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Friday, January 30, 2009

Flashback Friday: UNI and the Super Bowl

super-bowl-2009

I love football. As a matter of fact, I hardly knew what to do with myself last weekend when there were no games on to occupy my mind and provide a soundtrack in the background of my day. I mean, I like basketball... but it doesn't have the same sound, the same feel, the same fervor to me as football.

Living in Iowa during cold football seasons, I loved sitting in the stands under piles of blankets, drinking hot cider and screaming - not only to cheer on the team - but in an effort to expend energy and keep the blood flowing enough to stay warm. The excitement of high school football, small hometowns rallying behind kids that are living the glory years while they can, is infectious. Is it any wonder I'm obsessed with Friday Night Lights?

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But when I went to college at the University of Northern Iowa, I had no complaints when the cold air was shut outside of our great Dome. We all dressed in our purple and gold to cheer on our Panther's... shake our keys and yell as the sound of the Panther's roar boomed over the loud speaker. That's where we watched Kurt Warner play.

Yep, we at UNI love Kurt Warner. We loved him when he was our quarterback... he didn't get much of a chance to play until his senior year, but when he did he proved his worth. We loved him all the way to St. Louis and take pride in him as he leads the Cardinals.

Do you wonder who I'll be rooting for this weekend?

warner_cardinals

GO CARDINALS!

[I feel the need to apologize to my nephew, Alex, who may have a differing opinion on this game... but a girl's gotta be loyal...
steelers

22 comments:

  1. this will be my first time to watch the superbowl in america.

    we have a thrive tradition of watching and celebrating in style with our staff and interns in africa. but because of the time difference, it airs in the middle of the night. we tape it and then have our superbowl party on monday night. the only problem with that is it's impossible for me to make it through the day without hearing who won. even when i intentionally avoid news sites, people put it on their facebook statuses or mention it in an email and inevitably the surprise is ruined. i haven't watched a superbowl without already knowing the outcome in years.

    so this was gonna be my chance.

    now i'm gonna be on the road on sunday and might not make it back in time to watch it. i sure hope i do, because i'd love to watch one big game without already knowing who's gonna win it.

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  2. How cool is that? You watched Kurt in his college days. It's almost like you're kin to him.

    Did you have loads of fun yesterday, or what? It was fun to read all of the ideas your readers brought. How many pages is that list of ideas you have now?

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  3. Sara~ my confession for the day is....I don't get the "meme" part either! I just know that is what it is called..LOL.

    And it is not from being smart, but finally putting two and two together after seeing it all over blogland.

    Loved your football post today, I am sure everyone around here is expecting me to be planning the menu already for Sunday!

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  4. Right with ya there, girl! We LOVE our Kurt!! And to think I shop the store where he stocked shelves! My claim to fame!

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  5. Us too, Sara. An 8 x 10 picture cut from the Des Moines Register is the only item on the front of our frig door. My darling husband has Kurt Warner cereal boxes, magazines featuring Kurt Warner, and yellowing Kurt Warner newspaper articles. While you were in college and Kurt was playing, I was teaching and one of the kindergarten students was Brenda's son Zeke. Always tried to choose a book to read that had large bright pictures as he could see the colors. GO CARDINALS!
    Gail

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  6. Hey Sara, I'm an Iowa native too, and I love Kurt Warner. He has an amazing testimony. I'll be cheering him on with you. Blessings. Susan

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  7. Random. I loved watching Kurt Warner as an Iowa Barnstormer of the Arena Football League.

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  8. Okay - I have to fess up...I don't watch football, know nothing about it, and don't know who's playing this year - but i think it may be played here in Florida(?). If it is, and people are expecting warm sunny weather, they may be in for a disappointment. IT rained all night last night, and we have a cold front coming through. Nothing like you have, but sure not HOT!

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  9. I tagged you my blog for your artistic prowess. If you don't want to do a tag on your blog, you can post the pic on facebook. It says 4th folder 4th file, but I say 4th file of your photographed art. :)

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  10. I'm a Warner fan, also, so they're my pick on Sunday. And I love football (Go Bucs!) and baseball (Go Rays!)

    Libby's right -- it's cold and damp right now. (For FL, anyway)

    I didn't realize he was from Iowa. He's a terrific role model.

    Have a great weekend, Sara.

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  11. As you know the Cardinal's whipped my Falcons so I love the idea of them going all the way...
    The Husband pulls for the underdog...everytime. So we'll be cheering your QB on to victory!!!
    Do you have plenty of chocolate to nibble on during the game. Should I overnight some ?
    smooch!

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  12. I didn't think I'd see this day, but, I gotta go with Alex over you on this one. I risk getting smacked with a yellow terrible towel if I don't acquiesce on this one :)

    I would otherwise find it hard to resist cheering for KW ... regardless of the team he is playing for!

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  13. We aren't huge football fans but we will watch the game on Sunday. Its lost on my girls, though. : )

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  14. I am pulling for the Cardinals as well, but have a feeling the Steelers are going to win.

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  15. Aw Sara, I love ya but I gotta pull for my Steelers...I live in Ben Roethlisberger's hometown of Findlay, Ohio. Here's to the great American tradition of football and the Superbowl. And how cool is it that Bruce Springsteen is playing the halftime show!!

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  16. @vicky and bethann: truth be told, if it was ANY team other than the Cardinals, I'd so be cheering for the Steelers. My brother Jim has been a die-hard fan since he was little (Alex, in the photo, is his oldest son)... but my college player trumps my brother's team this year :)

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  17. I'm not really into football, but I totally get what you mean about the sound of a game on the television being like a sountrack to your day. The sound of a football game on tv just reminds me of warm, cozy, lazy afternoons watching a game with my husband (before kids, of course!) That was officially my "Sunday nap time". We would pick up carry-out for lunch every Sunday on our way home from church, and after we ate he would settle in to watch the game, and I would curl up on the couch to "watch" it with him ... but we both knew I'd doze on and off through the whole thing : )

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  18. I am yelling for the Cardinals while my boys(men) yell for Pitt...I believe the Cardinals want it more!! it would be so good to see them win!! so I will be twittering you occasionally during the game..since you will be with me in spirit! hahaha

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  19. Hahah I've seen so many posts about the superbowl! I live in NZ so I've never watched anything like it before, but the fans themselves sound as if they're as entertaining as the game! :)

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  20. Hi Gitz! I saw your comment over at Michelle's, and was going to comment there and thought ... "I should just comment on her site." So here I am! (and I'm sorry this is not even remotely football related)

    *Gitz - My Mom was more of an expert on Wilms than I am ... she created a huge network of people (many of whom are listed on her web page - you can send your friend there. There are links to other people dealing with it, and to one of her good friends who also had Wilms, Bren. Bren and her husband are believers, and also wanted to reach out to others going through it.) The prognosis for Wilms is much different now than it was in 1954. It is still a deadly cancer, but science has made great strides in combating it, and the survival rate increases every year. My Mom was the ... third? ... oldest living survivor of Wilms Tumor before she died. Also - they were just discovering the ability of radiation and chemotherapy to combat cancer in 1954 - so the doses they gave my Mom were huge. Much more than they would ever give someone today. Radiation and chemotherapy are still heinous things, in my opinion (since they keep on killing), but be encouraged that your friend's little girl will not go through what my Mom did. :) Definitely send your friend to my Mom's website for some encouragement - that's what she wanted it there for. And why we've kept it up since she died. God bless!

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  21. Hi. I've read your comments on other sites for a while and decided to click to your profile. You and I read a lot of the same blogs. I thought I'd leave you a comment. Happy Super Bowl watching.

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  22. :(

    Although I'm not a big football fan, I was cheering for the Cardinals. So close .... but it just didn't quite happen. But I guess your nephew is happy!

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