That is most definitely the trick, and thanks.

I rarely watch Monday or Thursday night football anymore, unless “my team” (and that label is fading for me as well) is playing or both teams playing are ones I enjoy watching and there’s nothing else burning up my Netflix queue, which is a rare confluence of circumstances.

It’s sooooooo bad. And, with some exceptions, the sophistication of the coverage of the sport is also medieval. The NBA media, for example, has taken great strides in recent years and has left the mainstream NFL media in the dust.

oh shit, you’re right. My sincerest apologies to noble alcohol.

Oh, for sure, fantasy is huge.

Interesting, I think that could work with my dad/friends too. Honestly, I presume I’d find replacements to fill the gaps in most of my social relationships that dropping football would create, but it’s a hard step to take.

Honestly, I think I’m only still watching the NFL for the same reason I’m still on Facebook: social pressure. Like 80 percent of my friend group cares about these games, our fantasy league has been a great way for my ever-sprawling college-era clan to keep in touch, it’s a good thing to chat with my dad about when I…

Thanks, and go for it.

I had no idea how close I was to reaching a turning point in my relationship with this sport until last night. Like, I was goddamn hyped for that game and by the end my excitement for the start of the season had been entirely replaced by frustration. The second half was basically a showcase for everything wrong with…

“The needs of the many... outWEIGH... the needs of the few... or the ONE... for... TACOS...”

I’d guess yes, too.

Yep, I think both are probably true.

“For some reason it’s OK for Jim Nantz or Joe Buck or Cris Collinsworth or Jon Gruden to disagree with an official, but when Mike disagreed, with all the years of experience he had, he used to get criticized, pretty roundly.”

That’s a really good point.

The Bucs were perceived to have drafted Aguayo earlier than necessary, violating one of the NFL’s accepted tenets by reaching for a kicker.

Maybe instead of preemptively raging against hypothetical thinkpieces that don’t yet exist, you should use that time to find a different website you like better?

Historically, no, it doesn’t matter.

I’d be OK with a 1 year/$12M deal, if the report that he’d take that is true.

He doesn’t have the consistency to be a starting quarterback for more than a couple years in a row, because he’s good but not great, and doesn’t really have any tricks up his sleeve.

Same.