Why the NFL is King

Three cheers for laziness. Hip, hip ... I don't feel like saying the last one.

Yeah, it was July when I last posted, but I'm back with a new post. I'm hoping to get an NFL Preview posted over the next few days going division by division. To get things rolling, I want to talk about how great (American) football is.


As a Houston sports fan, I am probably happier than you are that the NFL is back. No matter how much you missed football, I missed it more. The Rockets not only continued their string of mediocrity, but then fans got false hope from multiple trade rumors only to end up with a few nice-looking rookies and Jeremy Lin. Then there's the Astros. I'm becoming less of a baseball fan as it is for a number of reasons, and the complete ineptitude of the Suxstros is not helping. When the most exciting possibility for your major league franchise is the possible brief return of Roger Clemens ... well that's just bad.

So having a football team with some potential makes me ecstatic. The Texans made it to the divisional round last season with a rookie third-string quarterback, and it's tough not to think this team has Super Bowl potential. Hell, I would argue -- and I've heard others say the same -- that had Albert Haynesworth kept his fat ass off Matt Schaub's ankle, the Texans would have been the team playing the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. But more on Houston when I get around to my AFC South preview.

The NFL season is now less than a week away, beginning (weirdly) Wednesday night with the Cowboys and Giants. American sports fans are thankful to have it back because, really, it's our favorite professional sport, and until the NCAA implements playoffs, I'd say the NFL is king.

What sport do we talk about the most during the respective offseasons? Football. ESPN may shove the Dwight Howard drama and other NBA crap in our faces, but fans care more about the NFL Draft, training camp and preseason than we care about regular season baseball.

The reason for all this? It comes down to two words for me: parity and surprises. No other American sport has the kind of parity the NFL has (I'm not sure UEFA has it either). Basketball has become the elitist sport; the Lakers, Celtics, Thunder, Bulls and Heat seem to be the only teams that matter. Baseball has no hard salary cap, which is a travesty. Midwest teams can win (see St. Louis), and there are occasional power shifts (Nationals, Pirates and Orioles this season), but we always talk about the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Phillies, and maybe a couple other teams.

In the NFL, we care or at least know a little about every team. You can say it's because of fantasy football or Madden, but every team gets talked about a bit, and every team has a chance to beat any other team on any given day.

And every year, there's always some surprise team that worms its way to a playoff spot. Out of the 12 teams that make the playoffs every year, five teams don't return to the playoffs the next year.

I love everything about the NFL. I love the parity. I love finding other teams to root for at random points in the season (typically teams that do not affect the Texans' standing). I love fantasy football and the Madden video games. I love it all man.

Extra Points

1. An SEC team has won the BCS National Championship the past six seasons. Do you realize the last non-SEC team to win it all was Texas under Vince Young? I've never though I'd be rooting for USC, but go Matt Barkley.

2. SportsCenter had a segment today showing Washington National phenom Bryce Harper's multiple tantrums throughout this season. Nobody is going to make a steroid accusation? Not even a 'roid joke? Really?

3. Speaking of PED's, a decision was made this week that both perplexes me and irritates me. So Roger Clemens has never tested positive and was acquitted in a court of law. Even if the overwhelming belief is that he juiced, none of his records are going to be taken away and I believe he will probably make the Hall of Fame one day. His numbers are just too good to keep him out forever.
My point is, no one punishes Clemens for the "belief" that he used PED's, but Lance Armstrong can have his seven Tour de France victories taken away because of hearsay? Yeah ... that makes total sense.

4. Finally, the New York Jets' abysmal offense scored a touchdown in the preseason. Who scored it? Former Baylor Bear Terrance Ganaway. SIC 'EM!