NFL, anyone paying attention?

[Ghoulish Delight]

The Colts did precisely what they needed to do. They rode out the initial Chicago defensive onslaught just enough to come out with the lead. Manning then took advantage of the now tired defense to pad that lead. Then it was just a matter of waiting for Grossman to make a mistake. Voila.

As for my prior comment...if Vinatieri had made that field goal to end the first half I would have won $100 in a pool. Otherwise, I'm glad the Colts won. And I'm glad the first quarter/half were fun to watch, if sloppy. The second half was pretty boring.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I suppose that first quarter was to be expected. Every single playoff game this season had at least one insane play. Whether it was multiple turnovers in a row, a ball that bounced off someone's head for a reception, or whatever. It only makes sense that the Super Bowl would continue the trend, only tenfold. I guess the rain contributed to that but I don't know. I mean, you expect Indy to have a little trouble holding onto the ball in rain, but the freaking Bears shouldn't be having a problem with a little drizzle (did anyone else notice David Spade already breaking out the poncho when it was barely drizzling?).

And then there was Prince. 4 partial songs, 2 of which weren't even his?! Oh well, at least he stroked he used the giant shadow opportunity to make some rather suggestive pantomimes with his guitar.

[Gemini Cricket]

Which team scored at the kickoff at the beginning of the game?
Babette and I were wondering... in line at the Haunted Mansion with a queue of other people who had no idea either...

[Ghoulish Delight]

Bears.

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

Bears.

Ah.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Right after the game's over, you always see that the winning team is immediately wearing hats declaring them the champions. That, of course, means that two sets of hats are printed, one for each team. Someone told me yesterday that the NFL donates the losing team's hats to charities that distribute clothes and food and aid to Africans in need.

So there's some African village out there that thinks that the Buffalo Bills is the greatest franchise in the history of sport.

That actually got CP and I remembering the ill-fated Lakers "Three-pete" merchandise. After winning back-to-back titles in '87 and '88, Lakers "Back-to-Back" merchandise sold like mad. I had one of those shirts (you know, with the big-headed caricatures of the players standing back-to-back) and if you knew me and my parents at the time you'd understand just how big that means sales were.

So, having swept all 3 rounds of the playoffs, and playing against the Pistons whom they had beaten the year before, anyone and everyone was eager to cash in on what was sure to be massive merchandise sales. So they started early. The 3-pete (or "Back-to-back-to-back) shirts were out before the series started, if memory serves.

You can tell where this is going, I'm sure. Detroit swept the Lakers 4-0. That merchandise stuck around for a long time, showing up in thrift stores and crappy t-shirt places.

[Alex]

My understanding has always been that the other set is destroyed. I know that is what happened to the Blazers stuff that was made in the deluded belief that Jordan wasn't superhuman. I knew a person who participated in shredding the output (of at least one shop anyway, maybe it wasn't universal).

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

My understanding has always been that the other set is destroyed. I know that is what happened to the Blazers stuff that was made in the deluded belief that Jordan wasn't superhuman. I knew a person who participated in shredding the output (of at least one shop anyway, maybe it wasn't universal).

Don't know if it's true for other sports, but here's the story about the NFL sending the stuff to Africa (damn, they started in 1994 so my vision of the Bills-worshiping village is shattered).

With the Lakers, so much of the merchandise was already floating around before the games, much of it surely bootleg. I'm sure a lot of the legitimate, official merchandise was destroyed or donated, but there was a ton of it already out there out of the league's and/or legitimate shops' control.