It may not be over until 'the fat lady sings'
By Marianne Bianchi
Date Modified: 02/18/2010 11:22 AM
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"It ain't over 'till the fat lady sings.''
What song she sang we may never know, unless it was what had jokingly become the theme song of the Minnesota Vikings, "Put your pants on the ground!''
Sadly, by now the team's jerseys have been retired for another season, along with the singing, the cheering, and their dreams of a trip to the Super Bowl. Yet, what a grand trip it started out to be, cut short by a few-too-many fumbles and interceptions and a football kicked at the right time and in the right spot.
But that's sports. Or perhaps I should say, that's life – unpredictable.
It has been said there are only two things in life we can be sure of — taxes and death. I'm beginning to believe that. My face still gets red when I go back to our family's days in 4-H and recall two incidents that will never be forgotten.
At some point in their 4-H career — and even if it wasn't their project out of several — our children were encouraged to take part in the annual speaking event.
Their parents had the feeling that public speaking is something that would be of value to them in later years. Hopefully, better than a bug collection or raising rabbits — not that I had anything against either. Of course, some were better at it than others. For the most part, they did well with several advancing to regions and one claiming a state title.
After listening to a zillion speeches practiced over and over by our eight children, I could almost predict the outcome.
I also had one bite of advice, "Keep your notes handy so that you don't loose the spot where you're at.''
One particular speech seemed to have it all. I just knew it would place well. I even made sure their day for further advancement was going to be open – just in case. I had my camera ready, just in case. Alas, the little speaker drew a blank and got a bad case of the jitters and left the podium in tears.
Such was life that day, but a lesson was learned.
A similar incident happened another year, when our entire family was just sure that the grand champion dairy cow at our fair would come out of our barn. Wrong! A judge's opinion and ours didn't agree. Another lesson learned. Don't get the camera ready unless you are sure you will need it. However, it wasn't the end of the world.
As for football, it was never my favorite sport to watch. Maybe because I was, and still am, quite ignorant in the matter. A cartoon I recently read, "My Dad taught me the four seasons; pre-season, regular season post-season and off-season'' was timely. Yet actually, my Dad really didn't watch teach me anything about the sport. In all probability, it was because he didn't understand the sport, either. Baseball was his first and favorite love in sports.
Growing up, my only exposure to football was watching my brother and friends play touch-tackle in our backyard or else attending high-school games, but working in the popcorn stand.
There wasn't much to be learned at either place, except maybe how much butter to put on the popcorn!
The game between the Vikings and the Saints was a real heartbreaker. It was one of the few football games I have watched from start to finish, and just as most Minnesota Vikings fans, was sure our team would go to Miami. So sure, in fact, that I decided it best to leave my thoughts on it until after the Super Bowl game. One more red-faced moment!
Reflecting back on the year, what an uplifting season it was for our state. It was good for the economy and good because it provided something other than politics, the weather and wars to talk about. We can't foget about Brett Farve, who we just seemed to have to love.
Now it is on the spring and training camp for the Minnesota Twins, who will have a new stadium and provide new conversations. Let's just hope it isn't too cold or too hot or too expensive to enjoy seeing their games!