nfl

[ben]

MST3k says: Packers win the Super Bowl!

I've always loved that clip!  And Cinematic Titanic is coming to Milwaukee in two weeks!  And the Packers won the Super Bowl! 

[dave from knoxville]

As much as I dislike some of their fans, I have to root for the Steelers. I am from Western PA, after all. To do otherwise would be heresy.

He may be a rapist but he's our rapist?

[Alex_from_the_woods]

Too bad dem Eagles didn't make it to the Superbowl. With it being Ben R (rapist) vs Michael Vick (sadistic- unapologetic dog torturer and killer), it would be interesting to see if my head would explode from trying to root against both teams.

[Gilly]

Vick might be sadistic but I think he's been anything but unapologetic. I guess it's up to each individual if they feel he deserves to be forgiven and if his apologies are sincere. I understand that it's hard to let a guy off the hook who is all of the sudden right back into hero mode. Honestly, I have a bigger problem with Roethlisberger who used his money to escape his "sticky situation". At least Vick had to suffer the consequences like a normal person.

I'm a casual football fan who only really watches the Vikings but if it were a baseball or basketball player that I really enjoyed watching I'd separate the person from the achievements. Just like I can separate my thoughts on musicians, producers and other entertainment industry people from the work they've produced. I suppose it's a little different because you're not going to a concert and cheering on Phil Spector as he creates his wall of sound, but we do give Roman Polanski our money to keep making movies despite the person. If Spector was able to create a brilliant album while in prison I bet critics would rave about it.

[buffcoat]

Is there anything more boring than the New England Patriots?

[Greggulator]

I haven't cared about the NFL in years but I have to admit Tim Tebow fascinates me. I think he's a tool yet also think he's an earnest good person. I also love that he completely sucks a's a traditional QB so the Broncos now fly in the face of conventional wisdom and are reinventing the NFL playbook. I never understood the logic behind "that won't work in the NFL" for things like a spread option.

[buffcoat]

I haven't cared about the NFL in years but I have to admit Tim Tebow fascinates me. I think he's a tool yet also think he's an earnest good person. I also love that he completely sucks a's a traditional QB so the Broncos now fly in the face of conventional wisdom and are reinventing the NFL playbook. I never understood the logic behind "that won't work in the NFL" for things like a spread option.

I want Tebow to fail because I don't like the people who like him.  I also hate Florida and Urban Meyer.  There was talk of Urban Meyer potentially coaching my alma mater, and I couldn't decide whether I wanted UNC to have an elite football program at the price of having to pull for such a sanctimonious prig.  Thankfully (?), it didn't happen, and Nick Saban is otherwise occupied.

The Urban Meyer thing was sort of like whether I wanted the US Olympic Team to win when they were coached by Mike Kryzyzewski.  I think I decided that I would pull for a K-coached US Team against a reconstituted-Nazi-Germany team, but not against even declared enemies of the United States such as Iran.  I slept just fine with that.


Back to Tebow.  I can't understand the calculations involved in the Broncos winning because Tebow is a man of such obvious (and hammered into the camera) faith.  Does that mean that God thinks the Chargers, who hail from one of the most conservative cities in the US, do not have as much faith?  Does He determine the winner based on average faith of all the players, or on the team with the most faithful skill position player?  Or are the players assigned a value based on the product of their star power and their faith?  Does he reduce their score for having people of the wrong religions?  These questions are important.*

It's the same thing with Haiti being hit by an earthquake because of a pact with the devil 200 years ago.  Does that mean that Joplin, Missouri had some sort of unpublicized pact with the devil?  Does North Dakota sign a pact with the devil every few flood seasons?  I'm not following the logic.**


* Not really.

** I suppose that should be "logic."

[Greggulator]

My friend Joe from college lived with this kid Chris his freshman year. Joe was an excessive partier and widely considered as perhaps the most accomplished womanizer during my tenure at college. Chris was this chubby kid whose music collection unironically consisted of Bette Middler, Barbara Streisand and Neil Diamond. Joe used to stumble back to the room at like 8:15 AM after a night of horrible behavior and would see this kid vacuuming the rugs while singing along to "The Rose." And Chris was also considering the priesthood and would also lead a hallway prayer session with another kid thinking of taking vows.*

This guy was a really nice person. I knew him fairly well throughout college and never, once, heard him say a mean word about anyone else.  And he was always doing (and leading) charity events and was our class president. But everyone just wanted to punch him in his face!

Tim Tebow's that guy.

* Mind you, I try and go to Mass every weekend. I was an altar boy (at a parish without a molestation scandal, to boot). I'm religious and I still wanted to slap this kid silly.

[JamesfromSouthEastPa]

Dear Greggulator,

   Well Said.

[gravy boat]

I'm Team Tebow. He fascinates me too. I hope he makes it to the Super Bowl this year so NFL fans can go completely nuts.

I do not watch much NFL and I am not religious but I saw the last 2 Broncos game. Against the Jets, I had picked the Jets in a "survivor" pool because I figured, that even on a short week, the Jets and Rex Ryan could stop Tebow's high school radio show offense during that Thursday night game. Tebow owned the end of the game. On the final drive--when you can tell his coaches just let Tebow do what he wanted--he went 90+ yards. Amazing.

I am a Chargers fan so I watched that game and it was like the Jets game. The Broncos D kept them close and then Tebow owned the end of the game. Sure he's got that goofy smile and seems like he is high as a kite, but he is a pure end-of-the-game killer and clutch.  As a sports fan, I appreciate that. Also, he does not make many mental mistakes.  He may have the accuracy of a Gene Wilder throwing darts in Young Frankenstein but at least he doesn't throw it to the other team or force bad balls. (Of course it helps that no one has any double-coverage on any receivers--but that is a product of his running ability.)

 I don't care that he wears his religion on his sleeve. He's not a politician or in my kids' schools--more power to him.

 




I am praying for you Buffcoat to see the error of your ways.

[buffcoat]

I am praying for you Buffcoat to see the error of your ways.

You're going to have to get in line for that one.

[roubaix]

Tebow's winning prayers reminds me of this intriguing WSJ anecdote:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704858404576134601105583860.html

Before they were famous, many of the biggest pop stars in the world believed that God wanted them to be famous, that this was his plan for them, just as it was his plan for the rest of us not to be famous. Conversely, many equally talented but slightly less famous musicians I've interviewed felt their success was accidental or undeserved—and soon after fell out of the limelight.

[JamesfromSouthEastPa]

In my humble opinion, they would be the perfect couple: Tim Tebow + Taylor Swift   

[Chris L]

Is there anything more boring than the New England Patriots?

[buffcoat]

Is there anything more boring than the New England Patriots?

Shouldn't you be a Ravens fan?




NB I thought there were no actual Ravens fans, but then I wandered into the Parlor in WeHo one Sunday looking for the announced UNC watching party.  Exactly all of the 30 TVs tuned to the Ravens game.