At some point you start to feel the anticipation for a new season grow tired and you become restless. This feeling will eventually be replaced by anxiety as the season nears, but in the doldrums of summer before the onset of training camp and the sneak peek of pre-season (in which the movie is always better than the trailer, for once), you can't help but think to yourself, "we have how many months left till the season starts?!"
Most of us remember a time before NFL Network kept this nerve dance going all year long. It used to be you'd focus on football, then switch to basketball, then maybe switch to baseball, or at least take the summer off altogether and focus on NOT spending the first hour of every Monday re-living the Sunday highlights with your co-workers and friends.
But let's face it, NFL Network changed all that and now the media has no choice but to give the fans what they've become accustomed to - a never-ending cycle of football 24/7, 365 days a year. I am one of those fans. I'll readily admit that once I got NFL Network, Madden on the playstation and discovered the ultimate 'font-du-football americain', the internet, that I really completely lost interest in basketball. Now, basketball was my first sport that I fell head over heels for. I spent every dime of allowance from mowing the lawn on authentic NBA basketballs, Air Jordans, I even paid for my own 'portable' basketball hoop that I only ever moved once, from side of the driveway to the other, essentially re-creating halftime, only it took me about 8 months to get there. I went on to play basketball on my high school JV team, and even got to practice against a future NBA player (he's still in the NBA today and has won at least one championship). I got a walk-on shot at a small college team but ended up not going to that school and going to USF instead and my B-ball days moved on to the street courts. I've also attended more basketball games (both college and NBA) than any other sport combined.
So after all this, how did I get to the point that I don't even know who is good anymore, haven't seen a game on TV for years and didn't even know the Finals were going on this week?
Some of it has to do with moving around a lot, and a lot of it has to do with settling in Sacramento, but mostly it has to do with the fact that I grew to love football more and now I don't need to distract myself with other seasonal sports, because football never ends anymore. But is this a good thing?
Case in point, the video above, posted on June 8th, 2009, by the NFL Network, offers absolutely no mention of 2009, the future, or even the current really. It is a 'let's mention Bill Parcells one more time this week' effort to fill air-time. Don't get me wrong, I love Coach Sparano, and Parcells for hiring him, but isn't this all year and a half old news? They really don't have any video of Parcells and Sparano together since 2006 in Dallas?
And are we ever going to see a Miami Dolphins piece that doesn't turn into a giant Parcells ass-kiss? So is more really better?
Most of us remember a time before NFL Network kept this nerve dance going all year long. It used to be you'd focus on football, then switch to basketball, then maybe switch to baseball, or at least take the summer off altogether and focus on NOT spending the first hour of every Monday re-living the Sunday highlights with your co-workers and friends.
But let's face it, NFL Network changed all that and now the media has no choice but to give the fans what they've become accustomed to - a never-ending cycle of football 24/7, 365 days a year. I am one of those fans. I'll readily admit that once I got NFL Network, Madden on the playstation and discovered the ultimate 'font-du-football americain', the internet, that I really completely lost interest in basketball. Now, basketball was my first sport that I fell head over heels for. I spent every dime of allowance from mowing the lawn on authentic NBA basketballs, Air Jordans, I even paid for my own 'portable' basketball hoop that I only ever moved once, from side of the driveway to the other, essentially re-creating halftime, only it took me about 8 months to get there. I went on to play basketball on my high school JV team, and even got to practice against a future NBA player (he's still in the NBA today and has won at least one championship). I got a walk-on shot at a small college team but ended up not going to that school and going to USF instead and my B-ball days moved on to the street courts. I've also attended more basketball games (both college and NBA) than any other sport combined.
So after all this, how did I get to the point that I don't even know who is good anymore, haven't seen a game on TV for years and didn't even know the Finals were going on this week?
Some of it has to do with moving around a lot, and a lot of it has to do with settling in Sacramento, but mostly it has to do with the fact that I grew to love football more and now I don't need to distract myself with other seasonal sports, because football never ends anymore. But is this a good thing?
Case in point, the video above, posted on June 8th, 2009, by the NFL Network, offers absolutely no mention of 2009, the future, or even the current really. It is a 'let's mention Bill Parcells one more time this week' effort to fill air-time. Don't get me wrong, I love Coach Sparano, and Parcells for hiring him, but isn't this all year and a half old news? They really don't have any video of Parcells and Sparano together since 2006 in Dallas?
And are we ever going to see a Miami Dolphins piece that doesn't turn into a giant Parcells ass-kiss? So is more really better?
I don't think more is better. After the draft and training camp, the game is what really interests me. I read all the hype, but most of it goes in one ear and out the other. I do pay attention to interviews, especially from the Trifecta.
ReplyDeleteI realize that you can't just drop out on your audience during the off-season doldrums and that something needs to be talked about to "keep the fires burning" until the whistle blows again! Some do an admirable job, but most are just fulfilling a contract.
I've been a fan since the Marino days and this is the only blog I've ever felt inclined to participate in. Tin's Fins is top shelf because of the devotion and passion for the Dolphins that permeates this site from the articles themselves to the comments that follow! Kudos to Tin and the hardcores that hang here!
What bothers me about the NFLN isn't these videos with little substance, but the same 4 comercials over and over and over again. As far as the extra coverage in the offseason, I like reading about OTA's and FA pickups and the draft and training camp. To me there is always something football coming up in the near future to look forwad to. This extra coverage is why a friend of mine was surprised that I knew who the backup O-lineman were. His actual comment was "you know the names of the O-line". It might not be for the average fan, but those who want to follow their team have an easier time doing it than ever, which I think is a great thing
ReplyDeleteI'll take the kudos and offer up the same right back! ;)
ReplyDelete"the same 4 comercials over and over and over again."
ReplyDeleteprecisely why I couldn't stand their Draft coverage. They'd have actual programming for 90 seconds then show the Brian Cushing path to the draft commercial 20 times in an hour!
At times I feel sorry for the local media guys. They try to cover the Dolphins when nothing is going on. They fill us in on the OTAs which is like watching the rain fall. No pads, no hitting, what can you learn from that ? Most of the times it's not even at full speed.
ReplyDeleteSo we see stories they have to frabricate knowing it will keep our interest. Some of the dumbest stories come out this time of the year, because of speculation. Such as, Turner, Hartline, Nalbone, all making this team and being the best thing next to sliced bread. Give me a break.
The funny thing is Tin is correct I don't care about the other sports. I have not watched 1 minute of the NBA this year or last, and trying to find a Marlins game is nearly impossible where I live. So I follow my team The Miami Dolphins even if the coverage stinks at times.
\nWell another reason could be that the NBA SUCKS! It\'s a horrible game. It\'s not really basketball. It\'s a super star driven entertainment network.\n \nIs there another sport where you can predict who the winner and loser will be more easily than in the NBA? No! That\'s why it\'s not a good sport.
ReplyDeleteDidn't always used to be that way. Back in the day, Jordan had to actually elevate himself to a great performance...after the 3rd championship, the refs started calling all the cheap fouls on him, and that mentality carried on through the years with Shaq, Kobe, Lebron, etc.
ReplyDelete\nAgreed.
ReplyDeleteTalk about blasphemy! Jordan drew every one of those fouls! ;)
ReplyDelete