Sunday football fun-day! Week 1

Football season started today and I for one am excited! If you had visited my house today, you would have thunk you walked into a sports bar. Except I was alone all day. 

This is my attempt to write about my opinions on the games I watched today.
Disclaimer: I am not a football journalist! This is my blog, my personal opinion and my personal perspective.

Sure, I'll mix facts with opinion but if you're looking for a statistical,  play-by-play, re-cap of the game, I suggested you check your favorite football teams website. 

I have no shame to admit that I am a life-long New England Patriots fan. I grew up in New Hampshire, lived in Boston from 2002 until 2008 and I will forever be a Bostonian sports fan. 
I had the privilege to meet some of the players in July when they were guests at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Lenox 301. 

Joey Logano, driver No. 20 for Home Depot
hangs out with three members of the NE Patriots
July 2012
Photo credit: Genevieve

But- I barely know anything about any other teams. I couldn't tell you who the quarter back is for ..Miami, or the Jets or even the Steelers. I decided that this season, I'm going to learn and get to know other teams. I've got the NFL Ticket on Direct TV and I won't let it go to waste. 
I do want to eventually play fantasy football. So this season, the  promise I 'force' myself is to learn as much as possible and join a Fantasy League in 2013! 

So, without further ado, here's my Sunday football fun-day re-cap.

Patriots 34  v. Titans 13

New England Patriots traveled to Nashville for the season opening game to face off with Tennessee Titans. 
I missed the kick-off, shame on me. But it was obvious from the minute I turned the TV on,  the Patriots were the dominate team. Even after Brady was hit in the face and had to nurse a bloody nose, he was able to focus (as usual) and lead the team to victory.
They had a stellar game and the team looked solid. It was the Patriots that I know and love, and I was not disappointed or bored. 
Rob Gronkowski scored a touchdown for the team in the second quarter. When he went to the throw the football down for celebration, it fell out of his hand, hit his leg and flew in the other direction. He looked at his empty hand surprised. The referees had to watch the catch and review the play for the opponent had tackled Gronk, but not in time. He caught the football with both hands, had both feet in the end zone and the touchdown was legal.
Today's win marks the ninth straight season-opening win for the Patriots, and it's the current longest streak in the NFL. The Patriots have a habit of making records, to date, they are at three Super Bowl wins. 



 Panthers 10 v. Tampa 16


I live in Charlotte's metro-county, so it's fitting that I give my new home team some love and attention. They are not a threat to the Patriots, for one they aren't playing each other this year. Unless of course they make it to the Super Bowl and after today's snooze fest, I don't foresee the team making it to the biggest game of the year. I could be wrong..but the Panthers have a lot of work to do. That is for sure. Cam Newton better step-it up! 
The Carolina Panthers flew south to Tampa to play against the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Tampa Bay had the first touch down, leaving the Panthers at zero for the first half. In the third quarter, Newton through a touchdown pass. 

It was all the Panthers had for the day. 

Seahawks 16 v. Cardinals 20

With the NFL ticket, I got to watch two games at once and the Seahawks were on my laptop while the Panthers were on television. 
I decided to pull for Seattle. Call me crazy, but I love the Seahawks colors and they had on cool new uniforms. Plus, I can't wait to visit Seattle, Washington where two of my favorite bloggers (Jess and Cheryl) live. 
Cardinals played host to the Seahawks and they were determined to win the season-home opener in their house. 
Today's game was not easy to watch, especially since I had to refresh my laptop several times. 
Aside that, the teams scored three points in the first half. 
By the fourth quarter, Seattle had hope for they were ahead 16-13. Unfortunately,  Arizona had a touchdown that bumped up their score to 20. 
 In the final 59 seconds, Seahawks had a chance to score the final touchdown, but the Cardinals didn't let that happen. It was a nail-biting intense minute that lasted longer then a minute. We all know 59 seconds left of play time in football, usually means another 5 minutes before either team actually score.

Those were the three games  I focused on the most today.  I tried to pay attention to the Steelers versus Broncos game. The biggest news of day was that my biggest rival, Peyton Manning is now wearing orange and playing quarterback for the Denver, Colorado Broncos. Sure we've known this all summer long, but today was the day the fans 'felt' the change the most. I personally don't care in the least bit where, or who Manning plays for.

Next week:
NASCAR will be starting their 'play off' season also known as "The Chase." I'll be watching that for sure.
I'll highlight Michael Waltrip drivers for my column "Drivers to Watch" on Skirts and Scuffs, which you can read on Friday. 
The boys will be practicing in Chicagoland, Illinois on Friday at 1 and 4 PM. Qualifying will be on Saturday at 1:30 
The race is scheduled for September 16th at 1 PM and can be seen on ESPN.

Sunday is also the Patriots home-opening game and they'll host the Arizona Cardinals. The game will air on Fox at 1 PM.

Fashionable sports clothes for the ladies

Several years ago, out in a beautiful city called Boston, a group of women had a genius idea. They were fresh out of college, and looking to start their careers, and they decided to start a t-shirt company. They were also big fans of the Boston Red Sox.
For years, ladies have had to wear embarrassing over-sized t-shirts and jersey's of their favorite team/athlete to a sporting event.
These women, who called themselves, "Homegirls," came out with cute, form fitting t-shirts that all the ladies could wear. Their most successful tank/t-shirt to date is, "Real Women don't date Yankee fans!" They also created other cute sayings like, "I do it with my Sox on!"
Since then ladies in Boston have spent the last decade wearing the cutest Sox, Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics shirts and clothes. You can now find these styles on Chowdaheadz.com.
This was one of my (many) looks for a Red Sox game one cold spring evening in 2006. Please take note, that is NOT a Yankee hat; it's YH hat, which stands for Yankee Hater.

 I've noticed the trend trickle over  to my favorite sport, NASCAR.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the one guy that sells many shirts for the ladies that allow us to feel sexy, and comfortable at the same time. Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin and other drivers have similar shirts.
The one stylist in NASCAR that has made a name for herself is Kyle Busch's wife, Samantha. She has a passion for fashion, especially in shoes, and has been designing her husbands t-shirts.

This picture is from the Kyle Busch website

The days female sports fans have to show up at their favorite sporting event wearing shirts that they would get lost in have been long gone for years.
The days of wearing our boyfriends shirts are also gone, unless you're in the privacy of your own home.

Drivers, sports teams and athletes, have also been selling cute jewelry such as necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and even belly rings. They even have slippers. I wonder if Samantha would ever consider designing a cute heel with the No. 18 on the toe of the shoe.
Where there is room to add a drivers number, name or sponsor, they will put it. Why not? All ladies have a right to show pride in their favorite team/athlete in style.

Your team wins and fans run wild

Last night was the final game for the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup Championships. It was meant to be a historic win in the NHL for either team. Boston Bruins and Vancouver Cunucks were fighting for the win and took it all the way the final game of the series. Both teams played their best and in the end, it was the Boston Bruins who won the title. This was historic for them because it's been since 1972 since the Bruins won the Cup and for the Canucks, they haven't won one since their team was born in 1970.

I would not have watched any of the games had it not been for the man I'm dating. He is a hockey player and fan. He records the game on his DVR and we watched it long after the game started. I had turned off the computer and phone so I wouldn't accidentally find out before the end of the game; being a Boston, Massachusetts fan, I knew I was rooting for the Bruins. Had it not been for them, I may have cheered on the underdog Canucks.

I did not drink let alone get drunk, nor did I cheer or scream, I didn't even get up and dance. I was happy for Boston and of coarse, the Bruins.

My first reaction when the game ended was how odd it was to see the fans still in the stands to watch the Bruins get their Cup. From what I saw, they booed the Chairman who gave the award to Boston but when they skated around the ice with the Cup in their hands, all I could hear were cheers coming from the crowd. They cheered when their very own resident, who plays for the Bruins, got the Cup. It was almost as if the fans were more happy to see a team win.
I could only imagine what the streets of Boston looked like, I had not stopped to think of what was happening on the streets of Vancouver.

My cousin from Montreal had called and left a message on cell phones voicemail to congratulate my team. Little did he know, I wasn't partying or drinking, I was sitting quietly, watching with a smile on my face, happy that the city I call my home had their seventh Championship in ten years for all four professional sports. The New England Patriots won 2001, 2004 and 2005 Super Bowls. The Boston Red Sox won the 2004 and 2007 World Series and the Boston Celtics have won the 2008 NBA Title and now, the Bruins are the 2011 NHL Champions. A victory for die hard hockey fans, a historic moment for them indeed. Think of it, seven titles in ten years. Bostonians are athletes for sure, there's no denying it and their fans are loyal, committed and extremely supportive. In the years I lived in Beantown, I had never heard a lot of cheers for the Bruins.

In 2004 my cousins and I watched the Super Bowl in Kenmore Square; at a bar across the street from Fenway Park. After the game, the fans poured out of bars and cheered the Patriots victory. As a matter of fact, I stayed in the bar a tad bit longer to watch Tom Brady's interview and he said and I can't directly quote him because it's been awhile since I heard it but he did tell the residents of Boston to be careful with their city. The fans didn't hear, they stood in the middle of the streets and started a bonfire in which they danced around. There was a lot of rioting and partying all over the city.
That fall, when the Red Sox finally beat the New York Yankee's in for the Championship and a chance to head to the World Series, fans were out of control. I had not gone out that night, but, I'm sure I would've picked a bar in Kenmore Square, on Lansdown Street. I will forever be grateful I had not done so.
After the game, as expected, fans poured out from everywhere. I can't tell you the details but I know the crowds were celebrating the victory a little too much and the cops came out in full force, with paint guns and all. One cop fired and hit a girl in the eye, she died immediately.

That year, I apologize for not remembering which game it was (Patriots or a Sox victory) somewhere around Northeastern College Campus, a teen was walking across the street while everyone was celebrating and a car drove by and hit him, he later died. The driver of the car never stopped or turned his self in.

Since the news of those incidences broke out, I've forever been fascinated with fans. I want to understand society a bit more and the fascination fans have and the obsession people have for athletes, teams and celebrities alike.
In 2005, during the Patriots Super Bowl, the city of Boston was empty. Cops were out and ready to arrest anyone who tried to act up. The celebrations were at home instead of out in public. In 2008 for the Celtics victory, the crowd was controlled but still celebrating outside on the streets. Last night, Boston fans cheered everywhere they could and according the news reports, only two arrests were made.

In Vancouver, British Columbia, hurt and angry fans decided to riot and tear the city apart.
I ask, what is the point of turning cars over and starting fires in the streets to destroy public property? The last time I heard of this destructive behavior was in Montreal, when the Montreal hockey team either won or lost the Stanley Cup. I also heard this kind of destruction happened during a Guns n'Roses and Metellica concert in Montreal.
It was not the only time or place that things like that happen.
In soccer, fans riot and act dangerously, people die from celebratory victories or from the upset they feel for losing.
That behavior doesn't make sense to me.

So far, in NASCAR I've noticed the rivalry is different. Sure it's out there between fans, especially on the teams Facebook and twitter pages.
Fans hate Kyle Busch and make it obvious.
Fans also hate Dale Jr and they razz out JR Nation.

My question is: "Why? Why the destructive and hateful behavior?"