(ThatKidInTheCorner :: The Bye Week)

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October 17, 2005

The Bye Week

In which I rekindle my enthusiasm for all things professional football

I hope it doesn't sound too crazy for me to say that I really needed the bye this past weekend.

(I know, I know, I don't even play flag football, let alone professional football; in re: professional football all I actually do is shout at the TV a lot. Occasionally I go to the games and shout there. Still, I worry about the games a lot too. And yes, that might be silly for a whole different set of reasons. But I really did need the bye week.)

Really, I was mostly tired of sweating the Eagles' loss at Dallas and stressing the possibility of a down year for the Birds. They really are just one nasty hit away from Number Five going down for the season. The offensive line looks old. They're not even pretending to run. The pass defense got beaten deep for the first time in a while. They're not getting to the quarterback. Some dudes on Dallas were saying that Eagles have been running the same plays for five years (that doesn't sound good). And TO seemed to be priming for the inevitable try-to-ruin-the-whole-season-in-a-fit-of-narcissism spasm that we've known was coming since the spring. Sure, I know I'm overreacting, but hey, this is a good week to overreact. Nothing to do but sit around and stew.

I read the Philly papers all last week, even listened to some WIP. By the weekend, I had had enough. I needed a break. I was glad they weren't playing, if only because I wouldn't have to sit there and worry about the game all weekend. This would be the weekend where I could just sit back and watch the games.

Of course, I managed to completely fail at the "just sitting back and enjoying the games" plan. I blame fantasy football and certain web sites that tend to operate out of small island nations with lax financial laws. By the middle of the afternoon, I was pretty cheesed off, again, and my team hadn't even lost.

And just when I thought I would spend all of Sunday evening stewing and cursing at the gross incompetence of the ESPN Sunday Night crew, I realized there was a way to watch the game without having to listen to Paul Maguire and Joe Theismann (and it didn't involve the mute button). The game was here in Seattle. I could just go to it! (Never mind that I also suggested this was my big chance to take the ESPN Sunday Night crew hostage and end the madness once and for all; if the cops ever ask, don't tell them I said that.) They don't actually sell out all the games in Seattle, and I was assured that cheap tickets would be there for the scalping. We called a cab and fifteen minutes later (before the first quarter was even over) we were at Seahawks Stadium. Got in the door for $40 (!!!) and suddenly, I'm watching LIVE NFL FOOTBALL.

It was a pretty lousy game.

The Texans were awful. They couldn't do anything. The Seahawks were just beating them up, and didn't even need to try very hard to do it. They just kept running up the middle; it's not their fault that Texans refused to tackle them. Even the backup running back had over 100 yards.

All that said, it was STILL LIVE NFL FOOTBALL. The stadium here is very nifty, especially that cool pyramid thing in the one end zone (apparently called "The Hawks' Nest") and the way the roof hangs over the stands. I mean, it's no Linc (the attention to detail in the building isn't the same, the advertising seems a little undersold and local, and the fans weren't rooting for the Eagles), but it's still pretty cool. I think the most remarkable part about the whole thing was that there were actually families there. With real children. I actually tried to keep the language in check as a result (though I'm pretty sure that the fine print on the back of my ticket entitles me to scream obscenities at the top of my lungs; this is just what I've been led to believe). Also, teenagers seemed to be attending the game on their own. Just hanging out! Pure madness!

And it worked. I left the game pretty fired up about NFL football. And now I'm back from the bye and ready for a full week of following the Eagles. WIP is streaming over my Internet as I type. We're talking Chargers. We're talking McNabb. We're talking football. I'm ready for Andy Reid press conferences and injury reports. For Jaws to break down this weekend's matchups. For PR-disguised-as-insider-gossip from Dave Spadaro. Maybe this is the week we see Moats!

NFL Football, I could never stay mad at you.

Posted by thatkid at October 17, 2005 10:49 PM under Sports

October 17, 2005

The Bye Week

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