I was working on the computer when I heard the sound. It was that unmistakable sound that a football game was about to start. That wonderful feeling of excitement flushed over me and I mused that I am much like a subject in Pavlov’s experiments. Play that music and I salivate.
Alright - so I am getting off track. Thursday’s game on the NFL Network was the Los Angeles St. Louis Rams vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers. The mighty Steelers won in what turned out to be a pretty good game to watch. I was working through most of the game but had time to notice that Steven Jackson is a really big dude and Ben Roethlisberger has a really big head. Not that I am perfect by any stretch of the imagination as I am sure people would have plenty to say about me if I were on television.
Alright, so I am off track again. What I was going to say with all of this is how interesting the NFL has become. Growing up with the sport pre-salary cap, you always had the old stand-bys that won. The San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Oakland Raiders, and Pittsburgh Steelers made appearance after appearance in the post-season and nearly every other team was just window dressing. Later, when the cap came along things slowly changed. The shift has been interesting and it has taken me a bit to become accustomed to teams from smaller markets and without storied pasts gaining prominence.
So what is the point? Well, I noticed how Marc Bulger had some miscues and thought about when he Kurt Warnered the actual Kurt Warner and took the starting job. It is quite interesting how the Los Angeles St. Louis Rams were once unstoppable and are now laughable. (Although I don’t feel sorry for them – see a previous post explaining my love for their owner.) Now, the two dominant NFL teams are one that couldn’t win for many years and another that rocketed from near obscurity. It sure is peculiar how things change. The San Francisco 49ers stink and the New England Patriots are a dynasty, oh and wait – the Indianapolis Colts are the reigning Super Bowl Champs. Go figure!
