The NFL is running, and sometimes ruining my life

     Today at school while in the teacher work room (which still feels like I'm breaking the rules and I shouldn't go in there), I got on the topic of the NFL with a coworker. I told her that I am excited for the upcoming football season and we talked about how people in Utah chose our favorite NFL teams, without a real local team. I guess technically for a long time Denver has been our 'local' team but I never really felt a connection to Denver so I never chose them. I chose the Eagles, mostly because I really liked their helmets. That's pretty much the whole story. I won't sit here and pretend I have been always loyal to the Eagles, I've kind of bounced around because if I'm being honest, it's hard to be a fan of team far away. The Eagles are pretty popular in Utah but they just don't have that "IT" factor that makes it cool to wear the gear in public. There are a bunch of other teams that have it, like the 49ers, Cowboys, or Raiders, but the Birds not so much. Granted, in my ripe old age of 26 I've decided it doesn't really matter. They're my team for better or for worse and I will live and die for them.

    Which brings me to my main point. The NFL has complete control of my brain. I realized it at some point over the last few years when the Thursday Night matchups were abysmal. Week after week. Bad teams playing bad teams and the games were an absolute snooze fest. But guess what I was doing on those Thursday night duds? That's right. My butt was planted on a couch, watching every second of those agonizing snoozers. The NFL could create a Tuesday night game matchup between the Panthers and Giants, two bottom feeders, and I would still watch every second. 

    How have we as Americans allowed ourselves to be overrun by a corporation like the NFL? We have a proud history of fighting off our overlords and embracing our individuality. But when it comes to sports, especially football, our individuality is forgotten for a few hours or sometimes an entire weekend, and we become mindless robots collectively rooting for our team and fighting online or in person, sometimes literally, on behalf of 22 guys who happen to wear the right uniform. Don't get me wrong, I love every second of it. Football is starting this Thursday and I'm going to love every single second of football being back--from the high of a Chiefs/Ravens matchup to the very lows of Panthers/Saints. 

    If you are a fan of an AFC team, you have my condolences. The Chiefs have a firm grip on that conference and Patrick Mahomes doesn't look be leaving anytime soon. You're only hope is that the report that Taylor Swift is drawing up plays comes true and Andy Reid forgets to show up for a game. But lets be really honest with ourselves, if Taylor decided to start drawing up plays, they would probably rock. They are definitely beatable but they're like playing basketball in your 40s without stretching first. Everything is going great in the beginning but then all of a sudden *snap* your ACL is gone. Same way with the Chiefs, its neck and neck going into halftime and then bam, the offense drops 35 points in the second half and the defense remembered how to play football again. The Ravens, Bengals, and Jets are all good enough to beat the Chiefs but they need Patrick Mahomes to have an off day and their QB have a great day, which is absolutely possible. 

   

    The NFC is much more open. Any of the top teams really have a chance at making it to the Super Bowl, unless you're the Cowboys because well... you're the Cowboys. The conference really doesn't have an uber dominant team. The 49ers are probably the closest of the bunch in being the dominant team but they can't win the big one so should we really even count them? The lowly Lions have a chance to make history and I think they can do it. Assuming they stay healthy *knock on wood*, they've got a real shot. They're a good team and Dan Campbell is a GREAT coach. I'm not so sure he's on the same level as a Sean McVay or Kyle Shanahan when it comes to the Xs and Os of the game but he's a leader and can get the guys to believe. Anytime I listen to him I'm ready to run through a brick wall. In my mind, those are the top two teams and then there's a whole bunch of good teams right after that. Eagles, Packers, Rams, and Cowboys are in that next tier. 

       

    Of course my choice to get to and win the Super Bowl will always be the Eagles and I think they've made all the right moves to get there. Only time will tell. But knowing my luck and how much the NFL seems to hate me, except when my hero Nick Foles is at the helm, the Birds will probably make it back to the Super Bowl and lose in dramatic fashion and my heart will be broken again only to forget it the next fall and be ready to go again. 

    I'm a fan of all sports, but the NFL will always and forever have my attention first. They may as well have put a chip in my brain at this point. I wish I could say I was upset about it, but I'm really not. Much like a mother forgets the pains of birth and has more children (shout out to the moms), NFL fans forget the heartbreak every offseason and get ready to get their hopes up again. Here's to us, NFL fans. Cheers.