Terry Ford: The NFL This Year is Fan-tastic!
Going into tonight's EPIC STRUGGLE between Pittsburgh and Tennessee, there are 15 teams in the NFL who have between four and six wins. Only the Raiders, Jaguars, Titans, Jets, Panthers, Bucs, Giants and Redskins are truly out of it. And I know, Redskins and Giants fans are say, "We still have a shot! We just have to win all of our games….." Please, stop right there. I think Kim Kardashian has a better chance of winning Jeopardy than the 'Skins and Giants have of winning the rest of their games.
A lot of experts, folks who cover and talk about sports, have been moaning about the lack of great teams in the NFL. And it's true, there is not one great team in the league. Arizona has the best record at 9-1 but do the Cardinals really scare anyone? Especially with Drew Stanton as their quarterback? Sure, Stanton has played pretty well so far and Cards head coach Bruce Arians is a QB guru but his career suggests at some point he becomes Kyle Boller.
My question is… Who cares???? Isn't this the NFL that former Commissioner Pete Rozelle envisioned? Didn't Rozelle want any team to be able to win on any given Sunday? Ok, every team but the Raiders. There aren't any epic teams in the league right now. No old school Steelers, Cowboys, 49ers or Packers, but doesn't this make the NFL more interesting to talk about? Isn't it more fun to watch when you don't know who is going to win from game to game? Well, except whoever is playing the Raiders.
Fans are always more interested when their team is in the play-off hunt. How many times have you said to your buddy, "Hey, our teams sucks, let's go spend hundreds of dollars to go to the game!?" Unless of course, you get free tickets or you just like to roll into the parking lot five hours before kick-off and get 'faced with thousands of your closest friends. Then you probably don't care how good your team is doing because you're 'faced and throwing up in a stall. The NFL wants fans to be engaged with their favorite team. They want you to go to the game, buy the schwag, drop dollars on the flat beer and spend your car payment on food. The league knows there is a better chance of that happening if the hometown team is fighting for a play-off spot.
No great teams? So what! Enjoy the crazy unpredictability that is the NFL this season. And while you're at the game watching your team battle for a spot in the post-season, don't forget to buy that cool NFL car flag. It's a chick magnet.
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