2016: Heroes, Anti-Heroes, Football, Music and Movies

Seattle Seahawks

I wrote a post at the beginning of 2016 just after David Bowie passed away about Blair Walsh the Minnesota Vikings player born on David Bowie's birth-date (January 8th) and missing a kick in front of the sticks on the day Bowie passed away (January 10th, 2016) giving the team I support in the NFL (Seattle Seahawks) a victory.
Blair Walsh: Anti-Hero on the Day Bowie Dies?
I didn't think things could get much weirder than that in 2016, but as far as football, heroes, music, anti-heroes and movies go, they certainly did. 

Blair Walsh Lived A Kicker's Nightmare

Blair Walsh Minnesota Vikings kicker

Here is the kicker (so to speak), the team I support and have been a life member of since the 80's in the NRL are the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, who at one time bought the rights to the Bowie song 'Heroes' (see the You Tube at the top of this post).
 "At the height of Super League, the Sharks bought the song rights to play David Bowie’s hit: “We Can Be Heroes’’.
Gow adds: “I would love that song to be played again, because it was very appropriate for the Sharks." "
I've been a follower of the Seahawks since the late 80s, when my ex-brother-in-law who was living in Vancouver for six months bought me home a Seatle Seahawks jumper.
I didn't even think they were a real team when he gave me the jumper, but I read up about the team and found out they were a real underdog team like my Sharks, so I adopted them as my team and until recently thought both teams would never win a final trophy in my lifetime.
But the Seahawks won their first one in 2014 and the year Bowie passed away (2016) was the year the Sharks won their first ever NRL grand final.
One day is all it takes to be heroes, as Bowie would say;-)

Released 23 September 1977

The Sharks would beat the Cowboys on September 23 to make it to the grand final against the purple team, the Melbourne Storm and then win their first ever grand final ... like I wrote above, the same year Bowie passes away, 2016 -
My Happiest Birthday Ever

The weekend I went down to see my team the Sharks play the viking mascot-ed Raiders in Canberra I heard on the news down there that the Purple one from Minnesota had passed away in 2016 also. 
Sometimes it Snows in April

Prince watching the purple
(Minnesota Vikings) ones play

The Melbourne Storm, the purple ones?

The Sharks would win their first ever NRL grand final by defeating the purple ones, the Melbourne Storm in the 2016 (Year of the Monkey) NRL grand final. 

A prophetic scene from 'Purple Rain'?

Purple Rain Synchromysticism?

The Melbourne Storm playing
 with a Superman logo

Ironically, in 2013 the Storm would wear the Superman logo in a one-off film promotion for the release of the 'Man of Steel' movie and they would smash my team the Sharks that night.
Melbourne Storm celebrate 'Man of Steel' with limited edition Superman jersey
"Metropolis comes to Melbourne at AAMI Park on Sunday night against Cronulla Sharks, when Melbourne Storm celebrates the Australian release of the Super Hero film Man of Steel on 27 June, 2013.
The game has been named No Ordinary Match and as part of the theme the team will wear a specially designed Superman jersey."

Prince wrote a soundtrack for one of the Batman films and I thought it was ironic that I had just caught 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' for the second time that week, the day before Prince passed away.

SPOILER ALERT: A film in which Superman passes away.

The Canberra Raiders would make it to the semi-final this year, only to be beaten by the Melbourne Storm by the same score line that the Sharks would beat the Storm by in the 2016 NRL grand final a little over a week later - 14 points to 12.

Vikings plan huge Prince tribute in stadium opener
"The Minnesota Vikings are going all out for the grand opening of U.S. Bank Stadium.
The centerpiece of the night will remain the game, of course, a huge Sunday Night Football matchup against the hated Packers to be played in front of Al, Cris and the world. 
But the Vikings are giving the expected 66,000-plus fans in attendance more bang for their buck to celebrate the occasion.
According to the Star Tribune, the festivities will include DJ Skee (I'm not familiar with his work), an Icelandic soccer captain, Mountain from Game of Thrones (why not?), the Minnesota Orchestra, and an elaborate tribute to Prince.
How big a deal is this to the Vikings? 
They successfully petitioned the league to get an extra minute added to halftime to facilitate all the moving parts for their show. 
The Minnesota Orchestra will take the field during the break, a collective of 70 different musicians. 
A group of 215 volunteers will make sure the field in cleared in time for the scheduled start of the second half.
The Iceland soccer star is Aron Gunnarsson (great name), who we surmise will take part in the new "Vikings Skol Chant", a take-off of the "Vikings War Chant" we saw this summer when the Icelandic soccer team returned home from an inspired run at the Euro Cup. 
See below:"

I can only say that 2016 has been a super synchy year for sporting heroes, superhero movies and super stars of music ... well, for me anyway.

 Yesterday's Heroes

 Hollywood couldn't even write this stuff.