A saintly victory

We stayed by the television until the very end last night -- as far as football goes, that was a pretty exciting game, although I do admit to sneaking away to watch an episode of Buffy with the girls -- and this morning it's only fitting to offer huge congratulations to the New Orleans Saints and their fans. New Orleans really deserves this victory, not only for doggedly making their way through to the playoffs, but also because this win meant so much: If there's ever a big city that deserved some happiness, it's New Orleans. I wish all the little cities and small towns who have suffered so much in the wake of Katrina had football teams to win the Super Bowl, too.

So while it was a little sad to see Patr--...I mean, PEYTON and the rest of the Colts leaving the field without the victory they'd hoped for, it was still a pretty positive time. It was nice seeing Drew Brees in front of the cameras, a smile lighting up his entire face as he warmly and humbly thanked the fans for sticking with them. And seeing him hold his baby son? Awwww.....you gotta love the sight of a man holding his baby.

Half-time, though? Wow. Did I ever call that one right. Someone needs to set an age limit on who can perform at the Super Bowl. The Rock Gods of Ages Past just need to get some nachos and a beer and enjoy the show from their lift-recliners. My husband, who appeared to be traumatized by the show, was, "Someone needs to make them stop. Now. Faster than now." And I got an email from a younger friend today that seemed to sum it all up:

"The Who. As in 'Who were those geezers?' right?"

I usually pay attention to the commercials, but this year, I seemed to be up and doing something at just about every single break. Heisman trophy-winner Tim Teabow's "celebrate life" commercial was one I did see and it was so tame, I wondered what on earth had made those pro-abortion groups and "women's" groups so angry. Because if I hadn't known beforehand what it was about, I wouldn't have known what it was about. It was nice, but hardly the strident anti-abortion message I was expecting to hear.

E-trade, the online investments and securities firm, tried to score again with yet another baby-as-a-financial-wizard commercial and that was really, really cute a couple of years ago -- I still can't even think the word 'shankopotamus' without smiling -- but isn't it maybe time to get a new idea? I saw a Bud Lite commercial about a husband butting in on his wife's book group so that he could snag a beer and it was silly. And I saw one Doritos commercial that made no sense whatsoever, but I could never eat Doritos again and still live a happy and fulfilled life with no dragon breath, so I'm probably not the best person to judge.

There's kind of a weird after-the-holidays feel to this cold Monday morning. Yesterday was a fun day, staying at home out of the snow and the wind, eating lots of festive snacks. The merriment seems to have dissipated completely, concurrent with the alarm going off at 6:30. Ugh.