Lucky Seven

The end of the year is near, and the girls at Playing the Field would like to reflect on the year that was in sports. Here, our list of highlights, lowlights, and props:

HIGHLIGHTS
The Wizards made the playoffs for the first time since 1997…and witnessing Game 5 versus the new-school Chicago Bulls, where the Wiz advanced past the first round in more than 20 years. MONEY!

USC won its second national title – undisputed – in 2005

The Pats won the Super Bowl over choke-artists Philadelphia Eagles yet again, despite competition from rookie Roethlisberger’s Cinderella season.

Tiger Woods back in form, winning the Masters and the British Open.

Reggie Bush’s 513 all-purpose yards against Fresno State, and deservedly winning this year’s Heisman Trophy by a mile. And he has the cutest smile since Antawn Jamison!

Baseball came back to DC – in the form of the Nationals. And they didn’t suck! (We can’t say the same for the aging and ailing RFK Stadium).

Kwame went to the Lakers for Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins. We’re still laughing at how good a deal that was.

UNC’s convincing win over Illy Illinois in the NCAA Championship. ACC…WHAT?!

The evil empires, a.k.a the Los Angeles Lakers & the New York Yankees, sucked…and the world rejoiced.

LOWLIGHTS
The Wizards and the Redskins inconsistency and current slumps. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Giants: 36. Redskins: 0. No reminder needed.

The most boring World Series in history. Won by the Chicago White Sox over the Houston Astros. Yaaaaawn.

The Eagles fall from grace – first the TO incident, McNabb’s gone for the season, and then the 42-0 shutout on Monday Night Football. Yikes, what happened?

The NHL lock-out for the 2004-2005 season. But did anyone really notice? (Ok, ok, Canada, WE HEAR YOU!)

We’d also like to give props to the following individuals & teams for their superb performances this year:

PROPS
The thus far undefeated Colts – finding a way to not just win, but to blow out teams every week. They…could….go…all…the…way (Chris Berman style)!

Pete Carroll & the USC Trojans remain undefeated (34 games and counting), are up for the third national title in three years, and produce another Heisman Trophy winner (third in four years). UNSTOPPABLE.

The Minnesota Vikings turnaround – their sexboat scandal, their lameness, the loss of star QB Daunte Culpeper – it was all going downhill. Then they win six games in a row, and are playoff contenders.

The Cincinnati Bengals securing their first winning season since the early 90’s (we’re still scratching our heads). We give most of the credit to USC alum Carson Palmer, Head Coach (and former Redskin Defensive Coordinator) Marvin Lewis, and Chad “I Wanna Be Tiger Woods and Marry a Cheerleader” Johnson.

Tedy Bruschi coming back from a stroke to help the Pats go back on top of the AFC East.

The MP3 himself -- Steve Nash, coming out of nowhere to lead his team to the Western Conference Finals and winning NBA MVP Honors. The Suns are shining in Phoenix!

Balenciaga and Basketball, Football and Fendi – Our Take on Having the Best of Both Worlds…And a Manifesto of Sorts on Why We Like Sports
As you have kept track of our blog through the…weeks, you may have asked yourself:

"Self? How are these girls extremely attractive AND extremely knowledgeable in sports? Self, are they for real? Or merely a dream...and in several hours, I will awake from my REM and find myself next to say, Bob Dole trying to canoodle with me...."

Well as for the attractive part, we have our Filipino (It’s like Asian, with a Swoosh!) parents to thank, the fact that we are shopaholics and actually dress…girly, we blame this consumer-obsessed society of ours, and Kate Moss wearing those boots that we MUST have. For the sports part, well, we’d like to offer a “Hellooooo, welcome to the 21^st Century!” In an era where women can vote (for decades now), are political leaders, executives, broadcasters, and yes, athletes, is it so impossible for a girl to merely like sports?

Today, if you look in the stands of any sporting match, you’ll find a fair share of females there. Yes, there will be some accompanying their boyfriends and husbands. But for the most part, they (and we know this because we are those girls) know their shiz. You could strike up a conversation about the zone defending, the off-sides rule, fantasy teams and draft picks.

Well, you say, then what’s all this mumbo jumbo about cute smiles, tight asses and ripped abs? We reply, “Added bonus, my friends, added bonus.” What red-blooded female wouldn’t appreciate Tom Brady’s bum in those pants? Even better, what red-blooded sports-loving female wouldn’t appreciate Tom Brady throwing 360 yards and 2 touchdowns in those pants? Tight ass plus tight skills equals HOT STUFF. Don’t tell us you men haven’t checked out Maria Sharapova or Jenny Finch.

Continuing on, if ever the chance we get to meet Tom Brady, wouldn’t it only be logical to present ourselves in a lovely and pretty manner? Hence, why we spend our money on Jimmy Choos and Rock & Republics, and get facials and manicures. (It is possible to get a manicure and catch Monday Night Football. We’ve done it. Better yet, wouldn’t it be money if we could get a manicure WHILE watching MNF?!) If we don’t meet Tom Brady, well then we look cute and feel good anyway, for ourselves and for those guys who aren’t quite Tom Brady caliber, but whose bums still look good in pants.

We spend as much money on a pair of Seven jeans as we do on tickets to watch the Wizards in the playoffs (and yes, jeans REALLY DO cost that much). We spend equal amounts of time dancing in the club with our girls as we do eating Buffalo Wings and watching March Madness at a bar with our homies. We alternate between watching the Style Network (because it’s important to know what not to wear) and ESPN SportsCenter (because it’s important to know who’s been traded to where). We like to think it makes us…well-rounded. After all, if it weren’t for sports, what would guys and girls have in common? No, this isn’t a rhetorical question…WE REALLY HAVE NO IDEA!