I’m not sure I had to specify that this was a Guest Post, because I’m sure you already know there is no way I’d write a post titled “Why I love football”, but I figured I’d specify it anyway. And that is the beauty of today’s post. Sports. We never talk about sports on here, and I’d say it’s about time we did. So I’m happy to welcome back my cousin Michelle who wants to share the reasons for her new found love of football with you:
1 – Not all the players look like Arnold Schwarzenegger:
I always envisioned football players having massive out of proportion hormone induced bodies. But that’s not the case at all, thankfully! They are all very tall – Eli Manning is 6’4 and brother Peyton is 6’5 for example. The shortest players like Ahmed Bradshaw are around 5’10. They also don’t have those abnormally big muscles. The linebackers don’t have to worry about running very far since they are responsible for tackling. So they are large (like 350 pounds!) but it’s more from fat than muscle. The others who do have to run are strong but as Goldilocks would say – just right. Like Eli… Do I have to say any more?
*Side note: I was really excited to find out there is an Eli Manning calendar. I was expecting the pics to be like that one. Instead they are like this…what an expression!
2 – The Calls:
There is a great interview with Peyton Manning on the Colts Superbowl DVD, in which he explains his strategy as Quarterback. Unlike many who simply use whatever play was called in the huddle. Peyton will often skip the huddle and decide what play to run after he’s seen how the defense has lined up. In order to tell his offense what play he has chosen, he uses all kinds of weird gestures and code words. The really funny thing is what the plays are called. Like Oklahoma, Bonanza and Ice Cream. It’s very amusing. Although it does kind of take away the drama of the moment.
3 – The Soap Opera Quality:
Ohhh, the drama! Learning about the different team rivalries and behind the scenes action is like following a soap opera. Such as the case when the coach of the San Diego Chargers left for Tampa Bay and gave all of the game tactics to them so they could beat the Chargers in the Superbowl. How awful is that? It’s not only entertaining in a gossipy sort of way. It makes the games more exciting when you know what’s happened before. Case in point: The Colts got to the Playoffs several years in a row, only to be beaten every time by the Patriots. In order to thwart Peyton’s stategy (see above), the defense would change their positions as he was making the calls so he wouldn’t know what they were doing. Also the Patriots fans made even more noise than usual to make it hard for him to communicate. Knowing all that, made watching the 2006 Playoff game when the Colts finally beat them even more intense and their victory all the sweeter.
4 – The Rules:
Understanding the rules of the game is a big part of the reason I started enjoying football. What still astounds me is the picky nature of many of them. If you catch a ball and you are out of bounds, it doesn’t count. Sounds simple, right? Not exactly…. They will replay it in super slow motion over and over, trying to distinguish not only if the feet were in bounds but every single millimeter of each foot was. If there is even a fraction on the line, it doesn’t count. It can be beyond frustrating. Of course this concentration on the minuscule can work the other way. For example, when the Giants played the Redskins, a penalty was called on Eli saying that he threw the ball when he was past the line of scrimmage (where the ball is placed.) The Giants challenged and the replay revealed that a teeny tiny part of his heel was still behind the line so the penalty was revoked!
5 – Wow! They’re actually human!
Another false belief that I had about football was believing that like other sports the game could be somehow rigged. After all they are making tons of money — win or lose, why would they care?
Watching the games dispelled any thoughts of this. The players are all tremendously invested emotionally in the outcome.
Take for instance, Tony Romo, the Quarterback of the Cowboys. Sure he’s known because he’s dating Jessica Simpson. But did you know that he actually cried when he fumbled the ball, causing the team to lose a playoff? I felt terrible for him but at the same time, it made me see him as human, not just a superstar.
6 – The Fun of the Game:
On the other side of the spectrum is the absolute joy that players show when they are winning. No where else can you see grown adult men jump up into each other’s arms in celebration. All the players do this and more – high fives, pat each others backs or butts etc. They will even practice what little dances they are going to do if and when they get a touchdown.
Brett Favre is probably the best example. He’s known not only because he will one day be in the Hall of Fame, he’s also known to be someone who shows to the Nth degree how much fun he is having. He still jumps up and down like a kid who got a pony for Christmas.
7 – Not being driven out of my skull (as much) by outrageous salaries:
I have to admit I used to be really miffed about sports players salaries. And I still believe that they are overpaid but it doesn’t bother me as much. Why? Yes, because in football your career isn’t that long. You are considered an old man if you’re 35. Yes, you are constantly putting your body on the line risking all kinds of broken bones and serious injuries. (Seeing a Cardinal player get knocked unconscious from helmet to helmet contact was very disturbing).
Mostly, though I started thinking about the criticism you are putting yourself in for. A movie star can get their ego hurt by a bad review but it’s so much worse for football players because fans take it so personally. If you are a winner, you’ll be treated like royalty but if you lose… Goodness help you! They couldn’t pay me enough money to have everyone in the city hate me. To have to go into every restaurant or store and have people boo or beat you up. No wonder the players need to have big egos!
8 – The Last Minute Saves:
The number one reason why I became addicted to football was because of the Superbowl last year when the Giants pulled a remarkable upset, beating the (to that point) undefeated Patriots. Nothing gets the blood pumping more than a game that comes down to the last plays in the final minutes of the game. This can be heartbreaking for the losers, such as the Chargers who lost their last four games in the final 24 seconds. Ouch!
In the case of the Superbowl however it was …different. The Patriots pulled ahead with just 2 minutes and thirty nine seconds left on the clock. Everyone especially the cocky Patriots assumed that it was all over. But Eli remained calm and determined and brought the Giants 82 yards in two minutes and scored the winning touchdown. I still get chills just thinking about it.
9 – The Miracle Plays:
Great plays don’t have to come at the end of the game. They can happen anytime. Plays that take your breath away. Like Colts receiver Marvin Harrison making a one handed catch. Or Giants Tight End, Kevin Boss weaving in out and high jumping over a tackler. In the last game against the Eagles, the Giants Kevin Dockery blocked a field goal and ran it back 71 yards for a touchdown in the last seven seconds of the half.
I have to go back to the Superbowl however for the best miracle play. In that last 2 minute 39 second drive. Eli Manning came this close to having the ball intercepted which would have ended the game. On the very next play, he was swamped by Patriots, everyone was sure he was going to be sacked (taken down). But somehow, someway he escaped and just heaved the ball down field 32 yards.
It happened so fast you didn’t even know if he knew where he was throwing.
David Tyree, who is not one of the regular receivers and who had dropped every ball in practice that week, leaped up, grabbing it, pinning it to his helmet to prevent the Patriot breathing down his neck from getting it. The audience screamed, the loudest happiest cheers I’ve ever heard because it was such a shock. A surprise. A miracle. Why I love football.
jomosexual: The jazz hands made that post perfect.
Anyone else notice there were 9 reasons? Seems like it runs in the family that Craig and Michelle “always blank when it comes to thinking up a tenth item”
Just saying.
-jeff
LOL! @ Joemo and Jeff
pfft, Polt, yeah right, when those NFL athletes shower after their workout or game, they do it either
at home,
or undress shamefully in their shower-stall behind closed doors
or take off their underwear under beachtowels wrapped around themselves from nipples to ankles.
That’s at least how it happens at the local Y from everyone who’s either straight or under 70.
What, me bitter?
bernd: last weekend on fox there was a locker room interview taking place where the nation got to see to the side of the interview one of the vikings’ players pride and joy as he stood there giving full frontal. This was certainly a not ready for prime time performance and much much more than a janet jackson flash. It was much much more than that in more ways than one…anyone going to watch football this weekend?
http://deadspin.com/5103817/fox-broadcasts-some-viking-locker-room-dong
Huh? I couldn’t understand after reason #1
Marcus, I was going to mention that same thing! I’ve seen it online and in zoomed in photos, and seriously, I see why the guy’s not ashamed that his junk went out over live TV. Hell, with that, he oughtta be showing it everywhere and often!
Enrickyricardo: Hehehehe…but I bet if the quarterback of your college’s football team came on to you, you’d suddenly be ALL about football, wouldn’t you?
HUGS…
Polt: Let’s just hope Enrico doesn’t fumble. Or that the pass falls short.
Here’s a random question. Are quarterbacks truly more attractive than other players or does it just appear that way because they get face-time and other positions don’t? There is the stereotype of the good looking quarterback who gets all the girls (and/or boys) and we’ve referred to a couple of hotties here today but I’m thinking someone needs to do a sociological study to see if this is really true or if there are some tight ends (not including Joe who we all know is waaaaay cuter than any quaterback), tailbacks, slotbacks, linebackers, etc. who could give the pretty boys with an arm a run for their money. Could it be that offensive players are more good looking than defensive players? Okay, work is pretty slow right now that I have time to ponder this important philosophical question.
Tam: Slow work, see that’s what happens when your executive has the government shut down for a month….you crazy Canadians.
HUGS…
Dave S.: Or worse yet, what if Enrickyricardo doesn’t follow through and the quarterback’s pass is intercepted by someone else? Then the quarterback wouldn’t be celebrating in Enrickyricardo’s end zone!
POLT
GASP! Polt! You wrote “POLT” instead of “HUGS…”!!!!!!
Polt: That was well done, lots of double entendres there.
Lol. I prefer that quarterbacks stay out of the end zone anyway. I don’t let anyone run past 2nd base. Oh wait, that’s baseball. Whatever.
Michelle,
Did you have to look up the spelling of Schwarzenegger?
Marcus, thank’s a lot for the link, I saw that pic earlier that week, but I would never let facts get in the way of a statement I’m making.
Craig: Sorry about the POLT instead of HUGS….guess I was stuck thinking about a quarterback celebrating in Enrickyricardo’s end zone.
Enrico: you last statement is hiLARious!
HUGS…
(and since I missed it last comment) HUGS….
I’d just said HUGS squared, but I don’t know how to make a 2 appear above and to the right of HUGS itself.
HUGS…
Wow… football huh? Yeaaahhh… go, those guys! I’ll just go get a drink, or two, or twenty and I’ll be right back…
I much prefer solo sports like swimming, diving, skiing, or video games
The first guy I fell for was a football player. He wasn’t the quarterback, but he was built like Eli. He was 6’4″ and very handsome. I have never followed football, but I did attend a few of my friends games. It seems like there is a lot of dead time in football in between plays, which I found boring. I also don’t like how commercialism has tainted the sport. I have heard too many stories about badly behaved players who are horrible role models for children. It seems like winning at all costs has come before good sportsmanship too often.
My mother is a big soccer fan, so I will sometimes watch a game with her. She also likes figure skating, so I watch that as well from time to time. However I generally don’t follow sports.
Craig: So what instrument did you play in band? Are we going to ever hear any “Band Camp” stories?
A good friend of mine was in band in high school. Band culture is interesting.
What you call football is different to what we call it. That aside, I liked that first picture posted!
Thanks everyone for the great comments!
Tam: There are other players? Just kidding…
Michael: No, I knew Craig would save me if I flubbed it!
Jeff: Actually, Mom reminded me of the 10th or number one reason that I enjoy football – being able to share the love of football and watching the games with her!
Sometimes when I watch football, I think about richie cunningham’s older brother chuck, i think he was a football star and sometimes came home in his uniform.
Michelle, this post makes me want to like football. But I still don’t (except for the tight pants).The only thing more boring is baseball.
Hockey, on the other hand…
Michelle M.: The only thing more boring than baseball is golf.
HUGS…
Polt – True that.
um why is tom brady not mentioned?? the only hottest guy in football??? have a fab weekend, see u monday