What's up Underdogs? Last time around we tackled College Football (and hopefully those realignment ideas are currently being implemented. Right, University presidents??? ) But for the time being let's just chill out a little and spend some time talking about the gridiron guys that
have a playoff system already... and also, the ones that get
paid!
(Well, officially that is. Incidentally... can Cam Newton's dad be my agent??... ooo, sorry Mike :)
The National Football League is far-and-away the most popular sports league in America, and it’s easy to see why. So many stories to follow, so many intriguing players, and the ever-compelling standoff between offense and defense, which, as elemential as it seems definitively, can be infinitely complex. After the
Big Guy Upstairs, the NFL owns Sundays in this country and it really is a lot of fun to watch! (Even though the Lady Underdog, Lakisha, can somehow easily sum up
every single play of each game as “aaaaaaand… they all fall down.”) Brilliant right?
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The Rams played in LA from 1946 to 1994 before moving
to St Louis. |
In spite of this physical certainty though, every one of our country’s major cities (especially the ones of the cold weather variety) flock to see their teams; if not actually at the stadium then on a flat-screen somewhere. (The warmer weather cities do too I guess, they just come a little later and leave a little earlier :) This season I find myself in a warm-weather city listed as the second biggest market in the US, that formerly supported two NFL franchises at the
same time and now has zero. But regardless of this oddity, people in Los Angeles still seem to care, even though they haven't had a pro football team here since 1994. (Admittedly however, football aficionado, and honorary Underdog, Jimmy Ludwig, does quite often refute this notion by simply pointing out the USC Trojans. youCH! Reggie Bush anyone???) But the question still remains; why does the NFL still matter in Los Angeles?
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The LA Raiders played here at the LA Coliseum through 1994. Now it is used predominantly as the home for the USC Trojans |
A big part of the answer is due to the fact that many residents of LA are transplants and football bloodlines run deep. If you were a football fan when you were eight and still are… you probably pull for the same team. It’s actually quite remarkable. Even considering the complicated dichotomy of sports-team-loyalty which we will
tackle at a later date, I’ve yet to see another sport match the NFL as far as life-long fans are concerned. So consequently, every sports bar and restaurant in this town is packed every Sunday with ex-pats from other cities pulling for their team via "The NFL Ticket." (Oftentimes this includes ex-northerners who miss their teams but not the accompanying frozen weather.) That’s the beauty of sports in 2010. You can still watch every game your team plays. Actual geography doesn’t matter anymore.
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My boys Brian Marino and Chris Palazolo don't know
Jimmy Ludwig... but... |
Another reason is probably due to the emergence of “fantasy football,” which might actually be more important on a national scale than the conference standings themselves. It’s kind of ridiculous. I do understand the draw for football fans though, because it is a fun way to be competitive with your friends or co-workers every week, and hope for bragging rights. The irony of course being… that you haven’t really
done anything! Seriously, whoever came up with this idea, is a genius. And I suppose it’s telling, after all. What’s more American these days than celebrating a victory in which you didn’t really do
anything?
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... they could all get together, drink a few
beers, and talk about the Detroit Lions. |
Oh boy that’s a tough nut to crack, and I'm sorry to get all deep. Cynicism aside though, the fantasy leagues must be great for the NFL in generating interest, especially for the less important games, but I can’t help but feel negatively toward them. Somewhere down deep inside me there is a sports
purist that hates how popular the fantasy sideshow has become. It’s like when I first moved to New York and met a guy named Zulf. So one day we’re hanging out talking football, and I’m going on about standings and my team, and I ask him who his team is and he says, “Ah, I don’t’ have a team I just care about the lines. Y’know, the Over/Under for each game and what the good bets are. Whether or not a team can cover the ‘spread’ or not,” etc… Zulf didn’t care about the winning or losing in the actual games, just the Vegas angle. It wasn’t something I had really ever thought about before, but I suddenly realized with some discomfort, that there are countless people out there who don’t care about the
game at all. Just the numbers… and the money. Ugh. Well that brought the naïve and idealistic sports fan inside me down a few pegs. But I understand it, and people can obviously do what they want. It just, for some reason… made me want to take a shower.
Anyway, fantasy football in my opinion isn’t nearly as egregious a sports perversion as betting on games, but it is still harmful to the game from the purist’s perspective. In fantasy it’s not about the teams but about the players. The importance is on individual play rather than actual game results, and that is in direct contrast with the age-old sports mantras. “There is no I in… T-E-A-M”, "Just Win, Baby," or “Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.” Hmmm, I wonder what Coach Lombardi would make of this movement? I’m not saying that fantasy sports should go away or anything. I’m just saying… somehow they just don’t feel right.
Speaking of the ole Coach, he must have been smiling last Sunday when his Packers took out Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings in the Metrodome. Wow. What a difference a year makes, right? Of course, Brett pulled the usual guessing game about whether he would return again this season and decided at the last minute to make another run at it. The problem is, he did the same thing
last year, and apparently… you can’t capture lightning in a bottle twice. Last year he surprised everyone while performing as one of the best quarterbacks in the league… this year he pretty much the worst! Crazy right! I mean, think of all of the
fantasy implications!!! All those poor owners who drafted him too high! Their seasons must have been
RUINED. :)
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Underdog Mike Masters with 2 of Green Bays 3 Lombardi
Trophies. Mike's Atlanta Falcons might be the biggest favorite
right now in the NFL. |
So last year (when the Underdogs were in Minneapolis,) Favre inspired the Vikes to an amazing last second win against the Pack and it started a tidal wave of national speculation predicting a Favre-Vikings Championship. This year’s game
ended it. As well as the Brad Childress’ coaching tenure with the Vikings. Ouch. What a way to go. You think Favre will be back next year?... Me neither.
But he gave it a shot right?
And that’s why we love the games. Not the statistics or individual accolades, but the numbers on the scoreboard when the clock runs out. That's the beauty of Football; anything is possible.
We are now up to Week 13 in this NFL season with no clear frontrunners for the Superbowl. Gotta love it right? It's a year for Underdogs!
Me? I'm pulling for the team I've pulled for since I can remember... back when it was Walter Payton, Willie Gault, Mike Singletary, and Fridge Perry suiting up.
Let's Go Bears!! :)
We out Like Brett Favre!
Thanks again for reading.
UnderD’s OUT!
What's up Underdogs? Last time around we tackled College Football (and hopefully those realignment ideas are currently being implemented. Right, University presidents??? ) But for the time being let's just chill out a little and spend some time talking about the gridiron guys that have a playoff system already... and also, the ones that get paid!
As you know my friend, I was out west from 98 to 02. My opinion about the NFL and LA are based on my experiences there. Lets get a few things out of the way first. I am not an LA guy. I was a San Diego guy. Plus LA is a major city with major funds. Any owner of an NFL team would make lots of money in LA. Therefore with the new ESPN pressure and the opportunity to get rich, the WILL be another LA NFL team in the next decade.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, Los Angeles, like Miami, is a unique city that has many diverse aspects that attract the populations attention. Los Angelinos, in my experiece, dont back teams. They back winners. I can remeber being there in Fall of 02, where I saw USC football flags and stickers on cars in the fall and a few weeks later, after a loss, I saw UCLA basketball flags on the same cars. Where I come from, that is the ultimate betrayal. But I learned quickly, that is not necessarily the case in LA. Im sure there are die hard Clipper fans out there. But you just dont see them. I would argue that if the Lakers went in the tank and the Clippers rose to the top, Jack Nicholson and LA would instantly become Clipper fans. This is life in a town where trends and popularity are king. LA views their teams as an "LA franchise" and demands success or they will not survive. This was confirmed by Pete Carroll last week on "the Herd" during ESPNs big pro-LA NFL push. Carroll practically refuted the entire ESPN push in one sentence and left Colin Cowherd scrambling to spin it. During the 06 season, USC was beaten in their rilvary game by UCLA taking them out of the national championship picture and allowing Florida to play Ohio State. That day I told my wife, UCLA Head coach Karl Durrell just lost his job. But why? He just won the biggest game of the season against the #2 team? Anywhere else, he's safe. But this is LA and most Los Angelino's didnt view this as a major rilvary. They viewed this as Durrell taking the city of LA out of the national championship. He was expected to role over and lose for the city. Sure enough one year later he was fired after the mediocre season. UCLA has gotten worse since then, but no one is calling for Rick Neuheisals job.
As far as the NFL goes. LA actually had 2 NFL teams that left at almost the exact same time. When they left, it was more difficult requirements than it is now. I can still remember watching an LA Raiders game where there appeared to be more staff in the stadium than fans. The richest, most recognized teams in the nation are the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins. they are also among the worst on the field this year. However, they still sell out almost every game. This is just not present in LA.
In Conclusion, LA has so much going on in the city, and yes much of the city is transplants. That LA has no time for anything that is not the best. The new pressure from ESPN and the advertising cash will get a team there. But after the honeymoon peroid and this young team looks like the Panthers or Jags, the article will be "why does the second largest city in the country have an empty staduim on sunday." Thats LA. I'm like totally right. LA style.