Fan of Football
I had an interesting time last night
watching the Seahawks-Cowboys game. Like all Niner fans, I hate the Boys of Cow,
and always will. I've never been much of a Seahawks fan either, obviously. Jerry
Rice has always been and will always be a Niner-even he knows that, although he
can't say it at the moment-so the fact that he gets paid to play my someone else
is meaningless to me.
My fellow ranters will verify that when I hate a
team, I really hate 'em. I mean I make plane crash jokes and am only
half-kidding. I have a reputation for being harsh.
So the fact that I
actually caught myself watching the Cowboys put together a last-minute drive to
save their asses and the game, and found myself getting into the sequence of
plays-how many timeouts left?--now a pass to the sideline-good, a
completion--now a short run-watch the clock-watch the clock, etc. etc.-was
amazing. I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or hit myself on the head over the
sad fact that I was enjoying effective, quality football being played properly
at the hands of a team I hate, and I mean hate in my cells and
chromosomes!
This is what it's come to for
me. If you'd have told me this time two years ago that I would ever write the
above, I'd have hit you hard across the head.
This team has been so set
up to fail in so many obvious ways, from top to bottom, that there simply isn't
any way for things to improve without a sea change at the top which is, of
course, why we're all here. No leadership, no decent judgment, and no heart at
the top puts us exactly where we are right now. It's completely
predictable.
Now way do I ever give up my exclusive allegiance to this
team-not ever. I used to say I'm rolling with the Niners until the wheels fall
off. Now that they're off, and I'm still here, I guess I love this team a lot
more than I realized when things were good.
I've always equated
excellence in football to the San Francisco Forty Niners. The fact that I
actually enjoyed what I saw last night must mean I'm a fan of real football as
well. It's just too bad that it took this long and hard of a fall to make me
aware of it.
Please Dr. York, do the right thing.
December 7, 2004
