A Kid at Christmas

Kristie's sister, Karl, and brother-in-law, Gary, came up to visit late last week. Gail had purchased a Jeep Cherokee for Karla and Gary's son, so they flew up from Denver to pick it up and drive it back.

We decided to spend Sunday over in GF. The girls wanted to do some shopping while Gary and I wanted to watch some football. I suggested that we just stay home to watch our favorite teams (the Broncos and Bengals) on DirecTV. But since Gary hadn't been home in so long, he was hoping to also see some of his friends before the game.

Gary and I decided the best place to watch the games would be at Buffalo Wild Wings. Boy were we right.

They had close to 50 TVs (if not more) and the Sunday Ticket from DirecTV. So Gary could watch his Broncos on the big screen while I could also watch my Bengals right next to it.

Since Gary didn't have any luck tracking down any old friends, we showed up bright and early - we were waiting for them to open. So we had the place to ourselves for about 20 minutes before other NFL fans started pouring in.

It was great. The only downfall was my choice in 'sizzling' barbecue sauce on my shredded pork sandwich. On the menu the 'sizzling' barbecue sauce was squarely in the middle of the hierarchy of barbecue sauces. I thought about ordering a sauce from the red level instead of the middle yellow level. Boy am I glad I didn't. That 'sizzling' barbecue sauce was potent. I broke out in a sweat and drank about four Cokes! There is no way I'm ever ordering their hottest sauce, which came with the disclaimer "keep away from children and pets." Indeed. That stuff would just melt right through the table!

We sat right at the bar for the games but just to our left was a table with people wearing assorted Dolphins, Bucs, Saints, and Pats jerseys. Behind us sat one lady in a Saints jersey and a guy in a Panthers jersey. Further to my left sat a Vikings fan - ready to get an early start since his team didn't play for another 8 hours.

From where we sat, with just the turn of our heads, we could watch every single game.

"I feel like a kid at Christmas," Gary said as he watched the Broncos but also kept an eye on the Saints/Skins game, the Pats/Fins game, and the Raiders/Steelers game.

"I could spend all day here," I said as the games unfolded. The Broncos and Bengals won relatively easily, but while we enjoyed those we couldn't help but keep an eye on a classic come from behind victory for the Fins, a wild, wild finish with the Saints remaining undefeated, and enjoying the Steelers choke against the Raiders.

It was indeed as if Christmas came early for two NFL fans.

Best of all, though, when we got home Kristie and I were able to enjoy the Cardinals stomping all over the previously elite Vikings.

While I enjoyed every minute of the Vikings' loss, I was a bit disappointed since they host the Bengals next. The odds of the Vikings losing two games in a row is infinitesimal. I just hope the Bengals - whose defense is playing out of their minds but their offense is really struggling - can keep it close.