One Helluva Weekend...

Well, if it wasn't one busy 48 hours across our nation.
And the news wasn't ALL good.
--Three people were shot in an apartment on the NW side of Fort Wayne over the weekend. One man died and the other two are in the hospital. No one has been arrested yet. Well, at least it wasn't on the SOUTH side (for a change).
--Five women were killed by a lone gunman in a Lane Bryant store in a strip mall just south of Chicago. These women were only guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and this gunman could have been doing something a LOT more productive than devastating five families by killing their women.
--Then there was this 15 year old in Cockeysville, MD who decided that having a disagreement with Dad should lead to shooting his entire family dead just so this "issue" could be resolved to the teen's satisfaction, when they all could have sat down and watched Superbowl XLII.
Madness? What madness?
I thought all the MADNESS was in ARIZONA this weekend.
I can hear the cries for more GUN control now, when I should be hearing the pleas for more PEOPLE control. Not one of those weapons actively sought out the persons that were killed. They just "went along for the ride" so to speak. It was the PEOPLE behind those triggers that did all the damage and took all those lives...just like a drunk driver in a head-on crash.
Seems like a fairly natural result of a society replete with people who figure that consequences don't matter; a society that values entertainment over responsibility. And "we" (as a nation) by and large created this "Frankenstein monster"...all "we" have to do is learn to live with it...OR do away with it. You have to expect things like this...and with increasing frequency when you allow hedonistic pursuits to trump common sense and basic morality. When the next "rush" overwhelms our ability to rationalize everyday life and make good choices, this sort of thing will happen.
Still, in our quest to be entertained, we have to acknowledge that it WAS Superbowl Sunday, so the news wasn't ALL bad (at least for those not wanting the Patriots to win the game).
The New York Giants came from behind in the final minutes to beat the 18-0 Pats in one of the better endings to a Superbowl game with a score of 17-14.
I predicted (at another blog) that the Giants would win by "however many points it takes to win". They also wanted it more, and that says it all. In some ways, it was slightly reminiscent of an era when we had better common sense, and were more content with doing a good job (at whatever we worked at) than worrying about our next adrenalin "fix" from whatever source we could get it from.
I suppose we'll be seeing scores of young males sporting "Giants-wear" (the wannabe crowd) soon enough, and marketing is always a good thing (if you're the one making money over it). Time was you could barely get a HAT to represent your team, let alone scads of clothing from undies to dog coats (and every other item known to mankind) emblazoned with team logos. And let's not forget all the street gangs that utilize sports logos to fit their OWN agenda.
Sportscasters everywhere are calling this: "The Best superbowl ending ever", and I'm sorry, but there were a few from a distant past that rival, if not surpass this particular game. But I will grant you it was a GOOD game (during the final 3 minutes).
It was not "the best ever".
It's all about hype, and the more current the hype, the better. Most of these sportscasters don't even REMEMBER the REAL (early) Superbowls, as they were too busy soiling their diapers, and spitting up pablum on Mommy's clothes.
Let's just say that it was a damn fine finish to a game where the underdogs did what they HAD to in order to win, and call it done, OK?
It wasn't a JOHNNY UNITAS win, nor a BART STARR win, nor even a JOE NAMATH win.
It was a fine win, which if you looked closely enough, reflected OUR times, OUR values, and OUR society.
But it was a damn good win, none the less.
And it was nothing, if not entertaining.