Post Super Bowl Party Musings With Appomattox Visitor

I am almost recovered from yesterday's Super Bowl.

Yesterday is the last time I ever have a Super Bowl Party.

I think I may say that every year.

No adult beverages were involved in causing this year's Super Bowl Party hangover.

It was too much of things like macaroni and cheese, fish sticks, fried mozzarella sticks, pizza, chicken wings, barbecue brisket, cherry pie, lemon bars, pecan pie.

I forget what else.

And then there were the virtual Super Bowl Party visitors.

During yesterday's Super Bowl Party, I took a short break and woke up my computer, and saw the current visitors to my main blog, looking, I assume, to see what was happening at my extremely interesting Super Bowl Party.

Apparently, someone from Appomattox, a town in Virginia, dropped in several times during the brief time I checked in. 

Do I have myself some sort of online stalker?

From Appomattox.

Along with another one, from some place in the U.S. called Boardman, who, apparently, is interested in insomnia caused by scary, ugly, fat women.

I have searched my feeble memory bank, trying to remember if I know anyone from either Appomattox or Boardman, and draw a total blank.

Perplexing...

Why Seattle Seahawks Will Not Beat Dallas Cowboys In Super Bowl

This blogging falls into the category of seeing something in an online west coast newspaper, usually the Seattle Times, which I would not be expecting to see in a Texas newspaper, usually the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, about a similar thing happening in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro zone.

In this case the thing one does not see in D/FW is the local NFL team winning a game and taking over first place in NFC West, East, North or South.

As long as I have been in Texas I have been reading and hearing the North Texas locals lamenting about the Dallas Cowboys never seeming to have themselves a mighty fine winning team.

When I lived in Washington I recollect the Seattle Seahawks being like the Dallas Cowboys, as in never making it to a playoff game, let alone the Super Bowl.

Since I have been in Texas the Seahawks have made it to more than one Super Bowl. I think they won the Super Bowl once, maybe twice. My memory of this type thing ain't all that great, and I don't think the need for the actual number is great enough to warrant consulting Google.

Earlier in this century when the town of Arlington, in cahoots with Jerry Jones, he being the hapless owner of the Dallas Cowboys, went for a record breaking level of abusing eminent domain to dislodge hundreds of citizens and businesses so as to have enough land onto which to build a giant homage to a space ship serving as a football stadium.

Years ago I webpaged this blight of Dallas Cowboy Stadium eminent domain abuse, with that eminent domain abuse being the primary reason Tarrant County is known as the Eminent Domain Abuse Capital of America, with that title made even more solid when Fort Worth went in for some outrageous eminent domain abuse in order to take property for its ill-advised, ineptly implemented economic development scheme disguised as un-needed flood control.

Way back when I was shocked to see all the homes, apartment complexes and business taken away for a sports stadium I opined that the bad karma of this will likely keep the Dallas Cowboys from ever being in another Super Bowl, and would put an end to the Cowboys being known as America's Team.

As of 2019, both bad karma results seem to be happening. There are fans of the Dallas Cowboys over a quarter century old who have never seen the team play in a Super Bowl.

Eminent domain was not used or abused to get the land on which to build the Seattle Seahawks stadium. All they had to do was blow up the Kingdome and build a new structure in its place.

I saw the above on Facebook this morning. Seeing this caused me to wonder anew if this will finally be the year I secure an invite to the legendary Knappson Super Bowl Party. Those tickets are even harder to get in a year when the Seahawks are in the big game...

UPDATE: Ex footballer, or long distance jobber, Bruce F., points out that it is impossible for the Seattle Seahawks to play the Dallas Cowboys in a Super Bowl, unless one or the other moves from the NFC to the AFC. I probably should have already realized this...

Too Cool To Pool Or Watch Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl Quest

Seems like only a couple weeks ago I had my last swim of the old year.

Ten days into the new year the pool looks as inviting as it did when I last got wet in it.

However, the outer world temperature currently is barely above freezing, at 36, after having dipped into the 20s during the night.

Hence the pool is too cool to be doable.

Last night was not cold enough to be what is known as a three dog night, but it was cold enough to be what is known as a three blanket night.

Currently a large number of football fans from my old home zone are enduring what may be the coldest NFL game in football history, hoping to beat some Vikings in Minneapolis en route to this year's Super Bowl.

I doubt many of the Seattle Seahawks are used to playing in sub-zero temperatures, while those Vikings may feel perfectly comfortable.

Does Minneapolis have a covered stadium, ala the Dallas Cowboys stadium? Or is it an open venue like the Seahawks home venue? I don't know if one could layer enough layers to spectate out in the open in sub-zero temperatures.

The coldest I have ever experienced is 17 below zero. Everything freezes, as in as you breathe eventually icicles form from your exhaust.  Your eyelids get frosty. Your nose turns numb. It is not a pleasant experience.

I don't know how many playoff games the Seahawks have to win to go to the Super Bowl again. But, I think it is probably too soon to be planning a Seahawk Super Bowl Party.

Seattle Seahawks 12th Man & Texas Earthquakes With No Super Bowl For The Dallas Cowboys

No, that is not an artist's rendering of what Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's "lake" might look like, if it ever gets to the fill the thing with water stage.

The body of water you are looking at is an inlet of Puget Sound known as Elliott Bay, which would make that not the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth you are looking at, but instead, you are looking at just a small part of the actually stunning skyline of the actually beautiful downtown Seattle.

That glowing thing to the lower left of the "12" is known as the Seattle Great Wheel. It is a Ferris wheel type device which spins out over the Seattle waterfront.

This week that number "12" has been showing up all over the Pacific Northwest, including the top of the Space Needle.

This morning I saw a dozen Golden Labrador puppies all wearing sweaters with the number "12" on them.

This number "12" thing has something to do with the Seattle Seahawk fans being the 12th member of the team.

I have not heard if those noisy fans broke another ground shaking sound record during last night's game. I read seismology sensors had been installed around Seahawk Stadium so as to accurately measure any fan induced earthquakes.

Speaking of earthquakes, all the earthquakes that have been shaking the D/FW zone have been getting national attention. I know this due to being asked by people outside of the shake zone if I've been shaking.

The most amusing earthquake related message came from Spencer Jack's dad via email, saying, "I knew Texas had many faults,  but I did not know Texas had faults of the earthquake  causing sort".

Having shaken through many an earthquake whilst living in Washington, these Texas quakes perplex me.

For a couple year period during the 1990s my abode was shaken by multiple earthquakes, known as the Big Lake Quakes, shallow quakes, epicentered about 3 miles to the east, ranging from approximately 2.0 to 3.5.

Those quakes, though low in Richter scale number were very rambunctious. I remember when one of them struck I was sitting in my living room. It hits loud, like a freight train, the windows flex, the fir trees sway violently. I  remember with that one I heard a loud crack in my kitchen. After the shaking stopped I went to the kitchen to find that the quake had cracked the tile floor.

I was laying on my waterbed when another of those quakes struck. It was like suddenly being in a boat in extremely rough water.

Earthquakes are extremely noisy, like a vibrating roar.

With so much population so close to these Texas quakes it has puzzled me why I've not heard people describing the quakes as loud, as violent, as scary. I've read of no one saying their windows flexed during a quake, looking like they might pop out.

Being near the epicenter of a 3.0 quake should be an unnerving experience, to a level I've not heard anyone, who has been shaken here, express.

Today Dallas plays in a football game, way up north, by a Green Bay, not an Elliott Bay.

Now, this is  amusing, just as I typed the above I realized I was not certain who it was Dallas was playing today. So I checked to find that the game was already over, with Dallas losing, due to the Green Bay Packers scoring 21 points, while Dallas ended up with only 16.

Does this mean Green Bay heads to Elliott Bay to play the Seahawks to see who goes to the Super Bowl? I have no idea.  I imagine I could find out if I wanted to expend a little effort....

A Giant Seattle Seahawk Bears Down On The Space Needle Hoping To Beat The Dallas Cowboys In The Super Bowl

I don't pay much attention to football, neither the American version or that odd version the rest of the world plays.

But, if you are in Seattle at the current time it is hard to avoid the fact that the Seattle Seahawks are on track to be in yet one more Super Bowl.

If I remember correctly the Seahawks won the Super Bowl last year.

Seattle Seahawk fans are quite demonstrative, but I really do think the giant holographic Seahawk logo you see here, dwarfing the Space Needle, is a bit much.

And why is this at the north end of downtown Seattle, rather than the south end where the Seahawk Stadium is located?

Has anyone been near Arlington's Dallas Cowboy Stadium, after dark, since the Cowboys also got on track to maybe be in their first Super Bowl of this century? Is there a giant holographic Cowboy logo dwarfing Cowboys Stadium? I suspect there must be, what with Tarrant County being the Football Capital of the Free World.

I just realized, I do not know what the Dallas Cowboys logo is. Is it a Cowboy hat? One would think that I would know this, living as I do about four miles west of where the Cowboys play football.

Is the Cowboy logo that silver star one sees on the 100s of special Dallas Cowboys themed outhouses sitting on the Dallas Cowboys' parking lots?

Are there any other NFL teams whose stadiums are surrounded by team themed outhouses?

Over 700,000 Fans In Downtown Seattle For Seahawk Super Bowl Victory Parade & Moment Of Loudness

Every once in awhile I get myself feeling a bit homesick for the Pacific Northwest. Usually this homesick thing happens when something happens in the Washington zone that I wish I was there to see.

Like when the Kingdome was imploded earlier this century. Or was it late in the previous century?

Or when the 1999 Battle in Seattle happened during a WTO meeting.

During both the Kingdome implosion and the Battle in Seattle I got live reports, via phone, from people on the scene. I remember a particularly tearful account during the Battle in Seattle when the caller was describing watching her Starbucks being destroyed on the ground level, below her skyscraper riot viewing location.

And now today, the largest crowd ever to assemble in Seattle, is downtown, even as I type.

Over 700,000 people. More people than the population of Seattle, lined up from the Space Needle to the Seattle Seahawk CenturyLink stadium, two miles to the south, as the Seattle Seahawk's players paraded past the fans, escorted by the Washington National Guard, with the players in Humvees and those weird Seattle Amphibious Ducks that haul tourists around town.

Washington's Governor, Jay Inslee, proclaimed a "Moment of Loudness" to last 30 seconds at 12:12 Pacific time, which was a couple hours ago. 700,000 is about 10 times the number of noisemakers that can fit into the Seahawk stadium. Those Seahawk stadium noisemakers twice triggered earthquakes this year.

I have heard no reports, yet, that the "Moment of Loudness" has triggered any earthquakes.

Anyway, very cool day, in more ways than one, for Seattle, Washington and the Pacific Northwest. I wish I was there....

The 3rd Day Of February Singing The Post-Super Bowl Monday Blues

I did not venture out into the icy cold this morning for my regularly scheduled hydrotherapy session in the hot tub of which you see part through the veil of green foliage.

Should not that green foliage have turned brown and fallen to the ground by this point in time?

Yesterday an incoming Google voice mail message came in from my mom. I'd called my mom on her happy birthday and found no one home. I called again early on Super Bowl Sunday and found no one home. I then called my Arizona sister and found no one home, and left a message saying I was finding no one home.

Hence (please note proper usage, Miss Julie) the Google voice mail message from my mom a couple hours before the start of the aforementioned Super Bowl game. So,  I called my mom back before continuing with my Super Bowl Party prepping.

Regarding that aforementioned Super Bowl game. I made it through Bruno Mars' excellent halftime show and then found myself losing interest at some point in the 3rd quarter. It is sort of ironic that this football season I made it through two previous Seattle Seahawk games, plus the final Dallas Cowboy loss of the season, but I did not make it through to the end of the Super Bowl game.

All in all, Seattle finally winning the Super Bowl seemed to be totally anti-climatic.

I have never been much of a fan of viewing various sports. Baseball has always been boring to me. With football I never got what it was that people found entertaining enough to watch for hours on end. Basketball was the only sport I enjoyed watching. From high school on.

After the Supersonics arrived in Seattle I went to many games. I watched them on TV. When the Sonics would make the playoffs it seemed exciting, like a big deal. I went to several playoff games. They were fun.

And then the Seattle Supersonics won the NBA championship. After all those times not quite making it in the playoffs I figured it would somehow feel like a really big deal for the Sonics to win the championship. But it wasn't. It basically meant nothing to me in any real meaningful way. I had no interest in joining the thousands in Seattle watching the Sonic victory parade.

After the Seattle Supersonics won the NBA championship I never attended another game. I lost interest. I really don't understand why.

I have only attended one Seattle Seahawk game, years ago, in the now dead Kingdome. Over the years, whilst still in Washington, I did watch a lot of Seattle Seahawk games on TV. I don't remember if the Seahawks ever made it to post-season games whilst I was still in Washington.

What I do know is this. If the Seattle Seahawks make it to the Super Bowl again next year I will likely watch. But it won't seem like any big deal to me whether they win or lose.

New York City's Empire State Building's Seattle Seahawk Colors

This morning on Facebook, via Martin B's first wife, I saw the picture you see here.

I was not at all surprised to see the Seattle Space Needle lit up with the Seattle Seahawk colors.

But, I was a bit surprised to see that New York City's Empire State Building is lit up with the Seattle Seahawk colors.

How does one go about getting your colors on the Empire State Building, I can not help but wonder?

Did Paul Allen buy the building?

I also could not help but wonder if the Dallas Cowboys ever got themselves into the Super Bowl. And if that Super Bowl were played in the New York City zone, would Reunion Tower, in Dallas, be lit up in the Dallas Cowboy colors? Would the Empire State Building be lit up in the Dallas Cowboy colors?

I believe the Dallas Cowboy colors are silver/gray & blue. Not quite as vibrant a color scheme as the Seahawk's shade of blue and extremely bright green.

I think maybe the Dallas Cowboys might want to consider trying to be a bit more colorful....

A Cold Super Bowl Sunday In Texas

As you can see via the view from my computer room window the predicted cold predictably arrived overnight, along with a slight amount of drippage which dripped slightly on me this morning during my Super Bowl Sunday hot tub hydrotherapy session.

I can definitely tell there has been a huge diminishing in the mountain cedar pollen, or whatever it has been which has made me allergically miserable, off and on, the past couple weeks.

This morning my respiratory system seems to be just about back to what I think I remember normal being.

Speaking of the Super Bowl. And who isn't? Yesterday I mentioned that I'd never seen Town Talk busier, with the parking lot being a traffic jam and inside the store being a human traffic jam of stalled shopping carts. Late Saturday afternoon I went to ALDI and Walmart and found both stores at a day before Christmas level of busy.

This morning, on Facebook, I learned that this Super Bowl shopping frenzy is not just a Texas thing, but also happened yesterday up in my old home state of Washington.

Sampson, of the infamous Sampson & Delilah duo, posted the following comment on Facebook....

I have never seen soooo many people in the grocery stores. We went to QFC which is always a nightmare, then Safeway, at least they had more checkers than QFC, then we went to Costco...believe it or not, they had the least people! Love seeing all the Seahawk attire every where!

Sampson & Delilah live in Kent. Kent is a Seattle suburb about 20 miles south of where the Seattle Seahawks play football when they have a home game.

One of Sampson's Facebook friends followed up with another shopping comment...

We went into Fred Meyer this afternoon and there were no grocery carts in the store!! Crazy!

Fred Meyer is an enormous combo department and grocery store. It'd be like a Super Walmart or a Super Target running out of shopping carts.

A few years ago Portland based Fred Meyer was taken over by Krogers. On a visit back to Washington, earlier this century, I was appalled the first time I was in a Fred Meyer after the Kroger takeover, to find that Fred Meyer had been Kroger-ized. A grocery store being Kroger-ized is not a good thing, in my opinion.

My Super Bowl Party starts at 5. If you RSVPed, I'll be expecting you. Don't be late.....

A Visit To Quanah Parker Park Before Discovering At Town Talk That Super Bowl Sunday Is America's #1 Holiday

With today being the first Saturday of the second month of 2014 the one person who regularly reads my blog is likely thinking, in the picture, they are looking at the Tandy River in the Tandy Hills Natural Area, due to that area being the location of my regularly scheduled Saturday hikes, weather permitting.

Well, the one person who reads my blog would be wrong. On this first Saturday of the second month of 2014 I parked my motorized transport on the Quanah Parker Park parking lot, to go on a walk, prior to continuing on to Town Talk.

Being at Quanah Parker Park would make that green body of water the Trinity River, not the Tandy River.

The reason I opted not to hill hike today, even though the weather permitted that activity, was because today is the 6th Annual Tandy Hills Brush Bash. Due to the fact that I lacked the needed equipment to properly Brush Bash I could not bring myself to go to the Tandy Hills where I would likely have seen hundreds of people having themselves a mighty fine time bashing brush, whilst I was unable to, due to that aforementioned equipment lack.

At Town Talk today I learned that Super Bowl Sunday is America's favorite holiday. I came to that conclusion due to the fact that I'd never seen Town Talk busier. Not the Saturday before Christmas, not the Saturday before Thanksgiving, not the Saturday before the 4th of July.

Traffic trying to get onto the Town Talk parking lot was backed up both on Beach Street and whatever Randol Mill Road is called at that location. First Avenue, maybe?

When I finally made it on the parking lot there was not a parking spot to be found. People were parking off the parking lot, on the grass and any other open spot. Eventually someone pulled out so I was able to pull in.

Usually Town Talk has plenty of shopping carts. Today all were being used. Which worked out for the best because inside Town Talk it was one big shopping cart traffic jam. When I first walked in all checkout lines, but one, were open, with the lines lined up all the way to the back of the store.

With no shopping carts available I used one of those handheld basket deals. Which worked out fine because I only got three items. Two bags of tortilla chips, a big block of extra sharp cheese and a bag of tomatoes.

I lucked  out at checkout when that final checkout line opened right when I was right by it. Four Town Talk shoppers got in that line ahead of me, which that short line only causing about a ten minute wait. The Town Talk checkout checkers are the speediest I've ever seen, anywhere.

I asked the Town Talk checkout checker if this was the busiest she'd ever seen it. She said there'd only been one other time. Also Super Bowl weekend.

Some of the excessive number of Town Talkers may have been caused by people stocking up before tomorrow's possible blizzard blows in to town.

The temperature in the outer world has begun its predicted afternoon descent towards freezing. I was really liking the return to warm air and am not liking the idea of possible incoming snow.

Fort Worth's Pancake Pig Picks Seattle Seahawks To Win Super Bowl

Today I learned who is going to win Sunday's Super Bowl Seattle Seahawks vs. Denver Broncos game.

I learned this via Fort Worth's porcine pigskin prognosticator named Pancake

Pancake is a potbellied pig currently residing at the world renowned Fort Worth Zoo.

Pancake has an 80% success rate at  picking Super Bowl winners, correctly picking the winner in 4 out of 5 games.

Pancake picks the Super Bowl outcome via a highly evolved food bowl choice method.

According to the Pancake biography the pig is only 3 years old. So, how, I can not help but wonder, has Pancake managed to prognosticate 5 Super Bowls?

You can go to the Dallas News and watch Pancake pick the Seahawks to win the Super Bowl.

Now that I know who is going to win I really see no reason to watch on Sunday.....

The 2nd Saturday Of 2014 At Quanah Parker Park Before Town Talking

On the left you are looking west at the scenic Trinity River as it flows by Quanah Parker Park on this 2nd Saturday of 2014.

I parked on the Quanah Parker Park parking lot on my way to go treasure hunting at Town Talk to have myself a mighty fine walk in near perfect conditions, along with a lot of other people enjoying a mighty fine walk in near perfect conditions.

Currently the time is a few minutes past three. Before leaving for Quanah Parker Park I found out that today's Seattle Seahawks/New Orleans Saints football game starts in less than a half an hour. My DVR is set to record the game, thus allowing commercial and pointless blather fast forwarding ability when I get around to watching the latest edition of the Seattle Seahawks current Super Bowl quest, starting around 5.

Town Talk was extremely busy today, with long checkout lines. I find standing in the Town Talk checkout lines to be amusing, plus, though the line may look long, it moves quickly.

Today I got two bags of Fuji apples, grown in my old home zone of Washington, shipped from Yakima in Eastern Washington, to be precise. The most novel thing I got today was organic chorizo made from soy. In addition to the apples and chorizo I got a big bag of cole slaw fixin's in the form of already shredded cabbage and carrots. Also multi-grain tortillas and other stuff I am forgetting right now.

Today marks the 394th visit to Town Talk that I have made without running into Miss MLK or Miss MKB. Someday I expect this streak to end....

Hoping The Seattle Seahawks Beat The Atlanta Falcons Today So They Can Win The Super Bowl

Sampson (on the right) & Delilah

In the picture you are looking at the football fanatic fans known as Sampson & Delilah.

That is Delilah on the left. I like the sound of Sampson & Delilah better than Delilah & Sampson, which really has no ring to it.

You might have guessed that Sampson & Delilah were football fanatics, without me telling you that, due to the Seattle Seahawk logo Sampson & Delilah got tattooed to their right cheeks.

Sampson & Delilah are my go to source for info about the ongoing quest of the Seattle Seahawks to make it to this year's Super Bowl.

However, I somehow got a bit of my Sampson & Delilah info erroneously misconstrued, because I was harboring the misconception that if Seattle beat the Washington Redskins last Sunday, which they did, that Seattle would have to win only one more game, that being today's game playing the Atlanta Falcons, and then it'd be on to the Super Bowl.

But, yesterday, Sampson & Delilah disabused me of my erroneous notion by informing me that Seattle has to win today and then beat one more team before I have to head up to Seattle to be the party coordinator for the annual Sampson & Delilah Super Bowl Party.

I have not been to a Sampson & Delilah party in years, not since some point in time in October or November of 2005. And that party was at the next door neighbors of Sampson & Delilah, not at the S & D abode. It was at that party I learned I was able to throw darts quite accurately, and that something called a Long Island Iced Tea is not the type Iced Tea I was used to drinking in Texas.

Speaking of adult libations, there will be no repeat of last Sunday's Durango cocktails at this week's pre-Super Bowl Party.

The snacking for this week's pre-Super Bowl Party will be Cheese Quesadillas and Shrimp.

The Washington Redskins Won Their Division So Now They Have To Play The Seattle Seahawks

UPDATE: I was erroneous regarding the start time of tomorrow's Seattle Seahawk pre-Super Bowl game. Like I've already admitted, I get befuddled calculating time zone differences. The correct time is tomorrow's pre-Super Bowl game starts at 1:30 pm Pacific Time. Central Time is 2 hours later than that, not two hours earlier, so the game will come on in my zone at 3:30 pm.

Earlier today I was confused on Facebook by Football Fanatic, Miss Chris, who caused me to think that the Seattle Seahawks were playing a playoff game today. I think it was something about wearing blue today, to show support for the Seahawks, that confused me.

It did not take too much effort to find out that it is on Sunday that the Seahawks play a playoff game against the Washington Redskins.

I thought team names like "Redskins" had become totally politically incorrect, particularly, one would think, in the nation's capital. Then again, I think most Native Americans would have zero objection to this being this particular team's name.

I am not much of a fan of watching football on TV. Or in person. I did watch last year's Super Bowl. I don't remember who was playing or who won.

I think the last time I watched the Seattle Seahawks play football was in their very painful to watch, one and only, Super Bowl appearance.

Apparently this year the Seattle Seahawks have a good team and have been winning a lot of games. I've been told the Seahawks are a lean team that moves fast against less lean slower moving teams.

Miss Chris, the Football Fanatic, told me Sunday's playoff game starts at 1:30 Pacific Time. I think that makes it either 10:30 or 11:30 Central Time.

I suspect I will have a Seattle Seahawk playoff party on Sunday. Likely pizza will be involved. And a chicken product.

Are the Arlington, I mean, Dallas Cowboys, also in the playoffs?

If I am understanding what Miss Chris, the Football Fanatic, has told me, if the Seahawks win on Sunday, they then have to win one more playoff game and then they will be making their 2nd Super Bowl appearance.

If the Dallas Cowboys are in the playoffs are they in a different league than the Seahawks, thus making there be a chance that Dallas would play Seattle in the Super Bowl?

That'd be cool.

I'd be really torn as to which team I'd be rooting for. The Dallas Cowboys or America's New Team.....

WFAA Channel 8's Dale Hansen Reports Super Bowl Was A Disorganized Mess

Yesterday while watching the Super Bowl and the pre-Super Bowl on TV I was getting the impression that after a week of nothing but problems that in the end the actual game day was a success.

As is my norm, my impression was inaccurate.

The worst of the problems that I've heard of, so far, is that around 1,250 people who had tickets were stopped by the NFL from sitting in the seats they had paid for.

The NFL supposedly claimed the seats were not safe. But no one has been able to get an answer as to why they were unsafe. Or how it was that tickets were sold to seats that had not been verified as seatable.

The NFL claims that 850 of the seatless fans were moved to comparable or better seats. Some seatless fans were moved outside the stadium. Others were allowed to wander the concourse watching the game on TVs. Those for whom a seat was not found will, supposedly, receive a refund of $2,400, three times the value of their $800 ticket.

I read a comment on Bud Kennedy's Facebook entry about Dale Hansen's Super Bowl report that said...

"Personal opinions aside, Dale's not saying anything that isn't being said nationally. Let's face it, Fort Worth was the lone bright spot of this thing. Be proud.........if you're from Fort Worth."

Okay, I am currently sitting in Fort Worth. I was in Fort Worth during the Super Bowl. I am totally not getting how it was that Fort Worth was the bright spot in this debacle.

As for what Dale Hansen had to say about this particular Super Bowl and why he thought it was a disorganized mess, watch the video below....

I Predict Super Bowl Week In The 817 Will End With A Massive Traffic Jam

I was not able to get this week's FW Weekly til the Big Thaw occurred on Saturday. I suspect that was true for a lot of FW Weekly readers.

Judging by the cover it appears this week's FW Weekly focuses on the Super Bowl. I did not get around to reading it til this morning, to find, in this case, judging by the cover is a correct judgement.

Much of what is inside the cover of FW Weekly was rendered a bit ironic due to how Super Bowl week actually played out.

Like an article titled "From Sundance to the World" with a Fort Worth Star-Telegram level of almost breathless puffery, all atwitter that the world was coming to downtown Fort Worth courtesy of ESPN, saying ESPN reaches about 100 million U.S. households with ESPN International reaching 53 million more in 59 other countries.

I think more properly stated ESPN is a channel on various cable networks, with those cable networks reaching a total of 153 million households worldwide.

FW Weekly can't really be thinking that downtown Fort Worth has been seen this week in 153 million houses worldwide. If that did happen the world was not seeing the type images that makes a Chamber of Commerce happy.

After going down to check out the Super Bowl zone again, yesterday, along with thousands of others finally able to escape the Big Freeze and its Big Snow, and thinking about what I saw, I think we may be seeing one more weather related debacle today.

Yesterday the traffic coming from the east on I-30 was jammed up trying to get off the freeway to get to the Ballpark/Stadium area. This was around 3 in the afternoon.

Traffic was backed up all around the stadium area. On the south side of the stadium I saw the longest line of taxis I've ever seen. All stuck in the traffic jam.

I read today that a lot of Pittsburgh Steeler fans fly in to the Super Bowl city any time the Steelers are in the Super Bowl. Even if they don't have a ticket. I talked to several of those yesterday. The Steeler fans were easy to spot, many with cheese on their head.

I do not believe an event has taken place in Cowboys Stadium where the ticket holders get shuffled through a long security tent to get into the stadium.

I believe this will be the largest crowd to have attended an event in the stadium.

What I think may happen today is, just like yesterday, there will be a lot of formerly snowbound locals who decide to try to check out the Super Bowl. There will be no places for them to park, unless they want to pay an exorbitant fee. You'll have all the game goers arriving, by taxi or whatever means. I assume the Arlington trolley buses will be in the mix.

What I saw yesterday was a situation where traffic was not moving well. I think it will be much worse today.

So, that is my prediction for the day. The Final Debacle of Super Bowl Week and Super Bowl XLV will be a monster traffic jam with game goers not able to get into the stadium before the game starts.

Keep in mind, if you find this prediction unsettling, I am usually wrong whenever I predict anything.

Snow Is Forecast For The Super Bowl With A New Arctic Blast Heading To North Texas On Tuesday

It is first Sunday of the 2nd month of 2011. It is also the first day of February that has started above freezing.

The Super Bowl starts up in around 9 hours and 32 minutes. The Dallas Morning News conveniently has a Super Bowl Countdown Clock on their home page.

I've not seen a Super Bowl Countdown Clock on the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's home page. But, unlike the Dallas paper the Star-Telegram's home page is pretty much all about the Super Bowl.

As you can see via the view from my patio viewing platform, most of the snow and ice has melted.

However, snow is in the forecast for today. I really don't see that happening.

But, the National Weather Service has issued one of its SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENTS. And in that statement we learn that another Arctic cold front will be arriving in North Texas on Tuesday, putting us back in the Deep Freeze and bringing with it more sleet and snow. The SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT is below, all in capitals, which I've mentioned before is Internet-speak for shouting. The National Weather Service should no better than to shout.

...WINTRY PRECIPITATION LIKELY WEDNESDAY...

A STRONG ARCTIC COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH NORTH TEXAS TUESDAY NIGHT...BRINGING A GOOD CHANCE OF WINTRY PRECIPITATION LATE TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

AN UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES ON TUESDAY AND MOVE EAST ACROSS OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS ON WEDNESDAY. WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION WILL AFFECT MUCH OF NORTH TEXAS TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY. THE PRECIPITATION WILL START AS RAIN OR FREEZING RAIN...AND MAY TRANSITION TO SLEET AND SNOW. SURFACE TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO BE BELOW FREEZING DURING MUCH OF THE PRECIPITATION EVENT...WHICH WOULD RESULT IN ACCUMULATIONS OF ICE AND SNOW.

THIS SYSTEM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS TO TRAVEL. IF YOU ARE PLANNING TRAVEL ACROSS NORTH TEXAS OR SURROUNDING AREAS ON WEDNESDAY...CHECK THE LATEST FORECASTS BEFORE DEPARTING.

A Visit To The Dallas Cowboys Stadium The Day Before The Super Bowl Along With Thousands Of Other Visitors Finds People On The Stadium Roof

I headed to the Dallas Cowboys Stadium around 3 this afternoon.

I figured with our sudden thaw and return to semi-pleasant temperatures, that there would be a few people out and about.

Well, it was more than a few. Really bad traffic all around the stadium. Throngs of people. No event taking place besides tomorrow's Super Bowl. Near as I could find out.

I quickly realized how bad the traffic was and bailed on getting stuck going west on Randol Mill by the Stadium Wal-Mart. Later I was to see how lucky I was to avoid that traffic jam. The Ballpark in Arlington parking lots were open to the public. Free. I thought that was a nice touch for Arlington to do. If it was Arlington that did it.

Eventually I parked. I soon asked a couple of people if there was some event happening. They said they'd just come to check out the Super Bowl. Eventually I asked a cop the same question. He told me nothing was going on, that it was just people, like me, coming to check out the Super Bowl scene the day before the Super Bowl.

The first picture, at the top is interesting. I have no idea why there were people on the edge of the roof of the stadium. It looks like a helicopter is heading towards them. Being on that roof seemed a bit dicey, what with the fact that yesterday ice and snow was falling off it, hurting people. You could see there was still snow/ice on edge of the roof.

The Cowboys Stadium Wal-Mart Supercenter, across the street from the stadium, has taken some mocking heat in the national press covering the Super Bowl.

I've long thought it looked ridiculous. Somewhere on this computer I have a picture of the Wal-Mart, taken from the perspective of the stadium. It would take me way too long to find that picture.

Today the Stadium Wal-Mart was looking especially tacky due to the addition of porta-potties.

I assume the porta-potties were installed for the convenience of all the cops who appeared to be guarding the parking lot. I asked one of those cops about the huge crowd and he said it had been like this all day. And would be worse tomorrow. And he was glad he would not be on duty.

This particular Wal-Mart is very strict about anyone using their parking lot to park in to attend any event in the  stadium across the street.

The Wal-Mart is already prepared for tomorrow's parking problems, with the sticking of a sign on the sidewalk that runs along Randol Mill Road that separates the Wal-Mart from Cowboys Stadium.

The sign says, "This parking lot is for Walmart customer parking only. If you park your vehicle to attend games or events, your vehicle may be towed at your expense. Thank you."

Doesn't Arlington have any city code type thing that prohibits sticking a sign like this on a public sidewalk?

One more exciting thing. As I walked across the pedestrian/golf cart bridge that crosses Johnson Creek to the parking lots on the east side of the creek, a golf cart passed by with 4 people on board, one of whom had people pointing and saying that is Jimmy Johnson on board.

I also recognized him. From watching him on Survivor.

Prior to seeing him on Survivor I knew nothing of him coaching the Dallas Cowboys back, long ago, when they actually won games and got to play in Super Bowls.

Is Johnson Creek named for Jimmy Johnson, I just this second found myself wondering?

The Super Bowl Big Chill Has Ended As The Big Melt Begins

We are above freezing for the first time since Monday, here in my formerly frigid zone of North Texas. I don't know how long we've been melting. A couple minutes ago I saw the temperature on my computer screen was 36. I checked another weather info source to confirm this was not a fluke.

I stepped outside to take a picture of the melting snow to hear a lot of dripping and cracking noises. I suspect the ice will be off the roads earlier than I thought it would.

Which means I will be going to Town Talk in a little while. But I am not going to attempt to go hiking at any of my regular Saturday hiking venues. That will need to wait for some more melting and drying.

I heard from Elsie Hotpepper this morning that the area of the D/FW Metroplex that she is currently broadcasting from is currently without power. It is not due to a Rolling Blackout.

As the temperature rises I suspect there will be some more pipes leaking water and a lot of very busy plumbers. I hope no new chunks of ice have plummeted from the Cowboys Stadium on to innocent bystanders.

Can those Party Pass People get refunds of the $200 they paid to stand outside Cowboys Stadium during the Super Bowl, what with it possibly snowing and being cold?

Dallas/Arlington/Fort Worth North Texas Super Bowl Has Turned In To A Worst Case Scenario Disaster In Multiple Ways

The above is a screen cap from this morning's Dallas Morning News. It about sums up the current Super Bowl status.

When it was announced that the Super Bowl had been awarded to Dallas. I mean, Arlington, with all the hoopla about what a boon this would be, image-wise and economic-wise, I opined on this very blog that when the national media got a look at the new Cowboy Stadium and its humdrum location surrounded by urban blight on 2 sides, that the exposure would not result in the good press that the locals were expecting.

Well, there have been some big events in the new stadium without, as far as I've noticed, my predicted bad publicity.

Til now. With the biggest event to be held in North Texas, ever, happening tomorrow. With what is being said about Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth and North Texas not being all that flattering.

Arlington was described in the New York Times as drab and featureless. Multiple writers have made fun of the stadium sitting across the street from a Wal-Mart.

The Ice and Snow Storms factor in to a lot of the bad publicity for North Texas.

An ESPN writer wondered what Jerry Jones did to Mother Nature's daughter.

A Denver Post columnist wondered what the North Texas Super Bowl Weather Disaster does to the NFL's long standing argument that a town like Denver can't host a Super Bowl.

I also wondered the same thing. But substituted Seattle for Denver. If tomorrow's Super Bowl was taking place in Seattle, the air would be heated to around 50 degrees. With the only snow being in the surrounding mountains. All events could take place right in Seattle's downtown. Adjacent to Seahawk Stadium is an Exhibition Hall with more display space than the demolished Kingdome. With mass transit, in the form of light rail and buses, delivering fans right to where the Super Bowl would be played, if it were played in Seattle.

A Sport Illustrated writer Twittered  about the North Texas mess Tweetng, "I'm telling you: I-30 between Dallas + Fort Worth is a plow-less, snow-windswept moonscape. This is officially a debacle."

NPR's Jim Rome said, "6 inches of snow? Really, Dallas? Good luck getting another Super Bowl."

On Friday chunks of ice and snow fell from the roof of Cowboys Stadium injuring 6 people, sending some to the hospital. One, photographer Win McNamee, was hit in the shoulder by ice, breaking it in 4 places.

And now the earlier optimistic forecast for better weather on the day of the Super Bowl has turned pessimistic, with a prediction of much colder temperatures and more snow possible....