Super Sunday...Blah Monday!!!

Uh yes, it was Super Bowl Sunday yesterday. The day of the big game! This year it was the Pittsburg Steelers vs. the Seattle Seahawks. I am not a fan of either team, but I always tend to root for the “underdog”, which it was the Seahawks this year. I mean, if I had to bet my own money, I’d put my money on the underdogs. To me, that’s the only way to win. But I am not a gambler (too cheap) so it was a non-issue.

My buddy Big Dog Don invited me and Mrs. Harley Howie to his house for a big Super Bowl party yesterday afternoon. Don already threw a big New Year’s Eve party where there was plenty of food (which I mentioned on my blog earlier). This time it was no different. He quietly said to me, “Come early or those Stone Crabs will be gone!”

Mrs. Harley Howie and I are big “fans” of Stone Crabs. We just love crabs! (Somehow that didn’t sound right…). To those of you who are not familiar with Stone Crabs, they are only available from Oct. 15th to May 15th. And, in order to assure the continued survival of the species, only one claw may be removed so the crab can defend itself. The claws make up half the weight of the whole crab; they are removed by carefully grabbing from the rear and twisting. The crab is returned to water and the claw regenerates. It takes between 12 to 24 months to reach legal size again. Additionally, egg bearing females are not allowed to be declawed.

But, this is not a blog about the crabs! It’s about the party! The party was great! There were about at least 30 people. Full liquor bar of course, along with all the beers you can drink! (Same thing at every party). And when the game starts, the whole house was rocking! Most of the people at the party were Steelers fans. I tend to be neutral: root for whichever team makes good plays. It was a pretty tight and close game before the half, but after 2nd half Pittsburg just took off and never looked back.

It was great to be at the party and see all of those people which I haven’t seen or heard for a while. Everybody was pretty busy around the holidays: for me especially (which I’ll explain later). I left the party sometimes during the 4th quarter. I was pretty exhausted (so was the Mrs.). And I have to work on Monday. I am pretty sure many people will skip work today — whether they scheduled it or not. Others will merely stagger into work at their usually early morning time, relying on caffeine to get them through the work day because they have been drinking pretty heavily the day before. One report said companies nationally lost about $780 million in productivity last week, for reasons ranging from gambling pools to workers chatting about the Steelers vs. Seahawks showdown. And, just imagine how much money these unscheduled absences, such as those sparked by the Super Bowl, can cost companies in lost productivity nationwide? Billions???