Blogging with the Devils

Allow me to share my Sunday:

Woke up at 7 a.m.; I had five hours of sleep after covering the California-Arizona State game on Saturday night. Went to church with my family; during the sermon, jotted down ideas for the Tribune’s coverage leading to this week’s big ASU-Oregon contest. (Not to worry, Pastor; I still got the gist of what you said.)

Came home and did follow-up research on Saturday’s game. Watched some of the South Carolina-Tennessee replay on ESPNU. Took my sons to a nearby mall to ride a carousel. Participated with 23 other reporters on ASU coach Dennis Erickson’s teleconference. Wrote the story and follow-up notes that appeared in Monday’s Tribune.

Watched the Boston Red Sox finish off the Colorado Rockies in the World Series. Continued planning out my upcoming work week. Went to bed.

Anything missing from that ledger — specifically, three letters — that is a near-obligatory part of fall Sundays for an American male?

After years of never missing an NFL Sunday, many of them spent at the now-closed McDuffy’s sports bar in Tempe, I cannot remember the last time I watched a game from beginning to end. And that includes the Super Bowl.

The NFL does not hold my interest. Almost all of my football watching is on Saturdays.

There are several reasons, and one of the biggest is that it is my job to watch and have a deep knowledge of college football. But there are other factors that have led to my enjoyment of the NFL diminishing.

A dominance of West Coast-like playbooks has resulted in more offensive efficiency, at the expense of excitement. With few exceptions, NFL stadiums are cookie-cutter facilites where the gameday atmosphere is the same from park to park. Most NFL television personalities — especially those involved in the networks’ race to create the most moronic and information-free pregame show — annoy me.

Lastly, the endless hype has dulled my senses. It is a football game, not Armageddon.

From that standpoint, let’s look at two games this weekend, Saturday’s ASU-Oregon tilt and Sunday’s New England Patriots-Indianapolis Colts contest. Granted, the NFL game is a matchup of unbeatens, but which game will have the more electric venue? Which game is a make-or-break for the championship hopes of both teams?

And which game will be the subject of incessant, nonstop chatter, from now until kickoff? Dear Reader, you and I both know the answer to that question. Coverage of Rudy Carpenter vs. Dennis Dixon will pale in comparison to that of Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning. And that is a shame.

This blog entry — OK, rant — is simply about one man’s disillusionment with the NFL. It is not an indictment of the millions who enjoy the league and follow it passionately.

But they can have the RCA Dome. I will take Autzen Stadium.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 29th, 2007 at 10:48 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.