Monday, April 2, 2007

On This Night We All of Us Sit on the Edge of Our Seats

Why is this game different from all other games?

Source: This is paraphrased from probably the best-known quote from the Passover Haggadah: "Why is this night different from all other nights?" It is usually read by the youngest child at the Passover seder. The four reasons are traditionally the following:

  • On all other nights we eat either leavened or unleavened bread, but on this night only unleavened bread.
  • On all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night only bitter herbs.
  • On all other nights we dip only once, but on this night we dip twice.
  • On all other nights we eat sitting up or reclining, but on this night we all of us recline.
These are commonly called the "Four Questions," but I swear the Maxwell House Haggadah our family uses does not phrase them as questions. I'll have to double check that tonight.

Explanation:Tonight's NCAA national championship game has different meaning for me:
  • For all other games, I watch from any of the numerous positions in my office pool, but on this night I watch from first place.
  • For all other games, if I pick the winner correctly, I get points, but for this game I get money.
  • For all other games I wouldn't be upset that I'd be at a seder instead of watching it live, but on this night I'm a little upset about it.
  • For all other games, if my team wins, I can only taunt some of my coworkers, but if my team wins this game they all of them will be taunted.
Here's hoping I win a lot of bread! (Unleavened, of course)

Special Blog Bonus: To help get pumped up for the game, here's an excerpt of a Billy Donovan pep talk:


If that doesn't do it for you, here's the pregame speech from Any Given Sunday:

4 comments:

Jeremy said...

Just to clarify, if Florida wins tonight, I get $300. If Ohio State wins, I get $60.

JCA said...

I had OSU winning, but so did the runner-up in my office pool, so our results are final no matter who wins. Y'all have a lot more cash riding on this game than we do (not to mention a more generous split): I get $90, #2 gets $40. But my $90 is that much sweeter, because I'm STILL a basketball village idiot!

Jeremy said...

FLORIDA WINS!!!! WOO-HOO!!!

Jeremy said...

Just for the record, the Maxwell House Haggadah describes the Four Questions as such, but does not ask them. It merely asks "Why is this night different from all other nights?" and then states four answers. At least that's how the English version works.