shock and awe

I acknowledge that plenty has been said already by smarter people than I regarding yesterday's Superbowl, but I could hardly avoid mentioning it. I should lead with the disclaimer that I've never been a real disciple of the NFL. I've always followed and enjoyed the college game much more. This year, having married into a Packers family at a convenient time, I've paid a little more attention. I was expecting, along with most people, more of a Patriots coronation than an actual game yesterday, but I was so very glad to be wrong. That was just a fun football game to watch, unless you're a Patriots fan. Honestly, I can't feel too bad for them in light of Boston's recent World Series title, the Celtics looking strong, and the fact that the Pats have done OK for themselves in recent playoff history. I don't have much to add in the way of analysis or historical perspective. The game was just such a beautiful upset, and such a hard-fought contest that I had to post a sort of extended "WOW".

A couple of interesting Superbowl related reads I found this weekend: A write-up of the widely unknown pre-Christian origins of Superbowl Sunday, and an analysis of the (causal or not) relationship between the Superbowl and the subsequent performance of the St Louis Cardinals.

All of this hype over the Superbowl, and Super Tuesday was put into perspective for me today. Driving north along the 110 freeway I was presented with a rare sight. It was a crystal clear view of the Los Angeles skyline, and behind it a 180 degree mountainscape. From the Hollywood sign to my left, all the way over to the snow capped peaks on my right, it was truly a sight to behold. We don't get many opportunities to appreciate the natural beauty of our mountainous surroundings here in La La Land, thanks to all the junk we've put in the air. When we do get these rare glimpses, I'm always struck by the awesome power of the geological forces involved in creating those mountains. For all of our accomplishments, good or bad, we humans remain rather insignificant in the scope of geologic time. In the midst of the Superbowl and Super Tuesday, its good to be reminded of that.