You Can’t Spell Elite without ELI!

Nothing makes the beginning of another school year more bearable than football season, more importantly GIANTS football. I hate to admit it, but I was not always the diehard football fan that I am today. I have always been fanatical about sports growing up. I participated in softball since the age of 4 and joined basketball, volleyball, and even soccer in middle school. Throughout high school, my main focus was concentrated on softball and volleyball.  Softball was always the sport that I was obsessed with and I found myself completely entwined with Major League Baseball (MLB). It was absolutely essential for me to watch every single Mets game regardless if they were pulverized. This leads me to believe that MLB (and the fact that I always hung out with the guys) was the gateway to my infatuation with professional sports, more specifically, the National Football League (NFL). 

It was not until I reached college that I truly began to appreciate watching football. Previously, I associated the sport with senseless violence and groups of men (who acted like teenage boys when brought together) who focused on drinking beer, eating wings, trash talking, and on occasion, actually watching the game.  I never really understood the game until I dated a guy who was a hardcore Giants fan.  Football turns out to be a very intricate sport that requires great discipline, quick thinking, and tremendous resilience and athleticism.  After learning (and still learning) about the game itself, I anticipate every game day. If you do not follow football, you might have been confused by my blog title. I am a dedicated Giants and Eli Manning fan. Manning is the quick thinking, cool, calm, and collective, Giants quarterback who has led the Giants team in winning the Super Bowl in 2007 and 2011 and voted MVP for both. Clearly, people would view these accomplishments as something great making Eli a terrific quarterback, right? Wrong! For some reason or another, I find many sports show hosts bashing Eli every chance they get. Even though Eli and the Giants won the Super Bowl last year, they rated the Giants team #3 as opposed to #1.  How could you rate a team that LOST to the Giants last year as a “better” team for this following year? Logically, to me at least, I would think that whoever won the Super Bowl the previous year would be rated #1 for the following year. For some reason, there are still many sports professionals who still do not consider Eli an elite quarterback.

It is only week 3 of the season and sports broadcasters have doubted Manning. Last night, for example, there were 3 broadcasters who made their predictions on who was going to win the Giants v. Panthers game. Each one of the broadcasters chose the Panthers to win the game while trash talking Eli at the same time. Within the first several minutes the Eli threw for a touchdown and the Giants defense stopped the Panthers in their tracks. By the end of the first half, the score was 20-0, Giants. During the halftime show, the broadcasters still spoke against Eli even though he had been playing impeccable football With a blow out score of 36-7, the Giants won their second game of the season making them, 2 and 1. I am looking forward to Eli proving all the doubters wrong, again, this season. This all goes to show why you can’t spell elite without ELI!

Let's go Giants!

Here is a short video that puts all the highlights of the game to some energizing music in case you missed it.

Vocabulary

1. Bearable – To be more tolerable or acceptable.
2. Diehard – To be very loyal or dedicated to.
3. Fanatical – To be obsessed with.
4. Concentrated – To be focused on.
5. Entwined – To be wrapped up in.
6. Essential – Something that is necessary and important.
7. Pulverized – To be beaten badly.
8. Infatuation – To be passionate about.
9. Intricate – Something that required a lot of detail.
10. Resilience – To be able to bounce back from something bad that happened.
11. Bashing – To talk badly about someone.
12. Predictions – To make a guess as to what will happen next.
13. Impeccable – To be without flaw; perfect.

Vocabulary Practice

Use the Word Jumble below to help you practice your new vocabulary. Be careful, only 10 words are used Word Jumble.

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Grammar Point

During the blog, I use many nouns and adjectives which are considered parts of speech. Nouns are words that name a place, person, thing, or an idea.  A plural noun means more than one of a specific noun. You can usually make nouns plural by adding –s or –es to the end of a noun.  An adjective is a name for a word that modifies a noun. It is used to describe the noun and gives more information about the noun that goes with it.

With these definitions in mind, complete the mad lib by inserting an adjective, a noun, or a plural noun when prompted. It is a fun way to get your creative juices flowing! Have fun!

Pirate Makeover Mad Lib!

So you want to be a fierce and ________________ (adjective) pirate captain? First you'll need a/an __________________________ (adjective) sounding pirate name, such as _____________________(person who is male)  or ________________(color) _____________________(name of a female). You'll need a mascot, too, like a pet ______________________(noun), or even a/an _______________________(noun) on your shoulder that says "Aye, matey" and "Shiver me timbers." Then you need to get a peg ______________________(part of a body), put a sneer on your __________________(noun), and wear a patch over your ________________________(part of the body). And every pirate captain needs a name for his or her ship. Your vessel can be called The Dreaded ____________________(noun), or The Counting _______________________(noun). You can get all your _______________________(adjective) friends together to raise the ________________________(plural noun), swab the _______________________(adjective) ____________________(plural noun), and hoist the skull-and-cross ___________________(plural noun) flag. Now you're ready to sail the __________________(adjective) seas looking for buried _________________ (plural noun)!

Grammar Exercise

Using plenty of adjectives and nouns, write a short (4-5 sentences) paragraph describing someone that you admire (look up to). Make sure to refer back to the vocabulary and definitions to help you complete the assignment.