Twenty long agonizing years.

During this span, the Redskins have managed to defeat the eventual super bowl winner at least once in four different seasons. (2010 Green Bay, 2007 Giants, 2003 Pats, and 2000 Ravens).

If the Giants win this year, the Redskins will have the distinction of accomplishing this amazing feat a league leading 5 times!

I actually do want the Giants to win. Yes, for bragging rights, but because I really don’t like Brady or the Patriots all that much.

I could mention other trivia like a former under-achieving Redskin player (Devin Thomas) is about to play in and probably win a super bowl ring.

But I won’t. Oh wait . . . I just did

I’m just so glad that Haynesworth isn’t one name getting a ring this year!

Anyway, I think this this Super Bowl will be one for the record books. So, which records will be set, or broken?

I doubt it will be the lowest scoring winner – 14 points.
Or the lowest scoring looser – 3 points.

Considering the Patriots and Brady are playing, many people would not blame me for picking something like most passing yards (Kurt Warner – 414yds, TD’s or Points.

But I won’t.

No, I am going for 3 different possible scenarios.

Lets start with the least likely (perhaps).

• First Super Bowl to go into OT.

• Longest scoring play – 100 yards. (James Harrison intercepted a Kurt Warner pass at the goal line and ran it back for a TD) No, not during his record setting 414 yard game. But yes the same Kurt Warner.

With kick-offs going into the end zone, wouldn’t it be great to see somebody run it out and go all the way for a TD in a Super Bowl!

And last but not least:

• Biggest come from behind win (10 points) first set by . . . The Redskins and later tied by the Saints.

The Redskins set that record during Super Bowl XXII in 1988 when they fell behind Denver 10 – 0 only to totally blow them away 42 – 10.

Actually that record setting come from behind point deficit was during one of the most explosive Super Bowls ever!

The following records were set:

The Redskins set the following Super Bowl records in the victory over Denver:

1. Total offensive yards (602)
2. Total offensive rushing yards (280)
3. Most touchdowns scored in a Super Bowl game (6)
4. Total offensive yards in a quarter (356)
5. Most points in a quarter and in a half (35)
6. Most touchdowns in a quarter (5)
7. The largest deficit that a team has overcome to win a Super Bowl (10 points)

Both teams combined to set the following records:

1. Total combined offensive yards (929)

Ah, those were the days!

Basically it is answering the following question with a YES.

• Should home school students be allowed to join public high school sport teams?

Back in 1996, Florida passed such a law allowing home school student athletes to join public teams.  One such athlete to take advantage of this law that year was Tim Tebow. And the rest is history.

Obviously Tim’s success is a strong argument for the law.  Another argument is that home school families pay taxes just like everyone else, and therefore should be granted the same opportunity to such activities.

Not everyone is in favor of the law.

Ken Tilley, executive director of the Virginia High School League states: The fact that a family pays taxes that support public education does not automatically mean they are entitled to try out for a place on a high school sports team. Plus, “There are 13 individual eligibility requirements for participation for our programs, and under Delegate [Rob] Bell’s bill, the homeschoolers would meet only six and part of a seventh.”

The Virginia Association of School Superintendents is opposed, as is the Virginia Education Association, which represents more than 60,000 public school teachers. Another foe is the chairman of the House Education Committee, a Republican from Virginia Beach named Robert Tata, who was a successful high school coach and a University of Virginia athlete who played briefly for the NFL’s Detroit Lions, the Associated Press reported.

Tata opposes allowing homeschooled students to play on local sports teams in part because he worries that coaches will game the system by recruiting top players. Other opponents say that allowing homeschoolers to play for local teams would devastate eligibility and participation requirements and would be unfair to full-time students and teachers.

My initial take on this is no.  But I am old school. Every experience I have had with high school sports, both public and private has involved full time students attending the school.  If one wanted to play for the other, regardless of taxes, you transferred.

And just to throw another wrinkle into this whole mess, what about online education?  With technology being what it is today, one could conceivably take online classes from home for a fee of course, still pay taxes and then demand entitlement to try out for the local high school football team.

So, What do you think?

Of course, we all know how that one turned out. And poor “M” was doomed.  Best part, he not only proclaimed this bet to me, but to practically everyone he knows.  So he could not weasel out of it.

In fact, as soon as Demaryius Thomas stopped running, I texted “M”, “I want to see your Tattoo!”

Even his wife wanted in on fulfilling this bet and started designing the Tattoo pattern herself!  Then, after everyone kept asking when, WHEN is this going to happen?  “M” said that his wife suddenly did not want him to get the Tattoo.

So I turned on my investigative reporting skills and found out why. . .

Not to be deterred, I offered up a suggestion from one of my kids temporary tattoo decal collections.

Then I heard that my suggestion had inspired “M”’s wife to try again with a computerized, more spell check enabled, design.

Looking at her design, I kind of like it but thought it might be a bit too busy for a Tattoo.  So perhaps a more standard or simple horse/bronco tattoo might do just as well.   Here are two suggestions.

So, I am putting these up for vote.  And this is where I could use your help, and all of your friends help and all of their friends help as well.

Vote up the design of your choice by joining the Fumbled Returns Fan Page on Facebook and like the photo you think is best.

Be sure to tweet, re-tweet, post, re-post, recommend, re-recommend, share and re-share to as many people as possible.

Yes, I want this to go viral.

I will keep the voting up until Super Bowl Sunday.  The winning design, the one with the most Likes/Votes, will be the official Fumbled Returns Tebow Tattoo Bet for “M” and his tattoo artist of choice.

And best of all, you can claim your part of history by being able to say I voted for that one myself!

Until next time . . .

Be Good, Do Well, Have Fun and vote in the “I Lost a Tebow Tattoo Bet” contest!

What better way to celebrate this than by having somebody different sing at every sporting event.

Whether it be a professional singer, entertainer, comedian, politician or local hero, having the opportunity to sing the national anthem – represented by different people – is a great way to celebrate America.

Consider the alternative. State sponsored renditions of the same song, the same way, with no variation, no diversity, with no purpose other than to remind us of an ever present, over bearing government authority.

So, thank you Steven Tyler, Television Networks and the NFL; for reminding us that America is the land of opportunity and the land of the free and that singing the national anthem in one’s own personal style is the greatest example of what makes this country great.

We should expect nothing less.

Sure, go ahead.

And this is what they were playing. . .

Too Funny

Mark had a Super Brothers Bowl

Will had Patriots and 49ers

Alaina just did not want the Patriots.

Genna did not care.

Eric wanted Patriots and 49ers

I wanted Giants and Ravens

My wife, she said it was going to be the Giants and Patriots in the Super Bowl.

Which one would you have voted for?

But back to Utah . . .

Now, choosing a cougar is not unusual. In fact three other local schools, including Brigham Young University, have the exact same school colors and mascot.

But the school board overturned the vote.  They could have used the reasoning I just mentioned about other schools having the same mascot and colors as the reason for their rejection.  But no!  They had to say that some women would find the word offensive.

Really? These are high school student we are talking about.  Not the next Reality TV Show – Real Housewives of Utah!

If you didn’t want their opinion, why bother to let them vote?

So, what name did the wonderful school board pick?

Chargers!

Now this could be offensive to everyone out there who is in debt!

Or possibly laying the foundation for rather neat, yet compulsive eating disorders!

This very name could set a bad example for young people everywhere.

Impulse spending, compulsive eating behaviors and poor money management.

Congratulations Corner Canyon School board; for not only crushing the faith of your next generation in the establishment but setting them up for years of interest payments and therapy!

Oh, and if you don’t believe the tie in to Chia Pets, read on!

• The Giants Are Undefeated In Conference Championship Games

• Rob Gronkowski ALONE has just four less touchdown catches (17) than the Ravens (21) … the ENTIRE Ravens

• The Ravens have never allowed 300 or more yards in a playoff game. Surprisingly, Tom Brady has only thrown for 300 yards in 3 of his 20 playoff starts.

• Ed Reed has 143 career starts. The Patriots starting secondary has 93 combined

• Joe Flacco has won a playoff game in each of his four seasons in the NFL

• Tom Brady is 9-2 at home in playoff games, and 4-1 against the Ravens in his career. But that one loss to Baltimore came at home in the playoffs in 2010

• The last time that both Ravens and Patriots missed the playoffs in the same year was 2002 (in the NFC, both the 49ers and Giants missed the playoffs last year)

• The Ravens run the ball and the Patriots throw it, right? Not exactly, Baltimore only has 21 more rushing attempts than New England this year

• Ray Lewis (age 36) is the oldest player on either team’s roster, but he was the Ravens’ top tackler with 95 this year. Pats’ leading tackler Jerod Mayo (age 25) had the exact same number of tackles

• The 49ers’ much-maligned receiving corp actually has three top-10 picks (Crabtree, Davis, Ginn), while the Giants’ receiving corp has just one first-rounder (Nicks)

• Both NFC QBs (Eli and Smith) were first-overall picks, making this just the fourth playoff game ever with two overall #1′s

• The 49ers have LOST more NFC Championship games (7) than the Giants have played in (4)

• The 49ers had 11-1 odds to win the Super Bowl before the playoffs while Giants had 18-1, now they’re both at 13-4

• New York’s defense let up 8 more points per game than San Fran’s, but the Giants offense only scored 0.8 more points per game than the Niners.

• Giants coach Tom Coughlin (age 65) was an NFL head coach while 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh (age 48) was an NFL quarterback in the 1990s

• If the Giants win, the combined record of the three NFC teams they would have beaten in the playoffs would be 38-10

Last Ten Super Bowls:

• Only 4 AFC Teams make up the entire roll call. Dominated by the big 3 – Steelers(3), Patriots(4), Colts(2). Raiders (1)

• The NFC has had a different team each year: Packers , Saints , Cardinals , Giants , Bears , Seahawks , Eagles , Panthers , Bucs, Rams

Yet the overall match up is surprisingly close. AFC 6 wins, NFC 4.

And last, but certainly not least . . .

Ray Rice keeps in shape by eating Chia Pet Seeds!

These seeds, which are known as Salvia hispanica, or chia seeds, have a long history that dates back to the ancient Aztecs. Today, however, they’re better known as the main ingredient that gives Chia Pet models like Chia Pet Elvis, Chia Shrek and Chia Obama their thickets of lustrous green mossy hair.

Chia was a staple of the diet of the Aztecs, who are thought to be some of the fiercest warriors of all time. According to the 2009 book “Born To Run,” they were a preferred food of the Tarahumara Indians, who are able to run hundreds of miles barefoot without resting or eating all that much. “There’s a history behind it,” Rice said.

A survey of Baltimore’s locker room after a practice this week turned up another chia devotee—star linebacker Ray Lewis. “I put them in my shake every morning,” he said.

Check out the full article and video on the WSJ

Enjoy the football this weekend.  It should be worth watching.

I actually like the offensive weapons the Patriots have and respect their consistent tradition of winning.    Trouble is, I’ve never really liked them all that much.

Truth is, despite the fact I was born and raised in Maryland, I never really liked Baltimore all that much either.

I think it has something to do with the fact that I grew up during the Redskin heydays and I’ve been hooked ever since.  Now that I am across the river in Virginia, Baltimore is that ‘other team’.  I guess it is similar to any metropolitan area that has a body of water separating teams and cities.  It is a rivalry or mutual hate society between the two teams.

However, my loyalties to the Maryland DC area are stronger than those to anything that the frigid cold of New England has to offer.

So, sorry that is just the way it is.  No in depth analysis of players, stats or coaches.  Just biased personal opinions.

I’m picking the Ravens to win.

Baltimore Ravens 27

New England Patriots 20

Which means an East Coast Super Bowl prediction from me.

(Yes, I know the Patriots are on the east coast and are even in the AFC East.  They shouldn’t  be.  In fact somebody please explain how Baltimore is in a North division?  So, I hereby propose realignment.  Any team located above the Mason Dixon Line should be in a North Division.  Any team below the line, South.)

OK

So who do you think is right?  Who would you rather see win?

My Son who wants a Super Brothers Bowl (49ers vs Ravens)

Or

Me who wants an East Coast Super Bowl (Giants vs Ravens)

Players with the names of Brady and Manning have been here before and know what it takes to win.

Others like Alex Smith and Vernon Davis have not.   They are learning these valuable lessons right before our eyes.   In the 49ers, we are witnessing not only the growth of a championship team, but also championship players.   In fact it was not long ago that both Alex Smith and Vernon Davis seemingly were one step out the door.   Fans and coaches alike chastised them for their lack of performance, attitude and perceived dedication to the game.  And yet, both came through in the clutch against a championship caliber team last weekend and took that next step towards the super bowl.   That is one reason why it is so easy to route for them and want them to win.

The Giants, on the other hand, have risen out of the muck of the NFC East to once again challenge for the ultimate prize.  Trouble is, we all, myself included, have been waiting for them to experience a famous end of year collapse.  It just has not happened yet.  Looking back, I think they got that collapse thing out of the way in the beginning of the season and have pulled themselves together just in time to win against, well, just about anybody!   

“but the redskins beat them twice this year!” 

There, I said it, for all you die hard Redskin fans out there.  But if you would take the blinders off for a second you would see that these NFC Championship Contenders (AKA Giants) are not the same team we played back earlier this season.  They, like the 49ers are winning the old fashioned way, with great offensive and defensive line play.   They are winning it in the trenches.  Plain and simple.   This game has the potential of being a great game.  I almost wish these two teams were playing each other in the super bowl.  That would be fantastic.  A classic east / west matchup. 

Alas, but it is not.  So I have to pick a winner to go on to the Super Bowl.  So here it is:

New York Giants 26

San Francisco 49ers  19

Next up:  My AFC Championship Prediction