Maybe I'll start actually writing here again...

I'm at least a day ahead of my recent trend of spotty posting here.

Let's start with the Wisconsin game. For the second week in a row, halftime adjustments seemed to make all the difference in the world. This time, though, it was less about taking a lead and getting their shit together than it was about reclaiming a game and finishing. While I'd prefer the Badgers play full games the way they have the second halves against Indiana and Minnesota, I'll still take shaky first halves, strong seconds instead of games like the Michigan or Michigan State game without hesitation.

I was pretty frustrated with the sloppy play of the first half, and I'll admit to feeling guilty, after the fact, of my "Are you fucking kidding me?" reaction to Kyle Jefferson's fumble. I mean, if I'd known he was concussed, I certainly wouldn't have been as critical.... Again, though, the fact that Wisconsin came out of the half and played capital eff football was good to see. (And while there will never, ever, ever be a play in a Paul Bunyan's Axe game that surpasses The Blocked Punt, the Pontiac Game Changing safety comes as close as any play I can imagine will.)

And now on to Green Bay's dismantling of Chicago; a pure, grade A, USDA prime beat down. One of my oldest, dearest friends is a Bears fan and it took every fiber of my being to not cockily shoot him text messages every, say, ten minutes after the game started. That's right, I took the high road. Like I've mentioned before, without NFL Sunday Ticket or the desire to drop $40 at a sports bar, I'm relegated to following the Packers on most Sundays by the internet and scoring game breaks. By this method, close games really try my patience. (And cardiovascular health.) Thankfully, the outcome of this game was never in question.

So, recapping, first and foremost, thank Christ Green Bay beat Chicago. Raised in a fiercely Packers supporting home, I still cling to the stance that a 2-14 record is fine as long as those two wins were against the Bears. Lovely Smith's tenure as Bears coach has been a killer, let me tell you. (Although I love the guy for two reasons: first, he's been rightfully cited by GQ as one of the most dapper dudes in the NFL, and second, he said at his first fucking press conference that beating the Green Bay Packers was his number one goal; Respect. The. Rivalry.)

Mostly, I'm glad that Ryan Grant played worth a shit in this football game. I can't imagine I'm the only Packers fan that was pissed that he and his dipshit agent had him sit out camp. Accordingly, I'm sure I'm not the only football fan whose reaction to the ESPN NFL Gameday commercial about global warming ("It's hot," "Like the NFC North's run game," "In a pass happy league, with Adrian Peterson and Ryan Grant, why not" or whatever; seriously, Ryan Grant's been a chump-ass chump this year! Consider cutting two or three versions of your dumb commercials so you don't look like assholes! And along that line, consider stopping the Antiques Roadshow-like ad after Keyshawn says "It looks like a cat." That shit's hilarious. Going on to say "Or a Panther," "And speaking of the Panthers, who do you like in the NFC South this year?" Because having Mort say "Well, historically, the team that finishes last one year, finishes first the next," doesn't hold water when you're talking about a division that's existed for six fucking years. What's historic about that? Get back to me when the trend continues for a decade, dick bird.)

Anyway, the reason I'm really writing today is that I had one helluva Saturday watching/listening to football. First, of course, was the second half comeback by the University of Wisconsin. Second, though, was the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (of Wisconsin, if the url is to be any indicator...) level four victory* by The Big Foot Chiefs which puts them in the state final. Is it hypocritical to be a big "booster" from 1000 miles away especially because I not only didn't play, but made fun of the football players when I was in school? Well, perhaps, but I'd contend that there wasn't a culture of supporting the football team when I was in school and the two years of pine-riding basketball that comprised my high school athletic career serve to indicate that my "suiting up" wouldn't have done much to improve the on-field performance. No, if there's anything that leads me to believe that "now" is different from "then" it's that there's currently a middle school tackle football program that didn't exist when I was a kid. My only introduction to tackle football was the two weeks after the flag football season that the A-team (which *fingernail polishing on the shirt* I was on in seventh and eighth grades**) engaged in. I learned two things from that: first, I couldn't run through the gauntlet, and second, that I'd definitely pay the price by trying to tackle Jake Ries at the two yardline after, as a d-lineman, I'd run the entire field - bypassing him juking the other linemen, linebackers, and secondary).

Anyway, last year's level two win was a school's best, and this year's level four win blows that one out of the water. As a Directv "Sports Pack" subscriber, I'm almost positive I get the upcoming title game televised, which is about a million times weirder than hearing my high school's football games streamed on the internet. Assuming the game is on tv, I'll be watching. And at the very least (and even if it is televised) I'll see about streaming it online (in case the tv feed cops out too early).

Much like the way I've been a bigger Badgers fan since moving away (separation making the heart grow fonder, and all that), I've grown an bigger Chiefs fan (at least football-wise, thanks Friday Night Lights*****). Since I'm afforded the opportunity to head back to Walworth at least once a year (Merry Christmas!) and the fact that, since Big Foot's athletic teams have gotten better and they've started printing them, I was able to pick up a white on red "Big Foot" t-shirt. Of course, I'm summarily forced to explain to all onlookers that "Big Foot" refers to Chief Big Foot and not the monster on an almost weekly basis....

* I think Entourage is a horrible, horrible show. Like, Sex and the City for douchebags. But worse. But still, I saw Kevin Dillon on Conan once and they talked about how his character, *shudder* Johnny Drama played a Viking whose catch phrase was "Victoryyyy!" and it cracked me up.

** The seventh grade ending in a one-tied-game tie for first place, the eighth an undefeated season and sole possesion of first place - which culminated in a school year ending presentation of an autographed football to our coach*** and a tearful speech, following.

*** Who, actually, is the father of one of the stars of Big Foot's squad, and whose presence in this post is both a testament to my unusually thourough memory as well as the fact that youth athleics coaches (and, in his case, history teachers) make impacts on young minds. (I'm not even going to get into the fact that the kid was born when I was his student or that his wife was also my high school PE teacher.... Well, not much, anyway.)

**** Although I will cop to going to a BFHS hoops game, when I was in college, with my old man and my granddad (RIP); the varsity squad was on the cusp of the state playoffs which didn't happen in my entire time in high school.