Super Bowl Hangover

The Super Bowl hangover is now in full effect. We now have no football until at least August and quite possibly longer than that with looming NFL labor strife with the players union and the owners. What is a die-hard fan to do in the lulls of winter boredom? If you’re like most fans including myself, you will just turn your attention to the other major sports but the only thing in full swing is basketball. I am an avid basketball fan as well but regular season basketball just doesn’t tickle my fancy as much as a regular season football game. Of course, you are going to have your deep 3-pointers and high-flying dunks with animated commentators such as Marv Albert with his signature “Yes!” .Also in college basketball with Dickie V’s over the top bragging about any player he sees fit for his praise but it not enough for to fill football void. Basketball is my yang and football and is my ying. I’ve always followed both with die-hard status but it always hard to just change my viewing pleasure to mid-season basketball.




It makes it even harder when one person is dominating the headlines of the NBA as much as Carmelo Anthony is right now. So after countless trade rumors about Melo going to the New Jersey Nets and New York Knicks, am I suppose to believe that the Los Angeles Lakers have joined the discussion? So I guess now the NBA is in line for its version of super-teams that was ushered in by Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. I just wish he would land somewhere so every time I watch sportscenter I don’t have to hear about it anymore.



College basketball isn’t good until March although The Jimmer is making a case for me to watch a BYU game. I want to catch the latest outfit of one and done players Coach Cal has put together at Kentucky before its too late. North Carolina and Duke games are always good and are about the closest thing to hard hitting you will see in college basketball. But again, I can wait until March in most cases before I tune in for college basketball.



What about baseball you ask? Spring training is right around the corner. The Boston Red Sox have reloaded by adding two of the best young hitters in the game in Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. Philadelphia added ace Cliff Lee after he spurned offers from the Yanks and Texas. And speaking of the Yankees, now what are they going to do without Andy Pettitte? Baseball peaks my interest but again not enough for my football fix. For the life of me I cannot watch an entire nine inning game of baseball. I have tried and tried but I always end up doing one of the following: A.) Falling asleep B.) Hopping on the computer or C.) Flipping the channel after watching a guy foul off 10 pitches. It’s just not the same as seeing Troy Polamalu come off the edge for a blitz or Peyton Manning pump faking the defense for a bomb to Reggie Wayne.



As far as all the other so-called spring and summer sports (Tennis, Race-car driving, Golf etc.), none can come close to the action on the gridiron. For those of us who are die-hard football fans, nothing else can touch the pigskin. The worst Sportcenters are in the summer, tune in to one if you don’t believe me. I call this period of non-football the drought. I find myself sometime watching old college football games with players who are either in the league or doing something entirely different with their lives. I watch the NFL network games just to get a taste of what I’m missing even though I know who is going to win. The only good thing that comes from this is that it makes you tune back in to your regular life. You know like work, your family and the outdoors. One person who never complains when football season is over is my girlfriend, she says this is the only time she can get my attention and maybe she is right.



So in summarizing the only thing for us football fans can do is the things we did before football like enjoying the nice spring weather and our family and friends. That is until football returns.