It's a Super Week

Quite a few things to talk about this week.

The number one thing in the news right now is of course Super Bowl XLIV, which will be played this Sunday.. I believe that XLIV means 44, but I’m not 100% sure about that.

I can always tell if a man is a real football fan or not just by how and where he watches the Super Bowl. You see, a real football fan isn’t going to a busy sports bar or a big party to watch a game like this. He would rather watch the game with a couple of his buddies, some good sausage links, a little homemade cheese dip, and maybe an adult beverage or two.

Plus if you watch the game around all those people, how can you hear the commercials?

The last few years I haven’t really enjoyed the commercials that much, but I think this year will be different. If nothing else, the controversial ones will keep me entertained.

Former Florida quarterback and NFL hopeful Tim Tebow and his mother are said to have a commercial coming out against abortioin. For the record, I believe that a woman has a right to do what she wants with her own body, and the world is already over-populated as it is. But I totally respect other opinions on the matter and can’t wait to see the commercial, if for nothing else the controversy that will follow.

Speaking of controversy, CBS dodged a bullet when they decided against running an ad from a gay men’s dating website. The way I heard it, the commercial went like this. Three guys were watching the game, when two of them reached for the bowl of chips at the same time. Their hands brushed each other, they looked in each other’s eyes, and the spit swapping commenced.

Again, for the record, I’m not gay. But I totally respect gay rights and think that gay people deserve to be as happy or as miserable as straight people are. I think the commercial would have been hilarious, but I can’t blame CBS for not running it. I’m sure they would have lost more revenue than the $2.8 million dollar spot would cover.

The other commercials that I can’t wait to see are the Miller High Life commercials. Miller is pretty much donating their two $2.8 million dollar spots to four small businesses, letting them get some recognition. What a great idea in this tough economy.

Since everyone knows I’m a huge sports fan, I always get folks asking me who I think will win the big game, or at least who I want to win the big game.

I’ll say this. I’m a pretty big Drew Brees fan, and since I’ve met his grandparents there in Franklin I’ve pulled for him even more.. They are two of the nicest people I’ve met in a long time.

However, I’ve been kind of turned off from everything having to do with New Orleans ever since Hurrican Katrina. I’m not talking about the food, the restaurants and shopping places, or even Marti Gras. That stuff will always be great.

I’m referring to all the people who were whining and complaining about how long the government took to get help down there after the storm. And the way that some people acted and behaved themselves when the going got tough. All the looting, the pushing and shoving in food lines, etc.

It’s the same reason that I stopped listening to the news when they covered the recent tragic earthquake in Haiti for two weeks non-stop. The sense of entitlement that people in New Orleans and Haiti showed made me want to throw up.

I’m not saying that those people shouldn’t receive a little help, I just believe that it’s not the government’s job to help them. That should fall to the Red Cross, churches, and places like that. Helping people should always be volunteered, not required.

It’s like I’m always telling my wife- my son will be fine when he grows up because I make him help me out mowing the cemetery or working some other way to earn his money. He has chores around the house, such as taking out the trash, picking up the newspapers, etc. And now at the age of eight years old, he doesn’t expect me to buy him anything. He understands that if he wants something he has to work to get it.

My daughters, on the other hand… well that’s a different story. My wife hardly ever makes them help out around the house, and they still get pretty much everything they ask for. With an 11 year old daughter around, my wife should never have to wash another dish or fold another towel.

Call me harsh. Call me a jerk. And yes, I know I’m going to Hell because I can’t stand to see someone expecting charity. What can I say? That’s just how I feel.

And because I feel that way… go Indianapolis Colts.