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For The Love Of The Game
Channel RSSTwo-Minute Drill
Turn Those Frowns Upside Down NFL Fans!
By Andrew Citrin
|Nov 03, 2010 12:29 PM
Bag heads
One thing that frustrates me about NFL coverage is the amazement over disappointing teams in the league. At the season’s onset, teams like the Cowboys, Vikings, and Chargers, were given praise for their “obviously” strong teams that would be forces in the league, along with teams that were likely to do well like the Bengals, 49ers, and Broncos. Halfway through this season, those six teams are a combined 12-33. Pretty ugly stuff.
But c’est la vie in the NFL, with a sensible free agency system compared to a sport like baseball (the recent collapse of the Collective Bargaining Agreement notwithstanding), plus a 16-game season where every game matters, no one should ever be surprised when a team fails to live up to expectations. It happens every year. This worst part of this mindset is that it often detracts from the pleasant surprises around the league. Few could have predicted that the Raiders, Rams, or Jaguars would be at .500 halfway through the season, let alone foreseeing winning records for the Buccaneers or Chiefs (well I actually predicted the Chiefs to win their division back in February right here). Not only are these typically bad teams doing well with who they have, but people are still making excuses, based on “luck” or “easy schedules” or “blah blah blah.” I don’t want to hear it anymore!
For every time someone rips Jerry Jones for not firing Wade Phillips already, I want to hear twice as many people demanding a contract extension for Raheem Morris. This is supposed to be the most fun sport this country can offer, so let’s get more energy focused on the good (Sam Bradford!), not the bad (Carson Palmer), and certainly not the ugly (hey Randy Moss!).
Sports are there for us when talking about the weather just won't cut it. Whenever we need to kickstart a conversation or end an awkward silence, "HOW BOUT DEM COWBOYS?!" always trumps "Nice day out there, huh?" Sports aren’t a perfect reflecting pool for life, and life isn’t all about sports. But, at the margins, they help sustain each other.
Whether it’s Monday Night Football at the beginning of every week or daytime baseball at the end, we know that our sports keep on trucking. And somehow, despite it all, so do we.
For the love of the game.
Editor:
David Mainiero is the Executive Editor of The Dartmouth Independent.
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Writers:
Jamie Berk is the Editor-in-Chief of The Dartmouth Independent.
Charles Buker is an avid tennis player and co-editor of The Smoke-Filled Room, TDI's politics, business, and international affairs channel.
Andrew Citrin is a contributor to The Dartmouth Independent.
Josh Etzion plays lacrosse at Dartmouth and is a contributor to The Dartmouth Independent.
AJ Houston plays football at Dartmouth and is a contributor to The Dartmouth Independent.
Alexandra Gakos is The Dartmouth Independent's resident hockey expert.
Sam Page is the NL East editor for SBNation.com and writer for Amazin' Avenue, one of the most popular New York Mets blogs on the internet. His work has appeared in the New York Times.
Scott Schwartz plays baseball at Emory University and is a contributor to The Dartmouth Independent.
Christopher Silberman is a contributor to The Dartmouth Independent.
David Smith plays basketball at Emory University and is a contributor to The Dartmouth Independent.
Rich Tompkins plays football at Vanderbilt University and is a contributor to The Dartmouth Independent.
Andrew Zolot is a contributor to The Dartmouth Independent and a recipient of Amherst College's Corbin Prize, awarded annually to the college’s best original informal essay.
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