Sunday, January 11, 2004

I can’t believe Football season is almost over. It amazes me how quickly the weeks in the fall seem to go. From the boredom and anticipation of the pre-season to hey there are only two weeks left seems to happen without warning. College Football held little interest for me this year as my team had one of the worst years ever. It amazes me looking at the numbers of guys from the past few Penn State teams that are playing in the NFL that the Lions haven’t been doing better than they have. When guys who barely make the starting lineup and aren’t even the really big names on the teams become NFL starters and guys whose names you hear for making plays often…How did they not win more in college? Could what ‘they’ say be true?
The years we’re in the hunt with an x-0 record I tend to devote my entire Saturday to college football knowing what’s going on with the top 25 and watching the key games. Those are the years I watch all the bowl games. This year the only bowl I watched was the Hawaii bowl because my girlfriend was in the stadium.
Sunday however…My team is still in the hunt at this point. Very exciting. I have watched all the games. I usually watch as much NFL as I can. It’s like watching chess. No, I don’t sit and watch chess…but add in a little head bashing and I’m in! The chess match is between the head coaches. All the preparation and the play calling…but ahhhh the head bashing! Ahhh communism.
There is nothing like the emotion of a tight game. Especially when your heart belongs to one of the teams. The adrenaline. But unlike my co-commentator I also love watching the 70-0 thrashing especially when it’s my team doing the thrashing. And super especially when it’s PSU and Joepa put the scrubs in for the entire second half and the score continues to be run up so furiously he even plays the kids who are still a couple of years away from being backups and even the ones who never thought they would see actual game time. Games like that, and all games for that matter, it’s just the beauty of the game it’s self. The crisp pass, a sweet run, the crushing blow of one of those kids who never sees the grass on gameday so all the years of stored up football are released on that one play in that one hit. You’re a girl…what do you care about the score anyway? Guys in tight pants are still guys in tight pants whether it’s 70-0 in the third quarter or 23-23 at the two minute warning.
And todays games begin. Soon I will know if I will be excited with anticipation for another week or if my evening will be ruined and I will be without focus in my life until Spring Training begins in a couple of months.
But why? Why am I so emotionally invested in this game? Is it just good advertising on the part of the NFL? Am I that much of a sucker for a good sales pitch? Is it the head bashing? Nah, I don’t like boxing and I think the fighting part of hockey is stupid.
I guess it’s just a combination of the elements.
I think other sports lack the chess match element. I can’t think of any that share it to the same degree…where you line up the pieces on the board before every play. Perhaps that accounts for the popularity of football, it appeals to all different intellectual levels. There is no need to understand the esoteric aspects of the game to enjoy a good afternoon of helmet crunching fun. But that’s probably what manages to hold my interest rather than having it be a passing entertainment fad.
you only need look as far as yesterday afternoon and Mike Martz’s decision to take that game into overtime in stead of trying to win it outright in regulation. The controversy made it entertaining. The situation made it entertaining. The second guessing makes it entertaining.

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