Football '14 Week 10: There's Something About Drew.

       You saw the title of this post and no doubt thought it was going to be yet another love note to Drew Brees.  Well, you couldn't be more wrong.  If you read this blog with any regularity, you may have noticed I have a slightly off-kilter sense of humor.  One of my favorite funny movies of all time is the origin of that title, There's Something About Mary, the seminal (and semen-al) 1998 Farrelly brother's comedy. Amongst the great gags in that film is that one of Mary's ex-boyfriends is quarterback Brett Favre. 

What I found out this week is that Brett was the third choice to play the ex, which is hard to imagine since he fits the role so well (not to mention the brilliant murdering Ben Stiller does of his name).  Okay, so who was the second choice? 

Steve Young, whose Mormon upbringing wouldn't allow him to be in such a risque film.  No caffeine, weird underpants, and boring movies.  Wuss.  So who was the first choice? 


Would you believe Drew Bledsoe?

I mean, it makes sense in the grand scheme of things, the Farrelly brothers are New England born and bred after all.  Turns out one of the more ridiculous moments in Drew's turbulent Patriots history kept him from accepting the role, which is too bad because if anyone could have used a little joyful tidbit in his past, it is Drew.  As it is now all anyone remembers him for is failing miserably in the Super Bowl and for nearly getting killed (seriously) by Mo Lewis which led to the rise of Tom Brady.  Oh, what might have been. 

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Feel like some vintage baseball?  For nothing?  Head on over to my man Robert's $30 a Week Habit blog and enter his contest.  It is easy, I promise there is no math involved. 

Football Week 20: Championships.

       I find three of the teams in this Championship final four despicable, each one more than the next.  I hate the Ravens because of the Colts betrayal and Ray Lewis.  I hate the 49ers generally because of their dominance of the 1980's and specifically because they knocked my Saints out of the playoffs last year in ridiculous fashion (it is sad that the Saints will go down as the only team to ever lose to Alex Smith in the playoffs).  The Falcons are, well, the Falcons...sworn enemy of the Saints; watching them win the Super Bowl in our home stadium would be like watching Hitler take the oath of office on the Wailing Wall. So with that bit of overwrought hyperbole out of the way, all that means is that I am halfheartedly rooting for the Patriots and to be honest, I am not too keen on watching Tom Brady and Bill Belichick lift another Lombardi Trophy either. So most of the joy has gone out of my football watching.  In fact, if there were any good movies to go see, I would probably ditch these games all together and go out.

I am going to take this opportunity to tell the tale of my fanhood of a certain Brett Favre.

I was on the Brett Favre bandwagon early.  Before he became a retiring dick-texting attention whore, he was a Vicodin addict.  This was way back in the early 90's when he just got the job as starting quarterback for the Packers.  Favre was not on my radar until he came out and admitted he had a problem with painkillers and checked himself into rehab.  He may not have been the first, but he was the first sports star I could remember who went to rehab on his own, rather than only after being caught and/or being arrested.  I respected that highly, having had a little issue with drugs and alcohol myself. 

So I became a Favre collector.  He was a great quarterback and sympathetic figure until... and that is the kicker.  There was a point where if Brett Favre had either retired or just switched teams honestly, we all wouldn't hate Brett Favre.  But, alas he didn't follow this path.  In 2007, he forced a trade to the Jets (a team I hate) after he had retired after years of threatening to retire.  Then he went to the Vikings and every year became a retirement deathwatch.  He became an insufferable ass.  Plus, on ESPN, before there was Tim Tebow, there was Brett Favre.  I think we have all forgotten that.

By the time the 2009 season had rolled around, I had long disavowed any rooting interest in Brett Favre.  My Favre jersey was way way in the back of my closet, waiting to be used as a painting coverall, and my Favre player collection had been pared way way down.  Then came the most joyous moment in my football watching life...

The New Orleans Saints had made it to the NFC Championship game and, being season ticket holders to the team, I drove down in one 21 hour shot to watch the game.  Not only did the Saints win in glorious fashion, they put a final "fuck you" on to the career of Brett Favre, as he threw the crushing interception that led to the tying points that sent the game into overtime.  Plus, the Saints beat the ever living hell out of him all game.  It was a very satisfying victory indeed.  I wish today's games could be as good, but I do hope there are some moments that lead to a feeling of satisfaction as thrilling for some team. 

Football Week 17: Wintry Mix.

       It has snowed here in northern New Jersey three times this week.  This amount alone triples the snow days we had last year (i.e., the infamous Halloween storm); it was even a White Christmas around here.  It is a pity, though, that is is not supposed to snow today, because today is the final regular season Sunday and snow is football's natural habitat.

I have a niche collection of football cards featuring pictures in the snow, presented here so you can take in all the furious flurry glory:

You see here some usual suspects: New England, Buffalo, New York.  Seeing Barry Sanders in the snow is odd, since he spent his home games in a dome.  And while Brett Favre belongs in the snow, seeing Drew Brees (as a Charger no less) in the white stuff is a trip. And while I am not a card identifying sleuth like some, that 2011 Tom Brady card has a picture that is probably from the December 12, 2010 game vs. the Bears. 

I am surprised, really, that card companies don't use more snow pictures, since they look 100x more awesome than regular action pictures.

Here you have more New England (obviously another from that aforementioned Bears game), some Cleveland and Pittsburgh, and an awesome shot of a Giant stuffing a Bronco in Denver.  You also have another Brett Favre, and it makes sense that I have two of him in the snow, but I also have two cards of Steve McNair in the snow, and since he played his home games mostly in Houston and Tennessee, I find that a little weird. These are all the snow cards I own; if you have one you would like to donate or trade me, don't hesitate to let me know. 

My football watching will be slightly muted today.  The Saints have been out of it for a couple of weeks now, and seeing them beating up on a Panthers team that never cared this season is not high on my list of priorities.  It is good news that they locked up Sean Payton for the next 5 years, so we won't have another off-season soap opera.  I look forward to the Saints reloading next year for a wonderful eff-you season.

The Giants, on the other hand, have a slight chance to make the playoffs.  How slight?  Well, this slight (click on it, I'll wait).  The Giants have to win (which has been quite a trick lately) and then the Vikings, Bears, and Cowboys all have to lose.  While all of these circumstances are not impossible, all of them coming together at the same time is unlikely.  So it will likely be a very somber playoff time here.  If the Giants make the dance, I will be rooting for them, if not, I will pick a team to root for next week - yes I plan on doing this through the Super Bowl - and jump on the bandwagon with both feet.  Until then, I think I'll go outside and throw some snowballs at children and on coming cars.