We departed on Sunday from Fort Lauderdale on the day of the Super Bowl. I was really nervous, not so much for the outcome of the game, more so that I would miss the game because Time Warner does not offer service in the middle of the Caribbean Sea.
I caught most of the pre-game on the top deck with every one else on the ship, there were 3,400 people on board, the ship was massive. There was a smattering of GB and Steelers fans; most of the crowd appeared to be neutral.
So no shit, about two minutes before the coin toss, the satellite feed goes out. I started freaking out as you can imagine. I was seriously considering jumping ship, figuring there had to be someone in Cuba that had a flat screen, Direct TV, and chips. If I jumped off now, I could probably invade the Bay of Pigs before the Black Eyed Peas took the stage at halftime. I’m not kidding, a mutiny was brewing on the top deck that would have made those Egyptian protestors look like pussies.
But the game came back about two minutes into the first quarter, the Packers dominated, then made me physically ill for two quarters by letting Pittsburgh back into the game, then domination again. What a game for the ages. The icing was the orange Gatorade poured on Mike McCarthy after the victory that paid out 5 to 1.
Nothing more can be said about the Pack, they are the greatest team that ever played the game of football and they are going to be twice as good next year.
The rest of the trip was like living on a giant, floating orgy of food.
Ever wake up and have a craving for two omelets, infinity bacon, and a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch but with vanilla ice cream instead of milk? Well then a Carnival Cruise is just for you. I cannot reiterate how much food is available on these ships 24/7. Way too much. I’m still feeling pangs of guilt.
I took one picture the entire trip. ONE.
You can tell where my priorities were at. I got to see Key West, Cayman Islands, and Jamaica, I swam with stingrays and climbed waterfalls, but the trip would have been a total loss without winning one of the almost daily Ping Pong tournaments onboard the ship. Not kidding.
The first tournament, I made it to the semi-finals but some sloppy play on my part caused me to lose to some Eastern European guy, 17-21. The next tournament I battled two old guys i.e. hardened veterans and an Asian guy to face my arch nemesis in the final match. My arch nemesis is, you guessed it, my brother, Joey Wollin. The pressure got to me and he soundly beat me, casting a large shadow over an otherwise very enjoyable trip.
But the final tournament of the ship, on the last day, I beat this chick who was really good, my dad, and then once again I had to square off against my brother who is frickin awesome and he beats me all the time and I get really riled up just thinking about it. I could not imagine a more horrific scenario than my brother winning TWO pieces of ship on a stick and me having none.
But I channeled by inner Forest Gump and defeated my younger brother, the way God intended, and now my trophy is nestled comfortably between my 1st place WWITB kickball plaque and the Champion of Hammersley Road trophy that I earned by reigning over Joey Daniels in a series of feats of strength back in the summer of 2007.
My children will have some very large shoes to fill some day that’s for sure.
