Banter Bites

Forget The Comeback Kid … Let’s Talk Comeback Teams

You don’t have to be a fan of sports to be a fan of sports stories.

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: It’s no secret that we see things differently, including major sports events; and while Red, although not a huge sports fan, prefers to focus on the athletes, while Black’s “range of interest” extends from the impact of politics to the effect of corporate sponsorship, there’s something about great comeback stories.


Like how the Cincinnati Bengals, perhaps the last team anyone thought would be in this year’s Super Bowl, are playing against the Los Angeles Rams in their home stadium. In Hollywood. Where dreams are made. Now, whether tomorrow’s Super Bowl will be a dream come true for the Bengals or an awakening from a dream to a different reality, there’s no getting around that it’s a great story.

As were the AFC and NFC finals games which were all about comebacks as both Super Bowl teams came from behind to win their conference titles. Not to mention, the Divisional Playoffs were all nail-biters, with each game decided on the final play. (Black’s not a football fan, but she does love statistics and odds.)

And then, since we’re in the midst of the Winter Olympics (we’ll ignore how much the Olympic Games have changed since we were kids), we’ll never forget a story so incredible that it became a movie – the 1980 U.S. men’s ice hockey team, the ultimate underdog, came from behind to beat the formidable Russians in the semi-finals and then took the gold against Finland.

What better proof for all of us that we should never give up because it’s not over until it’s over. Although, if you ask Red her favorite sports “comeback” story, it would be a vivid memory of Black that she told in A Way With Words … And Hockey Players?

This is one of Red’s favorite Banter Bites in large part because of Black’s “corny” puns, but also because fresh corn is a summer staple – whether cooked on the grill or in the microwave, whether eaten on its own or as a primary ingredient in refreshing summer salads


This may be one of the corniest things you’ll ever read.

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: It’s just a vegetable, so how can it possibly elicit such a strong reaction from Red, while, for Black, it’s more a source of amusement and even, it turns out, admiration?

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Think you can avoid artificial intelligence? Think again …

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Red already fights technology at every turn, preferring to keep her ostrich head in the sand, plus, she finds Artificial Intelligence (AI) scary; whereas Black knows ignoring reality merely postpones the inevitable, so she’s started playing with AI to understand it better …

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A man better known for his death than his life, although Red, the straight-A student and history lover, immediately thinks of the costly and controversial movie of his life. (Well, technically, it was the life of Cleopatra.) Black, of course, focuses on business – leadership lessons, including the power of words, although she surprises Red with some food trivia. But the fact July’s named after him is the perfect excuse to rerun one of Red’s favorite Banter Bites …

Quick! If someone says "Julius Caesar," what comes to mind?

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Almost everyone has heard of Julius Caesar, but how many of us really know much about him, or at least that's what Red starts to wonder when she receives the usual flippant, but still accurate, reply from her sister, after feeling very proud that she knew that July was named after the famous Roman.

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