'You did good': Sean takes home Surfy
OAKLEY, Calif. — Confetti flew, the crowd cheered, and it was all pomp and circumstance as the NawFuL universe celebrated the crowning of a new champion. The Surfy Trophy is headed back to Hayward with Sean after a dominating season in which he rolled to a 15-game victory in the Gehlke Bros. Football Picks competition.
The last time Sean held the coveted golden statuette was four years ago, when in a similar ceremony it passed to his older brother for what would be the longest championship drought of the Junior Bro’s football prognosticating career. He reached the pinnacle of that frustration in 2016, when a late-season surge saw the Senior Bro come back to wrest the title away in a hard-fought contest, prompting Sean to remark that he might never win the Surfy again.
But those bad memories were laid to rest early in the 2017 campaign, as Sean bolted to a giant lead that he never relinquished. At 172-84, he notched the second best record to finish a season since GBF went online in 1998. That was a feat worth a major celebration, which is what awaited Sean when he visited Oakley on Jan. 27 for the trophy presentation.
Blue and red linen adorned the presenter’s stand upon which the Surfy stood aloft on a pedestal. A football-themed sign proclaimed “It’s not about how bad you want it, it’s about how hard you work for it.” A string of football flags stretched across the living room, and music filled the air courtesy of Amazon Alexa’s bluetooth speaker capabilities.
“It’s been so long, so long, so long… it’s been so long since you’ve gone…” crooned Dave Edmunds, verbalizing what was on everyone’s mind. True enough, it had been so long since Sean’s previous championship that President Barack Obama was just beginning his second term in office. The San Francisco 49ers were barely one season removed from a Stupor Bore appearance. The Philadelphia Eagles were coming off an NFC-worst 4-12. Everything runs in cycles, including Surfy victories.
As John Williams’ familiar Sunday Night Football theme played in the background, Sean took to the podium where he was adorned with a bobble football headband and received the trophy from his brother, who naturally had a small speech prepared.
“I just have to say that it sucks losing,” Glenn said, “but we were penalty-free and there will be no coach’s challenges,” he added, tossing out replica yellow and red flags for emphasis.
He then offered a blunt assessment of the 2017 GBF season: “You did good, and I didn’t.”
Audience applause continued as Sean popped the cork on a bottle filled with confetti, sending colorful streamers and bits of metallic paper across the room, some of the pieces lodging themselves on the football banner stretched above them.
The Junior Bro, not one for long speeches, did offer some insight into his successful season, and he critiqued how he could have improved it had he avoided some pitfalls along the way.
“If I had just bet against the 49ers earlier in the year, I would have done a lot better,” Sean said, clutching the Surfy. “At least I got the 49ers turned around about right. I started picking them when they started winning.”
In fact, there were few teams that Sean didn’t seem to own as the season ground on to its conclusion, including the two Stupor Bore contenders, Philadelphia and New England. Nonetheless, Glenn seemed optimistic that there wouldn’t be a Junior Bro repeat in 2018.
“I want that back next year,” Glenn said as Sean protectively hid the Surfy behind him.
“Losing sucks, but if I had to lose I felt good about doing it this year because four years running was a good run,” the Senior Bro said of his halted win streak.
The ceremony concluded with the Bros taking turns scooping up handfuls of confetti and tossing it about while Lily Allen’s rendition of “Mr. Blue Sky” sent the crowd away on an uplifting note. It was one of the more memorable moments in GBF championship history.
“The best thing about it is I don’t have to clean it up,” Sean said.