Troops Overseas Get In On Super Bowl Action

Pittsburgh Steelers fan Sheresa Coleman will watch the
Super Bowl from the USS Mahan in the Gulf of Aden.

From CNN:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Ready for your Super Bowl party? Sure, you have drinks, hot wings, maybe even a favorite jersey. But do you have an M-16, a Kevlar helmet and body armor?

Not everybody is watching the game from the comfort of the family den.

Hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops will be deployed in remote war zones, on lonely oceans and at overseas bases -- all far away from an NBC affiliate. So the military is going out of its way to make sure that many soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors can watch Super Bowl XLIII live.

"Super Bowl day has really become a holiday, military-wise, over the last couple years," said Petty Officer 1st Class Grant Shannon.

Shannon is from a town about an hour north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but is on board the USS Mahan, a destroyer deployed to stop pirates working off the coast of Somalia.

Read more ....

Clearing Up The Super Bowl Flap

From National Review (The Tank):

Thanks to Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk.com for getting to the bottom of the flap over the percieved change in accomodations for the Color Guard at the Super Bowl this year—a flap which yours truly contributed to. Bottom line: Nothing has changed from previous years.

We’ve received nearly 50 e-mails over the past 12 hours regarding a contention that the Color Guard won’t be permitted to stay and watch the Super Bowl after doing their duty during the National Anthem.

The specific allegation is that Super Bowl XLIII will mark a change from past procedures utilized by the NFL.

And plenty of fans are upset about it.

Read more ....

My Comment: Bottom line ..... it was a big hullabaloo over nothing. But on the bright side, the 12 member color guard will be now permitted to stay in the stadium and see the game.

And oh yeah ..... cough cough ..... GO STEELERS GO!!!!

The U.S. Military Color Guard For The Super Bowl Will Not Be Permitted To Stay And Watch The Big Game

From Thunder Run:

Since 9/11/01 it has become quite the event to have military color guards present the colors and be present during the singing of the National Anthem at sporting events of all kinds, and at Super Bowl XLIII this will also take place. So to say I was surprised when I received this email from a distraught Marine Mom would be an understatement:

My youngest Marine called me this morning. In the course of the conversation he made mention of being part of the Color Guard for the ceremonies at the Super Bowl. He has been part of other Color Guards at other games and has been able to enjoy the entire game after presenting the Colors. HOWEVER, this will not be the case this time. The 12 man/women color guard will be presenting the Colors and then will be escorted out of the stadium and therefore not allowed to see the game. Steven and the 11 others are quite upset about this and have asked that I see if I could contact someone and have that changed.

Read more .....

My Comment: This is not cool. Not cool at all.