Well, time to start piling up some fat before Christmas, the first bell has rung and we have stopped dipping our toes in the water: the NFL season has started. Warm up was essential and it came with musical guests. Soundgarden delighted fans with ‘My Wave’, ‘Rusty Cage’, ‘Spoonman’ and ‘Outshined’. Sadly, we mortals on tv only managed to see ‘Been away too long’, so lucky bastards those who saw the quartet do what they do best (bub). Pharrell cashed a cheque with ‘Happy’ reminding parents everywhere that if the lil’ tykes start getting antsy, they can pop Despicable Me 2 in another tv and let them “banana!” and “gelato!” themselves into yellow minion heaven. Then Ariana Grande sings the National Anthem and it’s off.

Haven’t seen a full game in probably 7 years or so (give or take half a Superbowl last January) and I’ve never supported any particular team, so this shouldn’t be a biased one. Green Bay try to go for the first one of the season, but it’s a no-go. Seattle counterstrike, but to no avail. Hauschka (SEA) kicks a cool 35 yard Field Goal and every sports bookie starts typing into their Excel and SPSS to build a chunky database for The Crunch.

Green Bay wasn’t one to stay behind and went for the 7-3, but Seattle paid in kind for a 33 yard touchdown that just needed some Explosions in the sky to get more emotional. Speaking of emotions, a  44 yard penalty? Ouch, that outta hurt but it mattered not, the Seahawks kept their cool, even if the Packers‘ Field Goal meant a tie.

But Seattle, like the Lannisters, always pays its debts. After just ploughing through, it’s 17-10 and you can hear the excitement from the crowd seeping through the cameras, sometimes drowning the voices of the sportscasters.

It’s almost half-time and the frustration in Rodgers‘ face is coming out of the TV so hard that I forgot this is not 3D. Gotta feel for the guy, these last few minutes have been hard on him and that ball lost by the rookie center and the “why pass when you could’ve run for it?” moments are more a product of desperation than any real errors.  It’s looking grim for Green Bay. 

The second half isn’t looking that swell for the Packers. A scoreless drive and an interception puts them against the wall and like anyone cornered, they fight back. It’s 3 points for Seattle. Better than seven. And then we get a safety and Seattle fans are painting “22” on their chests, demanding a feast with cheese on everything.

It’s harsh to be 12 points below at the start of the 4th quarter and it’s even worse when it becomes 19, 5 seconds after it has started. Marshawn Lynch feels like the liveliest person right now and he could do the spoonman dance all by himself.

Green Bay don’t want to wallow too much and Rodgers makes a quick and furious throw to Cobb, allowing the Packers to gasp for some air. Trouble is Seattle has the ball, a fiddle and Nero’s soul. The clock has been nicknamed “Rome” by the locals and minutes burn until the score looks like a final 36 to 16 now, just a bit north from the 2 minute warning.

Green Bay tries but they know it’s a lost battle. The ball goes back to Seattle, who just smirk and spend the rest of the time just kneeling without playing any more. Just like my last year in Catholic school, really.

Final score: Seattle 36, Green Bay 16. 

As the game finished, I switched channels before typing all this down. Man of Steel  was on, just that bit when Supes starts to duke it all out with the Kryptonians in the streets of Smallville. The scene borders into sheer brutality and destruction and by the end, the ambivalence the military had against Superman seems to fade away. They’ve seen he might be on his side. Superman’s back and so is the NFL. Nothing as American as that.