As I retreat from having to deal with the looming "limited" war with Syria and the strange, unsettling political alliances being forged between left and right to oppose (or support) it, I find myself this afternoon with an easy topic about which to write: tonight begins the regular season in the National Football League! We're getting a head start on the weekend action on Thursday, and with a great pairing: the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens against the Denver Broncos, a team and franchise that has rattled me a bit during the last couple of years.
Baltimore has lost several starters due to retirement, including their standout linebacker Ray Lewis. But they seem to be on the right track with their lineup, and it makes me wonder why other franchises flounder around for years, seeming to be in a perpetual rebuilding process from one disappointing season to the next (I'm thinking chiefly about the Miami Dolphins, but there are plenty of other examples). I tend to root for the Ravens, largely in gratitude for the fact that in 2007, when the lowly Dolphins were 0-14 with two weeks to go to a winless season, they had the presence of mind to play each other with Baltimore bowing in defeat...to my enduring gratitude. Of course, the same team was a major thorn in Miami's side the following year when they beat them twice, including Miami's improbable first and only playoff game that year. Still, I have a warm spot in my heart for Baltimore. I can't say the same about Denver...
Being a Gator fan in the 1990's when Peyton Manning was the quarterback for conference divisional rival Tennessee, I got sick of Manning getting all of the accolades in spite of the fact that he never could beat us. But he was good, real GOOD...and I might have gone over to his side had he not joined up with a team in the NFL that true Dolphins fans despise: the Colts. Still, he moved on to Denver, and as a Dolphin fan I have no trouble with that franchise. What I DO have a problem with is how they used Tim Tebow to reestablish a winning tradition during the 2011 season...and then unceremoniously dumped him immediately afterward in favor of King Peyton. Then they swaggered around acting like they might as well just cancel the 2012 season and crown themselves champion! What really happened was different, though: the Broncos under Manning were good enough to win their division again and make the playoffs (as Tebow did with them the previous season). But a funny thing happened on their way to Super Bowl glory: "my" Baltimore Ravens tripped them up!
I won't be able to watch much of tonight's game as I have to go to work...but I know who I'm supporting: Baltimore!
And sure...I'll tune in from time to time on the "other" channels to see how we're sinking into war once again as the war drums intensify like some impending Jumanji game...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment