Sunday, August 30, 2009

Just Over 10 Days To Go !!

Live-action shot from the Patriots v. Redskins preseason match-up this past Friday night (8/28/09) at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.

Poolmember, GlamourBeast, was among the many Redskins fans in attendance at the game which resulted in a win for Tom Brady and the boys, much to GlamourBeast's chagrin.

Do you have a personal football photo - past or present - that you'd like to include on our blog? Just forward it to Tits McGee at thefleaflickers@gmail.com, and we'll get it posted!

"Hail to the Redskins,
Hail victory ... (just not this night.)
Braves on the warpath,
Fight - for old D.C.!"

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Sunday, August 23, 2009

Brett Favre vs. AARP

Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre duri...Image via Wikipedia
He's Brett Favre. He bleeds football. He’s a good ‘ole boy from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and his middle name is Lorenzo - who knew?

Well, unless you’ve been stuck under a rock somewhere, you already know that he’s re-unretired, and will be QBing for the Minnesota Vikings. As mentioned previously, the NFL season always seems to provide some sort of “soap opera-esque drama,” and by former Green Bay Packer Favre joining the Packers’ NFC North division rival Vickies, you can bet that I’ll be microwaving some popcorn for the match-up set for 10/5 at the Metrodome (and, subsequently, 11/1 at Lambeau.)

So, I will go on record as saying that I have been conflicted by his return, again, to football. After having been a Favre fan for years, because of his love for the game, but mostly driven by his looks, there – I said it, I was sad to see him retire. I was moved by his tear-filled retirement announcement, sad to see the end of an era, but grateful that I could be counted among a generation who could say they saw Favre play in his prime.

Then, he un-retired and played for the Jets. Then, retired, again. Now, he’s re-unretired and playing for the Vikings. I’m getting dizzy.

Who knew the range of emotions that Brett’s indecision would elicit from the general public, myself included? There are a lot of people out there with a lot of strong opinions, but mostly I’ve noticed that they all boil down to the two very divided camps of: “WTF, Just Stay Retired, Brett” and “I’m Just Happy I Get To See Him Play More.” I’ll admit, I have been a staunch advocate of both viewpoints at various times throughout this whole saga.

But, then, after a thought-filled conversation with a good friend of mine about the subject, debating both sides of the retirement controversy (nod to Prince's “Con-tro-ver-sy,”) it dawned on me – wow, Brett Favre is coming back! Why in the world would I NOT be excited about this?!! I want my six-year-old godson, Sean, to watch him, and to understand that Brett Favre is someone who will be spoken of in the world of football until the end of time. When he’s grown-up, I want Sean to be able to tell his kids about watching Brett Favre play! Sean’s a Titans fan at the moment, but he can still admire a legend from another team, right? (The commish is actively trying to recruit him to the Chargers side, but Daddy’s a Bronco lover, so that might be a challenge.) Regardless, at six, Sean just may be old enough to remember watching Brett Favre play football – how cool is that?!!

So, bottom line: Look, if Brett wants to re-unretire, why in the world would I feel so invested in his decision? What a waste of emotion, really. I don’t think Brett would care if I were to waver on any retirement decisions I were to make, and I’m a living legend, too, right? I can assure you that if I had retired then someone came to me waving $10 million in my face to do what I’d previously loved to do, I would jump back in the saddle faster than you could say, “A.A.R.P,” too, so who am I to judge?!!

Do what ya’ gotta do, Brett. Get in that Vikings uniform, hop into that shotgun formation, and make it happen! You know, we’ll ALL be watching ... with popcorn in hand!


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Friday, August 7, 2009

One Month Out ...

So, here we are just about one month out from the start of the NFL football season 2009-10. What does the upcoming season have in store for us? By now, you've heard many of the teams already declaring that, "This is our year ..." or "We've worked hard during the off-season to acquire talent to really complete our team ... " or, the ever popular, "This is a building year for us ... " (In other words, set your expectations of us properly - i.e. "low.")



Well, whatever the case may be, I'm looking forward to it. As always, I start the season with butterflies in my tummy as I think about the chance for the Chargers to make it to the Super Bowl. They look good, even formidable - Merriman's back and LaDanian is operating at 110%. Philip Rivers has never looked better. But, this time last year, I was also listening to all the reports and thinking, "This is it! This is their year! HOORAY!!" The point is ... who really knows?

Tom Brady with Randy Moss and Jabar Gaffney af...Image via Wikipedia
And, therein lies the excitement of it all! The twists, the turns ... the, at times, soap opera-like plot developments that rise out of nowhere and send us fans on a completely different course independent of how we'd imagined the season would play out.


What, indeed, does this season have in store for us?


I'm tempted to do a little research to see what the prognosticators were saying at this point last year about who they then believed would make the trip to the big show, and compare that to the actual results. I'd be willing to bet that most of them never dreamed that the Arizona Cardinals would get there! I know the Chargers were at the top of the list, and so were the Patriots, but who knew Tom Brady would play for fifteen seconds - okay, maybe it was twenty - and then be out for the rest of the season?! Drama. Who knew that Plaxico Burress would, like a dumbass, shoot himself?! Intrigue. Terrell Owens has his own reality show now, and is a Buffalo Bill?!! Okay, at least some of us kinda saw that coming - well, that he would not remain a Cowboy. The reality show kinda came outta nowhere - but, I watch it. (Don't you judge me.)


In any event, football season is almost upon us. Time to get out your old jerseys so everyone knows who your team is! Time to begin strategizing your pool picks week-to-week to make sure you're giving yourself the best advantage to win the whole kit & kaboodle. For those like-minded individuals who are so inclined, it's time to really dig in and enjoy this time of year, after all, we're getting to the good stuff in baseball, college football is approaching - fight on, and we've already discussed the NFL!  Life is good.


It's no wonder the butterflies have arrived!


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