this time last year, our lives revolved around football. our social lives consisted only of football-watching gatherings with friends, food, nail-biting, yelling at the quarterback, and yelling at the referees. the radio stations kept playing that horrible, "here we go" song, and the grocery stores were filled with things like black and gold totilla chips and Roethlisberger beef jerky.

we had a great, relaxing day yesterday talking with friends over glasses of wine, gourmet appetizers and desserts. but we were pretty tired come 9:30. so kenny and i crawled into bed and realized that it was the 4th quarter of the AFC championship game between the Patriots and the Colts. it was also a tied game. we both agree that we don't want to see New England win yet another Superbowl (sorry, Greg!) so we were happy to see the Colts win the championship game and advance to the Superbowl. but we weren't clutching our pillows and gritting our teeth in this very close and exciting last quarter. (i think i might have even dozed off during the last play).

although there is something really fun when your city is in the Superbowl, it's also a really tense and nerve-wracking time of year. i guess i'm a "fair-weather fan" or i'm just not a good football fan in general, but i was actually relieved when the Steelers didn't even make it into the playoffs this year.

our fingernails are intact. our lives don't revolve around the next game. and we can easily watch the Superbowl without worrying about a possible big loss that will send the city into a deep depression. the most relaxing way to enjoy the playoffs is watching them when your hometeam is not in the them.

(go Bears!)