CBS News's Mike Freeman had the courage to write this truth today. Insightful, bold, and since he just so happens to agree with me, brilliant. If you agree with him too, I encourage you to write Mike some positive feedback, as he is no doubt being bombarded with plenty of hate mail from bandwagon Cardinals fans.
That, or you can just go with the empty, vague, unquestioned cliche of "What a great story," as was done with the Tampa Bay Rays making the World Series. You can probably tell that I am annoyed by underdogs winning things, and that goes against probably 80-90% of mankind's approach to sports. I have tried to examine myself in the past few weeks and discover why this is so, and I think I am finally able to articulate it. I feel cheated when the team that I deemed was the better team coming in, doesn't come away victorious. Not cheated as in, "That team must have cheated to win," but cheated in the sense of being gypped, or deprived. I know, why bother playing the games if the underdogs can't win. But if I feel an outcome is a fluke, I tend to be disappointed. Yes, I root for the Yankees. I also root for Microsoft. And America. And yes, the Giants were the underdog in Super Bowl XLII. But they truly were better than the Patriots, evident in their physical domination of the more finesse-built Patriots at the line of scrimmage. That was no fluke. Tyree's catch? Also no fluke - only the greatest play in the history of organized team sports. (See, I have it all covered.)
The only thing I disagree with in Mike Freeman's column is that this Super Bowl's ratings will be sigificantly lower because the Cardinals are in. I think it will draw good viewing numbers, because A) The lack of Cardinals fans nationally will be more than compensated for by the abundance of Steelers fans nationally (Pittsburgh is the REAL America's Team; nice try with your 1970s marketing ploy, Cowboys)...and B) People watch the Super Bowl no matter what teams are playing. The NFL is not like the NBA or Major League Baseball - it just isn't affected as much by what cities/teams are involved.
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4 comments:
I'll agree with you that I don't think the Cardinals being in the Superbowl will have a huge impact on ratings. I think the reason the Superbowl isn't affected the way the NBA or MLB series are affected is simply that they are series. It's a 4 to 7 game investment of time to watch them, and to make a 12-21 hour commitment to something, you have to care. Watching the Superbowl is a once a year thing. Even if you don't particularly care who wins, it's only 4 hours and it is, in theory, the single most important game of the season. That is much easier to commit to.
I will have to disagree with you about feeling cheated when the underdog wins, though. I only feel that way when the win comes as the result of bad officiating or if I really like the favorite team. :) Otherwise, as long as the team that played THAT GAME better wins, it's cool with me. And I don't think there's any question that the Cardinals played better than the Falcons, Panthers, and Eagles. As much as typing that out feels wrong... I think the Cardinals deserve to be there. And while we both know that they aren't the best team in the NFC, that isn't the point.
If the "best" team in the NFC was "supposed" to go to the Superbowl, there would be no point to having playoffs.
This is true my friend...as Kenny Mayne said, "Games aren't played on paper, they're played inside TV sets."
Hey Bill! Just wanted to point out the amazing fact that Mike Freeman, has before, in fact, been FJMed: http://www.firejoemorgan.com/search/label/mike%20freeman
Bill,
You root for the favorites...and that's cool...except for one I believe you can't dismiss...what about big oil? If you root for the guy who's supposed to win...you've gotta root for the oil companies to charge $4.00 a gallon again soon, yeah? Or have you too been enjoying the past few months of under $2.00?
Also what about the NCAA Tournament? Don't root for Cinderella there either?
I tend to root for the sleepers in the bracket...and as far as other situations...completely depends. I was rooting for Tampa Bay not because they weren't expected to be there...but because Philadelphia blows. Their fans are THE WORST. Were it Dbacks vs. Phillies I'd have rooted for the Dbacks to win...and then lose in the WS...because their fans are awful as well...and having to live with them...more annoying than the Phillies...but all things Philadelphia are just evil.
- Joe -
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