the excitement...

And I find it hard to care about the deals going on at this time of year. Who will be released? At least there is an opportunity for nostalgia and maybe even gratitude. But the match ups of just the right power player versus the franchise player versus the team budget... ugh. Not enough soul there.

The Report of My Perfection Was an Exaggeration.

I had a major fail today.  

The turkey. 

After a few days of defrosting and a dry brine, I put it in the oven to roast... and it came out horrible. I do not know if it was a freezer burn issue or it was bad before or after the freezer, but it was Not Good. 

And I found this out about an hour before the start of our Super Bowl party.  

As I broke the news to my spouse, I was sort of struggling not to scream. Instead I just had to laugh. Maybe a little hysterically. 

Then I found my shoes, got in the car, and went to the grocery store that was nearly day-before-a-hurricane busy. Marinated chicken fajitas and tortillas--mischief managed.

I got home and the turkey was still far too hot to toss. I considered a shroud. Yes, I mourned an entree.

Spouse made this note instead, reasoning that we didn't want our guests inadvertently snitching a taste.

In the end we had plenty of food and everyone was happy. And soon enough one of our younger guests put a pic of the turkey on Snapchat. "Miss Katy! Twenty-three people viewed my story!"

It Can Wait.

I had grand plans to make a wonderful congregational analogy post, based on the Packers game.

Then they lost.

Yes, it's just a game. 
And it makes me whiny.

So I ate thirteen extra-dark chocolate chips, and I'll come back to the congregational life stuff another day. 

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

Avoid distractions when writing.

You know, like football games, family, and the South Park movie.

Choosing Among Good Things

As a director of religious education, I'm pretty busy on Sundays--mornings and some afternoons.

This is not the best schedule for someone who likes to catch football games. It takes a VERY light Sunday for me to be home before halftime of the first game, and some Sundays I fall asleep even during my most anticipated games.

The playoffs make things a little easier, with three games beyond church hours. I may even manage to take my partner out to watch the Patriots game with fellow fans.

Too bad the game I most want to see starts at noon Sunday. 

Go Pack Go! (I'll check scores and try to see a screen when I can...)

Enemy Territory

It's football season and I'm a Packers fan.

I wanted to watch the Packers-Eagles game at a sports bar, so we headed to a new-to-us place... and realized that it was a place where all the Eagles fans hang out.

Uh-oh.

It was probably a good thing that I didn't wear my jersey or a hat or my cheesehead, but the first time the Packers scored, I let out a WOOOOT and my allegiance was obvious.

It was not an especially loving crowd, and a few guys would shout about the Packers sucking every time my team scored or made an especially effective play.  I kept from responding (this word suck--I do not think it means what you think it means...), but oy.

We closed our tab at halftime and headed to more neutral territory. Probably a very wise mood, as the Packers ended up with a thirty-three point advantage.

It seems a bit ridiculous to use such war words as "enemy territory" and "neutral territory." Fans 1400 miles from a stadium cannot control the course of the game. Whatever will be will be.

And yet, we feel the need to compete, even when it involves outcomes we absolutely cannot control.

Ah well...

The football season started this evening, when my beloved Green Bay Packers lost to Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.

The good news is, there are fifteen more games--hopefully things will come together.

And even if they don't, it's just football. Given the bigger tragedies around us every day, a lose on the football field doesn't even show up on the radar.

I might still be a little whiny tomorrow morning.