From the Inside Out

We watched the New Orleans Saints make history tonight. First, we watched the team play in their first Super Bowl game ever (considering the fact that the Super Bowl has been around for 44 years, that’s a big deal). Second, we saw them win! I know my Louisiana friends are freaking out this evening. It’s a long sought after, well-deserved reward for a team that has endured many struggles in recent years.

At first, things didn’t look good for the Saints. The Colts started off strong and built a 10 point lead early in the game. However, things began to turn around for the Saints in the second half after they chose an interesting play, an onside kick, after returning to the field from the half time break. The momentum seemed to change after that moment, and eventually the Saints prevailed. I guess Madden NFL has once again accurately predicted another Super Bowl win!

Thankfully the game was interesting because the other entertainment — Super Bowl commercials and half time show — was terribly disappointing. The Who performed during the half time show, and I’m sure at one point (back in the 70s) they were a good band, but why can’t the NFL get someone relevant (and from this decade) to perform? It would make the show much more interesting. The funniest quote I saw from the Twitterverse tonight was, “who are these old guys singing the theme song from CSI?” That pretty much sums it up.

The new commercials, which are one of the things I usually look forward to, were also sub-par. Most of them were snoozers. Only a few were even worth mentioning. I’d have to say that the Doritos commercials were my favorites — at least they made me laugh. The screaming chicken and Betty White commercials were also humorous. And, let’s see….yeah…that’s about it.

If you missed the big show and the commercials, you can judge for yourself using the Forbes Ad Viewer below. Watch the commercials and then rate your favorites.

Hopefully next year, we’ll see the Cowboys in the Super Bowl. That would definitely make things much more interesting!

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According to Madden NFL, a popular sports video game from Electronic Arts, the New Orleans Saints will be the victors during Sunday’s Super Bowl game in Miami. Now, if you’re like me, you are probably ready to dismiss this information as interesting but not necessarily true. After all, how can a video game foretell who will win the big game this weekend?

Well, it’s a little creepy, but the game has accurately predicted the Super Bowl winner for five out of the last six years. Even critics have to admit that those are pretty good odds! Here’s how it works. Each year, Electronic Arts puts the two teams into a Super Bowl simulation game. The computer plays out the entire game on its own, and this year, the results were as follows: Saints 35, Colts 31. The game even predicted who would win the MVP award, Drew Brees with three touchdowns and 299 yards passing — in case you were interested.

There are a number of factors that the video game can’t take into consideration — like injuries, bad calls, and nerves — but even so, it’s still been a pretty good indication of who will win the big game. The only Super Bowl it didn’t predict correctly was a major fluke that no one expected. So, unless something strange happens on Sunday, we might just get to watch the Saints win their first Super Bowl ever! Go Saints!

Gary and I were lucky enough to get two complimentary tickets to the final Cowboys game in Texas Stadium. The team will be moving into their new home next season, ending a 37-year run in Texas Stadium in Irving. Saturday’s game was an emotional event for many fans, players, and former players who hold fond memories of the time they spent in that facility. The night was more than just a game; it was the end of an era.

With that in mind, we were really excited about the opportunity to be part of that historic moment. We drove to the stadium area early and had dinner at Pappasitos. The restaurant was filled with lots of other Cowboys fans getting ready to enjoy the game. At a table nearby, we met a few fans who had an extra parking pass for the Blue lots. We jumped on the opportunity to bypass the long walk from general parking — the Blue lots are right next to the stadium.

Delighted, we finished dinner at 5:30 pm and headed to the stadium which, during normal traffic, would be about 10 minutes away. Thirty minutes later, we were pulling in next to the Blue parking lots. We thought we were making good time, but little did we know that parking there would be the “kiss of death.”

The two lane road that leads to the Blue lots was packed full of cars — cars that weren’t moving. Forty minutes later, we had only moved forward a few feet. The parking attendants told us it would be at least another hour before we could get parked.

We continued to sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic, baffled that it was completely stopped. I can’t believe how poorly managed traffic was. I’ve been to games before, and I’ve never experienced anything like it. I know the stadium was packed, but it was ridiculous. Tons of people were bailing out of their cars and walking to the stadium leaving only the driver behind. At 6:50 pm, I finally convinced Gary to leave and meet up with the rest of our group. It didn’t make sense for both of us to miss the game.

After he left, I sat for another 30 minutes barely moving at all. The one highlight of my parking nightmare was that I got to witness the balloon release that happened after the national anthem. Hundreds of blue and grey balloons rose through the open roof of the stadium and were eventually carried away by the wind. It was a neat sight to behold from outside the stadium.

An hour later, after circling the entire stadium in traffic, I ended up at Lot 5 (back where I had started 2 1/2 hours earlier). I knew it was going to be a historic night, but I had no idea that the historic moment I would experience would be a whopping 3 hours of gridlock.

Finally parked, I quickly made my way to the stadium — just in time for half-time. Neat.

Once inside, I was able to relax and have some fun. It was great to see the Cowboys play. And between plays, they would bring former Cowboys “greats” onto the field and interview them about their time playing for the Cowboys — very cool. Unfortunately, the night didn’t end with a win, but it was still fun to be a part of the last game played in Texas Stadium.

After the game, there was a closing ceremony including many of the Cowboys’ famous players and tributes to those who are no longer with us. We stayed for most of the celebration, until the brutal cold caught up with us (it was below freezing and the wind chill was even worse), then we called it a night and walked out of the stadium for the last time ever.

Farewell Texas Stadium!!

Below are a few pictures from the historic evening.

My view for 2 1/2 hours — so close, yet so far

Punting the ball after half-time

The stadium was packed!

So happy to be INSIDE the stadium!

Players and staff on the field as the game ends

Post-game celebration — introducing the Cowboys legends

More post-game celebration

Although I consider myself a Texas girl, I spent the first 6 years of my life in Oklahoma. At the young age of 6, I thought Oklahoma was the perfect place. I even threatened to move back when I became of age, but as I grew up I learned that Dallas offers more — much more. At some point, I left behind the childish idea of moving back to Oklahoma and decided to stay in Texas. I can’t even fathom living there now. Yes, I have become a tried and true Texan.

Yet there are a few things from my early years in Oklahoma that I haven’t left behind — a love for weekends at the lake and a love for the OU Sooners. When I was growing up, watching the Texas/OU game was a tradition. It was a link to my family’s past. It was the only time when I felt like an “Okie” living in Texas. The funny thing is that it has never changed. There’s one day every year when I stop being a Texan, and I get in touch with my past, my heritage, and the state of my birth. It’s also the only time that Gary and I cheer for different teams, which is interesting in it’s own right.

Yesterday, I sat down to watch the No. 1-ranked Sooners kick the No. 5-rated Horns to the curb. The last time Texas beat a No. 1 Oklahoma squad was back in 1963. This game should have been easy for them. Unfortunately, the Horns turned the tables on the Sooners and eked out a 45-35 victory at the Cotton Bowl — so much for me touting my Oklahoma pride yesterday. Oh well, maybe next year.

I put my Texas cap back on today and looked forward to a Cowboys win at Arizona. Maybe that would soothe my wounded OU spirit. We had the One Life group coming over at 6 pm, so we thought it would be fun to watch the end of the game together before we started the meeting. By the time everyone arrived, it wasn’t looking too good for Dallas. But, they came back at the end and tied the game with a field goal in the last 4 seconds. Yay…we were going into overtime!

A few minutes later, it was all over. The excitement was gone. The Cowboys had floundered just like my precious Sooners did on Saturday. I’m not sure what happened, but it was a bad sports weekend for my “past and present” teams. The only saving grace is that we had a great One Life meeting. It was a “winning” end to my winless weekend.

Unfortunately, the only Monday night game of the season fell on the same night as rehearsal for Saturday Night Life. Thank God for technology. We set the DVR and headed to rehearsal knowing we could watch the game later. Since many of the actors were also recording the game, we made sure that no one reported the score during rehearsal — we didn’t want to be spoiled before we got a chance to watch it.

SNL Rehearsals were fun; it was a good night even though we were missing a couple of actors. The sketches are coming along nicely, and some performances still provide laugh out loud moments even though we’ve seen them a number of times. It’s going to be a great show!

No one hung around after rehearsals were over. There was a mass exodus as soon as we dismissed. It was time to watch the game. The cool thing about watching the game on DVR is that you can fast forward all of the commercials and boring moments, not that there were many in this game.

The Cowboys played the Eagles, and they didn’t disappoint. It was an exciting game from start to finish. Dallas had a decent lead until Romo faltered and the Eagles scored 14 points in 14 seconds. Argh, not cool. From that moment onwards, the lead switched back and forth between the two teams. It was a high-scoring, nail-biting game.

In the last few minutes, the Cowboys took the lead and managed to hang onto it until the end. Whew, what a relief. We’re 2-0. Go Cowboys!

One of the funniest moments happened after the game. A female reporter was interviewing Tony Romo, and he mentioned his failure in the first half of the game. The reporter said, “You must be referring to the fumble in the end zone. What are you thinking when something like that happens?”

Tony adjusts his hat, smiles and responds, “Dang.”

Classic.