The NFL is soft, so I'm going fishing
So I’m guessing a lot of folks are getting excited about the upcoming Super Bowl.
I’m sure there will be lots of parties, reveling and good times on Feb. 2 when the big game is on television, but you probably won’t find me watching it.
Let me explain.
I like football and I’ve always followed it. I grew up in Indianapolis, so the Colts have been “my team” for a long time. Of course, I should probably hang my head in shame because of the way they’ve played the last few years, but I’m still a fan.
My wife is a Southeast Missouri native and a devout Kansas City Chiefs fan, so her team still is in the fight and she’s excited.
For me though, it’s not just a lack of a favorite team in the running - it’s more about the game in general.
Today’s NFL is far different from what it was not long ago. Quite frankly, it’s become soft.
The NFL, to me, has almost become an advanced version of flag football, where you can’t touch the quarterback and only the most blatant of penalties is (sometimes) called.
These days, if a defensive player even thinks about touching the opposing quarterback with anything other than kid gloves, a penalty is called.
Receivers are considered “defenseless” if the ball is in their zip code, so they’re off limits too.
And then there’s the officiating; it’s become a joke of late. It’s not as bad as it was a few years ago when the league was forced to use replacement officials, but still ...
The New Orleans Saints (love the city by the way, not the team) got the short end of the stick on a no-call for pass interference in last year’s playoffs, and the league, to sound like it was doing something to correct such mistakes, instituted a new review procedure.
And guess what? A similar thing happened last weekend, ironically to the Saints again, and the play barely got a look. In fact, the number of penalties overturned on review this year is quite low, and by nearly all accounts, that’s by design because the head of the officiating crews in New York doesn’t like to see his staff’s calls questioned.
I could go on, but the whole mess that is today’s NFL just doesn’t interest me any more.
So anyway, with all that said, my big decision for Super Bowl Sunday is what to fish for - trout, crappies, smallmouth bass?
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Paul Davis can be reached at pdavis@darnews.com .
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