Last summer, if you had asked me what would be the worst possible result of an NFL season, I would have told you, “The Patriots go undefeated and win the Super Bowl.” Now here we are in January, living out that exact, depressing scenario. I will not attempt to undermine what New England has achieved this year; it’s truly remarkable and unprecedented. Unfortunately, witnessing history isn’t fun if you hate the history-maker.
I’m tired of hearing about the Pats. I’ve all but stopped listening to and watching sports programming (mostly because I’m too busy with school), and I’m not invested. I have no reason to root for the Giants, other than the fact that they’re playing New England. All the negative fanship is wearing me out. So, rather than watch yet another coronation of the Patriots (sorry, Giants; you’re going to lose), I’m not going to watch. Even if the improbable long-shot happens and New York wins the title game, it’s not worth the risk. I’m taking a pass, commercials, hype, national spotlight, mediocre halftime show and all.
Am I beginning to sound like Eeyore?
January 22, 2008 at 7:56 am
I feel your pain about the Pats, my friend, though not as deeply.
On a macro level, I’m finding myself more and more disconnected from the world of sports. I don’t care about sports the way I once did. I honestly haven’t seen/read/heard an ESPN product in about a month-and-a-half. And I’m okay with that. Sure sports are enjoyable to follow, and admittedly I follow baseball more closely than the others, which means that the disconnect may be largely due to the baseball off season. Nevertheless, sports doesn’t hold much of my attention or affections any more.
Perhaps I’ve out Eeyore’d you.
January 23, 2008 at 2:15 pm
This Super Bowl is DEFINITELY worth watching! True, it would have been about 120x better if the Pats were playing Green Bay, and I’m not really rooting either way now, but this game has the potential to be historic. Most people dislike the Patriots, which is fine, but for them to for 19-0 is definitely worth my time.
Additionally, this game could be very close! Did you watch them play in Week 17?! That was a great game…If this match up is anything like that one, it’ll be fantastic, especially on the biggest stage.
By the way, Tom Petty is one of the best picks for a Super Bowl halftime that we’ve had in a while…
January 23, 2008 at 11:21 pm
I’ve always admired your capacity to enjoy watching great teams play without bias. That’s probably why you’re a good sports fan and I’m slowly drifting away.
Tom Petty is a decent pick, but I don’t foresee a better Super Bowl halftime show than U2 was in 2002. Now, if DMB were to play halftime, maybe then you’d have my attention.
January 25, 2008 at 12:22 pm
And it would have been about 240x better if the Pats were playing Dallas… Not that I would expect any other of your readers to agree with that. At least my friends and I who are Cowboys fans (or Packers fans for that matter) can say our team was beat by the NFC champs. Small consolation, but what else do I have? (Hopefully next year Tony Romeo will stay away from “pop tarts” like Jessica before the big game. Yeah right.)
No matter who you root for, I’m thinking the Pats record-setting run is good for the game. Not that the NFL needed any help with popularity.
I will definitely be watching the game… at Rod’s actually. I finally followed your suggestion to invite myself over to his place to watch a big game with him. Had a great time with Rod and D&E watching the BCS Championship game on their huge screen. This next game should be just as good.
And as for Tom Petty, good choice. Hope he plays “Refugee”.