Best Superbowl Catch?

The folks here at Snapurly HQ are stoked that Superbowl week is here (even if our team is not playing in the big game). To celebrate the culmination of this exciting NFL season, we have decided to dedicate our posts this week to Superbowl-related topics. Today’s discussion comes thanks to the guys on The Border Patrol. There have been several great catches witnessed during the previous 45 championships ranging from some lesser-remembered grabs that went for a few yards to the game-winning touchdown snag, but which catch is the best ever? Two receptions in recent years lead the list of the finalists in a lot of people’s minds: David Tyree’s helmet catch in Superbowl XLII and Santonio Holmes’ toeing the line catch in Superbowl XLIII. These catches top the list not only for the incredible captures themselves, but what they meant to the respective games. Here is the 411 on each finalist:

David Tyree

It was improbable that the Giants even reached the Superbowl (winning three straight playoff games on the road to get to Houston); it was even more improbable that they held the lead late in game over the heavily favored and undefeated Patriots. But then Tom Brady did what he does best- lead his team down the field and scored a go-ahead touchdown with less than two minutes left in the game. Down 14-10, Eli Manning led his troops back on the field for a counter-offensive. After picking up a couple of first downs, the Giants faced a third down at their own 44. A pass play was called and Manning faced heavy pressure from the Patriots’ front-line. He managed to escape the grasp of the defenders and heave a pass downfield towards Tyree. Tyree came back towards the pass and was well defended by Rodney Harrison as both jumped up for the ball. Somehow, Tyree brought the ball down on his helmet and managed to keep it lodged there as he was going down and Harrison was swiping at it. All of a sudden, a broken play became a 32-yard gain and a first down. A few plays later, Eli Manning threw a touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress and the Giants went on to win the game.

Santonio Holmes

In an eerily similar scene to the Giants-Patriots game the year before, Arizona marched down the field and took the lead on a Kurt Warner 64-yard bomb to Larry Fitzgerald. It was an impressive comeback for the Cardinals who at one point trailed the Steelers 20-7. With two and a half minutes left and down by 3, Ben Roethlisberger and the offense had a lot of ground to cover to get in field goad range and tie the game. Big Ben turned to Holmes and he delivered, catching four passes on the drive including a 40 yard catch and run that got the Steelers down to the Cardinals’ 6 yard line. Two plays later, Big Ben found Holmes running towards the right end zone boundary and threw as strike. Holmes reached out, got both hands on the ball, and incredibly managed to get the tiptoes of both feet down in play before falling out of bounds to put the Steelers up by 4. Arizona attempted a valiant rally but fell short and the Steelers won their record 6th championship.

Both catches were amazing. Both were integral in Tyree’s Giants and Holmes’ Steelers realizing victory. But in the end, I believe that Holmes’ catch has the slight edge for two reasons. First, Holmes’ snag was for the game-winning score; Tyree’s was only for a first down that put the Giants closer to their destination of scoring. Not a lot of people remember that it was actually Burress’s TD that put the Giants in front for good. Second, Holmes’ was the more difficult grab. Barely. Tyree had to win a jump ball and then maintain possession of the ball as he came down, but Holmes had to reach up for the ball, bring it down, and get both feet down while running sideways in stride. For that, he gets my vote.

What do you think? Do you agree that Santonio Holmes’ catch was the best ever, or do you feel that David Tyree’s catch was better?

 

What Is Your Favorite Movie?

Have you ever been asked “What is your favorite movie?” Of course you have. It is one of the more common questions posed by people when they are trying to get to know someone better. The responses to the inquiry vary as wildly as the people giving them and every film genre (no matter how unique) is represented on somebody’s list. When I am asked this question, my reply is even more uncommon because I answer the question with…another question: “Which list?”

After viewing a film, I put it into one of five categories. The first three are similar to what many of you would classify a movie as: terrible, decent but not memorable, and good but not great (aka the “It’s worth spending $1.00 at Redbox” movies). The final two choices include great films, but I split them into one of two possibilities:

Movies I believe are great that you can watch over and over again and never tire of them. I will be the first to admit that they are not great from a critic’s standpoint (none of these will ever be considered a classic) but for some reason, you can watch the movie multiple times in a short duration and enjoy them the same every single time. The National Treasure movies, Independence Day, the Back to the Future trilogy, Dodgeball, and The Replacements are just a few examples.

Movies that are great, but you can only watch them only so often. These movies are often higher up on the critic’s and fan’s all-time best movies lists, but they are so heavy and powerful that time is needed to digest it before you can view it again. My favorite movies of all time fall into this category and include The Count of Monte Cristo, Gladiator, The Shawshank Redemption, and The Illusionist.

You may disagree with these categories. You certainly may disagree with the movies I have included in each category. But to me, when I am asked what my favorite movie is, I have to ask “Which Iist?” My selection for date night is vastly different than one I would like as background noise while I am cleaning. My choice for one to watch to unwind after a long day might contrast the one I desire to attend the midnight showing of. My favorite movie is…dependent on the situation.

 

Chicks (and Basketball Teams) Dig Gray

I arrived at home last night to find my roommate in front of the TV watching a college basketball game. “Who’s playing?” I inquired. “North Carolina and Virginia Tech,” he replied. I looked back at the screen and immediate recognized the familiar hue of Carolina blue, but I didn’t see same orange or maroon of the Hokies. Instead, they were wearing gray uniforms. The last time I checked, gray wasn’t an official color of Virginia Tech. But the Hokies appear to be the latest team to adopt a gray jersey as one of their alternatives on game day.This trend has been growing over the last couple of years and has exploded this season.

It used to be that only a few schools such as Georgetown and Colorado donned the color. Last year, Kansas State and Ohio State brought attention to it when they introduced them during the season and wore them for several games. All of a sudden, schools left and right possess a gray jersey in their aresenal. Michigan State, Texas, Alabama, Purdue, South Carolina, Wichita State, Kentucky, Oregon, Providence, VCU, and Akron have all at one time or another used gray on game day and other programs (such as Syracuse) are rumored to be considering it for use in the near future.

I have mixed opinions on this trend. On one hand, I like the programs that stick to their official university colors (Kansas, UCLA, and Indiana for example). It’s traditional and classy to showcase the school’s hues that way. On the other hand, I think that alternative colors can and do work if the scheme is right. The black digs that Duke and Florida have worn look great. Some of the gray jerseys look fantastic to me (Texas, Kentucky); others not so much (South Carolina, Oregon).

I came across an article that detailing more about the gray phenomenon and displays a few gray jersey pictures from this season. Take a look yourself and be the judge: to gray or not to gray?

 

Gentlemint

A few months ago I was over at my girlfriend’s place having dinner with her and her roommate. While I was enjoying the delectable food in front of me, the girls were discussing this amazing thing the roommate had discovered online and had pinned to her board. I looked back up the girls quizzically which they noticed because my girlfriend remarked, “She pinned it on Pinterest.” They both looked at me as if this answered my question and began to resume their conversation when I replied, “What the deuce is Pinterest?” I had never heard of it before. They spent the next few minutes catching me up on the social media site that has become an internet phenomenon and described some of the aspects they had found while utilizing it.Their comments echoed some that were made by Pinterest super-users who call the website “the equivalent of flipping through a magazine” and “window shopping.”

As I gathered more information about Pinterest, one thing was becoming more and more apparent to me- while the website can be used by anyone, it seemed to be primarily targeted to and used by women. A majority of the male population could care less about the fashion, home decor, recipes, hairstyles, and color schemes displayed there. Combing through the items to find relevant topics for men can potentially be a cumbersome and time-consuming task. Could there be a way, then, for men to enjoy a similar platform and find useful posts relevant to them? Glen Stansberry and Brian McKinney say yes, and it comes courtesy of Gentlemint.

Gentlemint is a social media site begun by Stansberry and McKinney that is similar to Pinterest but contains “a mint of manly things” for men to share and enjoy with each other. Whether it’s a handy tool or device to use around the house; classic cars; iconic photos of famous men both in and out of their respective crafts; or random pictures/articles that are sure to pique the interest of men, Gentlemint is aiming to establish itself as a daily stop in every man’s schedule. The website has already realized success and word is just now getting out.

I am fortunate enough to have been invited to the website and have been immensely entertained by the tacks (posts) listed so far. You may have not heard of Gentlemint yet, but you will soon enough. I recommend that you check out its offerings because you have no idea what you are missing.

 

First Snow

Evidence of the whale of a snowstorm here last night.

Unless you have been in a very deep sleep; vacationing in a place warm enough that shorts are being worn; or you live under a rock, winter is here. Yes, the season started three weeks ago if you are going off the calendar, but do you really believe it when you are enjoying cloudless, pleasant 50 degree weather? This has been the case not only here in Northeast Kansas but in most places around the continental United States as several high temperature records have been smashed. Dozens of ski resorts around the country are operating less runs than normal and some have even had to manufacture their own snow!

All good things come to an end, though, and in a hurry as yesterday not only introduced more familiar winter weather but also the first snow of the year here. I had to finally pull out the heavy coat and gloves to combat the fierce winds that blew through the area. The storm only dumped a quarter inch of snow and caused minimal issues with traffic. This is one of the two snow situations that are acceptable (the other being a heavy snow that prevents you from going to work or school) because you get to enjoy the snowstorm in progress and disruption of your plans is virtually non-existent. There is only one situation in which snow is not agreeable: the moderate to heavy snow that is not quite enough to get you out of work or school but makes navigating in the snow very difficult. I dread these days because I live in a hilly town and drive a rear-wheel vehicle, which makes matters worse and has taught me a few lessons about driving in a snowstorm.

If you are not a fan of the white stuff, I am sorry but your pipe dream of relishing in San Diego-like weather is over. I hope that you enjoyed it while it lasted because we will not see temperatures like that for awhile. Conversely, if you take pleasure in snow, then you are saying “It’s about time!” Even though you cannot erect a snowman or make snow angels in this instance, be patient- your time will come. After waiting three weeks for temperatures that would allow the possibility of snow, what is a few more days?

 

My One Word for 2012- Simplify

Possible One Words (photo from http://www.linktrap.com)

Happy New Year! 2012 is here and with it comes the annual list of goals, promises, and resolutions that we develop in the hopes of improving our lives over our current situation. You know, the items that we tell ourselves that we will do THIS year only to find discarded and forgotten within a few weeks. This was a perennial pattern for me until last year when I chose an alternative method from the My One Word website to employ in 2011. My One Word is a three-step process in which you develop a theme to live out for the year ahead. Last January, I walked through the steps and chose discipline as my word for the next 365 days.

Over the last 48 hours, I have been pondering how would I grade myself in my performance over the last year. Ultimately, I believe that the judges would award me a C on my discipline in 2011. In some areas, I made a lot of strides towards getting to the goal I had set. However in many other areas, I fell a little or a lot short of where I desired to end up. There is only one reason for this result and that is the man in the mirror. The art of discipline is hard and uncomfortable and often requires change. Unfortunately, my self-evaluation revealed that in several instances, I chose the easier path that I had traveled before over the path I should have taken.

Even though my grade was lower than I had hoped, I felt that using the My One Word method worked much better for me than the traditional resolution one has. It brought me an awareness that was not there previously. As a result I have chosen to select another word for myself this year. Is there a word out there that can assist me in improving my discipline grade while drawing closer to the person I hope to be? I believe that word is simplify.

I mirror society in that my life is full of busyness and noise. Sometimes I will arrive at the end of the day and wonder where the time went. Yes, I worked all day. And had that two-hour small group meeting in the evening. But there was time before, in-between, and after these activities- what did I do then? There are countless options available to fill your time, but there is only so much time to fill. Did I sleep an extra 30 minutes when I could have completed a workout? Could I have read more from my Bible or a “continuing-education” book instead of watching that extra hour of television (even when my DVR contains a new Psych AND Chuck episode)? Maybe I could have written an email or letter to catch up with a friend instead of contemplating my next Words With Friends or Angry Birds move. And so on.

In order for you to become the person you want to be, you must seek out and select activities that will help you do so. Make them a priority in your schedule and focus your energy on completing them each day. If there is any space left on the schedule, you can allot it towards other things. My goal for 2012 is to make this simpler, focused approach a habit in my life. That way, when I sit down on December 31st (unless the Mayans were right), I will have found myself closer to that person I attain to be. Whether simplify is the right word for you or not, I encourage you to work through the My One Word process to ascertain the right word for you. Perhaps it will help you to realize your best year yet!