Thursday, February 4, 2021

Social Distancing Journal, Day 317 thru 321: Championship Sunday!

 Day 317: Sunday, January 27

So, I know the Bucs sold their souls for Tom Brady. But, we did make it all the way to Championship Sunday, and that made it all worth it. 


I mean, we were one of only FOUR teams left in the league still playing. 


We also make NFL inspired pizzas for the remaining four teams on Championship Sunday, but I never would have imagined we'd be having the Bucs Cuban Pizza. I mean, man, I just wanted to go to the playoffs. Then I just wanted to win one game. Then I just didn't want to be embarrassed by the Saints. And now here we were on Championship Sunday! I finally got the whole 'it's an honor just to be nominated' crap. 


The other pizzas of course were the Kansas City BBQ pizza that we had last year, and the Green Bay Mac and Cheese pizza that we have like every other year. 



But a brand new pizza to us was the Buffalo Chicken pizza for the Bills. 


So now, we had Pizza to eat while we watched the Bucs in the NFC Championship game against the Packers at Lambeau Field. 


And then, something crazy happened. They kept scoring. 


Of course, we were pessimistic Bucs fans. Years of losing, and seeing it in person, you know? 

Me at the end of the 3rd quarter: "At least we can always say we were one quarter away from the Super Bowl" 
Calib: "This collapse is going to be so terrible. But I don't even care." 

BUT in the end, we won. WE FRICKEN WON. And we're going to the Super Bowl. We were all completely stunned. 


I couldn't even believe it. 



And apparently, neither could the person running the Bucs Twitter account. 

THE BUCS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!! 


But even more than that, THEY'RE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL HERE, IN, TAMPA! 
ON HAYDEN'S BIRTHDAY! 


Like, what even is this. Nobody in NFL history has gotten to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium, and the Bucs get to be the first ones. 



I even forgot there was a trophy that came with winning the NFC. This is all new to me. The one and only time the Bucs won the NFC Championship (and then the Super Bowl) was the 2002 season. I didn't even live here yet. I didn't even watch football. 



It's sad that it's Covid times, because there's been SO MUCH awesome Tampa Sports news in the last year, but nobody could go see any of it. (Narrator: People still went)


Still, the Rays made it to the World Series, the Lightning won the cup, and now the Bucs are going to the Super Bowl. 

And you know, I get it. We sold our souls for Brady. And now, at least if we were going to sell our soul, we did it for the Super Bowl. 


But since we were the first game, we still had to figure out who we were going to be playing. 


While we waited, we finished up our puzzle. 



And then we watched the next game. Kansas City... or Buffalo? 


Because WE'RE PLAYING ONE OF THEM.... IN THE SUPER BOWL! 



Turns out, we'll be playing Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. We already lost to them once this season, by three, at home. 



BUT, it was the last time we lost and it was in November just before our bye week. So, maybe we have a chance? 



Either way, this is SO exciting. I mean, it'd be awesome if we won. But the fact that we're even here is AMAZING. 



So, we'll see. I don't think we'll win. But, I never imagined we'd get this far. Stranger things have happened. 


And again. It's HERE. Mind. Blown. 







Day 318:  Monday, January 25th: 

Hey, good news! Dogs (including a Shelter Dog, Ellie and Etta say representation matters) are in the White House! 

And the Bucs are still going to the Super Bowl. We didn't dream it. What a day.




We got a fun package from Nate and Allison. 




And I also got my Joe Biden finger puppet. They were sold of of Kamala, so I got myself a Shirley Chisholm instead. 


Hayden also had a library bag to work on, so those are always fun. 

Day 319, Tuesday January 26th: 

Misfits box day! We got some giant brussels sprouts. 


But lots of good stuff in general. We love our misfits delivery. 


Hayden and I also made a charcuterie for a mid-day snack. 


And I got my first Black History book delivered. Hayden and I have decided we spent enough time on old white guys, it's time to show a different side of American history. So, instead of Black History month, we're doing Black History YEAR. I'm beginning my list, and I was sad about the lack of Black History books at the library, so while I reserved what they had, I also ordered a bunch of new books. 


Of course, the Super Bowl is here in Tampa. And we can't go. Covid. Prices. You know, all that. BUT, Calib and I will be there in cardboard cut out form. Thanks to my mom for the special treat! 



Ha! And a new Bernie! 


My Aunt Patti also found my dads bbq sauce recipe in his own handwriting and sent it to us, after I was asking my mom about it. Funny, I thought he made it from scratch but he started out with bottled sauce. Still, I LOVED his bbq sauce, so I'm excited to make this. 


And, history is being made as a Biden's cabinet gets approved, which is great to see. 


Oh my gosh, and words can't describe how much I love this exchange between the new red-headed Press Secretary and the fictional one from Scandal. 


Day 320: Wednesday, January 27th: 
Calib got his diploma in the mail, finally. But, when I took a picture of him it looks less like he's excited about his diploma and more like a mug shot. 


Day 321, Thursday January 28th: 

So, the last year has been weird for sure. 


Or, specifically over the last 321 days. On Thursday though, mom had been here 76 days, surpassing Cort's record, where she stayed with the Cincinnati Sattler's for  75 days. So, looks like I'm the favorite kid now. 


Admittedly, 321 days in, I'm struggling a bit. Mostly because the Super Bowl is now happening IN Tampa with the Bucs playing at HOME. And, that's not one of those things that you can even say 'we'll go next year'. There's no 'next year' for this one. This may very likely be a once in a lifetime event. 

Even just having the Super Bowl here is a big deal, and that hasn't happened for 12 years. If it doesn't happen for another 12 years, Calib will be 32. So, missing this one stings. A lot. 

And while I know I will be missing out on some Super Bowl events, this gave me some hope that maybe I could at least do *something*. Thank you, Jane Castor! 


Oh, and of course Thursday= Picnic Lunch Day! We headed down to the "beach" again for this one. 


And took a walk around the loop on the way home. We were greeted by these guys. 


This isn't even zoomed in. These guys did not care. 


And then, for the weekend, Asa and I started on the impossible puzzle from Nate and Allison. It's totally grey, but no two piece is *exactly* the same (though a lot are really, really close). The only way to do this one was to organize puzzle pieces and try them all. It was a lot. 


You also have to follow along on the map. That's key. 



We also had a Costco delivery, and were able to get a rotisserie chicken, which mom has taken to picking off all the chicken off the bone (a job I usually have and HATE, so I was grateful), and she might have given some to the dogs (look at them all patiently waiting). 


For our nightly game, we got Jake on video chat... 

...and played some Drawful. Calib's drawing of grandma was great. 



And apparently you can get your drawings on shirts now if you want. 


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