Nikki Post: LOL

I was cleaning up my "Ray vs. Troy" folder on my computer when I found this picture. I don't think I posted it back when we were doing the play-off/Super Bowl pool, which is a pity because it's AWESOME. I won the office pool by a ludicrous margin because I was the ONLY person who picked the Ravens through everything! I even managed to get some of the spreads correct! Oh, sweet succulent victory. I shit-talked to everyone in our group, ESPECIALLY the IT Director, who was in second place but had won the year before.

Here we see Shawn giving me my winnings. I WAS going to have a picture of me "making it rain," but ultimately I wanted to get a picture of Shawn being sad giving me all that sweet, sweet, sweet cash. What did I do with the money? I'll be damned if I remember. Probably bought several rounds of drinks for friends or took mi novio out to dinner.

Jesus...what other Super Bowl photos did I not publish? Well...here are a few. What the hell.

Doing a (disgusting-tasting) purple vodka shot with my bartender Amy

KIND of a big deal at the game

Troy is such a sweet man! Always supportive

Nikki Post: GOOD NEEEWWWWWS, Everyone!

Oh, what's that? Someone's got tickets to see the RUMBLE OF THE SEASON ON THANKSGIVING DAY??!?!? While other suckers will be eating turkey and watching the Cowboys and Lions lose on Thanksgiving, husband (yay! I'm married now!) Steve and I are going to the game! My daddy has been working for MONTHS to get these tickets. When he finally did, I made the mistake of asking him how he got them. Daddy reminded me that I shouldn't ask questions about such things. It's the number one rule for Italian men: don't ask questions if you're not willing to perjure yourself about the answers.

This is the best wedding present EVER.

Gettin' Slammed by the Author of Dragons

Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin is a HUGE Jets fan for some unknown reason. As a man with a powerful voice and throngs of adoring fans, he took to the internet to express his disgust with the recent Jets decision to release "Revis Island" for two draft picks.

“It is hard to be a fan of the New York Jets,” Martin wrote. “They have hardly done anything right since Joe Willie Namath won SuperBowl III, and every time you think maybe they are finally turning the corner, they find some new way to screw things up."

OH, SNAP!

NIKKI vs. Troy?!?!

I can't wait until Shawn comes in tomorrow morning and sees this.

 

Shawn's reaction (the next day): "No. You're not allowed to play football." 

The GREATEST PHOTOSHOP OF ALL TIME

My boss Lyndsey has been teaching herself Photoshop and trying to boost her skills by practicing on her coworkers. I posted to Facebook a picture of me that she'd edited and asked friends what they thought of it so she could get some constructive criticism. Overall, the reviews were positive, although we agreed that my face had too many shadows removed, leaving it looking a little fake. My friend Shannon, with whom I worked at Loyola, suggested that I ask Lyndsey to Photoshop my head onto Ray Lewis' body. I passed the suggestion along to Lyndsey, and in two minutes, this is the masterpiece that she created:

This picture made me laugh so loudly and so hard at work that I cried at my desk. It's the greatest thing I've ever seen, and it's now my Facebook profile picture.

This Year is the Bills' Year...Or is it?!

I have a friend on Twitter (we bonded over our mutual love of tacos) who is a diehard (as much as possible) Bills fan. I sent him an article about how the much-maligned Kevin Kolb has recently joined my favorite underdog team, and these tweets were his reactions:

Shawn, on the other hand, isn't as my friend about Buffalo's chances of making it to the big game:

"Maybe it is the Bills year. Their year for what, I don’t know but it could indeed be their year. Maybe it’s their year to have more staff infections than the Cleveland Browns? Maybe it’s their year to get the #1 overall draft pick. Maybe it’s their year to throw more interceptions than yards? Who knows!"

Only time will tell if the Bills will return to the Big Show for the first time since I was a tiny child with no knowledge whatsoever of football, only the innate knowledge that the Cowboys were a terrible organization of terrible people and should be rooted against at all costs.

EDIT: One more opinion from Shawn: "My only other thought about this being the Bills' year is that the Super Bowl is NEXT year..." Oh, Shawn, so literal.

I'm Such A Forgetful Frannie

I've had these two links in my "drafts" folder for AGES but kept forgetting to post them here. I know it's incredibly late, but here's how my Ravens group got famous during the Super Bowl.

First we were on 9 News: http://www.9news.com/video/2140542795001/1/Watching-Super-Bowl-at-Denver-bar

Then we made it into Westword, Denver's alternative weekly: http://www.westword.com/slideshow/super-bowl-2013-ravens-fans-vs-49ers-fans-38739647/#37

If you look closely in those pictures, you can see me...in WAY too many pictures. Oy. 

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

For those who may not have watched Jacoby Jones rock the dance floor (according to fans; Len was particularly bitchy), here's a link:

While his "foot work & posture" need improving apparently, his hips don't lie; that man can DANCE! It was the sexiest dance of the night, and I'm saying that as someone with lady parts and NOT as a Ravens fan. I also thought that the pair integrated the Squirrel Dance seamlessly into their routine. The crowd went absolutely bonkers. The show wisely put Jacoby on last; they knew that Ravens Nation in particular and NFL fans in general would only want to watch him dance and then would probably turn the show off. I'd LOVE to see the dancer-by-dancer ratings for Dancing with the Stars; I bet the numbers went through the roof when he came on!

I can't wait to see how far our boy can get during this season of Dancing with the Stars; I hope it's far enough to win him his second trophy of the year!

Elite as F*ck

There's obviously been a LOT of talk (understatement) about the deal Joe Flacco just signed, cementing him as the Ravens' franchise quarterback. Some think he's worth it, especially after his playoff victories. Others think the Ravens are wasting valuable cap money on an "inconsistent" player. The pro-Flacco camp then counters with how much better Joe got after Cam was fired, and everyone agrees that firing Cam Cameron was a great idea.

As a paranoid Ravens fan, I'm worried that Fate will do something awful to screw all this up. I won't say my specific fears, as that will only bring the Evil Eye, and I don't have time to deal with that. All any of us can do is wait until training camp/pre-season and see.
Also, to hell with Tom Brady. };)

The Future of RvT

Shawn and I have been discussing for several weeks what to do with the blog now that Ray Lewis is officially retired. While he'll no longer be playing for the Ravens, he'll obviously still remain close to the players and personnel in the organization, and he'll stay in the national spotlight as a commentator for ESPN. It'll be weird to watch the Ravens defend the championship next year without him.

On the flip side, Troy is getting older too, and is hurt more often than not it seems. We haven't heard any rumors of him leaving, but the Steelers are over their salary cap (so far) for 2013, and he could be one of the veterans let go to make way for younger, cheaper players.

Shawn thinks we should retire the blog. It wouldn't be the same without the two-veteran dynamic. Who would we have replace Ray Lewis?! Little Ray would help us keep the blog's name intact, but he's not much of a shit-talker; he's about as nice as Troy is, but since he's younger, he's cockier. We could use T-Sizzle, who would have the same sort of energy that Ray brought to the blog, but it's less believable that he and Troy would "hang out" outside of games.

I'm so attached to this blog though! We've only had it going for a year, and I feel like it still hasn't reached its full potential. Then again.......

The Ravens won the Super Bowl. Ray Lewis was able to retire from the NFL in style and in victory. Perhaps this blog's story has come full circle? Maybe instead of focusing on the Steelers and the Ravens, Shawn and I could do topical conversations with various NFL players and coaches?

If anyone has any ideas, I'd sure love to hear them. I'll fill the rest of this week catching up on Super Bowl pics and news. (The Ravens group's celebration was featured in both local alt weekly Westword and on 9 News!) After that......

The Most Important Purple Friday of Them All

This is it. The final Purple Friday of the season. Two more sleeps (as T-Sizzle says) until the big game. Two more sleeps until the Ravens fans take over Choppers Sports Bar in Denver and make the walls shake with our cheers. And how are we celebrating? With the best damn Purple Friday around!

First up, my parents:

Here's Mom, rocking her traditional Purple Friday/Game Day outfit.

She's even got her nails all Raven'd up

My daddy just had a full hip replacement and was in the hospital today. Doesn't mean that Mom and I would let him get away with not rockin' the purple! <3

My first office job in Baltimore was at a spring factory in the county. Here are my former coworkers, rockin' the purple! (Front row: Darrell and Steve; from L to R: Tracey, Kelle, Wendy, Kim, Linda, Maria, Mary Ann, and Bonnie)

My co-hostess with the co-mostess for Sunday, Caroline, caw-cawing it up at her office in Denver

College friend Andrew has gone crazy and dyed his hair purple. (The "fu manchu" is left over from last year's playoffs.) He's in enemy territory - SAN FRANCISCO - so he obviously needs to show his pride!

Gordon in Scotland is ready for the big game on Sunday! CAW CAW

I went to get a burrito today from Big City Burrito on campus, and the cashier was a Ravens fan! Stoked I'm not the only one at Anschutz to rock the Ravens!

I posted this at the beginning of the play-offs, before we stomped all over the two best quarterbacks in the league. Looks like MY hope for 2013 came true! (Other hopes: sleep, a clue, money, an early spring, more jigsaw puzzles for the office.)

Should anyone else reading this want to get in on the Purple Friday love, just email me your picture, and I'll add it here. :D

My Mom is Adorable

You all may recall that my mom is a big Ravens fan. She works for a health care billing company, and to boost company morale, they always have special events like picnics, costume contests for Halloween, and Purple Fridays and Mondays during football season.

For the days leading up to the Ravens-Patriots game, her office decorated their cubicle areas by department and had a "contest" of sorts as to who had the best decorations. Here is the winning department, and some pictures of my mom and her friends.

How awesome is this?! Not pictured: a chunk of turf, like Ray picks up during his entrance out of the tunnel

"Me and my Twin" (Mom and her work friend Terri)

Mom, I don't think you're fully prepared to block for Joe Flacco in that position!

View from my mom's cubicle

Tailgating Our Way to Victory!

The Ravens fans from all over the world (thanks, Gordon, for letting me be able to say this!) gathered at 10:00am MST on the day of the big game to tailgate in the parking lot of a Baptist church a couple of blocks away from Sports Authority Field at Mile High. (Because blasphemy is the best.) As you already know, the day was gray and cold as a witch's tit (to use an underutilized idiom). That didn't stop us from playing cornhole, blasting some phat beats (including some Baltimore club music), chugging beer and booze, and huddling around the few heaters in the lot for warmth.

Good turn-out! There were even more people than pictured here.

Oh, thermal jackets. How I wish I owned one of you.

Cornhole!

Victory!!

Our "invisible" DJ? ;)

S-s-s-so c-c-c-cold-d-d...

Meatballs, crab cakes, and other hot foods provided by Captn Crabby

The next group of pictures are of some of our fans, getting drunk* and pumped for the game.

*The pregnant lady in this photo is obviously ONLY getting pumped, NOT drunk.

Pictured: Steve (back left), Sarah (front left), and Amy (right)

We're #1!!

One of these things is not like the others...hint: it's the dude in the Ngata jersey instead of the Ray jersey. ;)

My bro James is in the back in the O's hat! <3

Maggie with a COMPLETELY LEGAL beverage in a stylish brown paper bag.

We're a welcoming, open-minded group (except to Steelers fans), so we allowed these Broncos fans to hang out with us.

Reppin' the purple in a sea of orange

The only team that mattered to us that day. <3

An Important Message from the Baltimore City Police Department

My friend Kelsey lives and works in some sketch parts of Baltimore, so she receives email alerts from the po-po whenever something goes down in her selected hoods. This video arrived through that official email service the other day, and I've been saving it for today.

Shawn told me I'm (once again) the only one who put any faith in the Ravens to win this game. Fingers crossed my faith is rewarded.

Pre-PRE-Game Party - Ravens Fans Edition

Last weekend Ravens fans from all over - Colorado, Utah, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Scotland! - met at Stoney's Full Steam Tavern in downtown Denver to party hard. In addition to our usual Denver crew, we had a large contingent of fans fly in from Baltimore through the social group BMORE Around Town. Some of the fans even made it onto ABC 2 News in Baltimore. (My scene was, unfortunately, cut, which is balls, considering putting a girl in a pandahat on television would be AWESOME.) Behold the craziness of some of the best fans on earth.

The front bar, which ended up being PACKED by the end of the night

Small part of the back bar. It was also packed, but mostly with fans from out of town

Gordon, our Scottish superfan, was one of the people who made the news broadcast (obviously!)

 

Speaking of news broadcasts, this is the videographer who filmed an interview I did with ABC 2 News (the video of which I can't find, much to my frustration) about my role in convincing the Baltimore Orioles to make an anti-bullying video for the "It Gets Better" campaign. We thought we recognized each other, but the story was filmed a couple of years ago, and pandahat can be an excellent disguise.

Time to party!!

Steve, my adorable novio (in theory, that shirt is purple; it doesn't show well in the picture)

I have no idea WTF is going on in this picture.

Dave and Caroline, two of our Denver regulars

Rockin' the Joe Flacco jersey from his time at the University of Delaware (Go Blue Hens!)

Hannah is Dave's girlfriend; they actually met through the Ravens group! Here were are showing off our matching Ravens scarves.

Charlie is our youngest member and one of the greatest cornhole players our Denver group has.

For organizing all of our Ravens activities through the seasons, including the AWESOME "home game" weekend, the group present Nicci, a.k.a. "Mama Bird", with a Certificate of Appreciation.

Bill is second-in-command of the Denver group and also received a Certificate of Appreciation.

Here I am congratulating Bill with an awesome selfie.

I was given an award too - a Team Spirit Award for "Most Intense" (although I maintain that I should have been "Loudest" and our friend James "Most Intense")

When they asked me what superlative Steve should get on his Team Spirit Award, I suggested (and it was agreed) that he get "Most Patience."

We had to use Maggie's long(er than mine) arms to take this sweet selfie of us. She and I ALWAYS sit next to each other at the bar during games. We're intense like that.

INFILTRATED BY THE ENEMY!!

WE'RE COMING FOR YOU, NEW ENGLAND!!