The NFL is Back!... And it's Complicated
YEAH! FOOTBALL! Football is back. You've missed it, right? It's my favorite sport to watch and I've been detoxing without the Red Zone channel in my life. In a little over six hours the NFL finally returns to out TV screens after over seven months off. Well, technically we've been talking about the PSI levels of footballs for the entirety of those seven months but I'm talking about actual games where players actually suit up for 60 minutes.
Sure, we had the fake, exhibition games for the past month but nobody cares about those games. Quick, how many rushing yards did Adrian Peterson have rushing over the last month? The answer is zero. In fact, he didn't even play and hasn't played for the past four years of the preseason. He knows its fake football and dares you to make him play in them.
But, I'm stalling. What you care about today is the return of your happy place known as the NFL. Now, after hearing analyst after analyst discuss irrelevant topics you get to see your game. What makes it even better is the fact that there's the easy narrative of a good team versus an evil one in connection to this.
In the blue and red corner you have the hated cheaters from Foxboro, Massachusetts known as the New England Patriots. Even if you some fans (outside of the New England area) believe that the deflating of footballs was overblown, Outside the Lines decided to rehash a nearly decade old story about how far the Patriots may have gone to cheat. How far did they go? The answer is, a lot. They even, allegedly, stole the playbook from the opposing teams' locker room. The Patriots are the bad guys, that part seems clear and easy to digest.
Then, in the other corner in the black and yellow trunks we have the baby face good guys known as the Pittsburgh Steelers. They're the white knights that are have the task of slaying the dragon from Massachusetts. Everyone from owners (Jim Irsay and Steve Bisciotti) to players (Whoever Brandon Marshall talked to about Tom Brady's suspension) to fans want the Patriots to go down, and they want them to go down hard. They're tired of seeing them victorious.
One thing, real quick. There's one problem with your good guy vs. bad guy thing. You know that the Steelers have a few heinous things in their past, right? Forget about the fact that their coach, Mike Tomlin, got in the way of a player returning a kick, helping his team win. That's a broken taillight compared to the rest of the team. Forget about their starting running back, Le'Veon Bell being suspended for the first two weeks of the season for marijuana. Even James Harrison's domestic violence accusation in 2008 is lower down the list compared to the two Steeler quarterbacks.
Both of Pittsburgh's quarterbacks are worse than whatever Brady is accused of. Let's say that Brady intentionally deflated footballs, lied about it under oath, cheated on Bridgett Moynahan and was fully involved in Spygate. Ben Roethlisberger got accused of sexual assault… twice, in less than a year. Oh, and Michael Vick went to prison because he had a hand in killing dogs. But those are the good guys, right? Cool.
This isn't a defense of the Patriots or a shot at the Steelers. All teams around the NFL are flawed. The Buccaneers drafted Jameis Winston and all of his baggage, the Washington team's nickname is racist and the Browns have an offensive line coach accused of trying to strangle a woman. Everything is a mess when it comes to the NFL but at least the game is safe...
As I mentioned before I actually love watching the NFL and will be watching it tonight. I've been a fan since I was eight years old. It's my favorite sport. It's also something that's more complicated than you think. The Concussion movie will explain that in a few months. Anyways… enjoy the game tonight. It's going to be a lot of fun regardless of who you're rooting for.
