Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

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

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

I really should read my own blog.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

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

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

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

I was promised a recession.

This really is a full service blog.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

“woke” is the new caravan.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / So I Guess There’s Some Big Game Tonight?

Reader Interactions

282Comments

  2. 2.

    WaterGirl

    I know that there are two teams playing tonight, that Jill Biden is there in person, that one of the teams is her favorite team, and that Rihanna is doing the halftime show.

    And that, kids, is the sum total of what I know about this game.  Well, I know it’s football, too.

  4. 4.

    zhena gogolia

    @WaterGirl: Uncle Ebeneezer alerted me to Sheryl Lee Ralph’s performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” to kick things off, in my comment #1.

  15. 15.

    OzarkHillbilly

    I love the game of football. Always have, always will. But I’m not going to watch the game, the highlights tomorrow will satiate my jonesing. TBH, even if my eldest is a big time KC fan (and I am a big time Mahomes/Kelce fan) I can not root against the Eagles.

    I’ll find out tomorrow.

  16. 16.

    Brachiator

    I’m glad I skipped the 12 hour pre game show. I’m trying to skip the commercials. They are overproduced and ponderous.

    The pre production hype just before the game is unnecessary. People have already decided to watch the game.

    Okay. Enough gripes.

    Go Chiefs!

  23. 23.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: Is jesus in the ads?  Or does he have a stand-in?

    Also, did Biden end up doing the FOX interview?  (hoping not)  He’s  on a high after the State of the Union, I would hate FOX to drag him down.  Though they would love it!

  25. 25.

    Brachiator

    @zhena gogolia:

    Uncle Ebeneezer alerted me to Sheryl Lee Ralph’s performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” to kick things off…

    Very good performance. And she looked wonderful.

  27. 27.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Whoever suggested baking soda for crispy oven-baked wings, thanks!  Making some now.  Haven’t eaten yet but it’s amazing how much less grease there is.  I guess the overnight drying-out really makes a difference.  So much less mess.

  28. 28.

    CaseyL

    @WaterGirl:

    Biden is doing an interview, but he’s doing it with Univision, I think.

    ETA: I can’t find any word about this, so I think I’m wrong; I think I saw something about a Super Bowl interview he did with them back in 2020.

  31. 31.

    MisterDancer

    The AP College Board is finally pushing back on DeSantis and his shit parade of racist hate:

    We deeply regret not immediately denouncing the Florida Department of Education’s slander, magnified by the DeSantis administration’s subsequent comments, that African American Studies “lacks educational value.” Our failure to raise our voice betrayed Black scholars everywhere and those who have long toiled to build this remarkable field.

    It’s a long piece, and I think worth the read, although I cannot myself speak to how it resolves the criticism and issues their silence and appearance of capitulation have raised. I leave that to other, wiser voices.

  33. 33.

    Splitting Image

    Hmm. Two teams that were very bad for much of the Super Bowl era and easy to root for if you always root for the underdog. On the other hand, two teams with a bunch of obnoxious jerks as their fan base and easy to root against if you dislike toxic male behaviour. On the gripping hand, one team wears red and the other wears green, making them easy to confuse with each other if you’re colour blind.

    I think I’ll make some spaghetti and check in to see what the score was later this evening.

  35. 35.

    zhena gogolia

    Let me know when the halftime show is. I’m a little curious about Rihanna. I don’t think I’ve ever heard her sing a note. I saw her in Ocean’s Eight, and she was good in that, but no singing.

  43. 43.

    Omnes Omnibus

    FWIW I have absolutely no rooting interest in this game.  I am just hoping for a good, entertaining game.

  47. 47.

    MisterDancer

    @CaseyL: the situation around Biden, Fox and the interview for this year’s Super Bowl is…complex. This article is a decent summary: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/failed-negotiations-bidens-super-bowl-interview-fox-rcna70148

    To sum up, Fox was…likely to relegate the interview proper to their Fox Soul channel(?). And no, I’ve never heard of it either. It just sounds like a shit storm of bad intentions on Fox’s part, but the article gives the breakdown based on statements.

  49. 49.

    zhena gogolia

    @MisterDancer:
    The whole thing is worth a read. This struck me:

    We were naive not to announce Florida’s rejection of the course when FDOE first notified us on September 23, 2022, in a letter entitled “CB Letter AP Africain [sic] Studies.” This letter, like all written communications we received from Florida, contained no explanation of the rejection. Instead, Florida invited us to call them if we had any questions.

    We made those calls, as we would to any state that says they have unstated concerns about an AP course. These phone calls with FDOE were absent of substance, despite the audacious claims of influence FDOE is now making. In the discussion, they did not offer feedback but instead asked vague, uninformed questions like, “What does the word ‘intersectionality’ mean?” and “Does the course promote Black Panther thinking?”

    FDOE did not bring any African American Studies scholars or teachers to their call with us, despite the presence in their state of so many renowned experts in this discipline.

  60. 60.

    Another Scott

    @MisterDancer: Thanks for the pointer.  It is a good read.

    5. While it has been claimed that the College Board was in frequent dialogue with Florida about the content of AP African American Studies, this is a false and politically motivated charge. Our exchanges with them are actually transactional emails about the filing of paperwork to request a pilot course code and our response to their request that the College Board explain why we believe the course is not in violation of Florida laws.

    We had no negotiations about the content of this course with Florida or any other state, nor did we receive any requests, suggestions, or feedback.

    We were naive not to announce Florida’s rejection of the course when FDOE first notified us on September 23, 2022, in a letter entitled “CB Letter AP Africain [sic] Studies.” This letter, like all written communications we received from Florida, contained no explanation of the rejection. Instead, Florida invited us to call them if we had any questions.

    We made those calls, as we would to any state that says they have unstated concerns about an AP course. These phone calls with FDOE were absent of substance, despite the audacious claims of influence FDOE is now making. In the discussion, they did not offer feedback but instead asked vague, uninformed questions like, “What does the word ‘intersectionality’ mean?” and “Does the course promote Black Panther thinking?” FDOE did not bring any African American Studies scholars or teachers to their call with us, despite the presence in their state of so many renowned experts in this discipline.

    Since FDOE did not make any requests or suggestions during the calls, we asked them if they could share specific concerns in writing. They said they had to check with their supervisors and get permission. They never sent us any feedback, but instead sent a second letter to us on January 12, 2023, as a PR stunt which repeated the same rejection but now with inflated rhetoric and posturing, saying the course lacked “educational value.”

    On the day after Florida sent us that second letter, the AP executive overseeing the process of developing this course—the only AP leader who participated in the telephone calls with FDOE—followed up with the College Board’s FDOE liaison to ask whether we should ever expect any actual feedback from Florida. This is the response:

    “I don’t think they [FDOE] intend to provide any notes. My guess is that [the FDOE staff member] shared his notes with leadership (as he told us he would) and they shut it down. He might have even been instructed not to share notes.”

    We have made the mistake of treating FDOE with the courtesy we always accord to an education agency, but they have instead exploited this courtesy for their political agenda. After each written or verbal exchange with them, as a matter of professional protocol, we politely thanked them for their feedback and contributions, although they had given none.

    In Florida’s effort to engineer a political win, they have claimed credit for the specific changes we made to the official framework. In their February 7, 2023, letter to us, which they leaked to the media within hours of sending, Florida expresses gratitude for the removal of 19 topics, none of which they ever asked us to remove, and most of which remain in the official framework.

    They also claimed that we removed terms like “systemic marginalization” and “intersectionality” at their behest. This is not true. The notion that we needed Florida to enlighten us that these terms are politicized in several states is ridiculous. We took a hard look at these terms because they often are misunderstood, misrepresented, and co-opted as political weapons. Instead we focused throughout the framework on providing concrete examples of these important concepts. Florida is attempting to claim a political victory by taking credit retroactively for changes we ourselves made but that they never suggested to us.

    FDOE’s most recent letter continues to deride the field of African American Studies by describing key topics as “historically fictional.” We have asked them what they meant by that accusation, and they have failed to answer. The College Board condemns this uninformed caricature of African American Studies and the harm it does to scholars and students.

    In normal times, the FDOE would be forced to answer these statements. Given that Ron’s minions are a pack of liars, it’s worthless to do so.

    Voters need to impose consequences on the monsters or they will keep doing this crap, and worse.

    I hope class-action lawyers, and the US Department of Education and the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, are looking very carefully at these events…

    Grr…,
    Scott.

  61. 61.

    Elizabelle

    Don’t have a TV, and I am good with both the teams.  Hope the commercials and Rihanna are good.

  66. 66.

    HumboldtBlue

    Eagles gonna do that all game. Andy’s first mistake, giving Hurts the ball to open the game.

    Ooooo, magats gonna hate that “avocados from Mexico” commercial.

  67. 67.

    MazeDancer

    Tuned it to see Sheryl Lee Ralph and Chris Stapleton. Who were great.

    But watching Black men take the field to put their bodies and future health on the line while white people tomahawk chop was disturbing.

    When I was in ad biz, pre commercials being available in advance on YouTube, used to record the game. Fast-forwarded through the football to watch the ads.

  69. 69.

    mrmoshpotato

    Just because the Superb Owl and the Eagles are both birds doesn’t mean Philly needed to score first!

    Go Chiefs!

  71. 71.

    MisterDancer

    @James E Powell: I’m not interested in loving them, or any such entity.

    I am interested in ensuring such entities don’t further backstab Black and many other marginalized folx, given the current backlash against decades of progress.

    As I said, I’ll see what others who’s opinion on this come from places of trust and long study on these matters, to better understand the statement. But I’m also a realist, and know that I don’t need to give a fuck about someone or something, so long as they are willing to acts as accomplices against people and movements like what DeSantis is running.

     

    People’s lives are on the live. I cannot afford the luxury of honoring my personal emotions overmuch.

  73. 73.

    Dangerman

    Damn, that was awful easy for Eagles. Like hot knife through butter or TFG through a KFC drive thru.

    ETA : I like defense. So far, none apparent.

  76. 76.

    NotMax

    @Baud

    Wakanda question is that?

    Suspect they’re trying to shoehorn in the Black Panthers from 50+ years ago as a not at all subtle scare tactic.

  77. 77.

    Scout211

    @MisterDancer:

    This story states that Fox Soul was Biden’s choice.  One of the hosts is Vivica A Fox, who is a Biden supporter.  Fox canceled it at the last minute and it did not get rescheduled.

    The President was looking forward to an interview with Fox Soul to discuss the Super Bowl, the State of the Union, and critical issues impacting the everyday lives of Black Americans. We’ve been informed that Fox Corp has asked for the interview to be cancelled,” Jean-Pierre said in a tweet Friday.

    . . .

    For weeks, Fox News had been seeking an interview with Biden. But the White House never committed to one with the right-wing channel, with which the White House has a contentious relationship.

    Instead, the White House attempted to circumvent Fox News by trying to set up an interview with Fox Soul. An interview with the Fox Soul network could have allowed the White House a workaround to still participate in the traditional pre-game conversation with a Fox-aligned outlet without having to sit with one of Fox News’ anchors or reporters.

  85. 85.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @WaterGirl:

    I know that there are two teams playing tonight, that Jill Biden is there in person, that one of the teams is her favorite team, and that Rihanna is doing the halftime show.

    You know one thing more than I did: Was not aware that Dr. Jill is there in person, although as a Philly girl she would be, I suppose.

    Game is on (loudly!) in the background, as my landlord/current housemate/former colleague is watching. I’m paying as little attention as I can get away with.

  86. 86.

    Geminid

    @Baud: This may have something to with Denise Oliver-Velez. She was a big proponent of an intersectional political model. Now Ms. Oliver-Velez is a Professor of Anthropology at SUNY-New Paultz, but in her younger years she was a member of the Black Panther Party.

    I knew very little about Oliver-Velez until a year ago. Now that I’ve read her, I gotta say: she is one smart lady with a very constructive point of view.

  95. 95.

    Suzanne

    I just had some delicious nachos, made by ME because I am missing restaurants that end in -berto’s.

  99. 99.

    Soprano2

    @Geminid: Since you’re here, I wanted to tell you that Lucas Kunce is going to run against Hawley for Senate. I hope Busch Valentine stays out of it this time.

  100. 100.

    Another Scott

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    as my landlord / current housemate / former colleague is watching

    That has the makings of a very complicated home dynamic. Where are they in their current opinions on Ayn Rand??

    Coming up next on Disney+ – Living with Subaru!

    :-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  105. 105.

    OzarkHillbilly

    When I did a comment without being logged in, color didn’t work for me.

    You people have some seriously misplaced priorities. I mean, for Kristo’s sake, there’s a football game going on!

  113. 113.

    Another Scott

    @Another Scott: Interesting.  Multi-colored post in Visual Editor Tab was fine.

    On doing an edit, created color text fine.

    After posting, both original and edit are B&W.  I don’t recall that happening before, but I don’t recall trying to edit a color text comment before.

    Chrome on Winders.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  116. 116.

    Karen S.

    Watching with my dad who’s rooting for KC. He grew up in New Madrid, MO, so he considers KC his second home team, after the bad luck (Chicago) Bears.

    I’m sort of rooting for the Eagles but it doesn’t really matter to me who wins. I just saw one of the Jesus ads. The message of was for all of us to be “childlike” and that He gets us. Okay…

  118. 118.

    HumboldtBlue

    There’s the first stupid Jesus ad.

    @eclare:

    It’s very good, the flavors match very well.

    @mrmoshpotato:

    It’s easy to overdo the Old Bay, the only time you can’t use too much OB is when boiling crab.

  121. 121.

    Geminid

    @Soprano2: That’s good to hear. Kunce has the elements of a strong candidate, it seems to me. He could give Hawley a run for his money.

    Hopefully Ms. Busch Valentine has had her fill of elective politics.

  122. 122.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I put some Old Bay in my cornbread, it’s delicious.

    That actually sounded horrible and disgusting until I realised I was conflating “Old Spice” and “Bay Rum” into “Old Bay.”

  124. 124.

    NotMax

    Streaming service currently on must think I’m hyperactive (or else ate a large meal at Taco Bell). Putting what’s showing (French w/English subtitles) on pause like every five minutes to pop up and go into the kitchen to stir the big pot on the stove top.

  132. 132.

    Xantar

    An ad featuring a bunch of pro golfers would have a lot more impact on me if I actually knew any golfers besides Tiger Woods.

  135. 135.

    NotMax

    @eclare

    Big pot of curried eggplant. Deviates from the original recipe by also including baby carrots and sliced mushrooms. Once everything softens up enough and the crushed tomatoes are then added will not have to stir as often while it simmers.

    Personal favorite in winter, ladled over rice. Think it’s the first time this year have switched on a stove burner.

  141. 141.

    Soprano2

    @eclare: Well, Hawley actually lives in VA, so it’s an easy mistake for him to make. He’s supposed to be building a house in Ozark, but I have my doubts they’ll ever live there.

  145. 145.

    persistentillusion

    @Geminid: She was a big part of the early success of the GOS.  Her insightful commentary, from a point of view that was under-represented in the early aughts was inspirational, at least to me. I even went to the first NetRoots Nation con.

  147. 147.

    Another Scott

    @eclare: But you have to want to use ChatGPT!  It’s the latest and greatest!!

    Plus, how is MS ever going to beat Google if they don’t make everyone use it??

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  149. 149.

    NotMax

    Reminder, especially if you use Quickbooks. When the update for both Windows 10 & 11 scheduled for the 14th drops it will supposedly scour away the last vestiges of Internet Explorer. Following that, some versions of Quickbooks absolutely and unquestionably will glork big time (other programs may be similarly affected as well).

    If you use Quickbooks, back up any data you don’t want to have circling the drain NOW. (In fact, periodically backing up your whole system is always a good idea.)

  151. 151.

    Mike in NC

    We don’t follow football, but I remember about 25 years ago when we lived in a condo in Falls Church, VA. My wife sent me to the nearest 7-11 to buy cigarettes on Superbowl Sunday. The streets seemed deserted and the only other driver I recall seeing was wearing a turban.

  152. 152.

    Leslie

    Our grandniece had a dance recital today, and thanks to all the newfangled technology in the world, the whole thing was live streamed. So that’s what we’ve been watching.

    Now we’re tuned in to the game so we can see Rihanna in the halftime show. Thanks for the video of Lift Every Voice — damn, that was good.

  164. 164.

    Leslie

    @eclare: The clearest shot they showed did not reveal an unmistakable loss of control, and according to the commentators, it has to be unmistakable to overturn. Maybe there was something they didn’t show, but it makes me go hmm.

  172. 172.

    HumboldtBlue

    Rather underwhelming halftime show. And haven’t seen a clever ad yet.

    That was bang average.

    Uh-oh, magats are gonna be mad! They spoke Spanish in that commercial, Mexican Spanish!

  173. 173.

    Xantar

    @Soprano2: Rihanna is less than a year out from giving birth and it looks like her costume is just leaning into flaunting her belly. So I guess all the other dancers are dressed similarly as a result.

  176. 176.

    SpaceUnit

    Of all the lip-sync Super Bowl halftime shows I’ve seen in my lifetime, this is absolutely the most recent.

  179. 179.

    eclare

    @HumboldtBlue:   I have never understood Rihanna’s appeal, and I should.  I have had a TayTay earworm for the past several days.  And Bey is awesome.  But her music seems overly repetitive.  And worst of all in a halftime show, she can’t dance.

  185. 185.

    Another Scott

    @Wyatt Salamanca: Hehe.  I don’t need to be convinced.

    I’ve been a MS er, not-a-fan, since way, way back in the DOS days.  QEMU, Word Perfect, Quattro Pro, Turbo Pascal, Paradox, HP’s NewWave, etc., etc.

    Don’t get me started on how they crushed OS/2.  ;-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  186. 186.

    Leslie

    @eclare: She’s had some good songs, but that was an underwhelming performance, no doubt. She’s not in Beyoncé’s league, but then, who is?

    ETA if she is pregnant again, that could have affected a lot of aspects of the show, not least her dancing.

  191. 191.

    Omnes Omnibus

    Mahomes can still run, but I think his ankle was hurting as he did so. Not sure how much of that he’ll be able to stand.

  197. 197.

    Joseph Patrick Lurker

    When it comes to play by play announcing, can we all at least agree that Kevin Harlan is GOD?

  199. 199.

    Geminid

    @Omnes Omnibus: Illinois 13th CD Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski also had an ad poking fun at her own name. It was titled “Buttinski.” I wonder if Ms.  Protasiewicz got the same folks to do her ads. That seems like a good idea.

    She also made a good choice of an issue to center. That 60-40 referendum result in Kansas said a lot, I think.

  204. 204.

    Joseph Patrick Lurker

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Would you care to amplify that answer, such as what you don’t like about Kevin Harlan or who you prefer to listen to for play by play?

  216. 216.

    Suzanne

    Apparently RiRi’s publicist confirmed that she is indeed pregnant.

    Mr. Suzanne was watching and he said, “This feels like Super Mario Brothers” and I am already seeing Bowser memes.

  223. 223.

    Suzanne

    @Omnes Omnibus: So close to the end of my last pregnancy, I gained 12 pounds of water weight in a week, and I lost my footing one morning and fell on my driveway and scraped up my knee. The idea of being pregnant on one of those moving platforms makes me want to throw up.

  225. 225.

    Soprano2

    @eclare: Moderately so. Lots of restaurants closed early, and I’m sure WalMart is a ghost town right now. Good time to shop.

    I swear some people are almost crying right now.

  229. 229.

    CaseyL

    I’m following the game rather than watching it, and I want both teams to win.

    The whole time Philly was leading, I was all “C’mon, KC!”

    Now that KC has the lead, I’m like “Noooo!  Philly, do something!”

  234. 234.

    Soprano2

    @Leslie: No, you’re seeing the team KC fans have been watching all year. Plenty of time left, too. I’ve been impressed by the Eagles, I don’t know how they made some of those catches. It’s been a good game.

  257. 257.

    Soprano2

    I guess they decided not to chance anything and win it with a field goal. Can’t say I blame them. It was a great game for sure.

  260. 260.

    prostratedragon

    Felt anticlimatic as a viewer, especially with the call playing such a big role. Same result with a big 4th down play involved would been less deflating.

  265. 265.

    Soprano2

    I feel sorry for the people who have to clean up the confetti. Wonder what happens to the losing team’s confetti. Do they send it overseas with the t-shirts?

  266. 266.

    CaseyL

    Sounds like it was a great game. I may be able to catch videos of the most outstanding plays tomorrow.

    I wonder how many UFOs were shot down during those hours no one was paying attention?

  267. 267.

    Brachiator

    @Soprano2:

    I think that Tubi commercial freaked everyone out!

    It was a bit confusing. You really don’t want to have to figure out what was going on.

    Good game, even with the deliberate delays at the end. Good game play and good work by the coaching staffs. Not a lot of mistakes.

  268. 268.

    HumboldtBlue

    Holding call aside, it was the Hurts’ fumble that decided the game. He made on poor play, and it cost the Birds seven points. He was the MVP, four combined TDs and a 2-point conversion, he scored 18 points himself and was responsible for the pass for another six.

  269. 269.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    We were watching the Spielberg “West Side Story”, but I had the game on and muted on another screen. And kind of got more and more distracted by it, finally watching it with the sound on for the 4th quarter.

    Well, shit.

    Thus my sports fandom begins and ends for another year.

    (It is very quiet here in Philadelphia right now)​

    Edit: Spoke too soon. Hearing some anguished screams on the street now.

  270. 270.

    Jackie

    That’s the beauty of baseball. Gotta get that 3rd out. No running out the clock to win the game.

    Great game; but lousy way to win. But running out the clock is legal.

  274. 274.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Soprano2: That makes sense. I don’t have a dog in this fight, so don’t begrudge KC the win, but I hate it when games are decided by questionable calls in the final minutes.

  278. 278.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Soprano2: ​
      Not really, KC was going to score, but, absent the penalty, Philly would have had a little more time to try to work a miracle.

  281. 281.

    David 🏈 Mahomes! 🏈 Koch

    People are missing the most important fact and that is the Chiefs covered the spread.

    Now it’s on to the Draft and lets win there.

  282. 282.

    Paul in KY

    Thought Eagles were better team, but just 2 many mistakes. The fumble for touchdown & the long punt return. Also thought that KC running back had several very clutch runs & also survived a brutal hit.

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