I have PFSD....(puf FUS dee). It's post-football seasonal depression. It's in the same family as:
Seasonal affective disorder - crops up during the season of fall-winter and disappears during the season of spring-summer. Probably due to the lack of sunlight.
See? That's dead-on. Spring-summer = happy because of baseball. Fall = good because of football. End of winter = bad because no football. A little *#&%$ sunlight would be helpful, too.
Here are some symptoms:
Extreme sleeping or trouble sleeping (yup)
A striking change in appetite results in weight gain or loss (I'm chowin down!)
Exhaustion and Tiredness (yes and yes)
Feeling of triviality, self - abhorrence, and inapt guilt (I'm so small...I'll never be a linebacker...I hate that AND I feel guilty about it!)
Acute difficulty in concentrating (what?)
Anxiety, impatience, and bad temper (Arrrgh, bite me! fast!)
Lack of interest and withdrawal from typical activities (except eating)
Feelings of despair and vulnerability (yes and yes)
Chronic thought of death or suicide (well...not that far...yet! Death to February!)
Low down self esteem is common along with depression. Similar are unexpected burst of anger (BITE ME AGAIN!) and lack of delight from activities that usually makes you happy, including sex. (Um...no comment and also that should say, "unless you're a guy.")
It says I only have to worry if it lasts more than two weeks.
How many days until spring training?
I might try...knitting. Or...curling...or...curling knitting needles. If I was Susie Homemaker, I'd redecorate the house. Then again, if I was Susie Homemaker, I wouldn't care that football was over and I'd have the house perfect so I wouldn't need redecorating.
What are some things you do to keep busy in February when you don't like basketball or hockey? Remember - this is a family blog. Family blog.........
The Super Bowl 'peripheral' entertainment was also Super. Alicia Keyes. was phenomenal. Jordin Sparks ignited the crowd with her powerful and flawless National Anthem. Tom Petty had the crowd in the palm of his hand...a great live performance moment...in the middle of the best Super Bowl I've ever seen. And then...there were the ads...some of best.
Vote here for your favorite Super Bowl Ad. I'm going with the screaming squirrels. Bridgestone rocks. It'll help you get through the post-football depression. As will a parade in New York City. = )
I don't know where to begin. How about THE GIANTS WIN!!!! I'm a Jets fan, but I love an underdog - and the Giants were about as big an underdog as you're going to find - a Giant underdog.
We went nuts...and we're Jets fans! My daughter's teacher is a Giants fan...I think he won't give them homework the rest of this week...maybe this month! She even saved him a Giants cupcake.
I don't know what the Giants defense ate for breakfast - whole cows...double mocha espresso protein shakes...double servings of Wheaties - but they should eat that every day next season. They were on FIRE! A D-Fence possessed! That last sack just said it all for me...the Giants backup def. lineman Jay Alford dragged the offensive lineman with him on the way to sack Brady. That's huge. D-Fence with a capital D. A capital FENCE, even.
Manning...what you can say about him...scrambling out of that potential drive-ending sack...getting grabbed by his shirt...chucking it up there...and David Tyree - OMG - catches it on the helmet!!! HIS HELMET!!! Then the toss to the corner to Burress...beautiful.
Manning said in the postgame, "That's when you want the ball in your hand..."
Amen to that, Eli. What a difference from last September. He's developed such a confidence and maturity that has been incredible to see.
They're showing people going nuts in Times Square right now on the local news. They've got the mounted NYPD down there keeping order, but people are going NUTS!
When the Mets won in 1986, I was in college. When they won, the whole campus went nuts...(a NY State univ.). I called home and held the phone out the window of our dorm...the noise was deafening. It was mayhem. Absolute mayhem.
Parade scheduled tentatively for Tuesday. This would be so worth the trip. I went to the Gulf War ticker tape parade in 1991...very powerful. Um, FoxSports...need coverage? I'd be glad to cover that for you!!! lol
Tough loss for the Patriots. Long way to come without the Super Bowl victory. Hardly a season to hang your head over...but tell that to them.
Congrats New York Giants...Giants fans...commence the mayhem.
Is this not unlike a pitcher's duel? Except of course, that pitchers are offense and this is all about defense...ahem, I mean D-Fence!!! (go Giants!)
Great game, I must say. Unless you don't like football because then you want to see touchdowns, but this is pretty cool stuff happening. Like Brady getting sacked. Often.
Uh - oh...Patriots are hitting their short game now...####. I knew I shouldn't have started to type...
Cool story in the Sporting News on side betting in the Super Bowl. Huge money in this. It says that outrageous side bets are expected to account for 10 to 30 percent of the total amount wagered.
People are betting on the coin toss, the first jersey number to score in the game, QB stats, number of fumbles, receptions - most anything that occurs in a game can be bet on.
I think this is probably appealing to people who don't like football. Maybe they should have more silly bets like...whose hair will be messiest when they take their helmet off. Which guy's socks will fall down first. How many times Eli will have grass stuck in his helmet from getting sacked. How many times in Brady actually looks nervous in the game (never). How many blood vessels Coughlin will bust whilst screaming at his team...or the refs...or anyone who looks at him funny. How many cameramen Belichick will plow over to shake hands after the game is over.
Sure, sure, New England fans are gloating, doing undefeated dances hither and yon. They might even be saying, "hither and yon" for all we know. But we New York fans wouldn't be caught dead saying it! Well, except just then, but that was just to make a point!
They might have won the Division...they might even win the whole Super Bowl...but when you're looking deep into the Food Bowl, New York would take them, hands down.
How are Pats fans going to celebrate? With baked beans? Clam chowda? Salt cod? Indian pudding? (that was completely self-serving...I wrote that story...and look for one on salt cod coming soon to a newspaper food section near you!) Got anything that's not brown or beige?
New York on the other hand - snappy New York hot dogs, Italian subs, pizza, meatball subs, pasta, steakhouse sandwiches, Buffalo (New York) wings, a rainbow of ethnic foods, ...no beige there. With Eli Manning in the house, they'll be Cajun and Creole foods on the menu.
We all know the Super Bowl is about the food...and I think we already have a winner!
Are you ready? It's like Christmas...did you shop? Where are you watching the game? Did you buy matching plates and napkins? Beer cozies? What will you wear? I'm stressed out and I'm just a Jets fan! And I've nothing to blog! Bloglessness again!
Someone clicked on an old post I made for the Super Bowl last year...a "Twas the Night Before Super Bowl" parody... I read it again...totally don't remember writing it! Read it here...
Now I'll have to come up with another one for our NY Giants and those other guys from that New England place with that what's-his-name quarterback...oh, the pressure...
Or a post on Super Bowl foods...that's always fun but they make me hungry.
Or maybe I'll just nap and you guys can write and I'll read it...I'd be fine...with...that....zzzzz..
I had to entertain the kids during the Giants vs. Packers game...so we made some mini-videos of their new Mighty Helmet Races....NFC Championship style!
Check out the silliness on our videos on YouTube. I have no idea who that impressive announcer is. ;-) And Joe Buck is as monotone as ever!
The first week of January is always a blur for me. Still recovering from the holidays, then New Year's, then my son's birthday and mine creep in before the hangover's gone. It's a four-week marathon. Leaves little energy to do anything else but ...watch the NFL playoffs!
How 'bout them Giants? I saw some of the game in between making snacks for my son's birthday party. For those of you who actually watched the whole game, feel free to fill in the blanks of my extensive recap. From the few plays I saw, Manning looked good. No interceptions. They scored points. They won. A good game. Anything to add? Please do. Cowboys next week. I'm afraid.
The Titans/Chargers game I saw in its entirety. That Rivers QB needs to chill a bit. I've never liked QB's who act out like psycho linemen. Sure, fist-pumps are cool, but don't go yelling on the sidelines at your team. Ah, whatever, they won anyway. I hope they give Tomlinson a big 16x20" glossy of his 2nd effort reach-over TD.
I'll "chatter" here because my "chatter is driving my hubbie nuts. = ) As is my ear-piercing screaming when the Giants do well. And I'm a Jets fan!
Can you believe this game?!! Was I the only one thinking they'd be playing the backups? NOT!!!
How bout that first play by Manning? Did that say "stick this in your musket, New England Patriots?! I could've done without the challenge on 2nd down...kind of a momentum killer, but I understood it.
Does Manning look oddly confident tonight or what? I just feel like he's channeling a little Peyton, a little Montana, a little Elway....well, even a little Eli - the Eli the Giants have been waiting for. I guess it took a Week 16 game that doesn't really matter in the big picture, except to the Pats who want to go undefeated...and Brady who wants to break a record...or maybe even Giants fans who just like to be the spoilers.
Call me crazy, but I didn't really think you could have a whole slew of NFL players just shut it down for a week because they want to preserve themselves for the playoffs. How do you do that exactly as a competitor? You can't take a week off. You can't turn off the switch for a week, then turn it back on next time. This is the N Frickin L...you can't just play for fun.
And how bout the Giants' Boss? Rookie! Rookie!! I hope someone buys that guy a side of cow tonight. He deserves it for making the big plays as the new guy. Well done.
Well, the second half is on. Time to find my husband some earplugs and grab another beer. Go Giants!
I don’t know why this surprised me when I read it in the NY Times today. Women at Jets home games are harassed by “men” in certain areas of the pedestrian walkways. Flash your breasts or get spit on and have beer bottles tossed at you from above.
Nice.
Security won’t stop them because of “freedom of speech” issues. How about freedom from harassment? That’s not protected? Freedom from assault, perhaps? Degredation? How about basic respect? That’s not protected at a Jets game, apparently. Human decency is suspended for those 4 quarters if you’re wearing the green and you have man-parts. I'm thinking the security guards enjoy the show.
It seems it takes two to tango. Some women flash spontaneously. I'm thinking that doesn't really help.
I went to a Jets game once. Once. From the moment my husband and I arrived at the stadium, we were harassed by the fans. My husband because he wore a ski hat that had Giants blue on it. Me because, well, I was a woman. Some little kid near us with a Colts jacket was harassed - cursed at, stuff thrown at him - because he was wearing the colors of his team in the wrong neck of the woods. He was about 10 years old. Nice.
I say the Jets are my team because my family cheered for the Jets. The Jets fans, however, I am not a fan of. How can I be, when fans from my hometown prefer harassment over the game, “This is the game,” said Patrick Scofield, a 20-year-old from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., who has attended several Jets games the last two seasons.
Note to Self: Warn 20-something year old friends not to ever date the likes of Patrick Scofield from Poughkeepsie.
2nd Note to Self: Never attend another Jets game if you paid me until the Jets front office gets their act together.
I hear the Giants games are free from this halftime "experience."
Boston sweeps. I should be happier as a temporary fan, perhaps even used an exclamation point. But really, I'm not happy. Baseball's over. Over!!! I really, really wanted it to go to seven games. I wanted them to win in Boston, not to mention, how sad were the Rockies guys? Hate when they show that. Big Matt Holliday striking out is about as sad a thing as you're ever going to see in baseball.
Boston earned this, didn't they? You never saw them looking intimidated...never down, never lost their intensity. Boston had Beckett, big bats (.333 average!) and...bubblegum. Bubblegum on the baseball cap in Game 4? That's a good clubhouse attitude. Even the Boston pitchers were hitting. Kudos to Mike Lowell - I love that guy. Who wouldn't want a whole clubhouse of Mike Lowell's? I could think of worse. Which brings us to...
A-Rod. A-Rod...where you headed? If it's Boston - ouch. Maybe you should get a timely hammy-pull for the NY home games. Also, whatever. Boston's used to those kinds of salaries, sure, but if we're talking team chemistry, I think he's too much of an individual ego for that place. They've already got Manny. You don't need two...
Two....Does London need two NFL teams tearing up their futbol pitch? I think not. Did anyone care? See for yourself. When my hubbie and I lived in London, we used to watch games during the midnight shift. They'd show the games edited to a shorter, more action-packed game. No time to get snacks, in other words. The Brits looked bored. I'm thinking the American ex-pats were loving it.
Pats? Is that a 52 in the score?? Fifty-two?! It's an all-New England sports year...could this be a good omen for the Celtics, those boys in green??
Green? Gang Green is looking pretty gangrene this weekend. Oh, my Jets..my Jets! Three points. T-h-r-e-e. Chad. Sorry, man. They benched him in the 4th quarter and of course, Clemens looked wonderful. The defense was surely adjusting to the new QB, making him look that much better, but still. Methinks they're going to make the switch. Chad! Do pushups! Think Elway! Think bullet/rocket!
The rockets will be flying in Boston upon their return. It's close enough for me to travel to..and I do love a parade. Alas...I have to work and coach and laundry awaits and there's that Halloween-escorting trick-or-treaters thing.
Tough loss, Rockies. It was a magical season. Nothing to hang your heads about. Congratulations, Boston Red Sox! There's an exclamation point. And I meant it, too.
I'm earning my fan-scars this year, I tell ya. First the Mets - let's not talk about it - now the Jets. I feel like a whipping post (don't go there).
As much as everyone wants to, I can't see blaming Chad Pennington for everything. While offense under his leadership sputters, the defense wasn't any help. I saw a great run by the Eagles, one short pass after another in the middle...wide open, every time. Whose job is that? Why aren't they adjusting? The Giants sacked McNabb a ton in their last match-up, why are the Jets having such troubles. Same line protecting McNabb, so that tells me it's our defense.
Yes, there are questions about Chad's arm strength. He has to get the ball in the receivers' hands on the long big plays and he's not. But I have to believe if Mangini saw something wildly mpressive about the back-up Clemens, he would've made the switch by now.
Chad's a great leader and upbeat guy but when a team's losing like this, much of that blame is going to come to the QB and it looked like it was taking a toll on him yesterday.
It'd be nice to see Tom Jones get the ball a little more. A lot more. For goodness sakes, will someone give the ball to him! At least he's racking up the yards when you do.
Also, why on earth, will someone explain to me, does Tom Brady have ten years to throw the ball in the pocket? It's like he's posing for a picture, standing there, not getting rushed. I'm sure we could pile on reasons, reasons that start with c- and and with -heating, but still, maybe his offensive lineman are really that good? If so, I want them. And, maybe Tom Brady, too, if they come in a package deal. I think they can take naps for the next two weeks and wake up against the Colts.
The Jets have a chance next week against the Bengals. I think. Will they stay with Chad or try Clemens against the weak Bengals defense? Tune in later this week....
Apologies for the fluffy blog post on the sports site but hey, there is NOTHING on TV tonight. Nuh-thing. And I refuse to watch Yankees classics. Refuse. So I give you...confessions...
OK, first, I'm a liar. I'm really 41, but 40 sounded better.
I like comfortable clothes. Like Don Cheadle said in In Style magazine this month (sub-confession: I read In Style magazine. Gasp.), "I like functional clothes - if I have to run, tackle or kick , I could."
See? I lied again. I don't tackle. Regardless of whether my clothes allow me to or not, I don't tackle. Don't like tackling or being the tackle-ee. It hurts. Getting your body smashed into the ground at full speed really, really hurts. I did it once, the guy took his sweet time getting up off of me and that was enough. I think I saw stars. I can't remember on a count of the concussion...
I did, however, try to kick a football in a skirt once. Once. It was a midnight game in the diner parking lot, we didn't get the first down and I had to punt. FYI, you can't punt in a skirt with no slit. You kick, the back of your skirt will catch your other leg and up-end you banana-peel style. Just get the damn first down or throw the thing. No punting in a skirt.
If I was a guy, I'd like Catherine Zeta-Jones. She's hot. She golfs. She does like...scary stuff with a sword. And she has the Welsh accent. Name me one sword-wielding Welsh person who's unlikeable. G'head.
If I was a foot taller and had other parts, I could've been a really good quarterback. No really. I have a scary spiral. Unfortunately, I'd get compressed and become like...dead upon tackling and...I'm only good for short yardage. Like 20 max. OK, maybe I could've been a really good arena football quarterback.
I'm surprised I know what arena football is. I know it and I don't like it. It's really not football is it? They use the same ball, yes, but c'mon. That ain't football. It's like football on 'ludes. "Dude, they scored a touchdown...off the wall. Naw, man, I'm not kidding. But the field...man it shrunk! Naw, man, the players are just bigger! Whoa!"
I don't like that day after the All-Star break when there are no major pro sports scheduled. It gives me...anxiety. Sure, yes, they put some random sports on for us, but it's not the same. I spend the days preceeding that day worrying about what I'll watch. I might need therapy.
I love web-gems! LOVE THEM! I watched the Derek Jeter backhanded throw from the first-base line so many times that I could do it and make the call at the same time. I did it once in the Shea Stadium parking lot. A kid hit his wiffle ball near me and I spontaneously made the play avec the call then kept walking. He caught it and looked at the ball like the real Derek Jeter had tossed it to him. It was a good day to be a tomboy.
I ...I...don't care about winning as much as a I should . Whew, that was hard to say. Hello, my name is Carolyn and I don't care about winning. Really...I play for "fun." Like...just to play. It's strange and I realize I am jeopardizing my membership in the Official Tomboy Club, but it's true. I played tennis last week...my friend said let's just pretend to play a game. She knows I hate to play to win. So we pretended...she kept pretend score...I lost. I didn't care. I think that bothered her.
I lost my first (and only) baseball glove. My dad gave it to me when I was 12. He burned my name into it with a soldering gun. It was signed by Dave Concepcion. I broke it in. I slept with it. It was my only glove...ever. My palm stung when I caught a ball because there was no padding left inside. It got lost sometime after kid #2. I can't find a new one that's as good. I have to live with that.
I liked playing basketball with the guys because...they were....HOT. OK, fine, the hoops was good and they let me shoot without stuffing me to be nice, but man, some of them were soooooo hot. Sigh. Shirts and skins in 90 degree weather...wowsa. Having an outside jumper and being able to toss the perfect alley-oop pass had its perks.
Now, having an outside jumper gets me...kiddie coaching gigs. Fun but not for the same reason. At least they can't stuff me. But I still can't jam.
I like buying shoes. I have ten pairs of black shoes. 'Nuff said.
John Branch at the NY Times reports that Tiki Barber will join NBC's Today Show in April as a news correspondent and cover some football broadcasts.
What the--? I like Tiki...but, um, don't you have to be like...a reporter to be a news correspondent? I guess not. Yes, he's affable. Yes, he's good looking. Yes, he seems intelligent and is comfortable on camera. Yes, he's got great teeth. I just wonder what news he'll be covering.
"This is Tiki Barber live from....Iraq?!" I don't think so. Maybe it's sports news. Perhaps he'll just stay in the studio and chat it up with Matt Lauer. I'd be OK with that. But I'd rather have him talking football.
Sports doesn't have to be all numbers and stats and testosterone! I'll share a slightly different angle on sports.
I'm a mom in New York. Go Mets, Jets, Knicks and Rangers.
