Monday, December 29, 2008

AFC East Title Town: Diary of my bar crawl in Miami for Jets/Fins (with a little boys/eagles sprinkled in)





4:49: At Finnegans on Ocean Drive. Way better atmopshere as far as pro fins compared to pro Giants in New York. No score early 2nd quarter.

4:55: Nevermind. Bar was louder when Eagles scored. Apparently I found a half Fins half Eagles bar. Oy. I wanted to root for Eagles today but these obnoxious Iggle fans are making that near impossible.

5:00 As I watch Philly and Dallas deadlocked at 3-3 , I realize that all week ESPN and other sports outlets made a big mistake in terms of indicating that Philly needed losses by Tampa and Minnesota and then and only then could it sneak in as a 6 seed with a win against Dallas. However, Minnesota won and Chicago lost and Philly still got in. So it was Chicago that Philly needed to lose not Minnesota coupled with a Tampa loss in order to sneak in. Nice job ESPN and company.

5:28 Okay Baltimore is on its way to mauling Jacksonville. Time to officially root for Fins so that Pats don't win AFC East. 14-9 Jets at half. Dolphin two touchdowns are scored within 15 seconds of each other. The second of which was another of Farve's incomprehensible interceptions thrown right into the waiting arms of a front 7 player. He has really made that into an art form this year.

5:32 Devo and I exhange text messages agreeing we want Philly to win this week and lose to Minnesota next week. Its always easier playing a team you haven't played before in playoffs if you are better club than it is playing a team you are better than who you have played twice in one season already.

5:40 Okay I can't get bartenders attention amongst the sea of orange and white jerseys so I walk along Ocean Drive to Fat Tuesday.

5:45 A guy taps me on the shoulder from behind and says hey. This completely freaks me out as I don't know anybody other than White Girl, who is taking a nap in the hotel room, in Miami right now. He tells me he is our front desk guy at the hotel. I don't recognize him because he is wearing a backwards baseball cap, t-shirt and baggy jeans. Not exactly appropriate attire for work. He still asks me if I am having a good time down here and then he moves away clearly not wanting to be amongst us nobility on his day off.

555 Much smaller crowd here but daquiris are mad strong (151!!)

600 Third Quarter begins... Please G-d don't let the Pats in the playoffs!

615 G-d damn Jets. Once Baltimore has totally pulled away from the Jags to claim the 6 seed, you start playing well. What a pointless team you are! Jets score an touchdown with two point conversion added on 17-14 Jets. An annoying and somewhat half-hearted J! E! T! S! chant is heard through the TV.

And wow, Dallas should fire Phillips on the spot. Heck, the only thing worth watching int his game anymore is seeing if Jerry will come down and coach with a headset on in his suit Landry style.

620 Ah thats the Chad Pennington I know and love. He horribly under-throws a flea flicker yet somehow the receiver (I think it was Gynn) comes back and catches in front of two Jets defenders. What a secondary!

627 Fasano td! Italians in NJ are conflicted and Fins take a 21-17 lead. Are the Jets still motivated to come back down the field and score to help out their old friend up North?

635 I hate when networks avoid telling the viewers things so that they won't turn off their TV. They wait till the 4th quarter to tell everyone that the Ravens are destroying Jacksonville and therefore the Jets season is over. Everyone who was watching probably knew anyway so not telling us yourselves just make you look like you care more about getting viewers than you do about the viewers themselves. Of course, talk immediately begins on how great Brett Farve still is and always was. Ugh more on him soon.

647 Some guy named Carpenter (I miss Orlindo Mare, or at least saying his name like Yolandaaaa Veeeega) drills a 48 yard field goal putting the Fins up 24-17. Just put in Kellen Eric, you know you want to!

On a side note this game is not really doing it for me, maybe its the fact that both the crowd at this bar and more so the crowd at the Meadowlands is half dead and half empty by now (I can't blame them)

652 I look around and realize I am the only White person here. However, the front desk guy at my hotel is black so I have more than one non Hispanic person with me... VICTORY!!

654 Simms and Nance manage to remove their collective mouth out of Farve's cock for just a few minutes and share that they think Pennington is an MVP candidate. I actually agree. He has been a stable presence and a leader for this young offense stewarding them to this historic turn around season.

655 Despite the fact that the Jets team is only down 7 and has the ball, the crowd is utterly silent and most people have left. So this is what indifference sounds like huh?

700 THANK YOU ERIC AND BRETT!! unreal play by Jets. Farve, despite his team being deep in Miami territory inexplicably does a quick count no huddle play and attempts a snap throw which is of course thrown once again right into the teeth of Miami's front 7 for another pick. How does Brett do it??

I expect this to be Farve's last throw. If it is, it is not lost on me that his last throw in the 07 playoffs and the last throw in the 08 season were both intercepted.

705 4th and inches at the Jets 40 with 230 to go. Fins go for it and...... 1ST DOWN!! THE PLACE ERRUPTS..........in a quiet roar. It was somewhat loud but nothing like Finnegans I'm sure was or the way a north east bar errupts for it's local teams wins.

710 I am just glad the Farve love-fest is over for good. The most over-rated career by a QB ever. His 464 to 310 TD/INT ratio is solid at best, certainly not legendary. He has 1 championship and has failed in the big moment every bit as much as he has succeeded in it. His longevity and iron man streaks are beyond impressive but that does not take away from the deficiencies in his game; mainly his penchant for horrid decision making. The truly great ones like Brady, Montana, Unitas and even Peyton do not have such decision making problems.

715 Fins punt it with 20 seconds left back to Jets. The game ends on a lateral bonanza. So I guess Farve's last pass was a 3 yard pass over the middle. oh well. Okay, time for a "Pats and Cowboys are eliminated celebratory cigar".

3 comments:

devo said...

Sports gal? I bet there's noone else who refers to his significant other in that manner in his diaries...

White Boy South Bronx said...

I actually realized it the second I read it over. Way to be reading the blog as I posted it simultaenously btw. I referred to her as white girl in previous entries and will do so now.

devo said...

And for the record, my new hatred, up there with nazis and child molesters, is ending the game on a 6 yard pass hoping that said pass will lead to 6 laterals that free up someone for a td. Ron Dixon aint walking through that door, and even if he did, he'd still be a few feet short of a touchdown.