Monday, January 19, 2015

AFC Championship Day

The travelling part didn't work out quite as well as I had hoped.  I arrived in ATL on time, got my bag, but on Sunday MARTA doesn't seem to run quite as well as it does on weekdays.  It took longer to get to North Springs than I had hoped, and the Uber taxi ride to the hotel took longer.  I finally arrived just before 4:00 Eastern Time, which meant that the game was in the 2nd quarter and the Seahawks were losing 13-0 at the time.  Not good.  The hotel TV didn't carry Fox in the room, so I watched the end of the half in the hotel lobby, then took a hotel shuttle to a nearby sports bar where the game was on every TV in HD, and the place was packed.  I was still wearing my Seahawks jersey, so my affiliation was plain.  I found a space at the bar, and ordered a beer.

During the second half the patrons were pretty vocally supportive of the Packers.  Seahawk setbacks were greeted with jeers, and Packer advances were applauded.  My cheers for Hawk good moves were joined by a few, but I was definitely in the minority.  Still, it was a good game but Seattle was clearly losing, through about the first half of the 4th Quarter.  Then things started changing.  In 44 seconds Seattle scored 2 touchdowns, and converted a miracle 2 point conversion on the second, to score 15 points.  The score was now 22-19 in Seattle's favor.  The Packers were able to kick a field goal for 3 points in the final seconds, tying the score and forcing an overtime.

In the overtime period Seattle took the ball on the kickoff, and marched down the field in just a few plays, culminating in a 35 yard touchdown pass to win the game.  The Packers never touched the ball on offence.  According to the rules of the NFL, only if the Seahawks failed to score a touchdown on this first possession would the Packers get the ball.  A Seahawk field goal would not be enough to win outright.  They did score a touchdown, so Game Over, and Seahawk Win!  I high-5'd  everyone in my vicinity, and we sat and talked about what had just happened.  My iPhone Messages exploded with people checking in and offering congrats.  It was fun.

I called for the shuttle and made it back to the hotel.  I could get the Patriots vs. Colts game on TV and I put it on.  Honestly, I fell asleep after a bit, and woke up in the 4th Quarter to see the Pats on top 45-7.  Apparently getting up at 3:30 makes you sleepy later...

Anyway, it was a good day.  Seattle and New England in the Super Bowl.  It will take place on Feb. 1 in Glendale AZ, so maybe I should plan to go to the game?  Naaaa

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Getting Back Into The Habit

You can tell that I lost some interest in blogging, right?  Only 1 post in 2014?  I wonder how I even managed that many!

But honestly, I need to get back into the habit.  I need to take the time for personal writing and expression, even if I only ever hear from Rose about it.  Rose, I think you are the only one that reads my blog.  Thank you.

Today is Saturday, and I have the unusual schedule where I will be flying to Atlanta tomorrow on my usual 6:20 am flight.  I have a group arriving later on Sunday from Vancouver BC for a week's tour of sites in teh south, so I need to be there and be ready to go.  The good news is that I should be able to find a nice loud bar where I can sit and drink beer and cheer on my Seahawks.  I get to the airport at 2:00, and the game starts at 3:05 Atlanta time - 12:05 at the CLink Stadium in Seattle.

So here's to a week of blogging while I travel.  I hope I can find the time.  I should.