Super Bowl XLV Preview

     This game is going to be a clash between two great franchises, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers. This will be the Steelers third trip to the big game in the last six years with them winning the first two of them to become the only franchise in the National Football League (NFL) to have won six championships. The Packers on the other hand are one of the oldest and most historic franchises in the league. The Vince Lombardi Trophy, which is awarded to the winning Super Bowl team, is even named after the former Green Bay coach, Vince Lombardi. Now that we have a bit of history on the two franchises let’s take a look at the how they match-up.

     The Steelers have a solid group of veterans with Super Bowl experience; twenty-five players to the Packers two. Although experience cannot win the game alone it does give them an advantage. Both of these teams have top notch defenses that can take control of a game and create points on their own. The Steelers prefer to control the game and the clock with their rushing attack, but turn to the passing game to make most of their big plays. On the other hand, the Packers prefer to attack teams with their passing game and primarily use their ground game to set up the pass.

     This game has the potential to be one of the best Super Bowl’s in recent history. Both of these teams have a huge following and I expect that it will have even more views than the previous Super Bowl record. So who is going to win this game, the terrible towels or the cheese heads? You will have to wait till next week for a more in depth look at the match-up and my predictions.

Why am I at VCU?

     According to Ken Steele, I would be a careerist, a person attending college as a means to an end: getting a job. Now don't get me wrong, I am attending college so that I can get a job. However, that is not the only reason that I'm attending college to become a health and physical education teacher. Not only am I interested in health and physical education for my own life, I would like to help teach the subject to the youth of America.
     When I was in high school I don't feel like I learned much about health or physical education. In health class I learned basic information related to our bodies and a very little about nutrition, the nutrition I learned being the food pyramid. In physical education class the only that I learned was how to play sports, but I was never taught the sports skills or anything about the components of fitness. With childhood obesity on the rise due to lack of physical activity and poor dietary choices I feel that children and teenagers need to be better educated on those areas.
     I know that when I was growing up if I would have known more about physical activity or about nutrition I would have made some better choices. This is why I chose to become a health and physical education teacher. I want to help give children and teenagers, a better understanding of just how important fitness and their diets are in their lives. I guess I would classify myself as an educator, a person who goes to school because they have an interest in a specific field and they want to pass that information on to others.

AFC Championship Game

Pittsburgh Steelers (13-4) vs New York Jets (13-5)

     The Jets are flying high after defeating the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots both on the road, but this is the week I believe their season comes to an end. During the regular season the Jets got lucky and beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh. However, in that game the Steelers were without two key players, Heath Miller and Troy Polamalu, but both of them will be playing in this game. In addition the Jets young quarterback Mark Sanchez and has been playing mistake free football, but the Steelers number one defense will confuse him and put an end to that this weekend. The Steelers have a group of experienced players who are used to playing in big games and that experience will prevail in this game.

Lets see how the teams match-up:
Quarterback (QB) - Advantage Steelers; Ben Roethlisberger is the hardest QB to bring down in the league and is the most accurate QB outside of the pocket
Runningback - Even, This is perhaps the key to the game, whichever team is able to run the ball can control the clock and keep the other offense off the field. The Jets probably have a slight advantage because of their line.
Wide Receivers - Advantage Steelers; This is another close call but the QB play gives them the edge.
Offensive Line - Advantage Jets; The Jets have a solid line and need to protect their QB to have a chance in this game. The Steelers line is riddled with injury and must play better.
Defense - Advantage Steelers; Pittsburgh has the number one in the league with the best safety in the game and the best group of linebackers. However the Jets do have a pair of top rate cornerbacks and they need a big game to give the Jets a chance.
Special teams- Advantage Jets; This was the difference in the first game when the two teams played in the regular season and could decide this game once again.

Predictions:
     The Steelers are not going to lose their record breaking 15th championship game at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. It will however, be a close game with the Steelers winning 24-17 to advance to the Super Bowl.

Bucket List

Here is a list of things that I would like to do in my life:

Graduate from VCU with my bachelor's in Health and Physical Education
Get a job teaching Health and Physical Education in a high school
Become a high school football coach
After gaining some coaching experience; coach college football
Backpack across Europe
Attend graduate school after completing my bachelors and finding a job
Become an athletic director for a high school
Own a sport's bar
Start a family with my wife
Visit the Grand Canyon
Exercise more often
See the Egyptian Pyramids
Attend a Super Bowl game
Play in the World Series of Poker (Main Event)
Finish this semester with a 4.0 grade point average
Watch this years Super Bowl with my friends
Wash my car this week
Pay off our house
Go wine tasting with my wife this weekend
Build a deck around the pool this summer
Learn to speak Spanish
Pay off my car
Take and Pass the Praxis II test
Go visit my friends and family in Pennsylvania this summer
Learn to play the drums
Attend a VCU basketball game this year
Find a part-time job for the summer
Visit Niagara Falls again
Take and Pass the VCLA test
Buy a sports car