Of Patriots, Pigskin, and Pokemon
Feb. 4th, 2008 02:15 pmSo Super Bowl XLII came and went, and while it was not the answer to life, the universe, and everything, it was enjoyable to watch. I'm not a big football fan, and in recent years I've usually just skipped the game and caught the commercials when they were posted online the next day. This year, though, with so much riding on the game for the Patriots in a historical sense, I wanted to make sure to catch it. I'm glad I did; it was nice to see a game that wasn't a blowout, and where each team had to fight hard for every yard and every point they scored.
As far as the turnout, what a twist. Completely not what any of us expected, I think, although the football-familiar contingent of our viewing group (which consisted of![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
evildennis , hidaman , richman1 , kei_neko , and myself) were much more familiar with the Giant's defense and weren't all that surprised by the outcome. The Giants certainly did their homework, though. Tom Brady and the Pats like playing a long-passing game where Brady's the linchpin of the offense. By constantly harassing him, keeping him off balance, and keeping him from landing those long bomb passes, they completely disrupted the Patriots' gameplan. On the other hand, the Giants short pass and running style kept them moving, kept them in possession, and - most importantly - kept the clock ticking, which meant less time for New England to try to turn things around. The play of the game, in my mind, was Eli Manning's escape from a near-dogpile and subsequent pass to get a first down, which then led to the winning touchdown.
As a result of watching this, I now want to take part inevildennis 's fantasy football league this fall.
On a side note, thanks tolaudre and I finally getting around to some Pokemon breeding that I'd been promising him for months, I've caught the Pokevirus once again. Last night during the game, I was back in the grind, literally, as I leveled up some pokemon for use in beating the final gym leader on Diamond. hidaman was kind enough to lend me an item that should greatly increase the efficiency of said grinding, as he knows my general hatred for pointlessly drawn-out level grinds. It's been a nice alternative to Phoenix Wright; I love the PW games, don't get me wrong - but playing through the third game just felt like "more of the same." I think it's starting to get a bit dull.
On the other hand, I'm eying a copy of Advance Wars: Days of Ruin now that it's out. Never mind that I've yet to beat AW: Dual Strike. Maybe I'll grab it once I finish the Pokemon League on Diamond, just so I can add it to the pile of games to finish.
As far as the turnout, what a twist. Completely not what any of us expected, I think, although the football-familiar contingent of our viewing group (which consisted of
evildennis , hidaman , richman1 , kei_neko , and myself) were much more familiar with the Giant's defense and weren't all that surprised by the outcome. The Giants certainly did their homework, though. Tom Brady and the Pats like playing a long-passing game where Brady's the linchpin of the offense. By constantly harassing him, keeping him off balance, and keeping him from landing those long bomb passes, they completely disrupted the Patriots' gameplan. On the other hand, the Giants short pass and running style kept them moving, kept them in possession, and - most importantly - kept the clock ticking, which meant less time for New England to try to turn things around. The play of the game, in my mind, was Eli Manning's escape from a near-dogpile and subsequent pass to get a first down, which then led to the winning touchdown.As a result of watching this, I now want to take part in
evildennis 's fantasy football league this fall.On a side note, thanks to
laudre and I finally getting around to some Pokemon breeding that I'd been promising him for months, I've caught the Pokevirus once again. Last night during the game, I was back in the grind, literally, as I leveled up some pokemon for use in beating the final gym leader on Diamond. hidaman was kind enough to lend me an item that should greatly increase the efficiency of said grinding, as he knows my general hatred for pointlessly drawn-out level grinds. It's been a nice alternative to Phoenix Wright; I love the PW games, don't get me wrong - but playing through the third game just felt like "more of the same." I think it's starting to get a bit dull.On the other hand, I'm eying a copy of Advance Wars: Days of Ruin now that it's out. Never mind that I've yet to beat AW: Dual Strike. Maybe I'll grab it once I finish the Pokemon League on Diamond, just so I can add it to the pile of games to finish.