I realized at the beginning of the last NFL season that my interest in the sport had waned considerably over the years. I kept looking for things to keep my interest and had even entertained the idea of occasionally writing something NFL-related for this blog. Eventually, I found my interest disappearing altogether with the Philadelphia Eagles disappointing start to their season, culminating with the 13-13 tie with the horrendous Bengals in Week 11. Eventually their play improved enough to get the team in the playoffs where they were surprisingly just a twist or turn away from making it to the Super Bowl.
This year, I began to ask myself the same questions as last. Why should I care about the NFL? What can I do to get more engaged in the games that my favorite team plays? Last season I even tinkered with a fantasy team, but it wasn't nearly as interesting to me as fantasy baseball is, since there seems to be less managing and more watching and finger-crossing.
But things had already started unraveling. The heart and soul of the Eagles, Brian Dawkins, was unceremoniously dumped. Backup running back Correll Buckhalter, who was a hard luck favorite of mine, joined the mass exodus which also included Lito Sheppard, Greg Lewis, LJ Smith and Tra Thomas. As much as I can admit that the team had probably overacheived in reaching the NFC Championship game, I don't really feel that the addition-by-subtraction plan was going to help the team a whole lot. The Dawkins thing really hit me the most, however, and it really made me question my allegiance to a team I've followed since fairly early on in Randall Cunningham's career.
And then, today, this happened. I'm done with this team.
At least I'll still have Tecmo Super Bowl.
[To be continued...]
I've been done with the NFL going on two years now. The criminal behavior with a lot of the players is just too much to take. And the league is so hyped. It drives me crazy. I've found it best to ignore it when I can. It drives me less crazy.
ReplyDeletei am not done with the NFL. I feel like, as a baseball fan, it's being hypocritical, in a sense.
ReplyDeleteI can't say screw off to the NFL because it reinstated a guy who went to jail.
We have players in MLB who have admitted to steroids and the such with no repurcussions.
Ok, steroids and dog fighting are not the same, but the premise of breaking rules and doing illegal things are still the same.
I just say screw Vick and the Eagles.
Where the hell have I been? Lito Sheppard got traded? I had no idea, and Philly didn't seem to get squat in return for him.
ReplyDeleteGo Seahawks!!!!!! Now more than ever do they need your support...!
ReplyDeleteI am actually kind of anxious for the NFL season to start, even though I ignored it most of last season. I think its this slightly fall like weather we are having.
Can the Houston Oilers officially come back?
We've probably talked about this in person but as much as I enjoy football, the NFL has never managed to truly capture my imagination. Maybe it's the hype of it all, the casting of it as "America's True Pastime" or whatever shit they want to come up with.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe compared to college football and the passion that exists there, it just looks boring and manufactured. I love that all these schools have their own tradition and that some of the places which hold the biggest games will be Tuscaloosa, Ames or Norman.
Vick's case is pretty dispicable. I can see where a confrontation at a club could lead to someone idiotically pulling out a gun or how someone might plow into another car and then drive off. Not saying it's okay but I understand that people freak out and make bad choices. Vick, however, participated in a dog fighting ring for years. It was a deliberate choice, not an "Oops, I accidentally ran over my dog" once incident.
NFL sucks.
How is it hypocritical to be a fan of MLB and not the NFL? That's comparing apples and oranges. Really.
ReplyDeleteComparing dog fighting to steroids? As a person that knows a thing or two about dog fighting, I am ill.
Dog fighting is unlawful. Taking steroids is not.
Dog fighting often coincides with other illegal activities. Dog fighting is animal cruelty at its worst.
Steroids hurt reputations. They hurt the people that use them. They hurt the record books. They hurt athletic clubs and leagues. Dog fighting always results in death.
I've never been a fan of the NFL. (As Kerry definitely knows...) So incredibly boring. You see more commercial breaks than you see actual plays.
Kerry ... truly, I am sorry.
Did you get that image from qbeagles.net?
ReplyDelete