With the NFL regular season about to kickoff on Thursday, I hereby declared the season of football officially open. Any given weekend, I now have up to four teams to follow from the NFL, NCAA, CFL (Canadian Football League) and CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport - not the OTHER CIS).
I am pumped about my 7-2, 1st place Riders, and am looking forward to the second-half of the CFL season.
I am pumped about the prospects of my NFL team, the Seattle Seahawks. Loudest stadium in the league, an experienced and speedy defense, and Matt Hasselbeck at the reigns means high expectations. I'm always nervous about those 10am PT starts, though, and of course, the Hawks play in Buffalo on Sunday 10am.
My college teams are enigmas.
Each year, I never quite know how the University of Saskatchewan Huskies are going to do, but they're usually near the top of the Canada West conference. A 25-0 stomping of the U of Calgary Dinos was a good start!
And then there's the Michigan Wolverines. New coach, new system, no players. Could be a long year. A bowl game would be an awesome year (how's that for reduced expectations, eh?) But that loss to Utah last weekend was painful.
Oh well, my pro teams will keep me interested.
Comments open: Are you pumped about football returning?
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Are you pumped about football returning?
ReplyDeleteNo, but I bet Art is. (I've been a Lions fan for years, but I'm guessing the second coming will happen before they even get to a Super Bowl).
Bilbo: "I've been a Lions fan for years"
ReplyDeleteOuch! Suddenly I feel a lot better about sticking with the Hawks through the dismal 80's and 90s. ;)
Right now, I'm rooting for the Cubs. According to my eschartological hypothesis, once the Cubs win a World Series, Jesus can return.
ReplyDeleteThis is in case readers of this blog do not get Bilbo's comment above.
ReplyDeleteBilbo:"According to my eschartological hypothesis, once the Cubs win a World Series, Jesus can return."
ReplyDeleteThe way the Cubs are cursed, Jesus will come back with the Cubs up 3 games to 2 in the World Series and leading late in Game 6. ;P
JJS: The way the Cubs are cursed, Jesus will come back with the Cubs up 3 games to 2 in the World Series and leading late in Game 6. ;P
ReplyDeleteWell is it JJS or P? And do you really think Jesus could be that cruel?
Sorry Bilbo. I forgot you aren't very familiar with html and emoticons. It was meant to be a wink with the tongue sticking out (tilt your head 90 degrees).
ReplyDeleteUm, I don't know how to break it to you two, but Jesus returned on October 27, 2004.
ReplyDeleteArt: Um, I don't know how to break it to you two, but Jesus returned on October 27, 2004.
ReplyDeleteWho won? ;P (just practicing)
Football is the opiate of the masses (along with American Idol, 24, Lost, etc.)
ReplyDeleteOctober 27, 2004: The Boston Red Sox win the World Series! Yes, I can see how some people might think that meant the second coming had happened. Especially, if I remember, a full lunar eclipse occurred at about the same time -- "moon turning to blood" and all that. And it broke the Babe Ruth curse -- the same as redemption from Original Sin.
ReplyDeleteAnd then the White Sox won after that, didn't they?
So now, all that's left is for the Cubs to do it. The final trumpet call!!!
The more I think about it, the better I like this theory. The White Sox were being punished for throwing the 1919 World Series. The Red Sox were being punished for trading Babe Ruth. Only the Cubs are without spotless, and without sin. Yet they have suffered the longest. And now their redemption approacheth nigh. If they win the World Series, can the Second Coming be far behind?
ReplyDeleteoops...that's supposed to be "are spotless, and without sin."
ReplyDeleteBut back to football. My Barry Sanders rant. In the 90s the Detroit Lions were blessed with one of the greatest running backs of all time, and they wasted his talents. Barry Sanders was not what you call a "north-south" runner. Give him the ball and nobody knew which way he would go. Probably not even Barry. So what's the best way to use someone with Sanders' talent? Anyone who knows football history would know the answer. Back in the late 60s, the Chicago Bears had a Barry Sanders-like runner -- Gale Sayers. Not as good as Barry, but Sayers had the same style of running. And he was very difficult to defend against. So what defenses did was spread out, so they could contain Sayers, no matter which direction he ran in. So what did the Bears do? They had a second runner -- Brian Piccolo, who was a "north-south" runner. If defenses spread out to contain Sayers, the Bears would give the ball to Piccolo, and he would run up the middle for 4-6 yards per play. If the defense closed in to stop Piccolo, they would give the ball to Sayers, who would run outside for big, big gains.
ReplyDeleteSo what did the Lions do with Barry Sanders? They made him their only runner. If they did put in a second running back, it was only so he could block for Barry. Defenses knew this. So they continued to spread out, so they could contain Sanders. And most of the time, Barry would be stopped for small gains, or even no gain, or even losses. Every once in a while he would break loose and run for 60 yards, which kept his average per carry high. But because he was the sole running back, the Lions offense was very predictable, and easy to defend against.
For about 10 years I had to watch the Lions waste one of the greatest talents the game has ever seen. In my opinion, it was an unforgivable sin. I expect the Lions to suffer in Hell or Purgatory for many long years, because of it. No playoff wins or superbowl trips for a long, long time, if ever.
Bilbo:
ReplyDelete"I expect the Lions to suffer in Hell or Purgatory for many long years, because of it. No playoff wins or superbowl trips for a long, long time, if ever."
So does that make Matt Millen the "AntiChrist"?
Glad to see the conversation focus on football again.
So does that make Matt Millen the "AntiChrist"?
ReplyDeleteGlad to see the conversation focus on football again.
Matt wasn't around when Barry Sanders' talents were wasted. The only consistent factor has been the ownership -- Ford. And his basic policy is: If the bottom-line is black, the Lions are a success. As we know, the love of money is the root of all evil.
I recently heard a rumor that the great Lions' quarterback, Bobby Lane, who lead the Lions to a championship in '57, and was then traded away in the '58 season, was supposed to have cursed the Lions, saying something like, "They won't win another championship for 50 years." I never heard the rumor until this year, so I doubt its authenticity. But if the Lions win...then I guess the Barry Sanders thing was forgivable.
ReplyDeleteToo bad about Tom Brady, though. He was fun to watch.