Wednesday morning quarterbacking

It’s a few days post-Super Bowl, but here’s a fun Super Bowl love story from years past. Joe Butler said, “That one time I went to a party and there was a legit 6-foot party sub AND a cute girl named Heather.”

In 1996, Troy Aikman and the Dallas Cowboys triumphed over the Pittsburgh Steelers and love triumphed for Joe and Heather, who admittedly were the only ones not watching the game. The party’s host Dave Herman recalls that Joe spilled food on the floor and Heather helped him clean it up. The rest is history.

Joe and Heather were married in June two years later and no, they didn’t have a Super Bowl themed wedding. Turns out the two shared a love of all things "Star Wars" so their cake topper was Han Solo and Princess Leia. Heather says that in honor of their 25th wedding anniversary this year they’re planning matching Darth Vader tattoos with the words, “A long, long time ago, two people fell in love.”

Congratulations, you crazy kids!

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One of the best things about attending the Super Bowl party at the American Legion in Post Falls, besides the always epic pot luck, is what happens when the National Anthem is sung. Every person in the room stands silently and respectfully throughout.

Chris Stapleton’s rendition with an acoustic guitar, and without the distraction of backup singers or fanfare, was hauntingly beautiful. I was also mesmerized by the man doing the American Sign Language version. Turns out it was Oscar-winning deaf actor Troy Kotsur, whose hometown happens to be Phoenix. If you missed seeing it, it’s worth a look online for the video.

And if that wasn’t enough to bring a tear to the eye of America, the flyover formation immediately after was all female pilots celebrating 50 years of women aviators in the United States Navy!

Oh, and the football game was a thriller, too.

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Happy birthday today to Mindy Hatcher, Tracy Dickinson, Jeff Conroy, Linda Jagars, Craig Smith, Art Sullivan, Sandi Hall and Donna Montgomery. Tomorrow Stephanie Smith (60!), Tom Thompson, Diana Farquhar, Adam Averill, Morgan Dickinson, Bruce English, Quinn Kennedy (18!) and Jim Wilson will celebrate. On Friday Mike Kennedy, Dorene Russell, Dewey Berndt, Helen Pischner, Lisa Ortize, Steve Mills, Chuck Ethridge and Leslie Anne Spencer ring the birthday bell. On Saturday McKinley Thomson, Jill Monroe, Steve Shepperd, Susie Bingham, Pershia Moser, Abbie Nowland and Diana Raugust take a spin on the birthday-go-round. Amy Boni, Teri Nipp, Kandi Johnson, Brock Bauman, Rebekah Newbry, Samantha Kraack, Helga Wernicke, Julia Jaworski and Rob Colvin share birthday celebrations on Sunday. Monday birthday cake’s on the menu for Maycie Goodlander, Barb Eveland, Phil Romans and Jared White. Taking another trip around the sun on Feb. 21 are Megan Reagan, Diane Zell, Jerry Moss, Paige Watkins and Donna Pfeiffer.

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Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.