I was vaguely aware that the Panthers were in the running for the Superbowl. Had they made it, I might even have watched the game. I have a certain fondness for the Panthers, based primarily on the fact that they are Not The Patriots.

I don't have rooting interests in any professional sport so much as I have a strange, complicated, and ever-evolving matrix of regional (and conference/league) loyalties and animosities involving both my personal settlement and mental health patterns and my family heritage going back three generations. It has pretty much nothing to do with the teams themselves. One of the elements of the matrix is that teams from the northeastern United States are Evil, and teams from the west are various shades of Good. Which means I'm now pulling for the Seahawks, even though they beat my Panthers. But since I've never even been to Seattle (even though I have several good friends there who love the city), and since I have been to Pittsburgh and it is close enough to the midwest to escape the damning radius of New England, my rooting interest is not especially strong.

All of which is to say that if someone in my circle of friends throws a good Superbowl party, I'll probably come and bring spinach dip and beer and my current unknitting project. Otherwise, I'll probably forget about the game until Monday morning and not even feel a weak pang of disappointment or pleasure when I find out who won.