XVII

For those unfamiliar with Roman numerals, XVII is the number for 17.  Super Bowls are still numbered with Roman numerals, with the most recent Super Bowl being XLVI (46) between the Giants and Patriots.  Super Bowl XVII was my favorite Super Bowl.  It pitted my Redskins against the Miami Dolphins.  It was the first time I ever got to watch the Redskins play in a Super Bowl.  (They had played the Dolphins in Super Bowl VII, but I wasn’t born then.

I wanted to be like John Riggins when I was a kid.  He ran over people.  That looked like fun.  I liked running over people even though my mother said I was a bad boy when I did that.  He was a big part of the Redskins offense (which was explosive in those days.)

The game didn’t look promising at first.  It took a while for the Redskins to score a touchdown.  And as soon as they scored, they gave up a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff.  The Redskins trailed at halftime.  They trailed after three quarters.  The Redskins were facing a 4th-and-1 on the Miami 43 yard line.  It looked like a typical goal line offense-vs-defense.  The play looked like Riggins was going to go through the middle, but he went around to the left and went down the field for a Redskins touchdown.  The Redskins finally had a lead. I was a happy kid!  The Redskins scored a touchdown late in the game and won 27-17.

“XVII” is not a word in my opinion.  But I had to search for “words that start with ‘x” on the internet.  And according to a page I found, they included all Roman numerals that started with “X.”  I chose XVII because it was the first time I got to see the Redskins win a Super Bowl.  I could have chosen XXII or XXVI.  Both those Super Bowls were great, but XVII will always have a special place in my heart.

[This is part of the A-Z of Life series. Check out the other posts!]

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Washington

I grew up in our nation’s capitol.  Washington has a lot of tourist things to do.  There are a few things about living there that made me go batty.

The crime – People tend to refer to murders when talking about high crime rates.  Other places have a higher murder rate than Washington, but if you live here long enough, you pockets will be picked.  Even the pickpocketers are pickpocketed.   I have witnessed a pickpocket in action once.  I approached the pickpocketer and grabbed the wallet.  I was going to return the wallet to the person whom the wallet was taken from, but that guy stole the wallet from me.

Representation – Unlike people living in states, Washington DC does not have a representative in Congress nor do they have Senators.  As a local, I have often scratched my head over the people you people send here.  A plea to you:  Even though I no longer live in Washington, it’s still my hometown and I still visit often.  Use some discretion as to who you send here.  We Washingtonians don’t send our whack jobs to your town, don’t send yours to mine.

Tourism – Just because you are on vacation from your job does not mean you are on vacation from good manners and basic human decency.  The next person who bumps into me while texting will find his or her phone slammed to the ground and kicked into the street.  Please don’t litter.

Redskins – Washington is a much happier place to be when the Redskins are winning.  The Nationals and the Capitals have yet to win a championship and the Wizards were the Bullets the last time they won.  (They last won the championship in 1978, just before my 5th birthday.)

Washington is my hometown.  Please be respectful.  And put your wallet in your front pocket so your wallet doesn’t get picked.

[This is part of the A-Z of Life series. Check out the other posts!]

Just Like Home

I haven’t gotten to see too many games involving Washington teams this year.  Fortunately the Redskins and the Nationals are in the same division as New York teams so I can watch those games.  The Capitals are in the same conference as the Rangers, Devils, and Islanders so I get to watch at least 12 games a year.  I can’t root for a team called “Wizards” because of how the Wizard of Oz treated Dorothy before she peeked behind the curtain.

Tonight the Capitals are playing the Pittsburgh Penguins at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.  It was originally scheduled for this afternoon, but there was a rain delay of seven hours.  I can watch this game because it’s on NBC.  Tomorrow the Redskins will  play the hated New York Giants (as opposed to the San Francisco Giants, who never play the Redskins due to they being a baseball team) at FedEx Field.  I’ll be able to watch this game because I live in the New York viewing area.

My finger is feeling better and I can type pain-free.  2011 is off to a good start.  Keep up the good work!