A dud

If most Super Bowls were like tonight’s, I wouldn’t make it an annual priority to watch the game.

Patriots 13, Rams 3.

This was the Patriots’ sixth victory in a Super Bowl.

It also featured their largest winning margin in a Super Bowl. It was their “blowout” victory, so to speak.

Their defense played lights-out. Then again, the Rams’ once-great offense had been pretty well contained by several teams late in the season. (And let’s admit it: hardly anyone who watches football really knows how defending works; I certainly don’t.)

It was a good game to watch with Karin’s dad’s family (hardly football purists). They talked all the first half about the newest Pokémon and superhero movies, then complained because at halftime Maroon 5 didn’t play what they wished to hear.

Panama vs. Ecuador; a “world power”; Rams vs. Chiefs

We achieved another victory in a “friendly” match. These were the highlights.

After playing an indifferent first half, we took the lead. Our Panamanian hosts scored a tying goal in the 85th minute, but Énner Valencia scored our winning goal in the 88th, dribbling past several defenders as he’d done against Peru.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Yesterday, it was announced that Ecuador had scheduled a match against a “world power.”

(This is an example of how our national team’s Facebook page has perfected the art of click-baiting. “World power” lends itself to more than one interpretation.)

Of the responses on Facebook, this was my favorite:

Potencia mundial estos tarrineros HP más juega el aucas q EEUU.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Also worth noting: the Chiefs and the Rams – each of which, before this weekend, had a regular-season record of nine wins and one loss – staged an all-time NFL classic last night.

These were the highlights.

This is some analysis.

The return leg

On Sunday, we returned to Indiana. For lunch we stopped in hilly Hannibal, MO, at a Subway.

The after-church queue was too long. We pressed onward to a Wendy’s.

The Wendy’s was being remodelled. We retraced our steps to a KFC.

Edoarda ate mashed potatoes without any gravy. (She’s a vegetarian.) Suddenly, a crowd came in for the lunch buffet. Edoarda was a little startled. She’d never seen so many Missourians.

Martin also felt out of place. He noted that the people of Hannibal would likely go home to watch the Rams, not the Bears. (And not the Colts, either, remarked Edoarda.)

Mary was troubled by the country music. …

Stephen … I think he was mostly concerned about Edoarda.

Edoarda was doing just fine. She ate plenty of potatoes, and on the way out she picked up a brochure for tourism in Hannibal.

Leaving town, we took a wrong turn and drove around some of the hilly neighborhoods. Finally we made it onto the highway. We crossed the river into Illinois, and all at once everything was desolate and flat.

Around Joliet, my knee started hurting badly. My leg needed to be stretched out. Edoarda was sitting next to me, and so I asked her if I could stretch out my leg upon her lap. It was an indelicate request. Edoarda refused, and not just a little vehemently. Martin permitted me to rest my leg upon the center console.

And now we’re back in Mishawaka. The next order of business is to choose presents for our gift exchange.