For the sake of transparency, I should tell you that I was rooting for the Chiefs. I didn’t have any particular feeling for the Chiefs, but when I asked my sons who they wanted to win my seven-year-old said, “The Vikings.”

“The Vikings aren’t playing in the Super Bowl,” I told him. “It’s the Chiefs and the Eagles.”

“I pick the Chiefs,” my eleven-year-old said.

“Yeah, the Chiefs,” Seven said. “Where are they from again?”

“Kansas City,” I said.

“Yeah, Kansas City,” Seven said. “Have we been there?”

“No,” I said.

“We should go to Kansas City for the Super Bowl,” Seven said. “The Chiefs are my favorite.”

“Well, the Super Bowl is tonight,” I said. “So I think we’ll have to watch it on TV.”

“Okay, but I really wanted to go to Kansas City,” Seven said, very disappointed.

We had this conversation on the drive back from a hockey tournament in Minot, North Dakota. We got home around 4:00 pm and, after unloading the car, Kyle started a load of laundry and a pot of chili with everything but ground beef because we didn’t have any while I ran to the grocery store for said ground beef as well as staples for the week. I got back, unpacked the groceries, cooked up the ground beef, finished preparing dinner, unloaded some more laundry, shooed Seven to go watch cartoons upstairs and not in the kitchen (his Chiefs super-fandom did not extend to watching the game), and then turned on the TV in the middle of the first quarter. I learned that Patrick Mahomes had a hurt ankle, there were two brothers playing against each other, and Alicia Silverstone was in a commercial dressed as Cher from Clueless and her face was exactly the same as it was fifteen (or whatever) years ago. While Kyle rounded up the kids and convinced them they liked chili and wanted to eat it, I spent ten minutes Googling, “Why does Alicia Silverstone look so good” and then, “Can you be a vegan and still eat meat and cheese or what.” The score at the end of the first quarter was 7-7.

During the second quarter, Eleven decided he liked chili but not THIS chili, Kyle made him chicken fingers, and the Chiefs scored on a fumble. The Eagles got both a touchdown and a field goal and Seven announced that he would henceforth be cheering for his favorite team, the Eagles, and not the Chiefs. The score at the half was Eagles 24, Chiefs 14.

“The Chiefs could still win,” I told him.

“No,” Seven said. “They won’t.” And then, “I want to take a bath; come on, Mom.”

“Let’s watch the Halftime Show first,” I said. “It’s a lady named Rihanna who sings your favorite song in the movie, Home.”

“Okay,” Seven said. “Can I have a cookie?”

I spent most of Rihanna’s performance Googling, “Is Rihanna pregnant again or did she not have her baby yet.” Seven finished his cookie, got very excited when Rihanna’s dancers came out dressed like what he thought was one of the characters in Home, and then got We’re-Not-Going-To-Kansas-City-level disappointed when she didn’t sing any of the songs from the movie.

I missed all of the third quarter getting Seven ready for, and then to, bed. Kyle was in charge of Eleven; and when I emerged from Seven’s bedroom I saw that Eleven’s door was open and the lights were off, which is the Kosior-recognized sign for “This child is asleep.” I went downstairs, noted that Kyle was not there, wiped off the counter, and watched as Kadarius Toney achieved the longest punt return in Super Bowl history before the Eagles responded with another touchdown and tied up the score 35-35.

Then I texted Kyle, “Where are you?”

To which he responded, “In our room watching the Super Bowl with Eleven.”

I went back upstairs to find Eleven NOT asleep and instead hanging out with his dad. I flopped down beside him and he acknowledged my presence by texting his friends,

“Let’s gooooooooooooo Chiefs.”

The Chiefs got within field goal range and there was some kind of penalty on the Eagles which I was made to understand was NOT a normal penalty given out during football games but WAS given out in this one. Then the Chiefs stood around so as to run out the clock (BOO, get on with it) before kicking a field goal to win 38-35. The Fox reporters interviewed a bunch of the Chiefs players who all said something to the effect of, “No one thought we were gonna win and we showed them!” To which Eleven said, “Bet,” because he, unlike his brother, knew they were going to win the whole time.

When the game ended the on-field confetti machines started shooting out red and gold confetti shaped like the Lombardi Trophy. Those machines kept on shooting out confetti while they set up the stage, got the owners and players rounded up, handed out the trophy, and then individually interviewed every single person still on the field. I didn’t listen to the speeches because I was incredibly distracted by the fact that there was an interminable supply of confetti landing on everyone’s foreheads and shoulders and, in the case of one guy, getting sucked up into his mouth on national television. Like, why all the confetti? That was too much confetti.

As we were turning off the TV someone said, “It’s a Chief’s dynasty,” and Eleven asked, “What’s a dynasty?” This gave him an extra five minutes of awake time while we explained what a dynasty was and whether or not we thought two Super Bowls in four years really counted as a dynasty.

Then my phone pinged with an alert from People magazine that said Rihanna was, in fact, pregnant with her second child, and so I guess everyone (minus the Eagles) was a winner that night.

The photo above is of my beautiful sister and me at a USC game in whatever year my sunglasses were still in style. My sister is a VERY BIG fan of USC Football (it’s her alma mater). I’m a VERY BIG fan of stadium hot dogs and hanging out with my sister.

I’d like to be a part of this voting team in the future: Crosby is the internationally-recognized home of the Best Rink Burger. (Discover Estevan)

Kind people from Minnesota and North Dakota came together to give Edgewood seniors a fun – and comfortable – day of ice fishing. (Grand Forks Herald)

North Dakota’s Norma Flying Horse (aka Red Berry Woman) is now a Grammy award winner. (Valley News Live)

Salem’s most famous resident was featured on a recent episode of Dateline. (Facebook)

Beach’s Kelly Maixner is gearing up for his 9^th Iditarod. (Valley News Live)

The Roosevelt Park Zoo has three new lions – two sisters, and another male as a social buddy to the Zoo’s previously-solo lion, Kiota. (KFYR TV)