The last 6 months have been a hellish waiting game, but it was all worth it in the end!! My beloved Penguins will stay in Pittsburgh! Thanks Mario!

From this…

To this!

My best friend Ryan has been living in Pittsburgh for the past 5 years or so, and this is only the second chance I’ve had to visit. I went up a couple years back in late summertime and caught a Pirates game at PNC. This recent trip has been in the works for a really looooong time. I’m a HUGE Pittsburgh Penguins fan, and even though my mom is from Pittsburgh and I spent a lot of time there as a kid, I’d never been to see the Pens play at home in the Igloo. That was unacceptable, especially since they might not be there much longer… Long story short, on February 18th we saw the Penguins beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 at Melon Arena. It was a dream come true for me (hey, I’ve got attainable dreams alright!). The best part was that I got to see the game with Ryan and share the experience with Sarah and Asher.

We were lucky enough to stay at Ryan’s Aunt and Uncle’s condo at the Hidden Valley Ski Resort about an hour east of the city. I really can’t write enough about how great Ryan and his family were. Ryan chauffeured us around all weekend, which was precarious at times due to the 458ft of snow that fell while we were there. Seriously, it snowed almost non-stop. Ryan and I spent all day Saturday skiing on fresh powder at Hidden Valley, and even though it was about 15 degrees, it was still incredible. I don’t think Sarah had ever been in weather that cold (and I don’t think she’ll ever want to again).

By the way, Asher is the most laid back kid I’ve ever met. On the plane? Awesome. In Ryan’s car? Awesome. At the game? Awesome. Sleeping at night in a strange place? Awesome. Scratching the hell out of Uncle Ryan’s face? Awesome.

Here are some photos from our trip to the Burgh:

The Igloo

The Pens

Me and my baby Penguin

Winter Flower

A Blizzard at Riverview Park

Snow

LOTS of Snow

View from the slopes of Hidden Valley, PA

All of these pics are posted on the photos page under Places –> Pittsburgh – Feb2007

Personally, it was hell watching that game. I don’t think I’ve been that anxious during a sporting event since the Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup in ’99. My stomach was in knots. I couldn’t eat. I had to pee every 5 minutes. It was agonizing up until the last minute of the game when Hasselbeck threw incomplete to Stevens on 4th down to seal the Steelers victory. Then it was all elation and relief (sigh…) I slept like a baby last night.

Aside from the actual Football game, here are some random SuperBowl observations:

• I watched the game at my parents house on their 60′ HD TV – simply incredible. I gotta get me one of those someday.
• The commercials were merely O.K. The ones that made me laugh the most were the Bud Light “Secret Fridge” spot and the Michelob Ultra “Touch Football” ad. I also thought the Beer Institute “Cheers” commercial was very well done, as was the Disney World “Practice” ad – both were entertaining without being too silly. The worst commercial by far was that freaking Burger King disaster with the terrible music and the dancing burger-parts. What the hell were the people that came up with that smoking? IFILM is hosting ALL the commerials for free.
• John Madden shall be henceforth referred to as Captain Obvious. Here are some select quotes from the Captian. “Hey, the offensive linemen are the biggest guys on the field, they’re bigger than everybody else, and that’s what makes them the biggest guys on the field” and “The only way for the Seahawks to win this game is to simply just to score more points than the Steelers…” and don’t forget “Boom!” What a moron…
• Could the NFL have found a worse act for halftime? I suppose it had comedic entertainment value, but that’s all. I bet my dad 10 bucks that the drummer was going to drop dead in the middle of “Start me Up.” What a beating…
• Being an expectant father got me thinking about my sports legacy. I hope to pass on Pittsburgh fan-dom to my kids. I can’t wait to buy a World Champion Pittsburgh Steelers onesie…

Here we go STEELERS, Here we GO!

Oh glorious day! Big Ben and the Steelers gave the Broncos an old-fashioned ass-kicking. I can’t wait till Superbowl Sunday… hopefully it will be more fun that it was 10 years ago when Jerry Jones paid Neil O’Donnell $500,000 to throw the game we lost to the Cowboys.

Seattle better enjoy the next two weeks, because they don’t have a chance in hell of winning the Superbowl.

It’s been an up and down sports year for me so far. The Steelers and Cowboys are both doing OK and have a chance to make the playoffs. The Stars are coming along nicely and winning games in bunches, and Mavericks are playing well. All that aside, my beloved Pittsburgh Penguins are friggin terrible, and it’s slowly killing me… They picked up a lot of talented guys in the off-season (the loooooong, lockout ridden off-season) and were expected to compete with the best teams in the league. Well, just my luck, they totally suck ass. The second worst team in the entire league. Every time they lose a close game, that knife in my side twists a little deeper. But alas, I am no fair-weather fan. I still watch all the games and scream and yell and curse… and on the rare occasion that they actually win a game, it’s golden greatness. Lets Go Pens (kill me now)!