It Doesn't Matter Who's Playing

I don't even know who's playing this weekend. Still -- I'm going to watch the games, regardless. After all, it's the playoffs, but lately I can't even keep track of the Wild Card Teams.


It's not that I've been occupying myself with highly productive/lucrative/charitable tasks. Just the daily stuff, but when I think of getting to watch the games this weekend, I'm looking forward to a vicarious smashing out of everything that has to be put-up-with in real life.

I keep my eyes out there on the action. And keep the momentum drama of the game and its players going in my head, which reminds me of my own rise and fall in life. So much effort -- and reward -- in moving even one yard down the field.

The Romance of Football

Sports offer up glorious metaphors for life.

The week Brett Favre's streak ended, the sky fell down in Minnesota.

My way into the romance of football came when I was 9 or 10 years old, and I stumbled upon a few NFL trading cards on the street. Naturally I picked them up. Back in those days (the 1970s, so far gone!) many players posed for close up pictures, and many of those without helmets.

Topps Trading Card, 1970s ...................... Eve's Trading Card, 1970s

Inspired>>>>>>> !

I would put row after row down on floor or table and study faces, consider personalities, thoughts, emotions of those players. Some looked angry -- game face on -- others innocent and hopeful, or determined. Some stood in the 3 point stance and smiled good-naturedly, and one looked up with pleading eyes as if he needed protection.

In my mind, I created alliances between the players on the cards whether they were on the same teams or not. And on Sundays I'd watch as many as I could.

This was my original Fantasy Football.

Why Football?

What You Already Know

The men are huge, and then they build themselves up with pads and helments, and they grunt and sweat and then plow into each other again & again. Frankly, you like men just fine, but in this guise you have historically chosen to leave them to their caveman antics. Sunday afternoons are better spent enjoying just about any other pursuit.

And yet seeping through the culture, all the way through to your father/husband/brother... there is football.

It's not that you don't enjoy sport. You may be an athlete in your own right, physically fit from hiking to basketball to dance. But really, what could you ever get out of a sport like football, a sport you could never actually play? The ultimate boys club. "Let them have it," you say!

But wait... men are only seeing half the picture. It's women who get the 360 degree view.

up next... The Romance of Football

On the field, forgiveness

Michael Vick has taken his second chance seriously. I'm not surprised by how much of me is ready to forgive and cheer and enjoy the quarterback's return. But I know he must look morally ugly to some people.

Part of me has already forgiven him, and part of me hopes he feels awful about what he did for the rest of his life. If he does, then he really has been rehabilitated.

The Vikings Cardinals game was not on my local TV this past Sunday. But really, I made plans to go out and volunteer making care packages for the homeless BEFORE I knew that.

So Iwould have missed it, anyway. Ho hum, just another another Brett Favre return from a chin-splitting knockout to pass for ultimate yards and win in OT.

Are You Game for Two More?

It's not that I don't think four pre-season games is too many, I do. But adding another two regular season games to the NFL season will really change the sport.

Sure, they're thinking it will rake in two more weeks of fan purchasing in oh so many forms, but it's not just the player rosters that will have to increase to support the increased losses in battle, it's all the long term injury this will cause. Just how much of the future are they willing to sign away for the present?

Say goodbye the smattering of first string players who are able to last to the final game of the season. The playoffs may become an entirely different beast, with 3rd string quarterbacks throwing to the tight end who's also filling in for the linebacker on defense, etc. And of course and lots of mid-season trading and improvising.

The NY Times rolled out some blunt information about concussions http://www.nytimes.com/info/concussions-in-football/ . Statistics show the incidence of Alzheimers in ex-NFL players is at "a rate of 19 times" the national norm for men aged 30-49.

Me Spectator

I keep thinking I have to convince myself that football is more than football. As if by itself it's not "meaningful" enough. After all, it's just people bashing against each other for territory and exercise, right?

But as soon as I write the sentence I see that sport stands for more than itself, like in the moment of instinct during play, the athlete's body memory/mind blend is off the charts. Now, that's meaningful.

Then I come back to myself, the spectator. Most of us. And what we get from it. It's got to be more than cheers for the home team and excuse for the couch time.

Did most of us play sports as kids, in school or elsewhere? I was on a losing team in high school basketball, but I loved the game & comraderie, and I never once questioned its deepr value, because I felt it.

Favre coming back! It makes ME feel young... or at least a shread of the possibility that youth might last another season.

The Fan That Goes Way Back

When I was a kid, my dog chewed

the corners off my favorite football card.

Of course I still have the card.
This one in particular was always kept on the top of my stack of cards.

So, I guess it was the one most likely to flop into a dog's mouth.

Ruined beyond any value but sentimental.

It's not taking up much space.

That's when I can really indulge in sentiment.

Besides, it's Calvin Hill, so handsome and powerful-looking in 1970.

Unfortunately, that didn't last, either.

Here he is, five years later...

The Endurance Factor

Three years since my last post. Not exactly the way things are supposed to work in the blogosphere. I would hardly have believed it if, back in 2007 someone would have told me Brett Favre would have still been a contender for the Super Bowl in 2010.

But I have been jubilant every year since then when he has come back for another season (whatever the uniform), and telling myself at the end of each season, that was enough. It's okay if he retires. Silent gratitude and the admiring of his skills, charm, endurance and perseverance.

At the beginning of the Viking Saints championshop game last Sunday, I was in the inner revelry again, trying to savor the present tense of his being alive on the stage. Coming out strong and driving for a touchdown.

And then the pounding began. The brutality of the Saints pass rush. I have to admit to acting a little "Mommy" when he gets sacked. There is my intake of breath and the hands clasped to the mouth.

He took a big hit to the midsection, having been driven to the turf, and the Vikings fumbled on the play just after that, and still he dove into the pile for the ball. But wait. Truth be told, Favre was not the first one to the scene, and I thought I saw him watching (waiting?) to see if his teammate, who was already sprawling ahead for the ball, was going to get it. Then, only went he missed it, did Favre jump in there. Was that brief hesitation significant? I don't recall ever seeing it before.

Even after that he was accurate. And even after he was twisted between two flying defenders and carried off the field, he came back. Foot taped up and limping, he was accurate. ... uh.. Right until the interception which sealed the possibility of a win in regulation.

This is not about whether or not Brett Favre will come back again. He already has.

What is Well Deserved

It's no secret I'm a Brett Fa- I mean, Packers fan, and am simply giddy with the incredible start they've had this year.

This Sunday, the Packers are an UNDEFEATED 4-0 (along with the Colts, Cowboys, & Patriots) and are matched up with the Bears. Last season, Chicago blew the Packers completely out of the water by a score of 26 to Nothing. That was so early last season that there was no such thing as "Bad Rex."

Favre has now completely proven himself (as if he hadn't already), and we can tell by the fanfare and the tears of joy that a big part of why he came back was to break some RECORDS!!!

17th Season. Here is a man who has lived out his lifelong passion at the highest level. Yes, it can be done, but most of us aren't willing to make the sacrifices to get there.

Does that mean that anything else is useless? When you're asking yourself "How much can I get away with NOT doing," you find yourself looking forward to the escape of a Sunday afternoon, with your favorite sports hero pin-up on center stage. I look at him for three hours, and like most of the rest of us, football fans or not, will put off looking at myself in the mirror until the dreaded "Monday Morning."

Week 1 - Guts and Glory

Chad Pennington guts it out in Week 1 and comes back after a seemingly crippling injury!

Brett Favre puts on a few classic moves in a gift of a win from the Eagles!

Tom Brady stands flat footed and Imperial as the leader of the Patriots!
They got it right at http://www.femalefan.com/....

"...once Sundays become consumed by the NFL, we do nothing. Or at least convince ourselves that we don’t ‘have to’ do anything because “Sunday = Football, and that’s that."

That describes NFL Sundays perfectly for me. I figure I'm "productive" enough if the breakfast dishes are washed before halftime.

Why do I feel so entitled to my football time?
Simply because I'm an American?

No, I have plenty of friends who spend their Sundays elsewhere. For one, cleaning all the sheets in the house is preferable to one minute of football. Actually, most of the time I watch football alone.

The loves we adore from afar can become most powerful. When I was growing up, a girl never had a chance to play in a game.

Now there are plenty of youth Flag Football Leagues for boys and girls around the country. I hope they play on and on.

Speaking the Truth

On Michael Vick:

I've done things I've known are wrong. I have lied to hide my shame, I have occasionally shoplifted, but those were merely shrugs and Crackerjack prizes compared to this lowlife.

I'm sad for all of us. I think the NFL will become stronger for this in the end, but It's going to take banning Vick from the league.

More than anything else, when the pitchforks and torches are put away, I hope there is actual rehabilitation for him and his cohorts. Time and effort must be made to help them see the light (no LIE), because someone like him could make a difference as an activist against dogfighting.

Oh goodness, will I never put my naivete away?

On Eli Manning & Tiki Barber:
Manning had every right to speak up against Barber for insulting him about his leadership. It's true that Barber called his own leadership and heart into question when he announced his retirement mid-season, but let's put this into perspective. Commentator Marshall Faulk was right when he described this story as "fun."

The "He said/He said" of the NFL talking heads reminded me a little too much of gossip by the lockers in junior high. If Eli and Tiki really didn't want the publicity they wouldn't have this "feud" via the media.

The NFL is just relieved to have something fluffy to talk about that doesn't involve actual "fur."

"Before" the Verdict

Hard to reserve judgement when

co-defendants are pleading guilty, but in fact I am still trying. Innocent first!

I agree with Mr. White of the Atlanta NAACP, it IS a crime to lambaste Michael Vick before he's had a chance to be heard.

Am I just holding out hope for some shred of innocence because I think he's such a handsome football star? Oh yeah. He's a dream on the field. A lighter style than almost any other QB I've seen, as if there are strings from above twisting him away from defenders.

Where will that appreciation go?

Should we be ashamed to have been (still want to be) fans?

I won't throw out my Michael Vick VHS tapes just yet. (Yes, I do have several.) For now, there is still a little bit of US Democracy hope, for me and whoever else was taken enough by Michael Vick in the sweet birdsong of his career.

The appreciation of Bill Walsh was overflowing in San Francisco. A chance for the sports world to remind us what can be accomplished by those who ARE able to keep their balance on that high pedestal.

One more Chance for Michael Vick

Michael Vick, of the bounding speed
and terrible personal reputation, may
have at LEAST one more chance on the
football field this fall.

Why?

Because the Falcons drafted Joey Harrington. Yes, I think he is one of the good guys, but Harrington is a NON rushing quarterback who throws just as many interceptions as Vick.

Harrington is certainly not Plan A for the Atlanta coaching staff, but I wouldn't be surprised if they send him in for some reps as a Running Back this offseason. Pick up some moves, Joey!

Faithful... for a Day

The best thing about last month's 49er Family Day at San Francisco's Monster Park was getting to run the 40 yard dash "against" my 8 year old son. They timed us and everything. I wonder, at what age will he actually be faster than me? I still let him win 99 percent of the time, and waiting in line at the 40 yard dash I worried that I was "spoiling" him. That I'm not giving him enough experience with reality. I stopped my wondering after I saw every single parent do exactly the same thing with their own kids.

SO, I guess we are NOT a Great Santini generation.

My only beef with the 49er event was how they advertised tours of the actual locker rooms, then when we got to the park we were told they had been "sold out." I didn't even know we needed a reservation! Better info next time, I hope, to avoid disappointment.

Oh well, I guess 49er fans are supposed to be used to disappointment -- as evidenced by the big selling t-shirts of the day:

"49er FAITHFUL."

...I guess you gotta be.

So Lawng, Keyshawn

It's official! Keyshawn Johnson is retiring from the NFL and taking his turn as a TV sports analyst for ESPN.

Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president was thrilled with the on air job he did during the draft. "He delivered strong, candid opinions and passionate analysis, attributes that will make him a first-rate analyst in his new career."

Was he a selfish player? He wrote Just Give Me the Damn Ball when he was a rookie, but he backed up his bravado with performance. He won the Rose Bowl, the Super Bowl, and was elected to the Pro Bowl on numerous occasions.

I will miss that long stretch for the impossible pass...

NFL decisions support my "Theory of Stored Energy"

1) Last Year
In the 2006 season, Parcells took vet QB Drew Bledsoe out of the game and put in backup Tony Romo. Three years on the practice squad and the sidelines had given Romo an understanding of the game, and the physical freshness to beat the fastest linebackers around the corner. He had all the talent, but hadn't taken the years of pounding. The guy was romping around the field with constant New Sneaker energy, and he brought significant success to the team.

2) This year's NFL Draft:
Surprisingly, another way to increase your Stored Energy Value is through injury. Many teams used their top picks this year to draft players who had been injured and had to sit out for a chunk of their college careers.

The Oakland Raiders drafted running back Michael Bush in the fourth round. He was favored to win the Heisman Trophy until he broke his leg halfway through last season.

DT Justin Harrell, Green Bay's first pick, missed most of his senior year because of a ruptured tendon in his bicep. Brandon Jackson, Green Bay's second pick, is coming off surgery in both shoulders. As a seventh round pick, how about DeShawn Wynn, whose rash of injury problems limited his playing time and effectiveness most of last year?

I'll just have to put my faith in this theory,

because with go-to RBs Ahman Green and William Henderson gone,

Jackson and Wynn are going to have to unleash a fair amount of stored energy.

I'm glad the Patriots took Randy Moss, especially since Ted Thompson said he was actually considering him for the Packers! In the sunset of his career, Bret Favre does not need a snarling showboat who has admitted to "dogging it" when he was at Oakland. He needs a snarling showboat who can give everything he's got to catch the ball.

The Panthers just let Keyshawn Johnson go. Give him a call, Green Bay.

Survive the Offseason - Tips #2, #3, #4, #5

#2
Football History - Real
http://www.davesfootballblog.com has fascinating facts about football's origins.
He traces it back to China. (3/19/07 entry)

#3
Football History - Mine
I've been leafing through some of my old football trading cards from the '70s.



The Walter Payton rookie card is getting $175.00 bids on eBay,
whereas Phil Simms' rookie card is holding at .99 cents!

Hmm, I could spend the better part of the offseason tallying up imaginary auction money from my childhood hobby, or maybe I'll just tune into

#4 All the NFL Europe games (There are only 6 teams in the league) which are airing on NFL network starting April 14 and culminate with the World Bowl on June 23rd.

AND/OR

#5 : Three more new episodes of Friday Night Lights! (NBC Weds, 8pm)

Goings on in the plot: A high school coach keep the steroid use of one of his players a secret, QB Matt Saracen miraculouly gets his team to the state championship, and a beautiful single mom in her thirties succumbs quickly to the temptation of young Tim Riggins' physical charms.

Sure, it's hyped up drama, but there remains an emtional truth within this world. Wheelchair bound Herc never lets up on the tough love with Jason Street, the newly paralyzed star quaterback. Though Herc knows it would have been good for Jason's recovery to make the US Olympic Quad Rugby team, "It's a championship, not therapy."

Then there's the moment between the philandering Buddy Garrity and his sweet teenage daughter, Lyla, when Buddy solicits Lyla's help putting together a family photo album to try and win the forgiveness of his betrayed wife. Lyla refuses, saying "I don't want to take sides."

This reminded me quite a bit of my own experiences with my parents as they were splitting up. I couldn't give either of them everything I felt, and the crushed and frantic look that burned onto Buddy Garrity's face reminded me of my own father when he was afraid he was going to lose me, too.

So, what's that got to do with football? Hey, this is survial in the offseason, baby!

Following the Bouncing Players

Free Agency Takes Flight

The Dallas Cowboys cut Drew Bledsoe loose. I think that's the least they could do for him, but I don't get why they signed Brad Johnson. He's been in the league even longer than Bledsoe, and is coming off a terrible season!

I was also surprised to learn that the Bears traded away Thomas Jones to the Jets, when the running combination of Jones and Benson was such a key to their great season. But hey, even Super Bowl Champion Colts RB Dominic Rhodes is visiting the Bills this week.


Green Bay let Ahman Green go, and even though he's been their leading rusher for years, I think it was a good move. I hope Henderson stays, but they still need an explosive back, and they'd better grab a good one in the draft. This time, let's hope they find someone without such a tendency to fumble

Everyone made such a big stink about the building and melding a young offensive line to protect Sir Brett, but don't forget, without a MAJOR running game, Favre is going to be forced to throw way too often, and that's when the interceptions start flying, too.