Super Bowl 50

Like millions of others, I’m waiting for the Super Bowl to begin. I’m not a fan of either team, but I’d like to see the Panthers win, if only because Charlotte is 270 miles away – a 4-hour road trip – while Denver is 1,690 miles away – six 4-hour road trips in a row. Add to those 24 hours however much time you spend stopping to stretch your legs, gas up the car, put food in your stomach, use a restroom, and sleep, and you easily have a 36 hour road trip. Plus, I’ve lived in North Carolina. I’ve never lived in Colorado. I’ve visited the state, I’ve flown into Denver, I’ve driven across Colorado once or twice, but I’ve never lived there. So for this game, the Panthers will be my home team.

I recently watched the movie Concussion. The movie is based on a true story. In it, Will Smith plays pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, who discovers that football players that suffer repeated concussions develop a type of brain disorder he calls chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The symptoms are severe enough that some retired players have committed suicide. Now that the NFL has recognized that it has a problem, it is finally addressing it. Better helmets, rules changes, and closer examination of players who get hit in the head – all these things should diminish the number and severity of concussions. On-going and future research may enable team doctors to determine who is at risk and how much, if any, brain injury is present. I hope the research succeeds, because I don’t think this game is going away.

Time passes.

It’s halftime. It’s been a defensive game. The score is 13 to 7 with Denver leading. The halftime show is starting.

My halftime show thoughts:

Coldplay is on, Chris Martin is singing. Generally, I don’t like it when singers use Autotune, but sometimes when they don’t, I wish they would. Martin is squatting at the edge of the stage and people are reaching in and touching him. I can almost read their thoughts: “He’s real – I can feel him, I’m touching him. He’s not a hologram!” I guess that settles that debate.

Now Bruno Mars is on. What is his band called? Bruno Mars and the Martians? No, that would be too obvious. It’s “The Hooligans.” Bruno Mars is not his real name, you know. His name is Peter Gene Hernandez, but Bruno Mars is certainly easier to remember. You’ve probably already forgotten his real name.

Now Beyoncé is on stage (full name: Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter). Queen Bey is stealing the halftime show, showing Martin and Mars how it’s done. Gotta go, the second half is starting. More later.

Time passes.

The game is over. Super Bowl 50 is in the history books.

Earlier today I saw this headline:

Orangutan from Utah zoo that's a perfect 8-0 in Super Bowl predictions picks Panthers

The monkey picked the Panthers but the Panthers lost. The Broncos beat them 24-10. I guess the lesson to be drawn from this is: don’t get your betting tips from a monkey.