Big plays

Some quick notes before we go out there and work like a champion today:

Back in the mid-90s, Ms. Rowdy, who is not much of a sports fan and never has been, caught an interview with Bill Cowher on the TV. Cowher's early teams were characterized by stifling defense and safe, ball-control offense. They had an annoying weakness: with a bounce here, a little luck there, and a 50-yard completion, another team could beat them after being shut down all game long. Witness that Championship game the Steelers lost to the San Diego Chargers. Cowher, probably thinking of that, was saying the team needed some big-play ability to get to the next level. "We need more BIG PLAYS," he said. Ms. Rowdy thought that was hilarious for some reason. For years, Ms. Rowdy offered that as her contribution to any sports conversation that broke out around her.

All hail the big play! We got big plays.

The Seahawks did not play like the second-best team in the NFL yesterday. On the other hand, that was not the best of the games the Steelers gave us in this year's playoff run. The early penalties on the Steelers' opening drive were a real buzzkill -- like someone turning on all the lights just when the party's getting started so they can look for their keys. The game played and looked more like your average 1pm Sunday game than it played and looked like an AFC playoff game.

The officials called way more penalties than I expected. I'll have to do the research some time and see if it is not the case that fewer penalties are called in the Super Bowl. Perhaps that impression was burned into my mind from Super Bowl XXX, when the Cowboys got away with everything.

Seahawk fans can complain about some of those calls, but there was nothing yesterday remotely like the Polamalu non-interception. It's a sorry reflection on the state of officiating in the NFL, that everyone watching the games these days expects to see the officials screw things up or make calls that scream "fix."

I did not like the pictures of the players with the Lombardi trophy. It creeped me out to see the Steelers mugging with a trophy they had not yet won. The best one was Cowher, holding it at arm's length and giving it a glare that said, "Why are they torturing me like this?" Players should have to win the big game before they are allowed to mug with Baby Lombardi.

Where was Terry Bradshaw? What a friggin' knucklehead.

When you are up by 11 points, there should be no passing on third-and-goal EVER. I thought we learned that lesson in that Denver AFC Championship game when Kordell threw the pick that went the other way & turned the game going into the half.

The Monday after the Super Bowl should be a national holiday.

Parade tomorrow. Enjoy the day.