Category: Torg Life

Super Bowl LX Podcast: Seahawks, Patriots, and Our Commercial Rankings

Welcome to the Super Bowl LX Podcast. We started this episode at 10:27 EST. I’m podcasting like I get paid to do it!  

In this episode, we talk about the pregame, the Green Day Performance, some of the main plays from the Seahawks 29-13 win, the Bad Bunny halftime show, and rank our favorite commercials.

Commercial Rankings That Could Use Some Revision: 

  1. Dunkin Doughnuts: Good Will Hunting remix. George, Sam from Cheers, Jennifer Anniston, Tom Brady. Gotta be a certain age to get it. 
  2. Claude making fun of Gemini with the perfect follow up question. “Raging Cougars.” 
  3. Colin and Che Draft Kings. “Live” at the game. 
  4. Uber Eats: Cooper and McConaughey. He said the Pro Football Hall of Fame looked like a juicer. 
  5. Instacart with Benson Boone and Ben Stiller. 
  6. Take a Look at Your Pee. Liquid IV. 
  7. Emotionally touching Rocket Mortgage about neighbors. 
  8. Minions and monsters. Big white screen with tiny minion. 
  9. YouTube “Meh” commercial with the Kelces, McCafferty. 
  10. Netflix movie with Brad Pitt. Had Big Kahuna Burger in it. 
  11. Weird: manscape commercial with talking hair. 

Congratulations to Kingrah23 on winning the Torg Stories NFL Bracket Challenge. Write me an email and introduce yourself at William.Torgerson@gmail.com. I’ll put you in touch with Anne so she can get you your $50 gift card. 

Pregame: 

  1. NBC made it seem less like a big game to me. I could only name Jason Garrett on the pregame show, and I wasn’t excited to hear from him. 
  2. Super Bowl Memory Project / NFL Broadcast Part. 
  3. Green Day: 
  • Time of Your Life ending the NFL MVPs. Nice transition!
  • Holiday. Boulevard of Broken Dreams. American Idiot. 
  • Megan and Izzy wondering if he would say his MAGA agenda line. 
  1. Chris Pratt’s kid I think said Let’s effing go for the Seahawks. 
  2. Fighter pilots fist bump. 
  3. I liked the focus on MVPs: Mannings, Montana, Jerry Rice

A few notes from the game: 

  1. Sam Darnold starting in Super Bowl pretty amazing from Jets and MN. And a Panther briefly. 
  2. 3-0. SEA first drive: right down the field and stall for a FG. 
  3. Pats: Seahawks sack Maye. Also hurry him on the 3rd down where they had to punt. 
  4. Pats: sacked again. Punt. (17th time Maye has been sacked in playoffs)
  5. End of first quarter. 3-0. 
  6. 6-0. SEA: Walker long run to 46. Another long run by Walker. 30 and 29 yard runs. Another FG. 
  7. 30 new players is a record for Super Bowl. (Pats) 
  8. Pats: Maye sacked again. Punt. 
  9. SEA: Darnold moving around more than Maye so far. Seattle goes for it the least in the NFL. Great punt by Seattle. 9 possessions 7 punts. 
  10. Pats: drive started from 2. Big first down pick up to at least not punt from the 2. Punt. 
  11. 9-0. SEA with 11 seconds in half.
  12. No team shutout in first half has won a Super Bowl. 
  13. 12-0. SEA: FG on first drive second half. 
  14. Pats: Punting 4th and 1 with 7:41 in third from 39. 
  15. SEA: sacked. Pats got a little life. 
  16. Pats: Tirico: Maye just can’t pull the trigger. Fumble. Turnover. 
  17. SEA: Darnold 16 yard TD pass to Barner. 
  18. Pats: very, very late hit on Diggs out of bounds. Weird Tirico calling him an idiot Rocket scientist. TD Patriots. 3 plays 65 yards. 
  19. SEA- JSN, the receiver, comes back into the game after being evaluated for a concussion. 
  20. Pats: a very poorly thrown ball for an INT. 8:37 left. 19-7. 
  21. Sea: kicker sets Super Bowl Record with 5th FG
  22. Pats: Maye sacked for 6th time. Fumble and returned for a TD. Megan asked, “How did the Patriots get this far?” 7th sack. 
  23. Pats: TD when it looked like Maye would run it in but passed low at the last second. 
  24. SEA: punt inside the 5 yards.
  25. 15 punts and 5 FGs in this game. 

Thanks for listening to this episode of the Torg Stories Podcast! 

Patriots and Seahawks to the Super Bowl Podcast

Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. Anne and I will talk NFL Conference Championship Games. We’ve got a big ice storm here in Boone. No school on Monday. No face to face classes on Tuesday. My wife Megan is doing a remodel on our pantry and four of Charlotte’s teammates from Lees McCrae are staying with us during the storm. Anne, I’m imagining things are a little quieter at your place than mine…

In a game where it snowed more and more during the game, the Patriots earned their trip to the Super Bowl with a 10-7 win. Anne, I asked you to get three things ready: (1) at least two questions (2) two observations and (3) for you to teach me about a person associated with each team. Anne, where do you want to start? 

New England Patriots at Denver Broncos.. 

  1. Observation: Sean Payton did a great job all week building confidence and creating mystique around back up quarterback Stidham. 
  2. After the first quarter, I gave the advantage to the Broncos. Better play calling. Pats off balance on D. Maye not looking good. 
  3. One of the biggest plays of the game: 9:28 up 7-0 in field goal range the Broncos go for it on 4th down and don’t get it. They never score again. 
  4. By the time the Pats have a 4th down in the 4th, they now believe the weather will be bad and points are in high demand. 
  5. The Patriots are the first team in NFL history to go 9-0 on the road. Whoa! 
  6. Observation: I wanted more Drake Maye running last week. I thought the Bears should have ran Caleb Williams more. I got what I wanted: Maye had 10 carries for 65 yards and a touchdown. The Patriots got a little tricky in the snow with a fake handoff and a Maye naked bootleg run for the first down that sealed the game. 
  7. Observation: we got from Patriots Coach Mike Vrabel what we’ve been asking for: The Pats took the points, and the Pats played conservatively and did a lot of punting with the lead in bad weather. If we think the other team can’t score, let’s just keep punting. 
  8. Pats learn about someone:
  9. Coach Mike Vrabel from Akron, OH. Played at Ohio State. He’s 50 years old. Played for Steelers, Patriots, and Chiefs. Won 3 Super Bowls. 
  10. Broncos learn about someone: 
  1. Broncos Coach Sean Payton: 62 years old. Went to HS in Naperville, IL. He was a quarterback at Eastern IL. 
  2. Payton played for the Chicago Bears during the players strike. Think that Replacements movie. 
  3. Remember, he was suspended for Bounty Gate. 
  4. Payton is played by Kevin James in the 2022 film Home Team, a comedy based around Payton’s suspension after the 2012 Bounty Scandal. He also made a cameo appearance in the film. (from Wikipedia) 

Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks: 

  1. 6:30 start time on Fox. Seattle opened as -2.5 favorites. 
  2. Brady talked about the tap on the inside of the center’s hamstring for the silent count. 
  3. Brady was hard on the Rams time management to end the half. Have a chance to score and/or run the time out of the first half with the lead but end up giving up a TD. 
  4. Players behaving unsportsmanlike is one of my least favorite things, and so I was happy that the Rams followed up that penalty against Seattle with a TD on the next play. 
  5. Stafford: scramble. Improv pitch to Nacua. 
  6. Observation: I’m impressed when coaches are in shape. McVay looks like he is in great shape. Robert Salah in great shape. Why isn’t it a negative that they take time to be in shape instead of working on coaching? Because the workout actually creates more energy. 
  7. Learn about the Rams: 
  1. Sean McVay is 40. Wide receiver at Miami of Ohio. Sean’s dad Tim played defensive back at Indiana University. 
  2. McVay’s wife is from the Ukraine. She was a student at George Mason University. Two kids!
  3. Learn about the Seahawks: 
  1. Seahawks Coach Mike Macdonald is 38. 
  2. He was a graduate assistant at Georgia. He was an assistant for John Harbaugh at the Ravens and then for Jim Harbaugh at Michigan. 
  3. He met his wife Stephanie when he was with the Ravens. She was a cheerleader. They have a son named Jack. 
  4. Just his second season as coach. 

Three More Discussion Questions: 

  1. Which announcing duo was your favorite? 
  2. Jim Nance and Tony Romo did Broncos vs. Pats. 
  • I like Romo teaching the game. Motion. Nub formation. What he would have done. 
  • Nance being the voice of NCAA basketball tournament and the Masters goes far with me. 
  • Nance: If you’re going to go deep, the ball needs to make an instrument landing. 
  1. Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady. 
  • Brady sang, Let’s get physical. He might have also sung some Snoop. 
  1. Where would you rather live? Denver, Seattle, or Boston? 
  • Tough for me. I think I could like all three. 
  • Denver: 3rd. I think of it as actually not in the mountains. I don’t know any specific things that would make it better than Indianapolis or Charlotte. I guess proximity to mountains beats those two cities. 
  • Boston second: I like New England. Very walkable. 
  • Seattle first: 
  1. How did you feel watching Peyton Manning win the Super Bowl with the Broncos? 
  • Peyton Manning was one of my favorites just for his intellectual approach to the game. Interesting contrast between no huddle, which makes me think fast, and then how long he took to actually hike it as he checked things out.//

Thanks for listening to this episode of the Torg Stories Podcast!

NFL Playoff Preview, Hoosiers Advance and You Can Win a $50 Amazon Gift Card

Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. On this episode, Anne and l look ahead to the NFL Playoffs, talk about the Hoosiers advancing in the college football playoffs, and give you all a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card if you win our group in the ESPN Pigskin Bracket Challenge.

CLICK PLAYER ABOVE TO LISTEN TO OUR NFL PLAYOFF PREVIEW

ENTER OUR ESPN GROUP TO MAKE YOUR PICKS FOR THE NFL BRACKET CHALLENGE. THE GROUP NAME IS TORG STORIES NFL PLAYOFF CHALLENGE. SEE LINK BELOW:

  • Click here to make your NFL Playoff Picks and join our Torg Stories 2026 NFL Playoff Challenge. The winner of the group will win a $50 Amazon Gift Card.

Personally, I’m excited that the Panthers are division champs and headed for the playoffs. As for Anne, her alma mater–the Indiana Hoosiers!–are in the final four of the college football playoffs. Anne, you say you’re jumping on the bandwagon? 

Let’s start with this. When you look at the final NFL Standings, what are your…

  1. Biggest surprises of being good: Seahawks 14-3 #1 seed with Sam Darnold. Broncos 14-3 with second year QB Bo Nix 
  2. Biggest disappointments: Bengals going 6-11 is pretty bad. Raiders going 3-14 with Pete Carroll. Commanders were bad 5-12 after a good year. Lions missing the playoffs. 
  3. Something you really missed when it came to your preseason expectations? I thought the Chiefs would continue to be good, and they missed the playoffs with a 6-11 record. 
  4. Anything you nailed by being really right? I was early all in on the Pats to win the division and they did. My bet on the Panthers to win the division was just a flyer on being a fan. I thought Rogers would be much better than he was for the Jets and that they could make the playoffs. 

Panthers lose to Tampa Bay Buccaneers but still make the playoffs. 

  1. Panthers botched a flea flicker 1st and 10 on the Tampa twenty down 16-7. 
  • My basketball camp stick with what’s working
  • Haven’t heard a more detailed explanation of what was supposed to happen 
  1. Falcons needed to beat the Saints. 
  2. Alford with a big interception late. 
  3. Canales said his phone was blowing up after the game, including a short call with team owner David Tepper, who made the playoffs for the first time since he purchased the Panthers in 2018. (from ESPN) 

Let’s pick first round playoff games against the spread. What should our bet be? We decided our bet was that the loser of the first round picks had to supply the $50 Amazon Gift Card for the bracket challenge contest.

  1. Rams at Panthers Sat at 4:30 with the Rams favored by 10.5 points. 
  • Anne Rams, Bill Panthers 
  1. Packers at Bears Sat 8PM with Packers favored by 1.5 points. 
  • Anne Bears, Bill Packers 
  1. Bills at Jaguars Sun at 1PM with Bills favored by 1.5. 
  • Anne Bills, Bill Bills 
  1. San Francisco at Philly at 4:30 on Sunday with Eagles favored by 3.5. 
  • Anne Eagles, Bill San Francisco 
  1. Chargers at Pats Sun 8PM with Pats favored by 3.5 pts.  
  • Anne and Bill Pats 
  1. Texans at Pittsburgh Monday night 8:15 with Texans favored by 3.5 pts. 
  • Anne and Bill Steelers 

We invite everyone to compete in the ESPN Pigskin Bracket Challenge with us. Anne and I will go over our brackets now. Click here to join our group. 

Super Bowl Winner Draft: Our final brother sister contest: let’s draft Super Bowl Winners. Anne, you can have the first pick: 

  • Anne’s picks: Rams, Eagles,  Broncos, Seahawks, Bears, Steelers, Texans 
  • Bill’s picks: Bills, Patriots, Packers, 49ers, Jaguars, Chargers, Panthers 

We’ll finish up with some talk of the Hoosiers in the Final Four of College Football Playoff: 

  1. Indiana vs. Oregon in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta at Mercedes Benz Stadium 
  2. Fri Jan 9th at 7:30 pm. 
  3. Oregon is 13-1 with their loss being at Indiana 30-20. 
  4. Ole Miss and Miami on Jan 8th. 
  5. Jan 19 championship. Monday. 

Thanks for listening to this episode of the Torg Stories Podcast!

Cameron Crowe’s Memoir The Uncool: Hanging With and Writing about Rock and Roll Legends

The Uncool: A Memoir by Cameron Crowe

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


When it comes to music, especially rock and roll, I can’t believe the artists that Cameron Crowe hung with and wrote about at such a young age. Much of this book is the unassuming story from a writing prodigy. The story focuses most on Crowe’s rise and (sort of) fall from Rolling Stone star and the few little events that shifted his creative output to film and finally the stage. The book is heavy on his personal family story and light on his film writer and director life. He’s probably got another book to do if he wants to tell us about making movies. I love Say Anything and most (all?) of his movies and I really enjoyed this book.



View all my reviews

Santaland Diaries, Our Elf Names, the Inspiration for Ferrell Elf movie, and Christmas in NYC

Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris, Our Elf Names, the Inspiration for the Ferrell Elf movie, and Christmas in NYC

Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast! On this episode we discuss David Sedaris’s account of working as a Macy’s elf in what the store called Santaland. The story is David Sedaris’s account of two Christmas seasons he spent working as an elf at Macy’s Department Store in New York City.

Anne, have you been to New York or Macy’s for Christmas? I’m guessing you haven’t been to see Santa?

Sections to Read for Discussion:

  1. Read page 5 about Sedaris’s move to NYC. Anne, what were your expectations for the move to LA?
  2. p. 13 about Sedaris Elf name: his was Crumpet. Remember the SNL elves skit Alec Baldwin was Winter’s Breath. Anne, I had you as Sour Patch. It’s candy. Yay! It’s sour, a little like your enthusiasm for projects or outlook on a situation. For example, sour on motivational sayings or the Colts prospects. Megan said Dribbles for me, because of basketball, and I thought that worked.
  3. Keep reading the rest of p. 13 for an interaction with a customer.
  4. P. 21 pretty funny SatanLand section.
  5. P. 30. Some short diary snippets to read. LET’S TALK ABOUT A 7 DAY DIARY for next week’s podcast. Maybe we will suck at it but an interesting challenge. Fever Pitch was a fan diary. How many words can we manage? We can give ourselves one day where we fail to do it.
  6. Is p. 39 the only heart warming part of the story?
We Torgs have been to Macy’s SantaLand in NYC

Sedaris line that sparked my own memories:

  1. Everything about the cash register intimidates me. p. 7. I never got it right at the Queens golf course.

Information in the story:

  1. On a busy day, Twenty-two thousand people come to visit Santa. Looks like these days you need a reservation. Click here.
  2. Macy’s has two jail cells on the balcony floor and it apprehends three thousand shoplifters a year. p. 10. Here is a 2003 New York Times article about the jail cells.

What work stories could you write?

  1. I did write a Russell’s Old Trading Post story that appears in my collection Horseshoe.
  2. I did write a Queens Golf Course Story, and I can’t even remember if it was published. Racial tension. Police wanting free golf. Me messing up the register. Listening to Yankee games and eating take out.
  3. Tree trimming story – guy catching his chest hair and t shirt on fire in the tree, to a lesser degree going out to the house and having a big meal of deer
  4. Indiana Beach – the almost wreck, the water skiers and their groupies story
  5. Winamac Town Pool – romantic relationships, Michael Tank riding a bike off the diving board, Jim Price and I sent to scrub the diving boards in the rain while everyone else hung out in the concession stand.

Observations about people from Sedaris:

  1. All of us take pride and pleasure in the fact that we are unique, but I’m afraid that when all is said and done the police are right: it all comes down to fingerprints. (p. 33).
  2. Standing in a two-hour line makes people worry that they’re not living in a democratic nation. (p. 33). Atlantic article about how self checkout lines are longer than the regular lines.
Santaland Diaries, Holidays on Ice David Sedaris New York City Christmas
Sedaris’s story Santaland Diaries was included in the collection Holidays on Ice

Is Sedaris saying anything about the holiday or people?

  1. Pretty dark on parenting. The over engineering of the photos and the kids not even getting to talk. p. 31
  2. p. 43 Maybe reading the ending from last paragraph on p. 43 to the end.

The Christmas movie Elf with Will Ferrell partly inspired (re)writer and Director Jon Favreau. The elf name Crumpet appears in the Sedaris story and Favreau’s film. David’s sister Amy was also in the movie Elf. Click here to read more about it in Rolling Stone.

Tweetsie Railroad Christmas Boone Blowing Rock North Carolina
Tweetsie Railroad is located on 321 between Boone and Blowing Rock North Carolina

Thanks for checking out this edition of the Torg Stories Podcast!