Today's fortune: February 5, 2011

Today's fortune: Prepare today for the demands of tomorrow. Plan your move.

It's interesting that this fortune came to me today, because tomorrow is one of the most anticipated days on the calendar each year.

Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday.

So how to prepare for the biggest sporting and television event of the year?

I took a two-pronged approach: education and cleaning.

EDUCATION

Here's an admission that's embarrassing for a man to make: I'm not really a football fan.

I'm a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs. I love the Chiefs, and I watch them every Sunday during the season. I even watch the preseason games. But I hardly ever watch a football game the Chiefs aren't involved in. I don't spend my Saturdays watching college football. I don't watch three pro games on Sunday. And I don't dedicate any time to Monday Night Football. On Thanksgiving I eat turkey and watch parades, and on New Year's Day I recover from the night before, whereas most men spend those holidays watching football.

I can call myself a fan of the Chiefs. I cannot call myself a fan of the game.

And since the Chiefs have never been in the Super Bowl during my lifetime, I have had very little interest in the game itself. The parties, the food and the commercials, now that's a different story.

Before today I knew very little about the Pittsburgh Steelers, other than that for some reason they only have a logo on one side of their helmets. And I knew even less about their Super Bowl XLV opponents, the Green Bay Packers.

So after reading today's fortune, I decided to learn about these two teams, so I can watch the game tomorrow with some sense of who's who.

In today's Kansas City Star, I read an article about the Steelers' James Harrison, a talented linebacker who was right in the middle of the helmet-to-helmet contact scandal in the NFL this year. Harrison makes no apologies for his aggressive style of play. And, when you think about it, this is football. If players are worried about getting concussions, they should probably take up a hobby that doesn't involve tackling.

I also read about Packers linebacker Clay Matthews. I learned Matthews is a third-generation NFL player, which I find quite remarkable. His father was in the NFL. His grandfather was in the NFL. His uncle Bruce Matthews in an NFL Hall of Famer. His cousin Kevin Matthews plays for the Tennessee Titans. His younger brother Casey plays college football at USC.

Can you imagine the pressure, growing up in that family? If you're a male in the Matthews clan and you don't make it to the NFL, you're probably considered a failure to some extent. Not that the Matthewses aren't fine people. I have no idea. but professional football happens to be the family business.

I don't believe the current NFL star, Clay Matthews III, has any children. But I would not envy the pressure (real or perceived) heaped upon Clay Matthews IV.

In addition to the Star articles, I also plan to watch as much of the pre-game broadcast tomorrow as possible. But in the meantime, I'll make a prediction.

Let me preface this, though. I rooted for the Chiefs, of course, in the first round of this year's playoffs. The Chiefs lost. Then I decided to root for the Atlanta Falcons, because I thought it would be cool if former Chief Tony Gonzalez could win a Super Bowl ring. The Falcons lost. In the AFC Championship Game, I picked the Jets to win, and in the NFC Championship Game, I backed the Bears. Both teams lost.

So if you're a gambler, you may be wise to bet against my pick.

But here it is anyway: Packers 24, Steelers 16.

I have one simple reason for this. The Steelers will be playing tomorrow without their Pro Bowl center, Maurkice Pouncey. That's gonna be rough for Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh offense. I predict a big game for Aaron Rodgers and a Green Bay victory.

CLEANING

You might think cleaning doesn't have anything to do with the Super Bowl, but you'd be wrong.

While Jamie spends the day studying for a particularly difficult algebra class, I've been cleaning up around the house, not because we're hosting a Super Bowl party (we're actually going to one somewhere else), but because I would very much like for the house to be somewhat clean tomorrow before and after the game.

Also, I've been doing laundry today. I had to make sure my Chiefs sweatshirt was clean (I still have to support my team), and I need clean clothes for tomorrow and the week ahead.

Finally, I've been doing dishes. Later tonight, Jamie and I will make Rice Crispies treats to take to the party. Ya gotta have Rice Crispies treats at the Super Bowl.