Sunday Night Football

As anyone who watched the entire Ravens vs. Patriots game knows, the ending was a nail-biter, made even more frustrating by stupid penalties, fake penalties, and an excellent icing-the-kicker call by Bill Bellicheck. The fans at my local bar were on the edges of their seats; some because of anxiety, and several because of complete drunkenness. (I was in both categories.)

As the minutes ticked by, and Joe Flacco and his offensive teammates stormed down the field towards the end zone, I couldn't contain my nervousness! Instead of biting my nails or drinking more (my usual reactions to anxiety), I did this:

That, friends, is your common drink stirrer, chewed to bits by my $10,000 teeth. (9 years of orthodontics.)

When JTuck (as I'm now referring to Justin Tucker, the Ravens' rookie kicker) kicked his second field goal attempt, half of the bar (myself included) screamed, "NOOOOO!!!" thinking he had missed it. The other half screamed, "YESSSSS!!!!" seeing the refs call it fair. I watched the replay several times, and I still don't think it went through, but then again, I'm not really qualified to make that decision. (Neither are the replacement refs! BOOM!) A win is a win, though, and I'm glad that the Ravens were able to squeak out a W for their teammate Torrey Smith, who lost his little brother early Sunday morning in a motorcycle accident. If you want a good cry, go to the Ravens website and watch the video of his "speech" to the team.

Hopefully, despite the awful officiating we saw on Monday Night Football, the Ravens - Browns game won't be as nail-bitingly close. I don't know that my poor heart can take it!