No Fun League

The NFL season starts this weekend, and I'm not sure I could care less. Or is it couldn't care less? I can never get that one right.

I used to dig the NFL. Did weekly office pools at work.  Participated in Fantasy Football leagues. Spent every Sunday afternoon at the local sports pub watching all the games.  And I mean ALL the games.  I even had Jets season tickets for about 5 years with a bunch of other guys.  Those Sundays were madness.  A chunk of Saturday was spent shopping and prepping for the game on Sunday.  Then it was meeting up by 7AM, getting to NJ, cooking breakfast, cooking lunch, the game, cooking dinner and sometimes getting home by 11PM or so.  The entire weekend was shot.

I'm getting too old for that shit.  Well, I got too old for it a long time ago.  Gave up those season tickets probably 11 years ago.  But you know what I mean.

Now? I just don't care about the NFL.  It wasn't even really the latest labor dispute.  Professional sports are  always gonna have those every few years.  And it's not even really about Michael Vick.  That dog murderer is now a  superstar again for my favorite team, the Philadelphia Eagles.  Not that I watch any of their games anymore.  Not with that asshole leading the way.

Nah...I started losing interest in the NFL a few years before that happened.  And I can't really pinpoint the reason.  I just stopped enjoying it, I guess.  I still enjoy College Football.  More than enjoy, I LOVE College Football.  But the NFL game just doesn't do it for me anymore.  Same thing happened with the NBA a long time ago.  I used to love it, then I just stopped.  Weird.

Man...I hope that never happens with MLB for me. I can't imagine that it would.

You ain't no nice guy

More and more lately, I've been thinking about the Michael Vick situation.  Musician Nils Lofgren recently wrote an open letter to the sports reporting community about their abject praise for the man and his career turnaround as the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles.  While his views on the subject might seem a bit one-sided against Vick, I tend to agree with him on most of his points.  He said to the press what most of us caring human beings feel about the situation.

Basically his argument came down to this:

In Vick's case, I believe his second chance should certainly allow him to be free and to love and raise his family. [break] However repentant he may be, he committed acts whose vileness will resonate down the years. When you do what Vick did, a second chance should never include the rare gift of an NFL career and the potential bounty it offers.

I absolutely agree with that sentiment, and the fact that it has happened so successfully sickens me.

Now, despite being a New Yorker all my life I've also been a lifelong Philadelphia Eagles fan.  Doesn't make a lot of sense, but I think it came from gifts from an aunt who lived in the Philadelphia are as a child.  Eagles hats, jerseys, sweatshirts and what not.  They became my favorite NFL team by default.  Like how Notre Dame became my favorite college football team.  I was raised Irish Catholic in Long Island and we have no good football schools for miles and miles.  Bam...Fighting Irish fan.  And believe me, we are legion in this area.

But Michael Vick has soured my relationship with the Eagles.  I was upset when they signed him last year, but I was at least was happy to see him ride the bench for most of it.  Then they lose McNabb and presto...Michael Vick is the starting quarterback.  And he is a candidate for the league MVP.  And he is leading my formerly beloved Eagles to the playoffs.  Yeah...I said formerly.  I just can't watch them anymore.  And NFL football as a whole, actually.  He's ruined my enjoyment of the game.  You see, Michael Vick is a bad guy.  And I just can't get past that.

I think about the Kobe Bryant rape trial a few years back.  He admitted to having sex with the woman who filed the complaint, but he denied any sexual assault.  The case was eventually dropped when the woman was paid off...er, refused to testify at the trial.  Yeah, that's what I meant.  But there were these throngs of women outside the courthouse with "I love you, Kobe!" and "We believe you, Kobe!" signs.  I just didn't understand that.  At the very least, Kobe Bryant admitted to cheating on his wife with this woman AND he possibly got away with a sexual assault because of his money and cachet.  Why would women support him for any reason?  You see, Kobe Bryant is a bad guy.  And I just can't get past that.

I could go on and on.  You've got Ben Roethlisberger who now has two sexual assault allegations to his name to go with his two Super Bowl rings.  The first one sounded like bullshit, but I don't know about the second one.  No charges were filed for lack of evidence, but it SEEMS like he keeps putting himself in these situations where he is a bad guy when women are involved.  Yet Steelers' fans, even the ladies, love him.  Must be those rings, eh?  Then there is Ray Lewis' involvement in a murder case, Adam "Pacman" Jones' off-field activities, all the MLB steroid gobblers, the NHL's Sean Avery and his misogynistic attitudes...all bad guys, in my opinion.  And I just can't get past that.

Then you have the guys who have outwardly done nothing wrong, but who seem to be in it for the money alone.  I wouldn't have put Derek Jeter in that category before this off-season, and I'm sure he's going to say all the right things about accepting "only" $18 million a year from the Yankees.  And the pragmatist in me knows that if Jeter doesn't get that extra money from the Yankees, it's only going to go into the pockets of the Steinbrenners.  The fans certainly aren't going to get a break either way.  So the guy who has said and done all the right things in his career, seemed to hold out for more money even after his worst season ever at an age when ballplayer's skills begin a rapid decline.  His agent will say that he is still taking a pay cut from what he had been making, and that's true.  Jeter has already made a huge pile of money with the Yankees, and he earned just about every penny of it.  Except he feels he deserves more.  Or his agent feels that way.  It's just so sickening.

I don't think there will ever be a time when I will NOT be a huge baseball fan.  It's my favorite sport. I even somehow managed to get past the Steroid Era, and I'm still a huge fan.  And I'm not just a Yankee fan.  I love the game itself.  I only root for the Yankees, but if nothing is on and I find a Royals/Indians game on somewhere?  I'm happier than a pig in shit just watching the game. 

I wonder if that would change if the Yankees had signed a guy like Michael Vick to play center field.

The Ike Special

There's a saying that goes a little something like "Sports don't build character, they reveal it."  I'm not sure I totally believe that.  Sports definitely has the possibility to bring out the best in some people.  It's also been known to bring out the worst in others.  But as a general rule of thumb, I think it works.  Especially when talking about kids and organized team sports.

Case in point. Ike Ditzenberger is a 17-year old high-school junior who loves football. Playing for his high school team like his older brothers before him. And despite his physical limitations, he practices with the junior varsity and varsity squads every day and he always finds a way to score. His coach has drawn up a play that guarantees it. Every time.

Did I mention that Ike has Down Syndrome?

For the last play of each practice, Ike gets to score a touchdown with the varsity team. As long as he keeps his pads on and his mouthpiece in, his coach will call his number for his very own offensive play. The Ike Special.

And this past week, with a little help from the defense on the opposing team, Ike scored a last second touchdown on a 51-yard ramble to the end zone. The other team was up 35-0 with 10 seconds left when Ike's play and number was called, so yeah...they let the guy have his moment.  And it was Ike's very first career varsity score.  A very big moment for him.  I say hurrah for the kids and coaches of that other team.  It showed a lot of sportsmanship.

Some critics believe that there is no place in sports for this kind of thing.  That no one should ever "allow" a play like this to happen.  I disagree.  It think it was wonderful.

Watch...

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