Yep I know you were just kidding. I guess it wasn't just me, though, that is crying a little in the corner, given that Penrith has grown massively since we first moved here in 1973. It isn't just the sports aspect of it. It is also what these clubs, in the AFL as well as the NRL, put back into the communities they represent. To win such a competition for the district does add monetarily to the people living & working there, not only to come to the club to admire the awards, besides the social activities on offer there. Penrith Panthers has had a lot to do with that growth, providing employment, entertainment, & accommodation, as well as running  junior sports clubs to give children interests outside of school. It is just so nice for what used to be just a country town on the fringes of a big city, to be top of the charts in the whole State for once. Gives everyone a bit of a lift.

Last weekend there were arches of balloons & streamers even down at our local shopping centre, which isn't even the main Penrith Shopping centre. Penrith colours in all the shop windows, Penrith t-shirts out of stock, & people singing that Pink Panthers song. Dead Ant, Dead Ant, I think it is, because nobody had time to learn the newly minted club song.   Why are we the Panthers? The rumour went that there was a big cat, possibly a Panther, escaped from a circus, very likely, wandering around in the Blue Mountain  & for years people as far away as Lithgow kept catching sight of it, without actually meeting it.

I bet that the Melburnians are making the most of it, rejoicing still, two days after that Grand Final. Not only did they win the Clive Churchill Trophy they also were released from lockdown last night. Apparently they were flocking to K-Marts in a huge shopping spree. They didn't win the JJ Giltinan shield as well, because Penrith had already done that, though. 

It is the State of Origin next, in the NRL. With the Queensland Elections on Saturday. The Melbourne Storm & the Panthers are both sending some of their players to the New South Wales team. If by any chance Queensland (the Cane Toads) win the State of Origin, I hope us Cockroaches aren't expected to fly the Queensland State Flag on top of the Harbour Bridge.  

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

Why are we the Panthers? The rumour went that there was a big cat, possibly a Panther, escaped from a circus, very likely, wandering around in the Blue Mountain  & for years people as far away as Lithgow kept catching sight of it, without actually meeting it.

We're supposed to have had a few of those wandering in the wild in Victoria over the decades too. Meanwhile, over here in the UK, Cornwall has the legendary Beast of Bodmin Moor, which is said to be something similar...  

Posted by: @courtenay

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

Why are we the Panthers? The rumour went that there was a big cat, possibly a Panther, escaped from a circus, very likely, wandering around in the Blue Mountains  & for years people as far away as Lithgow kept catching sight of it, without actually meeting it.

We're supposed to have had a few of those wandering in the wild in Victoria over the decades too. Meanwhile, over here in the UK, Cornwall has the legendary Beast of Bodmin Moor, which is said to be something similar...  

Yes, I can imagine. Emmaville, up near Glen Innes, is supposed to have had some sort of big cat haunting the district. Your Beast of Bodmin Moor has plenty of mates in UK, featuring heavily in literature at any rate. Shades of the Hound of the Baskervilles, Werewolves, Padfoots not to mention other ghostly dogs of UK. It wasn't just Arthur Conan Doyle who made good use of them, one of JK Rowling's main characters was Sirius Black, whose other name was Padfoot, & a 19th century Devon Anglican minister, called Sabine Baring-Gould wrote the 1865 Book of Werewolves, as well as the stirring Christian hymn Onward Christian Soldiers. It will be Halloween next Saturday, so all these poor little ghostly doggies will be out in force.....? Sort of like the Canterbury/Bankstown Bulldogs which were candidates for the Wooden Spoon this year, their worst performance since 1964 when they were the Berries.

Getting back to sports etc, I wonder if this year Melbourne manages to have the Melbourne Cup next Tuesday. Did I ever tell you that in 1892, my great grandfather named his second daughter, Ronda, after the horse he bet on that ran second in that year's Melbourne Cup? Apparently he won some money because of that second placing. My grandmother, her Sydney-born younger sister, named my mother after her.  

One more week until the Kansas City Chiefs are in the Super Bowl for the second year in a row. Though I'm definitely a fair weather fan because I'm not big on professional American football and the Chiefs were pretty awful for a number of years. But it's nice to see my state represented.  

My family is having BBQ for dinner that night because you HAVE to have KC BBQ.  

Well, since the name of the city has Kansas in it, we'll share. But everyone needs to remember that Chiefs are located in Missouri and are actually a Missouri sports team.  

I can't believe the Chiefs are actually going to the Super Bowl again. And versus Tom Brady's team. I wonder how many people will be rooting for the Chiefs simply to root against Tom Brady, I'm guessing a lot. I'm hoping to stream the game since we ditched cable a few months ago.

Edit: When you get on NarniaWeb and ignore the rest of the world, you miss things like the Cardinals signing Nolan Arenado. I think Nolan Arenado in Cardinals uniform is going to be very exciting.  

SnowAngel

The Buccaneers will have the distinction of being the first team to play the Super Bowl in its home stadium. Normally that might be a nice advantage but this year fan attendance is quite limited (some 25,000 fans, including some vaccinated health care workers, will be in attendance).

This is Brady's tenth appearance in the big game. That's impressive by any standard. The KC quarterback is very good as well so it should be an entertaining game.

KC BBQ sounds delicious, fantasia!

Ever since the Patriots beat the Panthers in 2004 I have been obligated to root against Tom Brady whenever he plays in the Super Bowl, so I'll be pulling for the Chiefs. Glad to hear you guys are on the right side of history, @Fantasia and @SnowAngel. That said, I'm not really a football fan and I'm more excited to watch hockey in the afternoon on Super Bowl Sunday.

Posted by: @snowangel

When you get on NarniaWeb and ignore the rest of the world, you miss things like the Cardinals signing Nolan Arenado. I think Nolan Arenado in Cardinals uniform is going to be very exciting.  

I thought I had at least a passing knowledge of what was going on in the baseball world, but I have absolutely no idea who this guy is. My brother says I saw him chase a pitcher around the infield once after getting hit by a pitch, so... y'all enjoy having him on the Cardinals, he sounds fun.

I watched the game with a friend who commented that it was a good thing the Super Bowl wasn't here this year, since the temperature at kickoff was around -6F/-21C. Sure the local team plays indoors but normally the NFL wants all sorts of outdoor entertainment options in the days leading up to the game.

The outcome wasn't quite what we expected; I kept hoping KC would mount a comeback and make it a close game, but it wasn't so.

A few commercials were humorous; the one we laughed at most was the "2020 lemon apocalypse" ad for a lemonade seltzer.

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27Last weekend there were arches of balloons & streamers even down at our local shopping centre, which isn't even the main Penrith Shopping centre. Penrith colours in all the shop windows, Penrith t-shirts out of stock, & people singing that Pink Panthers song. Dead Ant, Dead Ant, I think it is, because nobody had time to learn the newly minted club song.   Why are we the Panthers? The rumour went that there was a big cat, possibly a Panther, escaped from a circus, very likely, wandering around in the Blue Mountain  & for years people as far away as Lithgow kept catching sight of it, without actually meeting it.

I bet that the Melburnians are making the most of it, rejoicing still, two days after that Grand Final. Not only did they win the Clive Churchill Trophy they also were released from lockdown last night. Apparently they were flocking to K-Marts in a huge shopping spree. They didn't win the JJ Giltinan shield as well, because Penrith had already done that, though. 

That was 12 months ago,  in 2020, when Penrith won the JJ Giltinan Shield, for the Premiership, whilst the Storm went on to win the Clive Churchill trophy for the entire competition.

This year, 2021, Storm won the JJ Giltinan Shield, having topped the Premiership ladder, with Panthers neck & neck at second place. For the first time in Rugby League history, much of the competition, including the finals, were held in Queensland, including the Grand Final, which was held in Brisbane, due to COVID-19 restrictions.  

Panthers (Penrith) again got to the second qualifying semi-final, but were beaten (10-6) by the Rabbitos,(South Sydney) who got a fortnight's rest before beating (36-16)  the Sea Eagles  (Manly) in the finals, after which the Rabbitos were qualified to go onto the Grand Final. Storm (Melbourne), having beaten (40-12) the  Sea Eagles (Manly) in the first qualifying semi-final had a fortnight's break whilst Manly (42-6) demolished the Roosters (East Sydney), the first winner of the elimination final.

Meanwhile, having been beaten by the Rabbitos, the Panthers went on to win (8-6) against the Eels (Parramatta), the winner of the second elimination final. Then they faced the Storm in the final the weekend before last, winning 10-6, to qualify against the much fancied Rabbitos in the Grand Final, which was played yesterday, 3/10/2021.  

And Panthers won the competition, (14-12) even if they did not win the Premiership shield in a hard-won match. Penrith went wild last night, & so did we. One of the Panthers' players, after the full-time siren, went to his girlfriend, cheering him on in the stands, pulled out an engagement ring & asked her to marry him, before going to collect his presentation ring for his winning participation in the game.

Today is a public holiday, anyway, for Labor Day. The AFL (Australian Football League) finals were also on, with Melbourne defeating the Western Bulldogs 140-66, but their Grand Final was held in Perth, in Western Australia. That is it for the Southern Hemisphere, with the Springboks (South Africa) beating the All Blacks (New Zealand) in Rugby Union, I hear.  But by now, I'm all footballed out.  

I suppose the Northern Hemisphere football competitions are now well underway. Or are they? 

I profoundly enjoy that the second reply to this post mentions Donovan McNabb... my my how the years go by.

Right now I'm watching my Packers start Jordan Love in the in place of a COVID-19 ridden Aaron Rodgers, so that's certainly a strange feeling.

I'm also watching the finale of the NASCAR season, and that fills me with a lot less dread. I was actually able to attend my first race this year on the 4th of July, so I'm looking forward to seeing how this season ends. Currently on lap 247 of 312. 

Anyone else on this site a NASCAR fan? Or auto-racing in general? 

I am a fair-weather fan if ever there was one, but I was rather sad that the Kansas City Chiefs lost last night. Ah well...maybe next year. 

But I'm still planning to watch the Super Bowl here in a couple weeks as I usually do enjoy it.

I posted in the Olympics thread that I got ad-free Peacock FOR the Olympics, and I noticed that the Super Bowl is showing on there too. The commercials are about as big of a deal as the Super Bowl itself, so it'll be interesting to watch the game via Peacock. I figure I can pick up the best commercials afterwards on YouTube and call it a day.  

Anyone else watching the Super Bowl? Who should I cheer for? 

Who's everybody cheering for tomorrow night?
Bengals for me!

I have no strong preference but may cheer for the Bengals since they've had  a long playoff drought.

I usually get together with friends to watch the game and commercials even if we don't have a team we're really rooting for. It's just fun to gather with friends.

The Birmingham Commonwealth Games, which started on July 28th, have now finished. 47 of the 72 Commonwealth Countries competing won medals of some sort or other. The Opening Ceremony was tremendous, featuring a procession of classic cars, with Prince Charles' Aston Martin, converted to use left over wine for fuel, being the 73rd & last of those cars to arrive, for him to open these Games, on his mother's behalf, having read out the message in the Queen's baton. A fearsome firebreathing mechanical bull, dragged in with heavy chains, was one memorable feature, with a Rotunda like structure, another one, reminding spectators that Birmingham was the first place to have a Free Public library, something I had almost forgotten. 

Many sporting feats took place, some bringing triumphant joy, others disappointment, when some contestants were narrowly defeated. 877 medals were issued altogether in this 2022 Games. Well might Australian sports commentators gloat that Australia won the tally, saying it is always fun to beat England. But, unlike the Olympics, England, in second place, was competing on its own, with Canada, India, then New Zealand, and then Scotland in 6th place, with Wales in 8th place. When there were also separate teams for Northern Ireland, Island of Man, Guernsey, & Jersey, and when there were none of the other big Olympic contestants, like USA, China or Russia, it gave a number of other countries room to shine, such as Malaysia, at 10th place, or Nigeria at 7th. Several small Caribbean countries took part, not only Barbados, & Trinidad but also St Lucia & Jamaica. Whilst Kenya, Ghana, South Africa & Uganda also shone, with Singapore in 14th place

The theme for the Closing ceremony was the great wave of migrants who helped rebuild Birmingham, alongside the original Brummies, after World War II, & the rich, ongoing diversity of Birmingham, the most multicultural place in UK. Paralympic events were integrated into the main sports timetable, & I was particularly impressed by wheelchair marathons, on a course through regular Birmingham streets, with possibly local passers-by enjoying watching the show from the footpaths, including one boy on a bicycle, keeping well to the side. 

I wondered if Courtney was able to see some of these games, when surely Birmingham isn't all that far from where she said she is currently living?  She might be interested to learn that the next Commonwealth Games in 2026, will be in Regional Victoria, & are being held in Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong & Gippsland. Congratulations to the medal winning contestants, their countries, & congratulations to Birmingham as well. 😁

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

I wondered if Courtney was able to see some of these games, when surely Birmingham isn't all that far from where she said she is currently living?

Courtenay, in her sometimes very un-Australian manner, has zero interest in sport and has determinedly ignored the Commonwealth Games all along. But having evolved into a sort of hybrid Aussie-English entity over the past 10 years, I was pleased to hear the results of the final medal tally.  

(And Birmingham isn't all that far from Manchester in Aussie terms — only a couple of hours' drive — but that's a long way in British terms. Also, work has been extremely busy lately and there's no way I would have thought of asking for time off just now even if there was something I wanted to go to. I should add I DID attend one of the cycling events at the London 2012 Paralympics, but only because it was less than 5 minutes' drive up the road from where I was living at the time. )