Super Bowl Predictions

So, I guess the Superbowl is pretty soon....
Yeah, the Superbowl. It's the most important sporting event of the year here in the USA. A bunch of big dudes running around in a big arena, chasing after one guy with an oblong ball, and knocking each other to the ground. It's all very technical and exciting.


Anyway, this year's Superbowl is being played by the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers. The sporting world is currently abuzz with speculation as to which of these teams will emerge victorious. Will it be the wiley and devious Steelers (known as such because they...you know...steal a lot of things)? OR, will it be the powerful and feared Packers (known as such because they really pack a lot of punch)???

The contest this year is a classic battle of brains versus brawn. Who do YOU think will be the champion?


Could be either...or maybe, just maybe, it will be neither.

See, I have my own prediction for this year's Superbowl: I'm betting all my money that the game will be won by none other than the Miami Dolphins.


I mean, think about it. Let's say that it's Sunday, February sixth. Game day. As the Steelers and the Packers prepare to commence the battle, out of nowhere comes an army of large men in turquoise uniforms. They rush the field, seize the ball, and proceed to score several touchdowns.

Turns out it's the Miami Dolphins. They've decided to crash the Superbowl and seize the championship for themselves.

The referees huddle together to form an action plan, and realize that there's nothing technically in the NFL rulebook preventing a random team from rushing the field and playing in any game it wants in the state of Texas. Woops. It was just an oversight of the folks who wrote down the rules, apparently.

"Too bad, but there's nothing we can do about it now," announces the head ref. "The Dolphins have a right to be here!"


The crowd goes wild as the Dolphins score touchdown after touchdown. Only 35 minutes into the game, and the score is already Dolphins 47, Packers 0, Steelers 0. In desperation, the Packers and Steelers decide to work together in order to defeat the marauding invaders from Miami.

They begin to mount a respectable defense, but in the end, it all proves to be too little, too late. The game ends in a Dolphins victory -- 63 to 29 against the combined Steelers-Packers squad!


It's just so crazy that it might happen, and that's why I've made the above scenario my official Superbowl prediction. Dolphins 63, Packers-Steelers 29. I've also sent a letter to Dolphins Coach Tony Sparano outlining my plan to plant the seed in his mind to get the ball rolling on it.

Since my prediction is a pretty big long-shot, I'm sure to get filthy rich if it really happens. The only thing more crazy would be if, say, the Los Angeles Rams made a surprise comeback and won the game.


Maybe that'll be my prediction next year.

(Rams, it's time for a comeback!)

Anyway, here's a pretty good thriller from the director of Fight Club. Enjoy.

Zodiac (2007)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443706/


Netflix description:
David Fincher's chilling drama based on actual events in the 1960s and '70s recounts the infamous actions of a cryptic killer who stalked the streets of San Francisco in an executioner's hood and left clues about his crimes in the newspaper. Jake Gyllenhaal -- flanked by an impressive ensemble cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo and Chloë Sevigny -- stars as the reporter who went on to write a best-selling true-crime book.

Zodiac is the true story of a bunch of people trying figure out the identity of a serial killer in 1970s California. You may have heard of him -- a fella known commonly as the Zodiac Killer.

He's the one who threatened to kill more people if his crazy letters weren't published in the newspapers. Piled up, like, ten victims over the course of five years or so. He also was never caught.

Anyway, David Fincher's Zodiac primarily follows Robert Graysmith, a newspaper cartoonist who finds himself a little obsessed with cracking the Zodiac Killer's identity. He gets mixed up with a reporter named Paul and a cop called David, dealing with not only the intricacies of the evidence, but also the direct taunts of the killer himself. Yeah, the Zodiac Killer is pretty messed up. It wears on a man's soul.

And that's where the real drama of Zodiac comes in -- the emotional strain put on our hardworking heroes. We see them struggle for years to solve this case, only to come up with nothing. Sure, there is a prime suspect at one point, but as we know, the guy was never charged. Must have been quite frustrating for all parties originally involved.

But it's also just plain fascinating. I mean, David Fincher has managed to craft a film that's darn near THREE HOURS long , yet never gets boring! I've never seen a movie so able to hold my interest for so long with so much detail. It's just a really interesting investigation to watch unfold.


You'll be drawn into this story and maybe even a little scared by it. It's obvious that Zodiac was written with a meticulous eye on accuracy, and performances across the board are top notch (I especially liked Robert Downey Junior as heavy-drinking reporter Paul Avery, and Mark Ruffalo as police investigator David Toschi). Slap on a layer of that signature David Fincher slickness, and you've got yourself one high quality motion picture, my friend.

Not to mention, the murder scenes. They're shot in an almost detached sort of way, like Fincher just wants to recreate them with as little emotion as possible, for accuracy's sake. The strategy makes for some really creepy moments. The Zodiac Killer is cold, methodical, and utterly insane. He's the kind of person who could frighten an entire city just by writing letters. I can see why Fincher thought that Zodiac would make a good subject for a film.

Remember -- Zodiac IS, like, three hours long, so reserve ample time for yourself to sit through this one. But once you've got the opportunity, I recommend checking out this excellent film. Too bad it didn't get more attention at the time of its release.

4 out of 5.

b.