This will be the first NFL season in about 20 where I just don't give a shit. There was a players strike a long time ago where the NFL fielded replacement players (scabs) in order to keep the money coming in. That alienated me the first time. Eventually my interest rekindled. Watching the games themselves are fun and probably always will be, and I tried to look at the NFL purely as "the game on the field."
In recent years it was all about Fantasy Football. I loved picking the lineups. For two years I played in a Fantasy league and lost $410 each year. That was enough. In 2006 and 2007 I set up a free online league on FoxSports.com and owned all 12 teams, each named -- believe it or not -- after a Beanie Baby. Last year, in case you were wondering, Lips beat out Tank for the Beanie Baby League championship.
But this year I'm walking away again, this time for cumulative reasons. The Bill Belichick videotaping scandal sent me over the edge again, big time. Belichick is an arrogant, lying sack of shit as far as I'm concerned. The NFL also bullied ESPN back in 2003 into removing "Playmakers" from the air... it was a bit too realistic for the NFL. ESPN didn't want to lose its valuable TV rights, so Disney caved.
Well, this year, Brett Favre is the new Roger Clemens. The announcers still can't mention the point spread, even though that's why 90 percent of the viewers are tuned in. I can no longer deal with the hypocrisy and all the jingoistic Budweiser and Chevy truck ads. Fascinating that GM lost $15 billion last quarter and the Belgians own Budweiser. Sorta sums it up, doesn't it?
I think I'll go have some coffee now. :-)
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