Am I Ready For Some Football?

First off, let me apologize for the lack of cards to illustrate my point. I couldn't find a single Panthers card in my collection nor do I really have much of anything released after 1991. I could have probably filled up an entire post with Steve DeBerg and Willie "Flipper" Anderson cards (or really anything from the Tecmo Super Bowl era) but, much like those cards have negative cash value, this entire blog would probably fall into some sort of uncomfortable bizarro world where people were trading graded Pete Incaviglia and Kevin Mitchell rookie cards like hotcakes and everyone would be cursing their fate at failing to attract TTM autographs of Hall of Famer Kevin Seitzer.

Anyway, I've come to a decision regarding where my fandom and attention goes to with the NFL this year. This is edge-of-the-seat stuff, I know. For starters, I've decided I really can't root against the Eagles no matter how crappy of a decision it was to bring the felon into the fold. That being said, I also won't root for them, especially if that guy is on the field. I can root against the player, but not against the team. At least, not yet. I'll let things play themselves out and see how I feel later on in the season and in next. You will definitely not see me rooting for #7 in an Eagles jersey no matter how the season turns out, though. Besides that, I think it's a laughable idea that he will be an important piece of a playoff-bound team at all.

In more of a curiosity matter than anything else, I have also decided to endorse another team and possibly follow them instead. I'm doing this mostly because I know I will have a hard time not watching football when it's on, and at least I'll be able to pick sides when certain teams are playing rather than stare at the TV in confusion and curse the fate of the Eagles under my breath. I eliminated a lot of candidates (NFC East teams were instantly ruled out, as were the 49ers, Raiders and Patriots) before finally settling on the Carolina Panthers. I've always liked this team a little bit since they first came into the league and they currently have ex-Duck Jonathan Stewart at running back, though he tends to split time with DeAngelo Williams. I think that Stewart will eventually be a featured back and superstar, so I'm hoping he doesn't have to be in a "timeshare" situation much longer.

I also decided to adopt an AFC team just for kicks, which ended up being the Denver Broncos. I was never a John Elway fan, though I did get a little caught up in the wave of their late-'90s run for reasons I cannot even comprehend. Terrell Davis seemed to come from out of nowhere to become a bruising 2000-yard rusher, so at least there was that. This year's version of the Broncos features longtime Eagles backup RB Correll Buckhalter and the former heart and soul of Philly, Brian Dawkins. Kyle Orton stars as the quarterback that no one wanted, especially not his own former team. It could be a fun season, I suppose.

The first game is tonight and I know I won't be watching. It's Tennessee vs. Pittsburgh and it's definitely not worth taping, in my opinion. At least I'll have a couple of positive things to hold my interest should I decide to tune in on Sundays. It beats watching a game simply to root against somebody, doesn't it?