Dan Antion

Underrated Underdogs – #JusJoJan

JusJoJan

This is not going to be a sports intensive post. Still, we have to acknowledge that this was one of the big weekends in sports here in the US. Wild card Weekend is when 8 of the 12 playoff contenders meet in a win-or-go-home football game while the four teams who had the best regular season records get to sit in their collective living rooms and watch as next week’s opponents were determined. If you’re not a football fan, you’re hoping I don’t give you a recap. If you are a football fan, you don’t need the recap. Let me just say this:

Paying attention to football, even when your team isn’t playing, precludes serious thinking about things.

The good news is that JusJoJan is running, so all I had to do is get up early and finish this. It turns out, it’s an easy finish, thanks to the prompt from Jill at J-Dubs Grin and Bear It. :

“Your prompt for JusJoJan January 6th, 2020, is ‘possibility.’ Use the word ‘possibility’ any way you’d like. Have fun!”

In the four games that were played on Saturday and Sunday, the underdogs won three of them. Two teams ranked 6th beat their 3rd ranked opponents and one 5th ranked team beat its 4th ranked opponent. The only game where the “better” team won, went into overtime. All the underdogs played away games in their opponent’s home stadiums.

“I guess they came to town aware of the possibilities!”

Otherwise, it was wet and cold here. A great weekend for watching others play, but not so good for playing.

Maddie uses my legs and the back of the couch for protection (and comfort).
“Hmmm, I think I’ve stretched enough. Time to curl up.”
“Dad isn’t as comfy as the couch, but it’s stormy so I want to stay close – to protect him.”
She couldn’t quite get comfortable.
“Ah, this is better.”
This is not the way a good day starts.
After a rainy day on Saturday, Maddie really wanted to walk. It was cold and very windy, so we went back in for her vest.
Smokey! We haven’t seen Smokey for months.
Everything was covered in little drops.
Maddie sniffs a lot. It gives me time to take a few pictures.
The clearest thing on this day was the little drops.
“Maddie, when you’re done sniffing, I’d like to go inside.”

82 comments

  1. It was a big weekend, and I appreciate your not naming names. :-) Maddie must be really glad you are around more on stormy days. It is good of you to sacrifice, recline for a while, and keep her safe. :-) The only positive I can think about rain is that it doesn’t have to be shoveled.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Thanks Judy. Living in New England as a Steelers fan, I’ve been on the losing side too many times. My friends rarely rubbed it in, so…

      It was very cold walking yesterday. It was that kind of wind that tears right through your coat. Other than the game, I hope you had a great weekend.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  2. I love those little drops. Our little dog, Tinker, was afraid of rain storms. She would try to climb under us if she could to get away from the noise, and trembled terribly. Fortunately, she was a lot smaller than Maddie. She does look like a warm couch buddy, though. Happy Monday, Dan, in spite of some of those game outcomes. 😏

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Thanks Cheryl. Like Judy, your team was on the wrong side of the score this weekend. I am sorry for you both. I’m a bit more sorry in your case as I like your team.

      The rain brings with it some nice ‘possibilities’ for photos and snuggling with a concerned pup. But, getting wet is not fun, and that pup has to go out.

      I hope you have a great week.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. While I will be stoned by my fellow New Englanders for saying this.. I’m tickled pink Brady lost. People here think the Patriots will resign him but his Boston house is now up for sale. Not a good sign. Bye bye Tommy.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  5. Maddie sure has getting comfy on the couch down to a science! Now if you would just move over a little bit dad……

    Glad to see Smokey back. Guess he needs to replenish his peanut supply!

    Have a great week.
    🐾Ginger 🐾

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I knew you’d like the Maddie moves, Ginger. She just couldn’t seem to get comfy. She actually grabbed my leg and pulled it under her chin at one point.

      We saw Smokey on our walk, but he seems to be getting closer to his old neighborhood. He’s just such a cutie.

      Have a great week, too!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Thanks Lois. As a Steelers fan, I can’t pretend to be sad about New England losing. They are typically very hard to beat at home, especially in the playoffs. Oh well – there’s always next year for them and “maybe” for Brady.

      Like

      Reply

  7. I am not a football fan but B is and various games were on all day yesterday as I ignored TV but still sat in the same room. I love when the underdogs win!!! I’ll always be the daughter of a cutter … think Breaking Away. Another underdog story. The gallery is great as always. The micro photography drops in particular. Happy Monday Dan!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thanks Jill, and thanks for the perfect prompt! I was rooting for two of the underdogs that won, so I’m pretty pleased with the outcome. At this point, I only have one team left in the mix that I care about in a good way (and one I don’t like enough to root against them).

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. Yay Titans! Boo Vikings!

    Being the underdog is better sometimes than being the team expected to win. Last time Packers won the Super Bowl, they were a feisty wild card team. I’m hoping the Packers find their A-game on Sunday at Lambeau and show exactly why they’re the #2 seed.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Ah-hem, I seem to remember that feisty wild card team :(

      I was pulling for the Saints, and I’ll be pulling for the Packers. Mainly, I want someone from the NFC capable of beating the Ravens. I’m not sure that’s possible. If the Titans pull that off, I’ll root for them down the stretch (but I won’t be sad if they lose to Green Bay).

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • With or with Big Ben, it’s going to be a challenging year. I almost wish he’d move on and let us focus on gearing up to support the younger QBs with an offense built around them. I don’t wish him any hardship, but I think we’re seeing that maybe the time has come for these older guys.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  10. Hi Dan – it certainly looks cold there … but Maddie is lucky she’s cared for and can be sure of a walk – I’m happy to go out when it’s dry and not too worried if it rains on the way home! We’re into games like that too – not to say I pay that much attention … but the cricket in Cape Town is tempting! Just expensive to get there …?! Cheers Hilary

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thanks Hilary. This walk was rather short. The wind was brutal. I don’t mind the rain when it’s warm, but I don’t like getting caught in a cold rain. We visit my old home town about once a year to see a game live. Otherwise, I’ll settle for TV.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  12. We were walking to our gate to catch an airplane home when all a sudden both men in my life stopped to watch the last seconds of one football game! LOL!

    I didn’t get it but they did.

    You make the rainy day look beautiful! I loved the drops and sky view above the house with the gray clouds.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  13. It was a wild weekend for football, that’s for sure! I don’t really watch anyone but the Cowboys, yet due to my boys and my hubby’s love for the sport, I do see the games (usually as I’m doing something else, lol)
    Is that a black squirrel? We don’t have those here, so rare he must be!
    Good job keeping up with JusJoJan, I am on track as well…I just hope I’m able to keep up all month!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thanks Kim. I will be missing a few days during the month, but I do enjoy the prompt. You’re in my position – our teams didn’t make the playoffs, but I still have a team I support, along with one I hope doesn’t win it all.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  17. Loved the playoffs this weekend even if a couple of my favs lost….that said “Go Seahawks”!! :) Love your pics and hate to share our low 70’s out here after about three weeks of heavy rains….go figure!! Have a great week Dan!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  22. It certainly was a crazy football weekend! The Saints got jobbed again on the last play of the game and the officials didn’t even do what they do in every other game: go over the touchdown. Sigh. The Patriots? Wow!

    janet

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I was rooting for the Saints, and I thought, even if you’re not going to call the penalty, make it look good! That team has suffered. The Patriots losing surprised me less than the Saints losing, but it sure did make for a crazy weekend.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  24. Seeing Maddie’s photos helped ease the pain from the wild card game weekend. Yes, the underdogs prevailed. They were awesome! The true spirit of sports were on display. I watched the one underdog team take the game into OT. I considered wearing a black arm band today for the Patriots, but the children at school wouldn’t have understood. Great post, Dan.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  25. I love the drops of rain you captured! Aw…Maddie is so cuddly, she’s such a charmer. Since we live a state away from the Vikings, we cheered them on as we watched the game too. It was a nail-biter! It’ll be interesting to see what teams win the next rounds.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  29. Great photos! Yeah, I was pretty surprised that the Patriots were put out. I’m not a huge football fan but I know they’ve been one of the best teams for years and I made the assumption that they’d be in the Superbowl but hey, sports has been crazy with upsets the past year. The Blues took the Stanley cup. The Raptors won the NBA championship. The Nationals won the World Series. None of those teams had ever won titles before. And now we may have a wild card or team who hasn’t been to the Superbowl take it down to complete the year. I’m loving it! I would also point out that the Washington Capitals were down 4-2 against the San Jose Sharks and somehow managed to score two points in the last minute and win in OT. That hasn’t happened since 2005. Incredible stuff. Great post!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Add your thoughts or join the discussion. One relevant link is OK, more require moderation. Markdown is supported.

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.