Super Bowl

I'm guessing many of you are busy watching the Super Bowl as I write this.  On the one hand, I have the game on because tradition, on the other hand, and if you are seriously preparing for the future, warning people away from playing football or allowing their children to play football seems to be the most prudent thing to do.

The fact that 99% of former football players in one study had CTE should have immediately put a stop to the game (but again, tradition is fairly hard to change, and then there is the massive amount of money involved in the game).  Also "white flight" is now a thing in football.  Apparently word is getting out that whether in football or in rodeo or in other sports where head injuries are common, setting your kids up for brain damage is not a good thing to do.  Obviously.

The preparedness aspect of this is pretty straight forward as well--brain injuries are bad.  Repeated brain injuries are really bad.  While the problems may not show up immediately, they will in the future.  Needless to say, the common symptoms of CTE will put a serious damper on your prepping (and your life in general) so while the game is exciting to watch for many and exciting to play for some, putting a halt to things that will obviously injure people may not be popular but it is common sense.

5 Tips for Super Bowl Weekend

This weekend is Super Bowl weekend which is a pretty big deal in my city.  Needless to say, I will be comfortably seated at home watching the game instead of rubbing elbows with the hoards of gamblers and tourists who are even now streaming into the city for the big weekend.  Here are some tips for Super Bowl weekend:

1. Don't drink and drive.  A DUI will negatively impact your life for years to come so load up the Uber or Lyft app on your phone and use it if necessary.
2. Don't spend more than you can afford.  Some people--especially in Vegas--spend money hand over fist whether through gambling, drinking, partying, other game-related stuff when the money would probably be better used by adding to your emergency fund, especially if the government shuts down again in the next couple weeks.
3. Be careful if you are in the frozen north (or northeast).  -50 degree temps are nothing to mess with so take extra care with driving or any time you are outside.
4. Be aware of people--Super Bowl Sunday is the worst day of the year for domestic violence, human trafficking is a huge deal on this weekend as well, watch the kiddos who can be overlooked when everyone is paying attention to the game, and ensure your guest's overall safety if you are hosting a party this weekend.
5. Make sure the food you are serving is safe (prevent food poisoning), includes nutritious options along with regular fare, and is easy to eat (keeps the mess down and eliminates the hassle of multiple courses).

10 Thoughts on the Super Bowl

In random order...

1. Get your bets in.  I bet on the Pats and since they are -4.5 favorites, well I won't win much money.
2. And then there are prop bets.  Always interesting to see what people think will happen with these.
3. Don't drink and drive.  Really.  Tipsy Tow is working in some areas today so take them, a taxi, an Uber...anything to avoid driving buzzed or drunk.
4. Although it is a myth that domestic violence surges during the Super Bowl, the fact that it is a big problem year round is still an important issue.
5.  Break out the food.  Food and football are kind of synonymous, so you might as well do it up right for this quasi-holiday.
6. Hypocritical to be sure, but while I do enjoy me a good Super Bowl game, there is no way I would let the kids play football these days due to the overwhelming evidence that football causes traumatic brain injury.
7. A Super Bowl party is my kind of socialization--I don't have to socialize much, just watch the game.  Go Pats.
8. Gotta love the desert southwest weather at this time of year (75 degrees) whereas Minneapolis is hovering around 0. 
9. There are way too many commercials in the Super Bowl.
10. Not sure how I ever enjoyed watching the game years ago when the TV was the size of a small cardboard box.  Gotta love oversized big screen TVs.

Hope you all are enjoying the game today.