Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Let there be snark.

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Come on, man.

Eh, that’s media spin. biden’s health is fine and he’s doing a good job.

In my day, never was longer.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

After roe, women are no longer free.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

T R E 4 5 O N

The willow is too close to the house.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / NFL Open Thread

Reader Interactions

93Comments

  3. 3.

    Cap'n Billy

    Thanks for Balloon Juice, John. Hope you and the critters have a great Christmas and New Year.

  5. 5.

    Steeplejack

    Right now I am suffering through two boring games, Vikings-Redskins and Browns-Ravens, thanks to the fact that I live in the D.C. area. And, while I’m still airing the grievances, in the summer I get every Nationals and Orioles game. Good times.

    I hope the 4:00 p.m. game will be better. I get Eagles-Cowboys. At least something will be on the line.

  6. 6.

    Martin

    Well, I’m fucked. There will be no Patriots game on the TiVo when mom arrives. I’ve done many bad and stupid things in my life, many ways to disappoint my mother, but this will certainly prove to be my end. Been nice knowing you all.

    In the event she fails to arrive, or I find a copy of the game for her to watch in the next 24 hours and manage to survive, it’s to be mid 70s here today and tomorrow, so Christmas dinner is smoked pork ribs and rotisserie chicken from the grill, cornbread, beans, and pie for dessert. We’ll do the standing rib roast for new years, but it’s warm and sunny and barbecue beckons us.

  7. 7.

    Ruckus

    I think this may be the longest time between threads in months.

    This feeling, what is it? I need a drink? No… I need to get laid? Well of course yes but that’s not it either…

    I know, it’s blog withdrawals. I need posts

  8. 8.

    Steeplejack

    @Martin:

    Isn’t there an Apple genius (or any other kind) available who can point you to some on-line stream that will still be available when the old bat arrives? Route it to a TV and tell her it’s a “special” channel. Problem solved.

  9. 9.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Martin: Well, I hope that your end is peaceful and fearless, and perhaps, if you wish real hard, Tom Brady can find a way to save you. He did after all, vanquish the Jeebus blessed QB of all time, the mighty Tim.

  13. 13.

    burnspbesq

    That’s why Darrelle Revis is the best cornerback in the NFL. Against any other corner, that’s a touchdown.

  17. 17.

    opie jeanne

    @zzyzx: Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

    Merry Christmas (or greeting of your choice) to all of you! I have to figure out when to start roasting the roast beast for this evening’s party. May you all be merry and bright.

  19. 19.

    Nix

    Yahoo Answers the Politics section is now a haven for Ron Paul supporters that believe the MSM is trying to smear Ron Paul, because he is so very awesome!!!
    ROTFL!!

    It is some really funny stuff.

  23. 23.

    Martin

    @burnspbesq:

    If she wants to see a well-played, exciting game, cue up USC-Stanford.

    Well, she really just wants to see Tom Brady, to be bluntly truthful about this. But she might appreciate USC as they will occupy the same plane of sports cheaters hell as the Patriots when that day comes.

    @Steeplejack: Actually, AppleTV has NBA, NHL, MLB but not yet NFL. My guess is Apple will provide at least some solution in the next year. I think I might have to resort to BT later in the day to solve this problem – and no, I won’t feel bad about it because if I could pay some amount to get her the game, I’d gladly do it – but the TV content industry is so thoroughly fucked from concept to execution that even with my 1000 or so possible cable channels, I can’t find any above-board solution to this problem. And being 3,000 miles from the game, even blackout isn’t the issue. Honest to god, why the fuck in this day of internet and micro payments and 11 kinds of streaming/on-demand video can’t I pay $x to someone to get a copy of this game delivered to my house?

  24. 24.

    BO_Bill

    So, anyway, here at McDonalds I sit. A guy just showed up by means of a Japanese pickup truck. Wearing a radio on Christmas Eve, obviously on call. Pounding two egg McMuffins. I dissent from two aspects of his decision-making-processes namely (1) I prefer domestic labeled vehicles; and (2) McDonalds lunch menu is less hazardous than its breakfast menu, and I would have ordered hamburgers. On the back of his pickup is a Ron Paul bumper sticker.

    It was my intention to ask him where one gets a Ron Paul bumper sticker. But, like the wind, he has already left.

    Now this elder from the 7th Day Adventists has taken his place. I know of this man, and he is a quack. Organized religion in all of its forms, be it the 7th Day Adventists, the Mormons, or the Progressive movement, need to be regarded with respectful caution. The Mormons are better than the Progressives as the fee is only 10%, and if you get in trouble, they will help you out. There are also many attractive women.

  25. 25.

    Hill Dweller

    My brother, his wife and children(4 and 7) have been here less than 48 hours, and I’m already contemplating hurling myself out one of the second floor windows.

  26. 26.

    Amir Khalid

    @zzyzx:
    Can’t say I’m too surprised. Apparently Rick Perry is not the only inept person in his campaign, and Noot’s lack of campaign organization has had pretty much the expected consequences. When a campaign org fails at a task this basic, you can’t escape the conclusion that the candidacy itself is doomed.

  27. 27.

    Martin

    @zzyzx:

    You’re missing out on the great GOP Virgina ballot meltdown. Only Romney and Paul will be on the ballot and RedState is going insane (I know, how can you tell the difference?).

    Because the guy I want to run the most powerful nation on earth is the one who’s not organized enough to get a bunch of signatures from people that actively want to vote for him.

    Politics aside, and in all seriousness, I wouldn’t hire these guys to work for me with this track record. I’ve got $9/hr employees that wouldn’t fuck that job up.

  29. 29.

    zzyzx

    It’s not that they failed, it’s that Red State is this incredibly angry over this and accusing Romney of knocking people off the ballot. The angrier they get, the better things will be for us.

  30. 30.

    Steeplejack

    @BO_Bill:

    I call bullshit. “Applebee’s salad bar” level bullshit. I have never been in a single McDonald’s that serves the breakfast and “regular” menus simultaneously. It’s breakfast until 10:30 a.m. (11:00 on Sunday, maybe on Saturday), regular menu after that.

  38. 38.

    Roger Moore

    @Steeplejack:

    I have never been in a single McDonald’s that serves the breakfast and “regular” menus simultaneously.

    Not to mention the suggestion that McDonald’s lunch menu is less dangerous than their breakfast menu. As far as I can tell, the only safe thing on the menu after breakfast is the fries. Their “burgers” don’t deserve the name.

  39. 39.

    MikeJ

    NFL open thread? Where on earth do they show high school debating on TV? (I was going to make a joke about the republican debates here, but they would be thrown out of a NFL debate.)

  40. 40.

    handy

    My not-so-limited (I am ashamed to admin) experience with Mickey Dee’s is that 10:30 menu change is a hard and non-negotiable break. Maybe in BoB’s world things are different.

  50. 50.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Amir Khalid:

    When a campaign org fails at a task this basic, you can’t escape the conclusion that the candidacy itself is doomed.

    I think it’s not such a bad way to weed out candidates who lack planning, organizational and research skills. If they can’t thread their way through the various state and party rules for delegates and ballot access (no matter how convoluted the rules may be — and no matter how much I may like the candidate’s positions*), I don’t want someone that inept running the country, TYVM.

    *Obviously not saying I like anything about Gingrich. I was actually thinking of Hillary 2008.

  51. 51.

    henqiguai

    @handy(#48):

    Is that before or after Harvard rowing?

    Heh. Haven’t seen that on the television box since Bannicek went off the air.

  52. 52.

    Mustang Bobby

    @Nellcote: Check out some of the comments on that signing statement thread. It’s like they have no clue that Bush used signing statements to basically say “Fuck You” to the bills. It’s hilarious.

    Okay, where was I? Oh, yeah; Dolphins leading the Patriots. This can’t last.

  53. 53.

    Roger Moore

    @Mustang Bobby:

    It’s like they have no clue are deliberately ignoring that Bush used signing statements to basically say “Fuck You” to the bills.

    FTFY. It’s another case of Bush II amnesia. Everything he did that’s remotely embarrassing to the Republicans has been written out of their memories.

  56. 56.

    Roger Moore

    @Mustang Bobby:

    Wish I could that with Bush II… and freshman year.

    Even if it meant you’d make the same mistakes you made all over again? That’s the problem with writing things out of your memory; you lose the valuable lessons as well as the painful memories.

  62. 62.

    MikeJ

    @handy:

    Is that before or after Harvard rowing?

    Grrr. Fuckwits think they own the river, absolutely do not care about sailboat races going on.

  63. 63.

    Bitter Scribe

    Steeplejack–It could be worse. You could live near Chicago.

    Turns out one quarterback and one running back were all that separated us from an exciting season and disaster.

    Yeah, that fuming at RedState is pretty funny.

  65. 65.

    birthmarker

    Congrats to Cam Newton on breaking Peyton Manning’s rookie passing yards record today.

    BTW you can stream NFL on FirstRowSports. Lots of ads, though.

  66. 66.

    smith

    Anyone watching the Giants-Jets game hearing the announcers kiss Chris Christie’s ass? Ugh, football telecasts are no place for politics, I don’t care if it was Obama sitting in the seats.

    Some good games today and some garbage. Tebow might lose to the Bills, Dolphins blow another big lead, and Cam Newton playing well again (of course his team has long been eliminated).

  68. 68.

    smith

    @Bitter Scribe:

    Tell me about it. The Bears are my team and 5 weeks ago the team is on top of the world and a sure playoff bet and fast forward and they are the worst team in football who can barely score. All because Cutler and Forte go down.

  70. 70.

    Hill Dweller

    The Republicans are obviously trying to inoculate themselves from any blame/responsibility/consequences for their actions after 9/11 by codifying their behavior. If Gitmo is closed and civilian trials continue to be our most effective tool in prosecuting terrorism, it will demonstrate to everyone that we can effectively maintain national security without torture and indefinite detention.

    No one–not the CIA, FBI, DoJ, DoD nor President–was asking for these provisions, save Republicans. Republicans never actually said how these measures would help the country. Instead, they just accused anyone who dissented of wanting to let terrorists go, and the spineless Dems folded.

    For the record, I’m not a fan of signing statements. Ideally, these things would have never made it into the bill, but that isn’t the case. I just hope the President, should he get a second term, either closes or goes a long way toward closing Gitmo, and solving the legal clusterfuck Bush left.

  71. 71.

    Hill Dweller

    The Republicans are obviously trying to inoculate themselves from any blame/responsibility/consequences for their actions after 9/11 by codifying their behavior. If Gitmo is closed and civilian trials continue to be our most effective tool in prosecuting terrorism, it will demonstrate to everyone that we can effectively maintain national security without torture and indefinite detention.

    No one–not the CIA, FBI, DoJ, DoD nor President–was asking for these provisions, save Republicans. Republicans never actually said how these measures would help the country. Instead, they just accused anyone who dissented of wanting to let terrorists go, and the spineless Dems folded.

    For the record, I’m not a fan of signing statements. Ideally, these things would have never made it into the bill, but that isn’t the case. I just hope the President, should he get a second term, either closes or goes a long way toward closing Gitmo, and solving the legal clusterfuck Bush left.

  75. 75.

    Maxwel

    Here we are, 4th and 5, last drive of the game, no timeouts, pass completion for -5 yards! Shurmer is brilliant! This is why he calls his own plays. In fact he used his last timeout to set up the play.

  80. 80.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    My problem with Tebow isn’t the religion, the evangelism. It’s that he really isn’t a good NFL QB. No amount of prayer- or any other type of wishful thinking- is going to change that.

    Now if the kid was trying to make a successful transition to WR, TE or RB, I’d root for him. I wouldn’t be his biggest fan (he isn’t a Packer, after all), but I wouldn’t bask in his failure, either.

  91. 91.

    passerby

    @Steeplejack:

    I don’t have a Festivus hangover (had a wonderful Festivus tho, and you?), but I am already working on my Christmas Eve hangover.

    Right now I’m stuffing the Boston Butt pork roast with garlic and rosemary. It’s cooking/football/adult beverages time.

    Peace on Earth, Good Will to All.

  92. 92.

    4jkb4ia

    Well, John, that game you saw was a perfect illustration of the whole season. I even booed the TV at my dad’s house when it was 20-0. Of the Jets let us not speak.

    /pretending everything is normal

  93. 93.

    Joel

    Justin Forsett really choked on that 1st down catch. Burned about 20 seconds for about one yard gained. Wasn’t expecting the Seahawks to pull it out, but after that play they really had no chance.

Comments are closed.