Thursday, Feb. 04, 2010
Let the games begin
One of the things I look forward to at the beginning of each New Year is hearing the magical phrase: "Pitchers and catchers report Feb. 23."
Among baseball fans, those words signify that spring training is near and that the National Pastime is just around the corner.
But, oops, wait, it's still technically football season, so let's not get ahead of ourselves.
In case you haven't heard, there's a li'l ol' football game set for Sunday. Yes, it's Stupor Bowl time again. Another reason to drink too much, eat too much, watch way too many commercials, take a bathroom break during halftime and call in sick on Monday.
What about the football part?
Thankfully, on paper, this year's matchup - Super Bowl virgins New Orleans Saints vs. the battle-tested Indianapolis Colts - appears to be a pretty good one on the gridiron, too. There are many subplots, including the post-Katrina redemptive factor a Super Bowl victory could have on New Orleans, and the fact that Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning grew up in the Big Easy when his dad quarterbacked the hapless 'Aints in the '70s and early '80s.
Perhaps no other sporting event magnifies the social aspect of a game quite like the Super Bowl does, but if you think the party is over after Sunday, then think again sports fans.
To paraphrase Al Pacino in "Scent of a Woman," we're just gettin' warmed up.
Hoo-hah!
Whereas the Super Bowl caps off the professional football season, especially since the Pro Bowl was repositioned before it instead of after, other sports are mid-stream (basketball, hockey) and others are getting ready to rev up - i.e. racing.
So when do the Winter Olympics start?
What about the Daytona 500?
Are those Hootie boys coming back to the beach for their annual golf tournament?
When will the Myrtle Beach Pelicans throw out the first pitch (and offer $1 beer)?
Isn't the World Cup scheduled for this year?
To answer these - and many more - burning questions we enlisted local grizzled veteran sports writer Terry Massey to nail down the dates for some of the year's biggest sporting events. But it doesn't stop, there, because, this is Weekly Surge, not pg. 8 of your local sports section. With each event, Massey has also assembled party tips and ways to make your sports viewing a rocking affair, and bringing your friends and family together for comradery - and maybe some trash talking, too.
So forget those lame-o "how-to-throw a Super Bowl party" primers - if you haven't made your plans for Sunday yet, there are deeper issues at play and we can't help you.
But if you want to get the jump on planning your sports-related socializing for the remainder of 2010, then turn to page 10 as Massey compiles the "top 12 sports party planner for the year, complete with dates and ways to spice up the festivities to make every sporting event a hit," as he aptly describes.
In addition, we couldn't help ourselves and have rounded up the members of the Surge Bullpen to go out on a limb and make our predictions for Super Bowl XLIV, which you can read on page 13.
As for the Super Bowl's half-time show, the NFL (No Fun League) has booked another classic rock act in the wake of Justin Timberlake/Janet Jackson's Nipplegate wardrobe malfunction, but this time it happens to be my favorite all-time band, The Who. I won't bore you with my ruminations here, but if you want to read my thoughts on the bubbling controversy surrounding The Who's visit to South Florida, check out my blog at kentavo.blogspot.com/.
