Though working this past Friday and Saturday night, I was excited to be given Sunday off to watch football and eat pizza. While at work on Saturday, a coworker called in and quit. Her problem was that she was supposed to work during the Super Bowl. The manager scrambled around on the phones to find someone to cover for her because that specific Sunday of the year is one of the busiest days in the life of a pizza man. After making calls and asking the other employees in the store if they would do it – they all said “no” – the manager made her way over to me and asked if I could come in and work until 7 p.m. I was hesitant at first, but just like when Joey and Monica got stung by a jellyfish on “Friends,” I stepped up to the plate when called upon.
Later that night, I ran into one of the coworkers who couldn’t work on Sunday, and she was simply amazed that “the biggest sports fan” she knows was going to work during “the game.” I told her that no one else could, and that it would be fine because I’d just be missing the first half, and definitely not The Boss. Also, I’d be working with the boss’s wife, and she and I always have a good time standing side-by-side in the line of fire.
I made it back to the television when replays of James Harrison’s interception return were run. On a side note, I agreed with John Madden: When Harrison was shown punching a player later in the game and was flagged 15 yards, he should have been given the boot. He’s been shown the door multiple times before anyway. Harrison had his best year this year at 30 years old, and I doubt he’ll play much better down the road.
The Steelers as a franchise now have six Super Bowl rings. Their slogan for Super Bowl XL was “one for the thumb.” What was it this year? It could have been the same, right? Who says one needs to start with the ring finger on an empty hand? They easily could have just been working from left to right, so now they’re on the right thumb. Next up is the pointer on the right.
Now I’ll turn to college basketball news. The Badgers seem to keep losing – a sentence that has as many words as consecutive losses the Badgers have compiled. I listened to last week’s game on the radio because I enjoy the way Matt Lepay calls a game, and I couldn’t help but figure the Badgers were going to fall short again. Northwestern had just come off two nice victories, and the Badgers haven’t won since playing Penn State – who bested Michigan State on Sunday at the Breslin Center. We need someone to make some big shots because having field goal droughts of over nine minutes isn’t too helpful toward a victory. We shall see.
I would like to take this time to extend a nomination to Jarret Johnson of Anderson University for the Dunk of the Year Award. I saw it on “SportsCenter,” and ran onto YouTube to send the link to a friend. I found myself repeatedly watching the clip because it seems as though he is still elevating at the top of his jump – it almost looks fake or like he has some type of Jedi ability. The crowd at the small school in South Carolina erupted like Pat Knight and went nuts. There’s nothing better than seeing someone get dunked on, and Johnson provides it to the Nth degree. The only better dunk I have seen was when Anthony Mason of the Bucks … never mind.
I’ll leave it at that this week. Make sure to watch the Pro Bowl this weekend because my favorite tight end, Owen Daniels, is making the trip. Maybe he’ll catch a ball deep in coverage and show how bad Nick Collins can be at tackling in the open field.
Until next time, may we pass each other on the stairs.
Torrin’s take on working through the Bowl
