You see, this is football

*(The following is a prologue to a story that has not yet been told) …

“Your feet will reach the floor soon.”

I assured her as she revolved on the soda fountain stool, exploring the lack of gravity this moment afforded her.

She was alive with a purpose she misunderstood but nonetheless absorbed.

There was enough time to dry off, (a pesky torrent had decided to vainly attempt to alter the planned pageantry of this afternoons destiny) – the high school classic that was less than three miles away.

We chose to capture an instance which would not be recollected, yet it was necessary to faithfully complete the pregame ritual.

You see this was football!

There was no other option for the fervent followers of falls fastidious folly.

The recipe:

• One cup of savagery
• ¼ cup of temperance
• ½ cup of luck
• Three cups of passion
• 1 lb. of adjustment
• ½ ounce of panic
• One and ¾ tablespoon of fear
• Five kilos courage
• 2 teaspoons of idiocy
• 3,000 tons of preparation

Stir for three months of preseason.

Repeat.

Serve chilled with intent to overflow your teams gullet with bravery, execution, and a championship.

My kid comprehended the anticipated animation and unrivaled energy set aside for this endeavor. The inability to describe something yet to be contaminated by its future failures was one of life’s last frozen frontiers. She was still shielded by the reflective side of hope.

You see this was football!

There are sports, events, hobbies, and activities that satiate our emptiness. And then there is a hunger reserved for your craving which was never meant to be relieved.

It is singular in intent.

It is extinguished by fatigue.

It is hardened by necessity.

It is clarified by effort.

It is tempered by merit.

It evolved by thirst.

It is rooted in achievement.

It is … football!

The following is a diary if you will. A quest if you allow. It is the tale of Avery Arthur, a reporter who ventured to illustrate the pigskin puzzle …

*(More to come in future blogs)

And now some Superbowl Facts:

• As of early 2026, there have now been 10 Super Bowl rematches in NFL history. Teams that have faced off more than once on football’s biggest stage include the Dolphins and Commanders, Bengals and 49ers, Bills and Cowboys, Giants and Patriots, Patriots and Eagles, Patriots and Rams, Chiefs and 49ers, Eagles and Chiefs, and most recently the Patriots and Seahawks. And we can’t forget that the Steelers and Cowboys have met three times in Super Bowl history.
• The New England Patriots lead all teams with 11 Super Bowl appearances, the most of any franchise in history. Trailing them are several teams tied with eight appearances each, including the Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers, and San Francisco 49ers.
• Each team playing in the Super Bowl gets 108 footballs, according to Kristina Peterson-Lohman, former director of communications for Wilson Sporting Goods. Of those, 54 are for practice, and 54 are for the actual game. And here’s another fun Super Bowl fact – typically, 120 balls are used during the actual game. The additional ones are kicker footballs, used for all kicking plays.
• The Super Bowl wasn’t actually referred to as the Super Bowl until Super Bowl III. At the time, what we now know as Super Bowl I and II were just called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game.
• Those advertisements are big money. On average, a 30-second Super Bowl spot runs in the millions. According to Forbes, a 30-second Super Bowl commercial has cost as much as $7 million in recent years, making it one of the most expensive TV ad slots in the world.
• Super Bowl LX is a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX, a thrilling matchup that saw Malcolm Butler intercept Russell Wilson at the goal line in the waning moments. The Patriots, who were down 10 with under eight minutes to go, won, 28-24.
• Four teams have the dubious distinction of never making it to a Super Bowl – the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, and Jacksonville Jaguars. None of these teams made the Big Game.
• Use of Roman numerals began with the fifth Super Bowl, and then I through IV were retroactively added to the first four events. According to an NFL media guide, “The Roman numerals were adopted to clarify any confusion that may occur because the NFL Championship Game – the Super Bowl – is played in the year following a chronologically recorded season.” In other words, calling it Super Bowl 2020 could cause confusion because while the majority of the season took place in 2020, the actual Super Bowl will occur in 2021.

Did You Know: Attending the big game is expensive. According to recent reports, face-value ticket prices for Super Bowl LX in 2026 were starting at roughly $6,500 and climbed into the five-figure range well before game day. Holy guacamole Batman – you can buy a lot of Conejos with that amount of moola!