The Superbowl or the season?

NHLife — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 17:42:00 GMT

I figured it out.

That is, the reason why I never cared for football.

You see, I'm a baseball fan. In baseball, the best teams compete in a series of games to determine a winner. Now, I understand that you can't play seven football games in a row or you'd be ripped apart from limb to limb. But, I also think it's unfair to call one team, in this case a "Wild Card" team "the best team in football" when their record indicates otherwise.

Am I the only one who thinks the New England Patriots still has a better team? Eli Manning and his New York Giants won one big game and they won by one toss of the football. Dramatic, yes. But is it reasonable? To now deem them the "best team in football"?

The other night Bill O'Reilly called them that. I wanted to tell him to look at the numbers. I think the numbers tell a different story. They show an undefeated team (in the regular season), a superstar quarterback in Tom Brady, a number of high scoring games, and a wide receiver named Randy Moss, who now holds the NFL's single-season touchdown reception record. That reception was made on a record-breaking touchdown pass by Tom Brady. You see, the numbers tell a different story.

Now I'm sure that this controversy has come up before. There must have been other Superbowls in other seasons in which the team that won was not indeed the "best team in football". But then again, what do I know?

And, I'm not going to check, either.

For what it’s worth, this isn't about me being a Patriots fan, although I admit I have become a casual spectator in the past few years and I have been awed by their ability to win. But, if I had to choose between football and baseball, my money is on the All-American Pastime. In baseball, the numbers matter more than the individual plays. You can't have one bad game and suddenly become irrelevant.

There’s always next year, as we like to say. Maybe I just don’t understand football, but one thing I do know: I’m ready for some baseball.

New England sports: their year, or just another year?

NHLife — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 01:02:00 GMT

I'm not much of a football fan, but the Patriots have me tuning in at odd hours of the night just to see the point spread. I'm wondering if they might possibly hold on to their "undefeated" moniker for the entire season. And that possibility really makes me want to tune in to all the antics on the field (even if I don't understand every play or call that is made).

This week, I found the game in just in time to see them losing. Before I had the chance to be shocked, I was cheering away at the touchdown made in the final few minutes of the game, giving them a 27-24 come-from-behind win, one of the closest and most intense of the season. Flags were thrown. The play was as controversial as any other this season, but in the end, their "undeafeated" title remained intact. The replay showed that Gaffney had both feet in bounds and (though some would disagree) the ball firmly in control. At least I thought so. The refs agreed and another win was on the books for the winning Patriots.

I keep hearing this is New England's year for sports. First it was the Red Sox. Now it's the Patriots. Whether it's "their year" or not - denoting some sort of magic spell cast over the region - it seems to me that they should be credited for having a near-perfect team, a great quarterback, an amazing coach, and a whole lot of momentum working in their favor. It also makes me wonder why they aren't being applauded for having won three Superbowls since 2001. I mean, we are talking about one of the best teams in football, like it or not.

For what it's worth, the game drew the largest-ever cable audience averaging 17.5 million viewers, beating out Disney's High School Musical 2 movie in August with 17.2 million viewers. Someone's paying attention. That's for sure.

Live Free and Blog : football

The Superbowl or the season?

New England sports: their year, or just another year?