Yes, dear ... yes, dear ...

Despite what the naysayers kept repeating, the 39th Super Bowl went off with nary a hitch. One major one was . . . uh, a real mess.

The first reports from various media sources was that a few of the bathrooms at Alltel Stadium had to be closed down because the commodes were backing up.

That, boys and girls, is what's called an understatement.

I didn't think too much of it at the time. You have 80,000 people partying and somebody's sure to try to flush something that shouldna-oughta-be. The next day, however, the news clarified the situation. It wasn't just a few bathrooms that had to be closed because commodes were backing up, but a lot of bathrooms had been closed because overflowing toilets were flooding areas.

Flooding? Flooding! And water wasn't just coming from the commodes but from the sinks, too.

The fire department pumped water out of the stadium and workers put sandbags around the phone room where the water was 3 to 4 inches deep to keep the phone system from going out, [Bob Downey, general manager of SMG, which operates Alltel Stadium] said.

"The fire department alleviated the flood conditions by pumping out the water,'' Downey said. "We nearly had a flood in the basement.''

Downey also said that about 10 percent of the Jaguars offices were damaged when water from sinks shot all the way to the ceiling.

When Hubby read yesterday's article, he began to speak very loudly, colorfully and non-stop when he got to this particular section:

Downey said the problem was caused by a new water line installed by JEA to the stadium area. He said JEA did not notify him about the new line.

Since what much of what Hubby said (all I could get in occasionally was, "Yes, dear.") is not quotable in polite society, I shall summarize:

Downey screwed something up badly and he's looking for a scapegoat. What new water line? We put in that "new line" in 2003!

Hubby (who has you've probably surmised is employed by JEA on its water transmission side, and worked on the installation of that "new line" in 2003) included all kinds of technical information about the proper maintenance of flush valves and details about debris which I neither understood nor gave a hoot about.

So it was with great delight that I opened today's paper and saw this:

JEA released a document Wednesday that said SMG failed to maintain booster pumps, which help move water through tall buildings, in the stadium. As a result, one pump failed Sunday, triggering low pressure inside the stadium, according to JEA. The utility also said SMG failed to maintain flush valves regularly and then when several hundred toilets inside the stadium were continuously running, SMG failed to correct the problem.

Perhaps, now, Hubby will shut up.