If you thought Andy Anderson's only obsessions were the war and his car, there's a third one to add to the list: football. So determined was he to get on the field and talk with Coach Vince (that's Vince Lombardi) and tell him to him to use the Anderson Riffle, a surefire game winning play. Well, maybe he'll get lucky this year, as he's bought two tickets to Sunday's game where the Green Bay Packers face off against the Chicago Bears. It was Louie's turn to accompany him, and hearing a story about how his brother Sid was absent-mindedly left behind at the stadium, it made him even more reluctant. No wonder Sid turned to a life of crime, but that's another story (which we never hear). One frigid, early morning, Andy woke Louie out of a sound sleep, slapped a Packers jersey on him and hauled him off to the big game. There was 4 hours of pure, unadulterated "excitement" ahead of them. However, when they arrive at in Green Bay, Louie is instantly greeted by the sight of Packers fans greeting each other with open arms and grills full of food, it was a real neighborly atmosphere. Football fans pretty much are a community unto themselves, and as you may know, any dissension is never tolerated. So, did Andy get them good seats? Yep, front row. How did he manage that? Why, he and Coach Vince go WAY back, or so he says. Unfortunately, they're spotted by the security guard who checks their tickets and tells them their seats are actually about 30 rows up. Reluctantly, the Andersons make the long trek up to their real seats, up so high the players look like ants. Andy gives Louie some binoculars, but all he can see are the pulsating warts on the back of some guy's neck. Yeesh.
So with the boys at the game, I wonder if Ora and her lady friends are having as much fun back home? They're throwing themselves an old fashioned fondue party. You don't know what that is? It's where they eat fondue and gab about very important world events, such as Mrs. Stillman's mother in-law meeting Elvis Presley in Memphis...and this was not an "Elvis sighting" as the man was still alive. They mention him possibly getting fat one day and laugh it off. Ha ha, timely humor. Back at the game, Andy explains the game of football to Louie in terms he can understand: the goal posts are like donut shops, and the football is the key. That really gets him into the spirit. See? Just gotta learn to speak the language. At half-time, the announcer summoned all participating children (including a reluctant Louie) down to the gridiron for the Punt, Pass and Kick Competition. Naturally, Andy tried to pass himself off as a big kid (mentally, he is) to get on the field and see Vince, only for a big, burly guard to see right through his ruse and send him back to his seat up at Mt. Everest. So while Louie craps out at the P.P.&K, he does get to meet the waterboy, who brings some sweet H20 to Coach Vince. Seeing this as his opening, Louie gives him the day off and takes over waterboy duties. His disguise works better than Andy's makeshift reporter getup. Louie successfully meets Coach Vince and tells him about the Anderson Riffle, which he remembered very well from his days of coaching high school ball. It was used by some kid named Crazy Legs Anderson. Louie is Crazy Legs Junior. He tells them the play, and they execute it in the final match: a player stops and pretends to tie his shoe, only to remove said shoe and toss it, making the other players think it's the ball, so while they tackle the guy who catches the shoe, the bluffing player runs with the ball to the goal line and scores a touchdown! Andy is elated that his play was used, and that Coach Vince wanted to meet him in person. This makes it a great turn of events not just for him, but for Ora as well, who has had to endure her friends' stories of chance encounters with famous people, and was about to admit neither she nor anybody in her family has ever met anybody famous. That is, until they turn on the TV and see Andy standing side by side with Vince Lombardi. So, from then on, Louie and Andy enjoyed Sunday football together.
When I watched this episode a few days ago, I didn't remember seeing it back when Life With Louie originally aired. I figured I must have missed it, or maybe they only aired it around football season... especially when the Packers won. Hopefully it wasn't some trademark issue. Regardless, it's a very good episode. Even non-football fans will enjoy it. Anyone who has ever been to a game will probably find Louie's experiences familiar, and those who haven't, it's pretty much this in a nutshell. Also, I wonder if the Anderson Riffle is a legal play. Probably not, but I wonder if anybody ever actually tried it? This episode would've ended a LOT differently had it been an illegal play: the Packers would be disqualified, the Bears would win by default, the Packers fans would form a lynch mob and Louie and Andy would have to run for their lives and never be able to show their faces in Green Bay again. Well, that's the good thing about Life With Louie: they never had to resort to over-the-top antics just to create excitement.
So with the boys at the game, I wonder if Ora and her lady friends are having as much fun back home? They're throwing themselves an old fashioned fondue party. You don't know what that is? It's where they eat fondue and gab about very important world events, such as Mrs. Stillman's mother in-law meeting Elvis Presley in Memphis...and this was not an "Elvis sighting" as the man was still alive. They mention him possibly getting fat one day and laugh it off. Ha ha, timely humor. Back at the game, Andy explains the game of football to Louie in terms he can understand: the goal posts are like donut shops, and the football is the key. That really gets him into the spirit. See? Just gotta learn to speak the language. At half-time, the announcer summoned all participating children (including a reluctant Louie) down to the gridiron for the Punt, Pass and Kick Competition. Naturally, Andy tried to pass himself off as a big kid (mentally, he is) to get on the field and see Vince, only for a big, burly guard to see right through his ruse and send him back to his seat up at Mt. Everest. So while Louie craps out at the P.P.&K, he does get to meet the waterboy, who brings some sweet H20 to Coach Vince. Seeing this as his opening, Louie gives him the day off and takes over waterboy duties. His disguise works better than Andy's makeshift reporter getup. Louie successfully meets Coach Vince and tells him about the Anderson Riffle, which he remembered very well from his days of coaching high school ball. It was used by some kid named Crazy Legs Anderson. Louie is Crazy Legs Junior. He tells them the play, and they execute it in the final match: a player stops and pretends to tie his shoe, only to remove said shoe and toss it, making the other players think it's the ball, so while they tackle the guy who catches the shoe, the bluffing player runs with the ball to the goal line and scores a touchdown! Andy is elated that his play was used, and that Coach Vince wanted to meet him in person. This makes it a great turn of events not just for him, but for Ora as well, who has had to endure her friends' stories of chance encounters with famous people, and was about to admit neither she nor anybody in her family has ever met anybody famous. That is, until they turn on the TV and see Andy standing side by side with Vince Lombardi. So, from then on, Louie and Andy enjoyed Sunday football together.
When I watched this episode a few days ago, I didn't remember seeing it back when Life With Louie originally aired. I figured I must have missed it, or maybe they only aired it around football season... especially when the Packers won. Hopefully it wasn't some trademark issue. Regardless, it's a very good episode. Even non-football fans will enjoy it. Anyone who has ever been to a game will probably find Louie's experiences familiar, and those who haven't, it's pretty much this in a nutshell. Also, I wonder if the Anderson Riffle is a legal play. Probably not, but I wonder if anybody ever actually tried it? This episode would've ended a LOT differently had it been an illegal play: the Packers would be disqualified, the Bears would win by default, the Packers fans would form a lynch mob and Louie and Andy would have to run for their lives and never be able to show their faces in Green Bay again. Well, that's the good thing about Life With Louie: they never had to resort to over-the-top antics just to create excitement.
