Archives
Monday, October 29, 2007
...But does anyone
here
remember comebacks?
remember comebacks?
He
was an ordinary Joe. Unless he wasn't.
HAPPY, DEAN? Yeah, yeah. Patriots. Perfect season. Boring. How many of you really enjoy watching a steamroller leveling asphalt? Message to NFL fans. What's truly inspiring isn't the best agglomeration of players money can buy. It's the team that overcomes adversity to win the big prize against all odds.
Here's a scenario you can sink your teeth into. An NFL team starts like a house afire and after the first five games has a 4-1 record. Mission accomplished. Or well on the way. You know how that goes. Six games later, they're 6-5. Losers on a one-way trip to oblivion.
Who wouldn't be bummed? Their fans were outraged. Both of the U.S. Senators from California -- yes, kiddies, we're talking about the 49ers -- were, well, pessimistic. One said, "The season is lost. There's absolutely no way this team is going to the playoffs. I support the players, but it's time to fire all the coaches and start a long-term rebuilding program." The other said, "Californians have been lied to. We were told this team was a contender, a winner. Obviously, they aren't. They're total losers. An utter disgrace. Anyone who supports the players -- as I absolutely and unequivocally do -- must demand that the few talented members of the team be benched for the rest of the season so that no one worthwhile gets injured in a losing cause."
The rest is, as they say, history. The 1988 San Francisco 49ers went on to win four of their last five games, the divisional playoff, the NFC Championship, and the Super Bowl. You can see their record here.
Along the way, most of their fans rejected the official condemnations of their senators. They had faith. In fact, they enjoyed the season far more than Patriots fans are enjoying this season.
Is there a lesson? Of course not. The NFL has nothing to do with real life.
Unless it does.
