Isn't Pam Tebow's story a tale of choice as much as it is of life?

Disclaimer: I am pro-choice.  This is my opinion and mine only.

If you're interested in a rebuttal to the Pam and Tim Tebow Superbowl ad, both Planned Parenthood and Jimmy Kimmel have one for you.  I like both messages, "trust women" and "They don't all turn out like Tebow" (although the latter is obviously tongue-in-cheek and not meant to be taken seriously), because they point out that the reason we have these heartwarming stories of women who chose life, and realized it was the right choice for them, and went on to raise wonderful children is precisely because that choice was available to them, and so today the women we observe who chose not to have an abortion are the women who wanted to carry out their pregnancies, and the women we don't observe are those who decided not to.  Imagine how different it would look if all women were forced to carry out their pregnancies instead.  The value of choice is actually what's responsible for both Pam Tebow and Sarah Palin's heartwarming stories, contrary to what they may peddle.  They both talk about what a good choice they made for themselves, after considering the implications of dangerous and unexpected pregnancies, and then go on to recommend denying other women the same option.  Pam Tebow almost didn't have that choice, as abortion was illegal in the Philippines at the time she became pregnant, and must have only been offered to her as an option due to the special circumstances.  Her story, her decision, and the Heisman trophy winner that came after, are a celebration of choice as much as they are of life.

Superbowl wrap up--Go Saints!

Now that was a Superbowl.  Four lead changes, an underdog comeback (from the biggest deficit ever to be surmounted in Superbowl history), an onside kick, two-point conversion and controversial call, and finally an interception against the thought-to-be infallible arm of Peyton Manning.  NOLA.com has the goods on all the Superbowl records broken last night.  What a game!  ESPN has an interesting piece about the calculated risks the Saints' coach Sean Payton took last night.  To me, this is the right story to be going after this morning.  As touching as Drew Brees's injury recovery and adoption of New Orleans (and vice versa) is, from where I was sitting, it looked like coaching, and not any star players, won this game.  Payton made the right call, every time, even when he went for it on the fourth down (instead of taking an easy three points) and they couldn't deliver.  They still had a good enough chance that it made sense to try.  Brees was dead accurate short, but seemed to me to make some strange calls, and the defense was hot and cold--amazing one minute, letting the Colts walk down the field the next.  This was Payton's win.

But enough about that.  Gawker's got the rundown on everything not football related, EW's Michael Slezak breaks down the best and worst commercials, and elsewhere on EW they have the inside scoop on how that crazy David Letterman/Oprah/Jay Leno ad came to be.  Ken Tucker also looks at the Pam/Tim Tebow ads, which turned out to be not so much controversial as they were misleading (more on this to come).  Elsewhere, Jezebel offers their take on the night's decidedly unprogressive, male ego stroking ads.

My favorites were the google love story and the green police.  You?

If you take a personality-based approach to sports, this is your guide to the superbowl

This Recording has an awesome piece where they break down the different personalities on either side of the Superbowl. They talk about Scott Fujita, who we already told you about, but also Reggie Bush, Haitian players Jonathan Vilma (Saints) and Pierre Garcon (Colts), Austin Collie, Gary Brackett, and Peyton Manning.

Among their insights:

• Austin Collie took two years off before his (undoubtedly high paid) pro football career for a Morman mission in Argentina.  There's a man who loves God.
• Jonathan Vilma started a financial planning program for school kids, which he plans to extend to the NFL, because apparently 78% of players are broke within 2 years of retirement.
• Reggie Bush will be looking for some serious redemption, after winning the Heisman trophy, getting drafted 2nd overall, and then going on to...do absolutely nothing in the NFL.  Except date Kim Kardashian.
• Gary Bracket walked on to his college team, came to the Colts as a free agent, and still managed to become captain of the team's defense over two other drafted, much higher paid linebackers.  And he lost both his parents and older brother in one tragedy-filled 13 month period.  Just try not to tear up when you read his story.  Says This Recording, "During the Super Bowl, when Gary tackles Reggie Bush, bear in mind that Reggie is being tackled by a man who, unlike Reggie, had nothing handed to him, who’s fought through all kinds of personal tragedy, and has made a fraction of the money."

Go read the whole thing, and then come back and tell me--who are you rooting for now?  (Assuming you had no ingoing loyalties, if the Bears were in the Superbowl, I wouldn't care what kind of personal tragedy and heroism was on the other side, at least not in a football sense)

[Hat tip ding]

One good reason to root for the Saints

Ms Pearlz N the Hood gave us plenty of reasons why we shouldn't feel obligated to root for the Saints.  But I'll give you one reason to do it anyway: Their adorable, outspoken linebacker Scott Fujita.  Among the acts to his credit [via Jezebel]:

• Fujita, who is adopted, gently, but clearly, opposed the message of the Pam and Tim Tebow superbowl ad, saying of his biological mother, "I'm just so thankful she had the courage and the support system to be able to carry out the pregnancy.  I wouldn't expect that of everybody."
• He is a vocal supporter of gay rights, and likes getting in debates with his teammates about it
• He was adopted by a Japanese father and Caucasian mother, and considers himself culturally Japanese, eating with chopsticks and celebrating traditional festivals.  (Okay, that's not really so much "to his credit," but for some reason I find it adorable).  He also says he draws inspiration from the experience of his Japanese-American family's internment during World War II.

A cutie with a conscience?  Gooooo Saints!

Super Bowl Super Guilt

Super Bowl XLIV is imminent. And the stress has already made my blood pressure soar. What stress? The stress of openly admitting pulling for Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday and being chastised for it. Does rooting against the New Orleans Saints make me a bad person? Well, several people have emphatically told me, “YES”. Why? Because New Orleans needs a victory. The people of the hurricane ravaged city need a lift. Sure, but specifically in the form of a Saints Super Bowl victory? And in the interest of full disclosure, I’m greatly disappointed that I’m not getting my Minnesota Vikings vs. Colts Super Bowl. I know there are folks out there who feel the same way, but no one has had my back like the fictional 30 Rock character, Nancy Donovan, over this “BS Saints bandwagon”. Go Colts!