Unnatural Rival

Another more personal essay, about rivalries in sports. Or it was supposed to be before I got carried away. The pictures are partisan; everything else is fair. I'll do my Week 3 stuff over the weekend, but I get a better reaction from this kind of entry anyway.

Until 2007, this was the highlight of my Giants fan-dom.

When I was 16, in my Junior year of High School, there was probably nothing I hated more in the world than Arlington High School. I hated their preppy attitude and clothes, hated the attention they got, and hated the way our football team always came up just short against them. I hated that my cousin went there- and he always seemed to be my grandparents’ favorite. I’d get into arguments with people in the mall or at bowling alleys just because I saw them wearing a maroon and gold (and seriously, could there be a more pretentious color scheme?) sweatshirt. So when it came time to get a summer job, I got one in Lagrange, working with 25 kids who all went to Arlington. I spent my whole summer arguing 1 on 25 with people about high school sports, or whatever other insignificant bullshit a 16 year old kid cares about. I don’t know why I felt like I should surround myself with nothing but kids representing something I hated to much, but I just felt comfortable with it being me against everyone else.

Fast forward 16 months.

Now here I am an 18 year old kid. And I’ve once again decided to surround myself with people who love something I hate. I’m in north Philadelphia, at La Salle University, moving into freshman dorms with 800 or so kids from Philly, suburban Philly, and South Jersey. La Salle was not a school with a huge amount of kids from all over the country, it was mostly regional. New York may as well have been Winnipeg to a lot of those kids. I heard some new phrases I wasn’t familiar with (a notebook is a “copy book?”), caught some shit for an accent I never knew I had (there’s a “w” in chocolate somewhere) and tried to figure out why soft pretzels were served cold.

I also saw a lot of green.

This was September, 2004. The Philadelphia Eagles were coming off 3 straight title game appearances and were easily the class of the NFC. They’d just acquired Terrell Owens, who I hated even before he was an Eagle, and seemed destined for a Super Bowl. My Giants on the other hand, were coming off a 4-12 season. They had a new head coach, a rookie quarterback, and seemed destined for 11 or 12 losses again. They unfortunately played the Eagles in Week 1 and got soundly hammered. My roommate first half of freshman year was an Eagles fan, but not the kind I could respect. He didn’t know shit, and was clearly into it because they were good and all his friends were fans (something tells me he’s got a Chase Utley jersey on as we speak). I remember watching him sleep through 3 quarters of a game like 2 weeks later only to see him wake up and start bragging because the Eagles were winning. As that season unfolded it kept getting worse. The Eagles went 13-3 spanked the Giants again, and won the NFC Championship game. You couldn’t go to a party without hearing the E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles! chant and the T-O song 10 times each. When they finally lost the Super Bowl I felt nothing but relief, but I had 3 years of this left to deal with.




Winston Justice only let Osi get 6 sacks in this game



Only it didn’t quite pan out like I was expecting. The Giants got good, and stayed good. They swept the Eagles in 2005, but the Eagles took 2 out of 3 (including a playoff win) in 2006. The Giants won the first game in 2007 to knot the series at 4-4 since I’d been in college. I remember how hard I rooted for the Giants in that last game my senior year. I just wanted to be able to say the Giants had a winning record against the Eagles in my 4 years at school. When Akers missed a potential game-tying Field Goal as time expired, that relief came back again. Despite how rocky it started, the Giants had gone 5-4 while I was living in a sea of green.

But my hatred for the Philadelphia Eagles was not born out of my matriculation (fancy word to describe the beer drinking and Nintendo playing I actually did at college) at La Salle. It started way before that. My father’s family is after all, originally from Philadelphia, and despite living in New York for 40 years, I constantly had to hear all about Philly. My cousins (the same ones who went to Arlington) were raised rooting for Philadelphia teams, and my grandparents never missed a chance to jab at New York- or our teams. My brother and I- the dyed in the wool New Yorkers, rebelled hard against that, and it was the subject of many an argument at family gatherings. When the Giants played the Eagles in Week 17 of 2002, it was during a Christmas gathering. Both teams needed the game, and were split into separate rooms, lest the family be torn asunder. When David Akers missed a 29 yard field goal that would have iced the game, my cry of “He hooked it! He fuckin’ hooked it!”  reverberated throughout the house. When the Giants finally won in overtime, the dejected looks on my family members’ faces were the greatest gift of all.



The only thing out of date about this photo is the QB.

 I tell this long and overly elaborate personal story to reflect on rivalries in modern sports, particularly the NFL. Long gone are the days where players stay on a team for 15 years and legitimate rivalries develop. The Giants and Eagles specifically have had a ton of player movement between teams in the last 20 years. So the players don’t care. It’s really about the fans, and what each fan wants to make of it. In the NFC East specifically, every team is a rival. Each team has their own rivalry with the Cowboys that they think is primary. The Giants and Redskins goes back 90 years. The Eagles and Redskins is probably the weakest, but last year’s McNabb thing proves there can be heat there. But for me, for entirely personal reasons, it’s always been the Eagles. To put it bluntly, I hate the Philadelphia Eagles so fucking much my teeth hurt sometimes. I love watching them lose. I used to go to a bar in Center City to watch the Giants when they weren’t on local TV in Philly. Every now and then I’d time it just right coming home and get on the same train as Eagles fans leaving the stadium. If it was after a loss, seeing them sad made me so happy it’s illogical. Most of them are good people I’m sure and good fans. But you get more from sports in the hating than you do the loving. Think about it, the average die-hard sports fan hates 5 times as much as he loves. There’s legitimately 4 teams in the NFL I hate right now, and 1 that I love. Outside of Giants players, I hate a lot more guys than I like. It’s how you become I die-hard in the first place. And I know it’s completely irrational, but you hate a team so much you love them. As much as I hate the Eagles and their fans, I would never want to see them move or suck for 20 years. Great rivalries develop in the punch/counter-punch. We win 9 in a row; they take 7 out of 8. For every Sehorn interception, there’s a DeSean Jackson punt return.

I’m sure all of you have rivalries like this if you’re as into your teams as I am. I set out trying to write about rivalries in general, and ended up writing a personal essay about the Giants and Eagles. Only natural I guess. Because I relate to it in such personal terms. If the Eagles win Sunday, I’ll be mad. If the Giants pull the upset, I’ll be happy. I still have to get up and go to work in the morning either way, but knowing that someone in Philly will be upset about the outcome would just make me happier. And yes, I know that’s messed up.

Don't Freak Out OK?

The Smart Fan's Week 1 Mantra

You show me a guy who draws sweeping conclusions from Week 1, and I’ll show you a picture of my junk.

………Sorry I should not have let Brett Favre write my intro this week. I do agree with the beginning of his point though. A guy who thinks you learn anything in the NFL after one week either hasn’t been following football for long, or he has- but he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Week 1 is not any more important than Week 6 or Week 12 in terms of playoff seeding, momentum, or anything else. In the first three games of the year, as long as you start at least 1-2, you’re fine. So no one’s back is against the wall yet, and no one is sitting pretty either. But as always, there are a few things worth noting before we look towards Week 2.

Things That Looked Good: Baltimore:
The Ravens demolished Pittsburgh 35-7 at home. Like I said above, one win does not a season make, but the two Steelers games are always Baltimore’s most important games of the year and getting a home win, while catching the Steelers on an off day (they turned it over more times than they did in the whole 1970’s) is definitely a notch in the belt. These two will slug it out all year for the AFC North crown, so getting such a decisive win is certainly a big one, and puts all the pressure on Pittsburgh to win the rematch in Pittsburgh in November.

Green Bay and New Orleans’ Offenses:
What a way to start the season! While the 76 total points prompted the predictable string of hand-wringing columns on Friday about “life in the new NFL,” to anyone without a big stick up the pooper, it was an exciting way to get back into the NFL. Both of those teams will be very good, and I think the defenses just haven’t caught up to the upper echelon QB’s yet due to the lockout. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing these two teams playing each other again sometime in January.

Detroit winning when they are supposed to
Not getting much play this week because they were supposed to win, but are we really taking Lion road wins for granted already? Not a dominating win, but I’m firmly on the “too much respect” bandwagon for Detroit, and expecting them to stumble out of the gate. But the fact that the beat a 10 win team in their building shouldn’t be overlooked.

My scale at 11:45 AM
Got up, went for a run and got on the scale before the early games started. All was looking pretty good. We’ll get back to this later.

Things That Didn’t Look GoodTony Romo’s LeBron James imitation:
Quite the 4th quarter Tony. Fumbling on the 1 yard line when a field goal probably ends the game and then throwing a pick when the Jets were conceding overtime. But since he wears a backwards hat and has a babyface he just keeps getting leeway as a “young Quarterback.” He’s 31. It’s probably time to admit he’s as good as he’s going to be. At times that’s really good; at times he’s the bad parts of Brett Favre. Very capable guy, but veteran QB’s can’t have 4th Quarters like that.

Kansas City:
Jesus. Arrowhead is supposed to be a tough place to play and the Chiefs won the AFC West last year. They let up 41 points to Buffalo. AT HOME? Really just a no account performance all around. They were a long shot to replicate last year’s win total, but come on.

Indianapolis:
This really proves the greatness of Peyton Manning. The Colts were demolished by the Texans. Houston has an explosive offense, but this game was over 6 or 7 minutes in. Indy could possibly be the worst team in the league this year, with a cast that would win 11 or 12 just by putting #18 back in there.

My scale at 11:45 PM
Soda, Beer, 4 slices of meatball pizza, Butter Twist Pretzels, not moving from my chair, and a donut for good measure turned it into quite a day health-wise. Good thing I don’t have one of those blood pressure machines. Football is going to wage war with my scale over the next 5 months. I expect quite the battle.

Other Quick Notes:Chicago- Very impressed with their win over Atlanta. Still not sure what to make of them, but convincing win over what is expected to be a good team.

Cam Newton- What can you say? Great performance, but they did lose. If I was Cardinals fan, I’d have been a bit pissed that our win was barely mentioned in the wrap-ups all week. I’d also be pissed about being a Cardinals fan, but I digress.

The Other “Elites” Hold Serve- New England, Green Bay, San Diego, the Jets, and Philadelphia all win. None looked phenomenal- New England and Green Bay need to play defense, San Diego squeezed one out, the Jets needed a furious comeback, and Philadelphia overcame an uneven second half- but they all won. And you can’t be better right now than 1-0.

Look Ahead to Week 2 (full preview Friday):Some 0-1 teams “needing a win”- Atlanta (v.Phi), New Orleans (v. Chi), Giants (V. StL) (Pittsburgh v. Sea) Dallas (@SF)

Best Games: San Diego v. New England, Philadelphia v. Atlanta

My early suicide favorites:
(Teams gone: New England)
Pittsburgh (v. Sea)
Green Bay (@Carolina)
Dallas (@SF)

Arbitary Predictions: NFC

NFC East:
Pick: Dallas
Historical Precedent: 2003 Atlanta Falcons.

All you need to know about the precedent: Michael Vick gets hurt. He definitely gets hurt on a team with 2 rookie offensive linemen. Long-term, him on grass, in cold weather is probably not a great prospect. No doubt, the Eagles made nice moves this offseason, but they’re banking a lot on Vick having another year like he had last year. So I’m going with a Dallas team that’s still got some playmakers, and a QB who they know what to expect from. Getting rid of Wade Phillips should be good for 2 or 3 more wins itself.

Order of Finish:
Dallas
Philadelphia
Giants (Sadly almost put them last)
Washington

NFC North:
Pick: Green Bay
Historical Precedent: 1998 Denver Broncos

The Broncos won the Super Bowl in 1997, and then faded into the background most of the offseason. Other teams, specifically Washington, made big moves that offseason, and people were looking for the new upcoming team. Still others went back to picking the San Francisco’s and Dallas’s of the world. But then the 1998 season began and the Broncos were good. Really good. 13-0 good. (Until the Kent Graham led Giants beat them mind you). Well the 2011 Green Bay Packers are going to be good. Really good. Aaron Rodgers is the best player in the NFL right now, and the rest of the north leaves you flat. The Lions are getting a bit too much respect, and that ruins any chances of flying under the radar. The Bears rode a favorable schedule to a division title last year and got a bad Seattle team in the playoffs. No such luck this year. I actually like the Vikings to be better though.

Order of Finish:
Green Bay
Minnesota-Wild Card- (Have no basis for this pick. Think the bottom 3 will all be within a game of each other)
Chicago
Detroit


NFC South: New Orleans
Historical Precedent: Every year of the NFC South ever

You’re talking about a division that had like 6 years in a row where the previous year’s division winner swapped places with the last place winner. Most people like Atlanta to repeat in the South, but I think New Orleans has more tools. They are a bit more experienced than Atlanta, but I think this will be a very tight race. The teams play week 16 at the Super Dome and that will probably be for all the marbles. Carolina is in Year 1 of a rebuilding process, and Tampa is due for a big slide after last year’s soft schedule let them get to 10 wins.

Order of Finish:
New Orleans
Atlanta-Wild Card-
Tampa Bay (Back to earth in a big way this year)
Carolina

NFC West: St. Louis
Historical Precedent: The NBA Eastern Conference 2000-2003.

The precedent here is that when you’re in an incredibly weak league, the team who does the least terrible things wins. You don’t have to be phenomenal at any one thing, just don’t be awful at any. The Rams are a solid young team. Not spectacular by any means, but the most dependable. The best QB play, the best defense. Spags is actually the second most tenured coach in the division. 9 wins will probably get you there (only took 7 last year) and I think St. Louis is that team.



Order of Finish:
St. Louis
San Francisco
Seattle
Arizona-(People on the Kolb thing a little prematurely)

NFC Wildcard Picks:
Dallas over Minnesota
Atlanta over St. Louis

NFC Divisional Picks:
Green Bay over Dallas
New Orleans over Atlanta

NFC Title Game:
New Orleans over Green Bay

Super Bowl:
New Orleans over Baltimore.

There you have it. Some incredibly arbitrary, and surely wrong, picks for the 2011 NFL Season.

A note on tonight’s game: Yes, I’m picking New Orleans to win the Super Bowl. I’m not picking them to win tonight. The last Super Bowl winner to lose week 1 the next year was Denver in 1999, and they had lost John Elway in the offseason. It’s only gotten worse since the Super Bowl Champion always opens on Thursday at home now. I remember 3 years ago, watching the Giants and the Redskins. The 2007 Giants were a memorable team, but not a great one. So it wasn’t like I had an overwhelming sense of confidence going into that game. Then Michael Strahan popped out of a Giant (pun fully intended) Vince Lombardi Trophy and introduced “The World Champion New York Giants.” Never any doubt after that moment. They cruised to victory.

Green Bay: 28
New Orleans: 16

Arbitrary Predictions: AFC

This is Obligatory And Pointless. Then again, so is my job.

Before and season starts, you have to make predictions. Most improved team. Biggest disappointment. AFC Finalist. MVP of the Pro Bowl. Now no one ever goes back and checks whether you knew your head from your ass 5 months later, but still, you gotta do it. Of course, I don’t know enough about 32 teams’ offseasons to make informed picks, so I basically pull things out of the air and then find reasons for them. But it’s fun, so let’s go. Tonight: the AFC. Tomorrow: The NFC.

 I’ll be back Friday or Saturday with my Week 1 preview and picks, etc. But for tonight, in advance of the Thursday Night kickoff, here are some thoughts I’m having this year in each division, as well as a projected order of finish.

I’m also listening to these two songs on a rotating basis as I write this, so if this is alternately mellow and then psychotic, well you’ll understand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wpPk8qk3uQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrr2F3seAGU

AFC East:

Pick: New England

Historical Precedent: Atlanta Braves 1995-2005

I was all set to give the Braves precedent to Indianapolis until the severity of Manning’s injury was realized. The Braves, from the second they were placed into the NL East, dominated every year, and always won the division. About 2000 or so, it became chic to pick a new team every year. The thinking was this: if you nail it the right year, you look brilliant. Well, my theory is this: I’ll pick New England to win the division every year, and I’ll be right every year except one. Everyone else can pick new teams year and they’ll only be right once. The Jets are good, and knocked the Pats out of the playoffs last year. But just for the regular season, New England has to be penciled in for 12 wins, and I think the Jets come up just shy of that.

Order of Finish:

New England

Jets-Wildcard- (They're gonna keep having to win road playoff games until they can post a better record than the Patriots)

Miami

Buffalo

AFC North:

Pick: Baltimore

Historical Precedent:  2006 and 2009 Steelers

Another incredibly tough division to call. Baltimore and Pittsburgh are both very good, and at each other’s heels. What does surprise me is that Baltimore has only actually won the division twice in the last 10 years- actually only twice ever. That said, Pittsburgh hasn’t had strong seasons after their Super Bowl wins in 2005 and 2008, so coming off a loss in the big one in 2010, they could be primed for another let down.

Order of Finish:

Baltimore

Pittsburgh -Wild Card

Cleveland

Cincinatti (may win 0 football games).

AFC South :

Pick: Tennessee

Historical Precedent: The 1996-1997 San Antonio Spurs

Tennessee is the pick here for the simple fact that I don’t trust Houston. They’re now the golden boys and every time they are the trendy pick, they fall flat on their face. I still don’t believe they can play defense. Tennessee may be the team that makes the fewest mistakes and becomes the surprising division champion there’s always at least one of every year.

The historical precedent is about the Colts. The Spurs were a perennial powerhouse in the ‘90’s. David Robinson got hurt early in the 1996 season, the Spurs went 20-62, won the lottery and got Tim Duncan. They won 4 titles in 10 years after that. Seeing the parallel here? Could this be a “luck-y” year for Peyton Manning to be hurt?

Order of Finish:

Tennessee

Houston

Indianapolis (this assumes Manning misses from 6-16 games) 

Jacksonville

AFC West:

San Diego

Historical Precedent: 2006 and 2009 Chargers

The last two times the Chargers underwhelmed, they won 13 and 14 games the next year, respectively. The Chiefs were a nice story last year, but there’s little reason to believe San Diego is not the team to beat in the AFC West this season. I like the Raiders to be a bit better, but not quite ready to make the leap yet. They’ll probably be better than whoever grabs the South though.

Order of Finish:

San Diego

Oakland

Denver

Kansas City (someone always goes first to worst)

AFC Wild Card::

Pittsburgh over Tennessee

Baltimore over Jets

AFC Divisional Playoffs:

Baltimore over San Diego

New England over Pittsburgh

AFC Championship Game:

Baltimore ovr New England