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[Supermercado]

The flyover was different in the Super Bowl than in NASCAR races only because they used F-22s, the newest fighter in the US military and there's not very many of them. I think at last count there were three F-22s in operational service.

There were four last night, I believe.

[LostArtofRolando]

As cool as the F-22 looks, its missing some armament.  Thing carries more than the F-117 thank god, but not too much.  Hopefully they tack on external armament (though that eliminates the semi-stealthiness of the plane).  Cool to see the AF actually showing those things off in front of the public though.  Good to see a nice salute to the military that has no direct political angle with it (state of the union or any other time Bush speaks?).  Way to go to the American servicemen and women.

[RichN]

Disnut forgot to mention the little meow the cat did while they are in the kitchen.  The idea behind the ad was a bit cruel, but anyone with cats knows how they can get into that kind of trouble.

[Vengeance]

There were four last night, I believe.

You would be correct! 

[elmono311]

I saw three more are supposed to be delivered this year so maybe they're a little ahead of schedule

I still don't know why the F-117A is designated as a fighter when it's in fact more of a bomber/attack plane

[LostArtofRolando]

true, the F-117 was more of a bomber.  The new F-22s a lot like the F-4.  I think it carries a few missiles , though they may have actually added a gun to it once they realized you cant really get ride of it otherwise youll run out of ammo too fast (though most air combat involves one plane blowing another away from miles away at this point).  The F-4 was originally produced w/o that cannon, but once they tested in Vietnam, they realized it was more effective with the gun.

[elmono311]

AMRAAM. That's all you need nowadays in "dogfights"

[LostArtofRolando]

well once you do get close enough, if for whatever reason they get the jump on you, the gun helps.

[elmono311]

Hard for another fighter to get a jump on an F-22 when they're stealthy.

[LostArtofRolando]

true enough, but they didnt think a mig 15 could get a jump on an F-4 in vietnam, so you never know

[elmono311]

Didn't the F-4s suck? That's why they had to quickly come up with another air fighter?

[LostArtofRolando]

If by quickly, you mean 20 years.  The next fighter really used was the F-15 which didnt see official use til the late 70s, early 80s.  The F-4 was our Vietnam workhorse after the F-101 and F-105 didnt necessarily pan out.  THe F-4 was used until almost 2000 in the USAF, though it was mainly used for reconnaissance later on.  My dad spent almost his entire 30 year career in the USAF working with the film that came off RF-4s.  F-4 did have its drawbacks, like originally not having a gun and being a gas guzzler (plane came out back in the 60s what do we expect?), but it was known for saving pilots lives as its bulkiness, especially around the cockpit, served as a nice shield to its crew.  Granted it was also one of the ugliest planes ever made, as its nicknames (double ugly, rhino) attest, but to me it still has an endearing quality.  WE havent been able to prove the newest planes in combat yet, so i cant dog the F-22 there, but that thing just looks too dang pretty to be in combat.  I almost said the same for the F-14 way back when, but its a huge beast!  You can SEE all the missiles on the outside of that thing and know not to mess with it.  In terms of graceful look, the F-14 and F -16 may be the closest we ever come to designing a plane that actually reminds you of an eagle or hawk, especially now that stealth is en vogue (means they make em all boxy radar reflective now).  ah well, enough of my rant, i just think the F-4 was a beautiful aircraft in its own right.

[Catfish]

Ok, getting back on topic and sufficiently removed from the game, this South Jersey resident will give his opinion.

#1  The Eagles played well.  You don't go on the field against New England, give up 24 points and then complain about how you did.  If you've left them with 24 on the board, you're in good shape.

#2  T.O. earned a lot of respect.  He came, he stfu, he played harder than anyone else.  End of that story.

#3  Andy Reid's clock management.  I, for one, don't have a problem with how this went.  Overall, I would have liked to see the Eagles hustle to the line a bit more, maybe over the course of the entire drive (before the Pats got the ball back) conserving 30 seconds to a minute, but ultimately, they were set up to try an onsides kick and still get the ball back with more than a minute should it fail (which they did on all counts).  The clock was managed well enough right until McNabb through underneath to Westbrook.

#4  Throw to a guy in green... at least once... ya know, maybe next time... FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING, NOT THREE DAMN TIMES TO THE WHITE GUYS... I think I've made my point

#5  They've been to the big show or one step short for several years now and are probably one of the best "almosts" along with the Bills of the 90's.  Yes, there's no prize for second place (or fourth as the case has been), but being there consistently is worth something in itself.  This is a solid team year in and year out now.  Keep watching for this coming year.

[elmono311]

Yeah, it's not like it was a typical Super Bowl blow out. They only lost by three points so the final minutes of the game were actually pretty tense. Would they be able to get into field goal range or not? Of course, yet another interception ruined that

[Catfish]

Yep... that was spectarvelous

[Supermercado]

Was there ever any more information released regarding McNabb's apparent sickness near the end of the game that may have contributed to his mistakes?

[Catfish]

According to Donovan himself, it was just sheer exhaustion.  Not physical sickness directly, but physical sickness resulting from overextending himself.  He didn't say anything in particular about why he may have played bad, just that he didn't play up to par.  Seems to be the story of his career (nothing against him).  His strength as a QB hasn't been throwing, it's been his ability to make decent throws and scramble for extra yardage.  He has a good pocket presence, but when he steps up he doesn't always connect.  Just my $.02

[Supermercado]

Yeah. He's a good QB, though, and functional in the offense. I think the Patriots were just the better team, though... again.

[Catfish]

If you remove the INTs, I don't know, but with them, it's fairly easy to see they were :/