Playoffs!

The NFL playoffs are upon us. I love this time of year for many reasons. One of the main reasons is it allows us to extend the holiday gatherings by joining friends to watch the Packers. While I love to watch football with Donna, the kids or even alone, its ALWAYS more fun to watch the playoffs with friends. Games mean more in the playoffs, so it's nice to have someone to high five, talk strategy with or, in worst cases, someone to lament with.

Having said that I have compiled a list of things that I like and hate about the game of professional football today.

  1. Instant Replay - Bad for football. I abhor it. It slows the game down and we have created a generation of officials that cannot make routine calls without a "conference" for fear of being shown up by the camera. Now we have booth reviews of every score? Really? Why not booth reviews of every play? Seriously.
  2. New overtime rules - Good for football. Initially I wasn't keen on this system of giving both teams a possession, but have grown to love it. It makes total sense. I think the college system is a complete joke. Three and four overtimes, really? C'mon man.
  3. Blow to the head calls. - Bad for football. Lets see, you can't hit at the head and neck, and you can't hit at the knees, well, let's just not hit at all. They've reduced tackling to a strike zone. Ref's flag everything now.
  4. Outside the tackle box QB throwaways. - Good for football. This protects quarterbacks from getting pounded. It's no fun to watch but makes sense. One of the best things Fran Tarkenton did was effectively throw the ball away to avoid a sack. He was masterful at that and scrambling.
  5. Domes. - Bad for football. Antiseptic, sterile, boring.
  6. Two point conversions. - Good for football. Initially I hated this idea because I was old school. It has made the game much more exciting. It gives games that might have been out of reach, a new element of excitement.
  7. Coaches challenges. Bad for football. Hate it. It slows the game down. See # 1 above for more reasons.
  8. Penalizing excessive celebrations. Good for football. I don't mind Tony Gonzalez slam dunking the goal post, but I positively hate Victor Cruz' salsa dance, hated the dirty bird team dance (really?) and in my opinion, the Lambeau Leap can go away. Score. Jump in the stands. I get it already.
  9. Retro Uniforms. Bad for football. There's a reason they changed them in the first place.
  10. Aerial cameras. Good for football. These cameras give some great views of plays and make the game way more real and enjoyable.
So, there you have it. All opinion, but hey, I only say it because I love the game.

Blogging off (to watch the playoffs)...

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

National Poetry Month: Issue 18

New Chapters

A Portal To The Past