Last night
Last night was the big game. Super Bowl. American football for my visitors from around the world. Tom Brady is a trumper. So, Colleen rooted for the Chiefs. I was sentimental to see the underdog win. Our tradition is to have a pig out of junk food. We had doughnuts, chips, and chocolate covered strawberries, etc. on hand for watching the game. Colleen hates football. She watches the commercials. I watch the game. We are about evenly set up.
Noa? She doesn’t know the situation and isn’t allowed junk food. All they had at her house was a lone bag of chips and avocado (healthy) dip. How much fun is that? Judging from her smile, more than enough.
Freakin’ Cold
I don’t know why Dave wasn’t with us. In all our time Lisa never attended a professional sports match. It was deep December and I got tickets to a Jets night game. 
We wore everything you could in layers to protect against the cold. But you just can sit around without moving. Jules and I wore ski gear. Eric wore heavy coveralls and boots. We were as they say ‘freakin’ cold.’ We were there, we stayed, but don’t ask who won.
As an aside, Jules and I still have those North Face ski jackets. That particular yellow color is so outdated it’s embarrassing. But you can’t kill those jackets. I still wear it and don’t mind looking like an old guy on the slopes. Jules moved on fashionably but still has hers.
Yale Snow Bowl
Halloween 2011, Columbia University, Baker Field, Yale vs Columbia. At least I didn’t travel far. It was snowing hard before kick-off and it never let up the whole game. Yale won. Yay! Snow is wet. I had an umbrella and my trusty long lens 80-400mm. I shot. I tried to keep my gear dry. I shot anyway. Alex remembers this game fondly. I remember being wet and cold. I’m used to cold when I ski. But when you are sitting and just moving your finger on the shutter, fun has an entirely different context. His Elis won and I got some shots. Everyone was happy.
Yale Snow Bowl
I discuss this more in my other blog (Imaged Event). Interestingly, the blog entry is right at the top of Google’s search engine. I just called it the Yale Snow Bowl because I went with a Yale fan. It could’ve been called the Columbia Snow Bowl. Hmmm….thank you WordPress. Cold, wet, pouring snow – it was quintessential football in the elements for diehard fans. Indeed it looks like the Yale center is calling out the entire Columbia team. So technically, many people would not even think of bringing a camera to a game like this. When I said ‘pouring,’ it was a heavy wet snow, with large clumped flakes that sort of soaked into any surface. There was nothing fluffy or ethereal going on here. That said, my friend Alex and I will talk about this game for years. Oh, and yes, his alma mater, Yale won.
The photo technical stuff – I brought a plastic bag. I should have a rain cover that is sold for cameras. But I don’t. And I never used the plastic bag. I forgot my gloves in the car so holding the camera constantly was not an option. I just kept the camera enfolded in my ski parka. I pulled the camera out as the play started. It snowed all over my camera. Fortunately the Nikon is sealed well. As for water on the lens filter, I wiped it off with my fleece. There was some blur. But hey, the conditions were far from ideal. Needless to say, I did not change lenses.
More at Imaged Event (see sidebar).
Slideshow and gallery: (more…)
photobackstory 