Who cares about the NFL? Seriously. This is what I have been trying to convince myself of ever since late Sunday evening. Who needs it? Basketball season is starting, this is the best Celtics team that I can remember (born in 1983 means that Larry Bird with a healthy back only exists on my NBA Superstars VHS ((which is becoming obselete)) and the Larry Legend DVD). Why should I even pay attention to the NFL? Adrian Peterson is injured. There's a shock. All we've heard lately is about what a great pick he was and why teams passed on him and how foolish they must feel now. Nobody passed on him because they weren't aware that he has the talent to be a hall-of-famer. People passed on him because he is a guarantee to get hurt every single year. It's setting yourself up to be crucified. You draft him, people love it, but just wait. When the injuries start to happen year after year after year fans are going to suddenly do a 360 and start saying "how could you draft that guy! You know he can't stay healthy!" But who cares. Really. Peyton Manning threw 6 interceptions against the Chargers on Monday. This is the one bright spot of what has otherwise been a dismal season in San Diego. As far as I'm concerned, the Bolts deserve everything that they've gotten up until this point. How could they fire Marty after last season? And for Norv Turner! I can't bother myself with this. And the Patriots, the goddamn Patriots. All I have to do is listen to this talk on and on and on and on. Tom Brady is amazing. We know. How dare Don Shula accuse us of doing something that were caught doing, admitted to, and were punished for. I especially know how I've had a favorite player for a while now who has been greatly underappreciated by many Patriots fans who said things to me like "how can you like that guy? He's what's wrong with pro sports. The Pats would NEVER get a guy like that." And now he's there, and he's nasty, and I have to watch him every week hauling in TD after TD and hearing about how much those same people who said that to me love him now.
How can the Giants keep doing this to their fans! I haven't been this deflated about a loss since the 2002 playoff collapse against San Francisco. And, let's just stop for a second to point out that I wasn't able to eat or drink after that game because I had to wake up at 4:30 the next morning to have BALL SURGERY. Let's keep in mind that the game ended on a desperation heave on which our eligible linemen was blatantly grabbed and thrown to the ground before he could catch the ball. This was a call that should have allowed us to kick a field goal. Let's keep in mind that we started the season 1-0 and on the verge of 2-0 as we led Dallas with 11 seconds left before Matt Bryant kicked off out of bounds, giving the cowboys field position to win. He kicked the goddamned ball out of bounds with 11 seconds left. That began a downward spiral of one of the worst Giant seasons on record in which we lost 8 games to finish. Let's keep in mind that only a few years earlier we had drafted a fat-assed running back named Ron Dayne who turned out to be one of the biggest draft busts in recent memory (this was a horrible pick. A fat big ten running back? Come on, seriouslY). However, Tiki Barber turned out to be a great suprise. He was among the NFC leaders in total yards for many years (and even had the most one year when Marshall Faulk was hurt). But, he always had a fumbling problem. As bad of one as I've seen. But, we hired a new red-faced coach who cured him of the problem, thus solidifying his legacy as one of the top backs of this era. Certainly, a great guy to have. A great guy to have, that is, unless it turns out that he can't get along with this new red-faced coach who helped to cure his problem. A great guy to have, that is, unless he criticizes his teammates and coaches publicly, retires early, and then goes on a smear campaign.
Let's not forget that we gave up so much to draft Eli Manning that the only way it could possibly be worth it is if he ends up being a younger version of Peyton Manning. So far, no good. I can remember last year at 6-2, the week leading up to the Bears kicking our ass. I was walking around, talking shit to people about how the Giants were a legitimate superbowl contender. I was feeling like everything was in place for a happy ending. Or, at least, a more respectable one than the first round drubbing at the hands of Carolina the year before. I felt that same way this week. I was confident. This team that has dissapointed us time and time again over the past decade was finally coming together and ready to produce. First Dallas, then we'll sweep Philly and Washington.......and New England at home in week 17, you never know. But no, clearly it was too much to ask. Instead we got a delay of game penalty and a bad interception that sealed our fate at the end and left a great first half performance seeming like nothing but a distant memory. If we just were outplayed and lost, that would be fine. But why must we be subjected to this team beating themselves over and over and over again (see fourth quarter collapse against Tennessee last season). These are the results I have become accustomed to from this Giants team over the past 5 or 6 years, and yet somehow I'm blindsided every time.
This week was just as bad as that San Francisco game (minus the next day surgery). Even the super bowl loss hurt much less than this. I can remember during the super bowl week thinking "what the hell. How are the Giants in the super bowl? Kerry Collins is the quarterback. They don't belong in this game." Perhaps I was just trying to protect myself. At least I can still appreciate the fact that I get to see greatness every time Jeff Feagles punts.
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