Week 1 &mdash 13 Sep 2004
From: Luke KnowlandTo: mnf@fat.doobie.com
Subject: Are you ready for some football...?
... of course you are.
Jeff and Denise are in Tortola, and the Monday Night Football list got eaten by a bad disk, but that doesn't mean that the first MNF game of the season should go un-watched in some bar with copious amounts of beer and a big-ass TV (or four). So without further ado...
Rejoice that the Olympics are over. For a moment forget that Bonds is one run away from the 700 homerun milestone. We're wrapping up the first week of the 2004 NFL season with the first official Monday Night Football game of the season. Let's have a little re-cap of the games thus far:
On the AFC side of the fence, the Patriots won (though they tried to throw it away). The Jets won. Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Jacksonville, Denver, and San Diego won (go Pete). Oakland is continuing their effort to wind up in Nebraska by 2008.
On the NFC side of the fence, the Redskins won (yay Jeff). The Eagles won (no real surprise there). Detroit won (?!). The Vikings won. Atlanta, St. Louis, and Seattle won. Alas, our hometown 49ers tried hard to pull it out in the end, but a blown 2 point conversion and a 23 yard penalty with 40 seconds left in the game, well, there's always next week (sorry Denise).
Which brings us to tonight's game:
The Game: Green Bay at Carolina
Favre's back again this year (wasn't he supposed to have retired?) tossing the ball around for the Packers if he's not passing it off to Ahman Green to do some running. Which helps the Packers with their play action, which is what they do big on offense.
However, Delhomme surprised a lot of us at the end of last season bringing the Panthers to the Super Bowl (um, which they lost to the Pats). Defensive line, pass rush, and stopping the run are things the Panthers did well last year, and John Madden's been comparing Delhomme to a young Brett Favre (with an easier to pronounce last name and less me-me-me than pretty-boy).
So it should be a good game.
The Stadium: Bank of America Stadium, in lovely Charlotte, NC Opened in 1996 Full house at 73,366 Hybrid Bermuda grass
The Odds: Carolina by 3 Over/Under: 43 1/2
Jeff's better at this than I am. Over/under feels possibly high for this match-up (and Vegas even has 4 points across the over/under depending on the sportsbook), and the spread is close (and again, Vegas has it from 1 to 3, depending on where you place your bets). If the 2003 Panthers come out to play, the safe money is at very least on Carolina winning. But hell, it's not my money. I'm going with Carolina, if for no reason than the way they played last year and I hate Green Bay.
The Time: Kickoff is, as always, at 6pm.
Most importantly, the Bar: Carrying on in the past few years' tradition, we'll be journeying around the City to find sports bars that feature big tvs and cheap beer. There are old standbys like Green's over in Russian Hill, but I don't want to burn that one before Jeff and Denise return (as as of last year it was the only place we went to with legitimate HDTV). So, as a baby-step into the MNF viewing, I pick the easily accessible to everyone Union Square Sports Bar. 22 tvs, 4 of 'em big screens, and an alleged new liquid-plasma set up. 23 beers on tap, Pabst tall boys in the fridge, and drink specials during the game (again, allegedly). Happy hour 'til 7.
Union Square Sports Bar 232 O'Farrell St. (at Powell Street) Don't even think about parking. Super MUNI and BART friendly (anything to Powell, and walk up a few blocks to O'Farrell, bang a left and walk half a block).
There's really no excuse not to show up. Giants' are off tonight, so Bonds won't be hitting 700 until tomorrow (if Milwaukee pitches to him). So c'mon by and raise a pint or a tall boy.
Hope to see you all tonight. Yay football!! -l
PS - Clearly there are people that I've spaced on or forgot were on last year's list (and/or should be on this year's list). Feel free to pass it along (and when Jeff gets back he's going to remake the list, so...).