Continuing the Green Power Sports Tour into December in the Northeast, I knew the high probability that the weather outside would turn frightful, although I didn’t know to what degree, when exactly, or where in particular. Well, last week, Mother Nature turned decidedly nasty, bringing a mix of rain, sleet and snow – not to the more, historically probable areas of Boston or New York – but rather to the southerly climes of Washington, DC .
Sports fans in the Nation’s Capitol had been caught off guard once already early this winter when Washington Redskins player Sean Taylor was murdered. Some 24 hours before kickoff with the Chicago Bears, Mother Nature had another surprise in store for Redskins fans, dumping up to three inches of snow throughout the area which often doesn’t get the white stuff this soon. And if I thought Chicago would be the coldest it would get on my trip, I wisely realized that would not be the case and planned accordingly.
The Redskins welcomed those Windy City Bears to FedEx Field in Landover , Maryland, outside Washington, last Thursday night, with the loser likely officially eliminated from playoff contention. I broke out five layers of clothing for the upper body, plus wore two layers of socks. And, man, it’s a good thing I did. With the temperature hovering in the low 20s and a light, but brisk wind, this wasn’t baseball weather, junior.
Also, with the roads icy from the previous day’s snowstorm, coupled with the fact the Green Machine lacks snow tires, I opted to take the subway to the game. Considering it gets dark now in Washington around 4:30 p.m., it seemed pointless to me to tailgate the car in the dark with me, myself and I, especially on a weeknight with a late-arriving crowd for an 8:15 p.m. kickoff.
By the time I got inside FedEx Field, I was doing quite well despite the cold, but one fan had apparently lost his mind. As I watched a play transpire through my camera lens, I noticed a man running toward the Redskins quarterback. The next thing you know, stadium security is tackling one of its patrons and sending him off for a long, lonely night in the big house. Now I don’t know what caused this lunatic to run onto the field in the middle of a play (maybe he had some tips for the Redskins inconsistent offense), but if it turns out he had one too many Budweiser’s, let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised.
Both starting quarterbacks went down with injuries in the game, and the Redskins toughed it out to win the contest and keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Not that too many fans appear very engaged. Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was because it was a weeknight, or maybe it was because the Redskins really aren’t very good, but there were several hundred empty seats in the upper deck of FedEx Field, which I did not find terribly impressive (maybe it was also the $79 ticket price for an upper deck seat). With all of its great history and tradition, you would think owner Daniel Snyder could build, I don’t know, maybe some kind of Hall of Fame, honoring past Redskins greats. Well, at least he did okay Redskins cheerleaders wearing Santa Claus outfits at halftime.
Some three days after witnessing two mediocre teams, I was looking forward to enjoying a game between two playoff-bound teams – while still freezing my sunny Southern California fanny off.
The 12-0 Patriots hosted the 9-3 Steelers last Sunday, with host New England ’s No. 1 offense going up against the NFL’s top-ranked defense. You don’t need to work for The No Fun League or its television partner, CBS, to see a money-maker, so the game’s original start time of 1:05 p.m. was moved to 4:15 p.m. to accommodate a larger audience (and, ahem, more advertisers).
If you thought that loony bird in Washington was crazy for running on the field, you haven’t really experienced true loonies until you are in the greater Boston area when all of its sports teams are winning. The Red Sox won their second baseball World Series in four years in October while the Celtics own the NBA’s best record and the Bruins are on the rebound in the NHL. And the three-time Super Bowl Champion Patriots? Oh, they’re just undefeated.
As you might expect, I had to fork over mucho dinero for a ticket – try $75 for standing room only. Ouch on the wallet, yes, but you probably won’t believe this next bit, when, as I stood in a men’s bathroom stall relieving myself, I noticed a crumpled up white and green piece of paper below me that strongly resembled money. It was lying next to an empty, plastic beer bottle that I couldn’t help but also notice. After completing my business, I leaned over to discover just how handsome a man good ole Ben Franklin really was – and just how damn lucky I was to have acquired a $100.00 bill so easily. Now, this particular bathroom stall was empty when I entered it, and I don’t know how somebody could drop a $100 bill, but if it had something to do with too many Budweiser’s, let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised.
Like FedEx Field, I wasn’t terribly giddy about Gillette Stadium, with no history of the Patriots Super Bowl runs on display – not even a single escalator to the upper deck, also.
I was layered up again and temps were again in the 20s, but it wasn’t as cold here as in Washington , and on this day, neither was the Patriots offense. After an inconsistent first quarter from the NFL’s No. 1 offense, the high-octane Pats led by Mr. Cool Quarterback, Tom Brady, came out in the second half to pummel – and humble – the Steelers. Earlier in the week, one of the Steelers defensive players, safety Anthony Smith, had “guaranteed” a victory over the undefeated Patriots. I don’t think he’ll be making that statement again because Brady, wide receiver Randy Moss and the rest of the Patriots offense ran circles around Smith. By the time the fourth quarter came around, Patriots fans were mocking Smith, yelling in unison, “Guarantee! Guarantee! Guarantee!” This was in between cannons being fired by a group dressed like Patriots in the end zone every time New England scored.
With its 34-13 thumping of a playoff-bound Steelers club – and with just three games to go – including one each against the lowly Jets and winless Dolphins, a 16-0 regular season mark for the Patriots may actually be a guarantee.