Well that sucked. The NFL has thinned itself out to the final four teams and I've almost lost all interest. Since I love football and since I only love professional football that should be a bit of an issue for the ol' commish. I'm a loyal fan and I'm already planning other things to do next Sunday.
To understand this it's probably necessary for me to break down why I lost all interest. The announcers and reporters. That's pretty much it. The pregame guys and the NFL blitz guys on espn 2 and all that also figure in to the equation but I don't watch them much anyway. But the announcers are tough to avoid. Sure I could listen to music and just watch the games on mute or something but that seems like something you'd do at a party just so the women didn't get upset.
Here's the thing NFL owners and managements. When you have your announcers choose heroes and hype them constantly with no criticism mixed in when they're playing awful it makes you sound like a bunch of zealots. And I don't trust zealots. It makes everyone uncomfortable and pretty soon the guys you're trying to make into heroes are pretty much universally hated by everyone except the hometown fans.
I was reading the AP game recap of the Colts 15-6 win over the thugs of Baltimore. The box score shows that Manning had no touchdowns and two picks. I believe he also played poorly in the prior game against the Chiefs and threw three picks. The AP story mentioned that the Colts couldn't score touchdowns but didn't even mention the two INTs. Subtle, but no criticism for Manning was to be found.
Then, watching San Diego vs. New England I was all confused. Phil Simms was talking about how "cool" Tom Brady was in the pocket. How smart he was with the football. Meanwhile he had thrown two picks, lost a fumble and missed BADLY on 5+ throws as well, including a wide open receiver that would have gone for a touchdown if he didn't screw the pooch.
This is nothing new of course, but just because Brady played well in the past doesn't mean he's playing well now. He absolutely crapped the bed, the dresser, the closet and left a trail on the way to the bathroom in that game. He easily could have been picked off 3 more times. If not for a few drops by the Charger DB's and receivers Tom Brady would have been THE reason why the Patriots lost the game. I didn't hear a word of it from Simms or the others.
This is why America has this backlash against Favre as well. It's painful and awkward and basically straight out lies most of the time. So people tune out or they hear John Madden telling people that Favre "just loves to play, he's like a little kid" and they throw up a bit and punch their sofa cushions. It's annoying. I beg you NFL, let it go.
Also, as all other teams in the playoffs have zero redeeming qualities except for them, I am now a Saints fan for the next couple of weeks. The Bears are evil, the Pats are boring and I can't stand Peyton winning it all. So, go Saints.
1 comment:
It's a tough thing. We all like to hear the talking heads praise our favorites, but they DO go FAR beyond the realms of reasonability and good taste.
I cringe when I hear the John Maddens of the world go into the "Brett Favre rap" because I know that my local sports radio and queens' fans will rant about it for a few days. Of course they convieniently forget about the years when EVERY sportscaster would talk about how Moss and Moon or Culpepper or whomever were "revolutionizing the game" or just how many times we were reminded about all the wonderful humanitarian things randi did.
I agree, that somehow there needs to be some sort of reining in of the canonization of the player of the week or month...Manning was FAR from impressive, as was Brady....LT showed that he can be just as thin-skinned as anyone else if they "disrespect" Merriman's disrespectful lights out dance...Grossman and the Bears....well they'll always suck no matter what.....
Let 'em call the games and leave the hero-worship to those of us at home !
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