Well, that bittersweet moment has arrived once again.  Waking up the morning of the Superbowl is like Christmas Day for me (minus the egg nog…gross lol don’t worry part 2 of my disgusting foods taste test is coming soon!).  The biggest game of the year with the final 2 teams battling it out for all the marbles!  But once the clock hits double zero and the confetti drops, my joy turns into deep sorrow as I remember that I won’t be able to watch another live NFL game until preseason begins again in August.  I know there’s still the NBA and I know that baseball is still considered the national pastime (although I could make a very strong case for football to replace it).  And sure, they’re fun too but football is just the greatest!

On any given Sunday, it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white (there’s your latest Michael Jackson reference if you’re keeping a running tally lol), Latino or Asian…whatever – we’re all just fans.  All other labels disappear.  So instead of hating each other for being a Republican or a Democrat, a liberal or a conservative, we hate each other for which teams we root for instead.  That’s MUCH better if you ask me!

I went to Walmart here in Atlanta this past Saturday and the normally salty cashiers and customers were so nice and friendly that it felt like a little utopia.  It was crazy!  People of every race, gender and religion hi-fiving each other and wearing the same team colors.  Granted, they’re extra salty again now that The Falcons lost the Superbowl but for that one day, there was magic in this city (*not to be confused with Magic City lol if you’re not from Atlanta you can look it up but then you might want to erase your browser history…). THAT is the power of football.

And what other sport can cause grown 365 lb. manly-men to spend hours putting on make-up to go shirtless in the middle of winter and cry like a baby when their team loses?  THAT is the power of football.

And about that Superbowl, wow that was one for the ages!  That was arguably the best Superbowl that I’ve ever seen! It was seriously an emotional roller-coaster…especially the final quarter and overtime drive!  Wow!  The last time I felt that nervous was during a road trip after eating a dodgy gas station tuna sandwich and drinking way too much water before missing the last rest stop for 47 miles…

But man, that was a heartbreaking loss for Atlanta fans.  You could literally hear a pin drop down here when that game ended.  The Falcons are a young, talented squad though.  They should be just as good next season so cheer up ATLiens, you have nothing to be ashamed of…okay, well maybe a little shame but still, there are 30 other teams (including my poor 49ers) who didn’t win the Superbowl this year either! 

Obviously the most devastating part of the loss was the fact that they had such a huge lead before they let it slip away.  But that’s kind of been the running theme for the most recent major events lately.  Like The Golden State Warriors (who blew a 3-1 lead to Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals) The Cleveland Indians (who blew a 3-1 lead to the Chicago Cubs in the World Series), Hillary Clinton…

So no, I’m not handing out participation trophies but still, The Falcons looked great this season so they should still be proud.  And obviously, congratulations go out to the New England Patriots and their fans!  As I said during the game, as long as there’s still time left on the clock, you can never count Tom Brady out.  I know that people love to hate him for some reason but the guy has been to the big game 7 times and has now won 5!  I’d say that he’s doing okay for himself eh?  lol even if you’re not a Patriots fan, those are legendary numbers!  The only guy who ever manages to beat him on the big stage is Eli Manning and the New York Giants so when Manning came out during the first half to accept the NFL Walter Peyton Man of the Year Award (congratulations to Eli and co-winner Larry Fitzgerald of the AZ Cardinals) Brady’s earlier struggles made sense.  Once Eli stepped off the field Brady found his mojo again and dominated the second half!  Crazy game.

What did you guys think about the commercials?  I thought they were better than they have been in recent years but many people I know were still disappointed.  I loved the Cam Newton Buick commercial (and so did my sister-in-law since she thinks Cam is “dreamy” lol what’s up Bobbi?!).  I also thought the Christopher Walken and Justin Timberlake commercial was great (although anything with either of those 2 guys is hilarious).  Most people also seemed to love the Kia commercial with Melissa McCarthy.  And I’m thankful that I wasn’t watching the game with my mom this year because that scandalous twerking Mr. Clean commercial was a little awkward…but I did hear a lot of women saying they need to go pick up a bottle so apparently the ad worked! 

I was a little upset that the Clydesdales weren’t featured this year but my friend Lisa did point out that they were in the background of the Budweiser ad so at least they made a brief appearance…even if I missed it lol.  I was also a little surprised there wasn’t a Doritos or Snickers commercial this year unless I missed those as well.  Although at $5 million for a 30 second ad, I’d probably skip the Superbowl too!  At that price, the best I could possibly afford might be a 1 second ad so next year don’t blink and you may see an upside-down smiley face hit the screen before halftime!

So one commercial that I have seen plenty of lately is for Taco Bell’s New Naked Chicken Chalupa.  Now, I haven’t been to Taco Bell in at least 6 or 7 years but “naked,” “chicken” and “tacos” are 3 of my favorite things so this I had to explore (don’t worry, yes I did wear pants when I placed my order…)! 

Now many of you may not know this, but KFC and Taco Bell are owned by the same parent company (Yum! Brands – they also own Pizza Hut…hmm, perhaps a pizza taco is coming next?) so this was intriguing.  If they could somehow manage to harness the Colonel’s original recipe into a taco shell, this could have been the greatest thing ever!  Unfortunately, that’s not what they did here.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not awful, it’s just not great either.  It’s middle of the road especially since I was hoping for so much more.  But sadly enough, the Naked Chicken Chalupa just does not live up to it’s potential and here’s why:

For starters, the shell that I daydreamed about IS actually chicken so they didn’t lie about that but they also didn’t capitalize on the KFC recipe despite the obvious affiliation.  The secret herbs and spices are apparently still a well-kept secret because none of them appear in this basic recipe!  So essentially it’s just an ordinary chicken patty molded into the shape of a taco shell. 

Oh, but it’s also not a taco!  That’s right, there’s no ground beef or second protein inside of the shell!  It’s just lettuce, tomato and an avocado sauce.  So essentially what you have is a chicken sandwich with no bun.  But since Taco Bell doesn’t specialize in chicken, there’s nothing unique about the taste.  I mean, if you want a chicken sandwich, Taco Bell isn’t really on the first list of options that come to mind (or the second…or the third).  While I respect the marketing genius and still find the concept intriguing, they didn’t quite nail the execution.  Again, I think a quick fix would be to utilize the KFC recipe for the chicken and then perhaps drop an actual beef soft taco inside of the shell.  THAT could be epic.  But for now, it’s just average.  Again, it wasn’t bad, I just wouldn’t order it again.

Verdict: Thumbs sideways … it’s okay.

 

So let’s talk about that Superbowl halftime show.  I may be slightly biased here since I own all of Lady Gaga’s albums so I’m obviously a fan, but I thought that her performance was amazing!  What I also found amazing were some of the comments about her “flabby belly.” In fact, one Twitter troll said that he was so distracted by her stomach that he couldn’t enjoy the performance at all.  Hmm, okay let’s break this down a little.  During that halftime show Lady Gaga:

• Performed a stirring rendition of This Land is Your Land when everyone expected her to use the performance as an outlet to express her political views
• Repelled from the roof of the stadium while singing LIVE when most people lip-synch
• Oh yeah, she also did flips while singing flawlessly
• Danced in giant heels with perfect choreography without falling
• Played multiple instruments
• Changed outfits several times
• Seamlessly strung together hit song after hit song for 13 straight energized minutes
• Executed a perfectly timed mic-drop before catching a pass (which some players might have even dropped) and then vanished into thin air

Aside from the performances from Michael Jackson (ad that to the tally) and Prince, that may have been the greatest halftime show of all time but yet her stomach is the primary focus?  C’mon man (©ESPN MNF lol) seriously?  I can understand if you just don’t like her music or her political views but body-shaming is the cheapest low road to take.  That’s like when someone is losing an argument online so they resort to pointing out spelling mistakes lol that’s really all you’ve got?  Weak.

Look, I’m not going to body shame the body-shamers but I will say that some of you pointing out her stomach could also stand to do a few crunches yourselves!  But that’s okay.  Whether you’re tall, short, muscular, skinny, curvy…you should love the skin you’re in. 

Yes, I write a humor column so I get it.  Being #petty is “trending” so why do I have one foot on the soapbox right now?  Well, as you know, I’m also a fitness trainer and do nutrition coaching.  I have personally sat in a room with crying suicidal teenagers who hate the way they look and how people treat them because they weigh a few extra pounds. 

Sure, Lady Gaga is a public figure and yes, she chose her wardrobe so it may “come with the territory” but when you devalue one of the most creative people on the planet and judge her entire performance based solely on her mid-section, what message are we sending to our kids?  What unfair standard are we setting for young girls out there?  Like I said earlier, if you hate her music, say that.  If you hate her political views, say that too but body shaming is much more dangerous and psychologically damaging than most people realize. Besides, if only people with ripped 6-packs were allowed to have a voice, the world would definitely be a much quieter place! 

Oh yeah, but even then, you still can’t win because people will just find something else to judge you for.  Like they say, haters gonna hate right?  A few of my female friends are judged because they DO have a 6-pack and “too much muscle for a woman” while other beautiful women are judged for being “too skinny,” “too tall,” “too short,” “too dark,” “too light” …the list goes on but it shouldn’t.  Bringing somebody else down won’t being you up.  What did that little girl in that viral car seat video say?  Yeah, that’s right, “Worry about yo’self.”

So the bottom line is that you can’t please everyone.  That was the point of my very first post here.  Let your freak flag fly man, just be you.  As I always say to my clients, if you want to change your body, change it because you want to, not because someone else wants you too (unless it’s a true health concern) and definitely not because of societal norms.  But first love who you are.  It’s even more important now because people are always going to try and bring you down.  That’s just the world that we live in.

Like I said, I’m not trying to be preachy here but I have seen firsthand how damaging and crippling body-shaming can be and it’s not okay.  I’ll close out this topic with a quote from Lady Gaga herself that she posted on her Instagram page yesterday:

“I heard my body is a topic of conversation, So I wanted to say, I’m proud of my body and you should be proud of yours too. No matter who you are or what you do. I could give you a million reasons why you don’t need to cater to anyone or anything to succeed. Be you, and be relentlessly you. That’s the stuff of champions.” – Lady Gaga 

So I ask you, are you a champion?

Have a fitness question or topic you’d like addressed?  What did you think of the halftime show?  Do you think Body-shaming is fair game since she’s a celebrity? Let me know in the comments!

Speaking of Champions, once again, congratulations to the New England Patriots!  And now, it’s time to finally concede that the NFL season is officially over and move on to the closing ceremony. With that said, I present to you a video depiction of my next several months without football.  Some of you may have seen this already and you’ll also see it again in September as it has now officially become my annual opening and closing tradition lol.  I really do need to get this to the league to use next season.  Somebody get NFL Network on the horn!  Haha okay check it out…

 

Today’s Soundtrack

Telephone – Lady Gaga (Classy response and great quote from her.  Body shaming es no Bueno…)

Black or White – Michael Jackson (surely you saw this one coming didn’t you?)

Sign O’ The Times – Prince (rounding out the top 3 Superbowl performances that come to mind.  I’ll have to rewatch some others to finalize my list but these 3 nailed it!  Who’s your favorite halftime act of all time?)

Lovestoned / I Think She Knows – Justin Timberlake (I think that he’s got enough hits, mainstream appeal and talent to pull off doing a great halftime show too!  Hopefully the NFL isn’t still mad at him over that Janet Jackson “wardrobe malfunction”…)

You Can Hate Me Now – Nas ft. P. Diddy (Haters gonna hate…)

Scars to Your Beautiful – Alessia Cara (Great message to go along with the Body shaming discussion)

Beautiful – Christina Aguilera (Similar uplifting message)

Have another song that fits today’s theme?  Tell us about it in the comments below!

Okay peeps, that about does it for today but I’ll be back on Monday with the Valentine’s Day Special!  Ooh la la!  But for now, you know what to do…like, comment and share this page!  And click those social media buttons to follow me there as well.  Okay, that’s a wrap.  Mmm, a wrap, I’m hungry again… (shocker lol) – okay see you Monday! 

Deuces!

-Darrell

“Spread Love, it’s the Brooklyn Way…”