History Recap / TheSimpsonsS3E14LisaTheGreek

---> [[VanityPlate *Whistle blows*]]

Come Sunday, Homer realizes that he has much more than just a few dollars in game. When Buffalo builds a solid lead early in the game and Bart begins taunting him, a distraught Homer goes to Moe's to try to relax and forget about Lisa's words. In the end, Washington rallies from behind to score a last-second victory... and Homer happily celebrates the win, in spite of having lost a lot of money, conscious that Lisa's love is far more valuable than money and that said love is secure. Lisa is also relieved that Washington won, meaning she still loves her father. Homer then cancels his bowling engagement with Barney to make good on his promise to go hiking with Lisa next Sunday.

Episode - 8F12\\
First Aired - 1/23/1992

** The drama at the climax happens because Lisa forces Homer to bet on the underdog team with the stakes that ''she will hate him for the rest of her life'' if they lose. So both Homer and Lisa were wishing for the underdog to win, which they do at the end.

* AbsurdlyHighStakesGame: The drama at the climax happens because Lisa forces Homer to bet on the underdog team with the stakes that ''she will hate him for the rest of her life'' if they lose. This is a rather severe application of HonorBeforeReason (seriously, she could have done anything else to force Homer to prove he wasn't spending time with her just for her gift) on Lisa's part... and thankfully, the team wins.

* TakeThat: The episode takes jabs at the Super Bowl broadcasts of the 1980s, which consisted on rather bland family-friendly half-time shows built around a theme while the game would be followed by the premiere of a new TV show that would usually be cancelled after one season (''Series/TheATeam'', which premiered after S.B. XVII being one of the few exceptions). This doubles with UnintentionalPeriodPiece for both practices were abandoned a few years later: The half-time show would feature pop stars beginning in the following year (something in which Fox's ''Series/InLivingColor'' special played an important part), and after NBC aired an special hour-long episode of ''Series/{{Friends}}'' after Super Bowl 30, most post-game shows would be SB-themed episodes of already-established programs.

* TheCameo: When the sportscasters say the Superbowl is being broadcasted all over the world, yhe scene cuts first to a group of Pacific Islanders and then to Ugolin and Cesar, the French winemakers from Season 1's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS1E11TheCrepesOfWrath The Crepes of Wrath]]". But they don't like it and switch to [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff a movie featuring]] Creator/JerryLewis.

* UsefulNotes/NineHundredNumber: The Coach's Hotline.

* IconicItem: "Smooth" Jimmy Apollo uses a giant novelty lock as part of his "Lock Of The Week", a prediction that Jimmy's guarantees will turn out the way he says (accuracy rate: 52%).

* YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious: Lisa is upset that her father used her to bet on football games and calls him "Homer" instead of "Dad".

* NeverTrustATitle: The Simpson family don't visit Greece in this episode.

A shaken Lisa has nightmares about growing up to be a worn out gambling addict and gives away her Malibu Stacy toys (all purchased with "dirty money") while Homer starts to realize he screwed up and tries to apologize to Lisa, but she refuses his invitation to watch the Super Bowl together as an insincere attempt at making amends. With Homer begging her for a pick, Lisa relents and tells him her pick is Washington, but she makes it clear she subconsciously wants him to lose out of rage, so she recommends he do the opposite of what she tells him and bet on Buffalo--As this confuses Homer, a resigned Lisa tells him, "If I still love you, Washington; if I don't, Buffalo".

* AdultsAreUseless: Marge doesn't realize she embarrassed Bart. And Homer doesn’t realize until after the Super Bowl game starts that he royally screwed up in trying to bond with Lusa.

* FelonyMisdemeanor: At first, the mall security guards consider going after Bart for insulting them with a "Get Bent" sign aimed at the surveilance camera, but then they notice a girl wearing socks different that the ones she came in, so they grab their rifles and head out.

** The pregame show at the beginning of the episode is a clear parody of CBS's NFL pregame show, ''The NFL Today'', as it was in the mid '80s, complete with the opening intro (a 3D football field against a black background; CBS Sports ''loved'' intros that had animation against a black background during this period; [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i183VsatSk here's an example]]), and a screen behind the host's left shoulder, along with the obvious parodies of Brent Musburger and Jimmy the Greek.

A shaken Lisa has nightmares about becoming a worn out gambling addict and gives away her Malibu Stacy toys (all purchased with "dirty money") while Homer starts to realize he screwed up and tries to apologize to Lisa, but she refuses his invitation to watch the Super Bowl together as an insincere attempt at making amends. With Homer begging her for a pick, Lisa relents and tells him her pick is Washington, but she makes it clear she subconsciously wants him to lose out of rage, so she recommends he do the opposite of what she tells him and bet on Buffalo--As this confuses Homer, a resigned Lisa tells him, "If I still love you, Washington; if I don't, Buffalo".

A shaken Lisa has nightmares about being used for gambling and gives away her Malibu Stacy toys (all purchased with "dirty money") while Homer starts to realize he screwed up and tries to apologize to Lisa, but she refuses his invitation to watch the Super Bowl together as an insincere attempt at making amends. With Homer begging her for a pick, Lisa relents and tells him her pick is Washington, but she makes it clear she subconsciously wants him to lose out of rage, so she recommends he do the opposite of what she tells him and bet on Buffalo--As this confuses Homer, a resigned Lisa tells him, "If I still love you, Washington; if I don't, Buffalo".

Lisa the Greek is the fourteenth episode of the third season of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. The episode centers on Homer and Lisa finding a way to bond approaching their vastly distant interests (and intellects), with Homer using Lisa's uncanny ability to accurately predict the winning team on football games to win a fortune under the guise of Sunday being "Daddy-Daughter Day". When Lisa realizes at the end of the football season that she was only being used, she refuses to speak to him, forcing Homer to expect to lose his gamble for the Super Bowl... but can he?.

* TheCameo: When the sportscasters say the Superbowl is being broadcasted all over the world, yhe scene cuts first to a group of Pacific Islanders and then to Ugolin and Cesar, the French winemakers from Season 1's "The Crepes of Wrath". But they don't like it and switch to [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff a Jerry Lewis movie.]]

* IconicItem: "Smooth" Jimmy Apollo uses a giant novelty lock as part of his "Lock Of The Week", a prediction that Jimmy's guarantees will turn out the way he says. (Accuracy rate: 52%.)

* NeverTrustATitle: The Simpson family never visit Greece in this episode.

*** The portion of the Super Bowl Pregame show that does make it into the episode previews Troy [=McClure=]'s new show which premieres after the game (see TakeThat below).

-->'''Homer''': Give me the usual, Moe...a beer, and a wad of bills!
-->'''Moe''': Eh, ya lucky moron...(''takes off his boot and drops out Homer's gambling winnings, and hands them to Homer'').
-->'''Homer''': (''sniffing the money'') I used to hate the smell of your sweaty feet, but now it's the smell of victory!
-->'''Moe''': Ah, shaddup.
* SpecialGuest: Creator/PhilHartman as Smooth Jimmy Apollo and Troy [=McClure=]

* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: It's implied that Springfield is either on the Mountain or Pacific time-zones, as the Miami-Cincinnati game ends at 7 PM Eastern (following a game between New England and Denver at 1 PM E.S.T.) and there's still broad daylight in a fall afternoon.