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www.mybaycity.com January 13, 2008
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In the Middle of a Wisconsin Blizzard, I Saw The Worm Turn

Watching Brett Favre Play Football In the Snow
Makes Me a Better Person

Why Would I Lie About a Thing as Important as Football?

January 13, 2008       Leave a Comment
By: O. J. Cunningham

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I watched too much NFL Football on Saturday.

I know this . . . because my wife of 30+ years (Donna Jean) tells me so.

After 30+ years of hanging around with a sports geek like me, you would think she would understand . . . but "they" never do.

If you're over 50, you (like me) were undoubtedly damn near in awe of Brett Favre's performance on Saturday against the Seattle Seahawks.

Could it have been any better? I mean really? ANY FREAKIN' BETTER?

OK . . . maybe if Favre had played in a complete body cast . . . blindfolded . . . and on cross-country skis . . . but hey . . . the dude is 38 years old. That's like 62 in baseball years.

HERE'S THE SETTING: (In case you live in a cave and missed it) 14 points behind . . . Snow falling like a scene from Dr Zhivago or Nanook of the North . . . Packer running-back Ryan Grant has forgotten how to hold onto the football although he has two degrees from Notre Dame . . . And I'm beginning to worry how my main dude, "The Cuban," is taking this slaughter of his beloved Green Bay Packers . . . cuz I know it's gonna have some kind of relevance as to how my year-end tax return is going to turn out.

And then the worm turned . . . like the final round of a Rocky movie, like the last 15 minutes of a Will Smith (Independence Day) action-thriller . . . Here comes Favre . . . 28 unanswered points . . . and a blow-out victory over the Seahawks.

How many geezers like Favre have you seen having a snowball fight with teammates in the middle of an NFL playoff football game. I've seen a lot of playoff football (just ask Donna Jean) and I've never seen it before this past weekend.

Last time I had so much fun watching an old guy play sports was back in the mid 1980s, when an aging tennis legend named Jimmy Connors handled Aaron Krickstein in the United States Open Tennis semi-finals in New York sometime around Labor Day weekend.

If I remember correctly, my Donna Jean had something to say that weekend about how much time I spent watching tennis.

How does all this make me a better person?

Old people (like me) need role models just like teenagers do. Just as the young'uns look up to their rock stars and hard-body teen idols, we geezers need guys like Favre to let us know that it's OK to be older, wiser, be graduates of the school of hard knocks . . . and yet, still be out there and make a contribution . . . get our name in lights . . . accomplish the unexpected.


Sure . . . I watched Tom Brady (age 30) later in the day . . . in an almost perfect performance win against the Jags. But he's just a kid . . . Probably never had a Dr. House-like pain pill addiction (like Favre did) . . . Never had a wife with breast cancer (like Favre did) . . . And never had to play in Wisconsin in January . . . 'Course he did have to play at Michigan (smile) . . .

So, I guess that makes me a "cheesehead" . . . at least for another week . . . And I'm sure "The Cuban" and I will be both cheering for the Packers next week against the Giants/Cowboys winner.

And I'll be watching too much NFL football on television (again) . . . but I'll be a better person because of it . . .

Tell my Donna Jean that if you see her . . .



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O. J. Cunningham

O. J. Cunningham is the Publisher of MyBayCity.com. Cunningham previously published Sports Page & Bay City Enterprise. He is the President/CEO of OJ Advertising, Inc.

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