Super Bowl 50, Lessons

I enjoyed the Super Bowl played between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. I had hoped the Broncos would win the game, mostly because I have twice lived in the Denver area and have suffered, as a Broncos fan, through losses in previous Super Bowls.

Craig Morton
Denver Quarterback 1977 Super Bowl

I Cheered for the Broncos and the Orange Crush defense during their 1978, Super Bowl XII loss (27-10) to the Dallas Cowboys. I also remember the ugly loss to the San Francisco 49ers (55-10) in the 1990 Super Bowl XXIV.  The result of this game remains the most lopsided score in Super Bowl history.

Over time, and upon finding a home in the Baltimore region, I have become a Ravens fan; but I have a fond place in my heart for the Broncos.  It was not surprising, therefore, that I wanted the Broncos to win the Super Bowl.

That written, going into the game, I felt the Panthers were the more complete team with more capable players at critical positions. 

Officially, my position on the game was that I was cheering for the Broncos, but felt that the Panthers would win.

What are the lessons I take away from this game?

Peyton Manning
Denver Quarterback 2016 Super Bowl

1. No matter how it looks on paper, the intangibles affect the outcome and that is why we play the games.

2. Defense wins championships!

3. Experience matters.

4. Maturity is an important intangible.

5. The sheriff was better than superman.

6. Defensive games can be boring, but represent the essence of football.

Some of these are applicable in life as well as in the sports arena!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - February 8, 2015

1. The second week of February 2016 is underway!

2. There is another snowstorm taking aim at the Baltimore-Washington region. 

Broncos, 24 - Panthers, 10

3. Super Bowl 50 was won by the Broncos, 24-10! Defense was the name of the game, but Peyton Manning managed to lead the Broncos to a victory and his second Super Bowl win! Congrats to Denver and all of their fiercely loyal fans.

4. I did not find many of the Super bowl commercials to be especially super this year.

5. The Washington Post rated the Super Bowl commercials. I did enjoy Avocados in Space and the one about the "Weiner dogs" for Heinz ketchup. 

6. Now that the NFL season is over it is time to get ready for, yes, wait for it . . . BASEBALL! Spring Training is almost here!

7. I appreciate the respite from the presidential olympics--but it is back onto the campaign trail today with New Hampshire looming big tomorrow.

Great Wall of China

8. I was encouraged by the performance of the band of governors during the Republican debate a few days ago. Perhaps they can bring moderation and common sense to the campaign.

9. As an American, I do not want to fund the Western Hemisphere's version of the Great Wall of China to be installed on the border of Mexico and the United States.  It is too easy for a wall to change from keeping people out to keeping people in.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD 

Squirrel Thievery

Squirrel at the Feeder

They are creative thieves--squirrels. 

Chris bought a unique bird feeder to provide peanuts for her favorite bird--the bluejay. 

The squirrels figured out how to get the peanuts out of the feeder.

It is amazing how quickly they can get the nuts out of the feeder and create a huge mess on the deal. I am really looking forward to cleaning it all up when the weather gets warmer. 

Well, at least we are helping the critters enjoy a beautiful day.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Snow Melt

Until this morning, there had been a string of four days in a row where the temperatures did not dip below freezing. That has made a significant impact on the snow around the house. 

I am encouraged because the snow is melting, quickly. I can see the ground around my house.

In another testament to the snow melt, I received an email from a Baltimore area golf course encouraging me to come out and play this weekend. They remarked that they had 12 of their 18 holes open for diehard golfers. OK, I considered it. 

As soon as the snow is gone, I am sure I am going to be outside doing something. I even cooked two meals on the grill this past week! Yes, the grill works even when the weather is not hospitable!

Storm on the horizon?

No problem, I'm hoping it misses us.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

How Can You Tell . . . ?

I have been listening to the politicians arguing in the aftermath of the Iowa Caucus. 

What a miserable situation with every campaign claiming victory or blaming some other campaign for their poor showing. I remember a joke about it all.

How can you tell that a politician is lying?

Answer.

Their lips are moving.


I have not heard so much negativity and subterfuge on a national basis in years. 

Who won Iowa?

Here's a thought. Since no one garnered more than 50 percent, no one won!

How hard is that? Clinton and Sanders can slice the vote however they want--but there was no majority and therefore no mandate.

On the other side, how can someone who gets only 20-something percent of the vote declare victory?

I wish I could be a winner with 28 percent. In real life, I actually need something closer to 99 percent to be considered a winner. Has anyone else considered that anything less than 50.1 percent is not a winning percentage? Let's get a grip and stop letting politicians change what we know is true. Winning is different than losing.

So how can you tell? Yea, their lips are moving.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Phantom of the Opera

Chris and I spent the evening at the Hippodrome Theater in Baltimore viewing the traveling production of Phantom of the Opera. 

Hippodrome Interior before the Show

This performance used a redesigned set that adds significantly to the experience. 

Most people know that I am not a fan of the Hippodrome Theater in Baltimore because the seats are tight and the large balcony is a problem. And it was a problem last evening, although we were in the center orchestra seats, the balcony provided restricted viewing of some of the activity.

Chris and I at Phantom

The production, however, was great. The orchestra was well conducted and the actors were on pitch and strong. 

I recommend this performance for Phantom lovers and neophytes. Check the schedule--it may be coming to a city near you.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

My Take: Political Winners and Losers

The excitement of the Iowa Caucus is almost over and attention has turned to New Hampshire. 

I have decided that politicians can redefine words to suit their individual needs. Such would be the case for Clinton and Rubio who both claimed victories as a result of the Caucus.

I was impressed with Clinton declaring victory, albeit by a mere .3 percentage points in a marred process that featured multiple coin tosses. Did I mention that no one received 50 percent of the votes cast and there were multiple coin flips involved?

On the Republican side, a letter to the editor of the New York Times by Richard Nussbaum sums up the situation fairly succinctly. Mr. Nussbaum writes:

It really doesn’t matter that Ted Cruz beat Donald Trump in the Iowa caucuses on Monday night. What matters is that the majority of Republican voters in Iowa threw their support to one of two candidates whose main campaign themes are meanspiritedness and bigotry.

Though this week’s talk will be all about Mr. Trump’s loss, it should really be about America’s loss, and about confronting head on the racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia — not to mention callous indifference to poverty and suffering — that have become the calling cards of these politicians, and that are sadly embraced (or, at the very least, overlooked) by far too many Americans.

RICHARD JAY NUSSBAUM

The comments above are precisely what has been bothering me about the campaigns thus far. The bashing has got to stop! We need leaders who can work with opposition and can build-up rather than tear down. We have had too much tearing-down in our political system lately and that is why it appears that almost nothing gets done in Washington.

A bigger problem is that the top vote getters in each party, with the exception of Trump, are all senators or previous senators. Former senators have generally poor track record as presidents. I have found the list here. I exclude some of the original Founding Fathers from the statement because the initial cadre of senators was clearly composed of the leaders of the government. Also note, Warren G. Harding became a senator (and a good one) after his Presidency. We can argue about a few of the exceptions.

Conversely, former governors comprise some of our most revered Presidents. The list is here.  Governors actually have experience building coalitions to get things done while, in my opinion, Senators frequently are single issue people who can play well with others in the sand box. 

My Take is that the Iowa Caucus pointed out that the current front runners for the office to President of the United States are flawed. We the People need to do a better job finding and supporting candidates who are more focused on running the country rather than bashing the other candidates.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Iowa Caucus Results and Groundhog Day

I'm not sure how they are similar, except they are sharing a day.

Today is Groundhog Day! Yay, the rodent from Punxsutawney is predicting the future of Winter and the arrival of Spring.

Similarly, the people of Iowa are putting their stamp on the 2016 Presidential Election process by trying to predict the candidates from the two major parties who will vie to be the next President of the United States.

Both of the events mark beginnings. One, the beginning of the end of Winter and the other the beginning of the electoral primary season. 

Let's hope both reports are good. An early Spring and competent candidates!

That would be very different, on both counts.

--Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - February 1, 2016

1. Welcome Groundhog Day, tomorrow. Let's get some good news.

2. Orioles catchers and pitchers report in 18 days and the first signs of spring will emerge.

3. The original Star Trek NCC-1701 USS Enterprise is being restored for display in the Smithsonian. 

4. It was 56 degrees yesterday and the snow looks as if it is resisting the warmth. There is still a lot of it around. 

5. Today is Iowa caucuses day. The election season hits another milestone on the path to electing our next president.

6. Had there not been over a foot of snow on the golf course, yesterday would have been a good day to golf. Well, except at Torrey Pines located in San Diego, California, and the Farmers Insurance Open where play was suspended because of violent storms. 

7. I found a fun video of a Blue Angels performance. 

8. I wonder of the people of Iowa will be happy to be out of the political spotlight beginning tomorrow? They have been front and center for almost a year and I'm sure they will enjoy seeing advertisements on their TV's for something other than candidates.

9. Today Iowa, next Monday? Super Bowl aftermath! Broncos or Panthers? 

10. On this date in 1884, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) debuted. It is the undisputed reference source for the current and historical meaning of words.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Boys, Dogs, and January

Ethan with Arthur (a selfie)

January's last day has arrived. Hopefully, soon, we can put the snow behind us and move into February, where we usually experience our largest snowfall.

Arthur giving Ethan a Fist Bump

Over the past few days, Chris has been spending quality time with grandchildren and their dogs,  mostly because school has been in recess due to the historic snow storm.

It is hard to look forward to Springtime when there still remains so much snow on the ground.

The harder part is what to do with the boys and the dogs with all of the snow! Staying inside, playing games and watching movies only lasts so long.

Spring is coming and we will get the groundhog's prediction on Tuesday. Here's hoping for an early and long spring!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD