I did not watch any of the NFL playoff games last weekend. I saw a few minutes of the first half of the Saints/Titans, and nothing after that. On Saturday night the wife and I went to the inaugural game for the Houston Sabercats the first professional rugby game in Houston. We were not disappointed.
On Sunday I went shopping with the wife, then I put a bad old Dean Martin movie (The Ambushers, you should watch it just for the humor of it all) on and caught up on the Grand Tour.
At no point in the weekend did I ever feel like I was missing out on anything. Based on a recent poll, it sounds as if many people felt the same way, for many different reasons. (side note: more are watching the college game however.)
I want to be clear here, I am NOT boycotting the league for reasons having anything to do with Colin Kaepernick, or concussions, or any of that. I'm boycotting the league because the on-field product is B-O-R-I-N-G. Mind numbingly boring. Watching an NFL game is akin to water torture. It's a slow drip of the same 8 plays called over and over with risk-averse coaches making risk-averse decisions.
In short, NFL games suck.
Tonight that suck is going to bleed into college football, where Georgia and Alabama will do their level best to try and turn the CFP Championship into an NFL game. I might make it to halftime.
The reasons for this is that I'm starting to find more productive ways to spend my time. I wake up early on weekdays and head to the gym before going to work. Since I'm going into the office later, I stay later. Then I get home, cook and eat dinner, do a little bit of writing and what do you know? It's time for bed and I haven't even turned the TV on.
On weekends I'm cleaning/working around the house with horse racing (or, increasingly, soccer, rugby or college basketball) on in the background. I'm also spending more time with my wife (a big football fan as well FWIW, who has also cooled on the NFL product) actually out doing things.
Sure, I still follow (and occasionally wager on) sports, but I can get what I need to see watching some highlights, reviewing stats etc. I don't NEED to watch the games to have an opinion on them, I quit fantasy football (the best decision I ever made) and I don't like just sitting in front of the TV so now I only watch sporting events when I WANT to.
This has left the NFL out in the cold.
I understand, reading articles on sites such as SB Nation Awful Announcing and various others (I boycott Barstool sports because of their poor track record in treating women) that the games were, for the most part awful anyway. Especially awful was the Jaguars and Bills, and anything involving the #BillsMafia has me feeling......disinterested. I also disagree with the idea that the "home team" has to be "my" team. Just because a private company has their headquarters in Houston doesn't mean that I'm obligated as a fan to root for them. (Sorry Houston Texans). As a 49ers fan the season ended for me a week ago.
Still, I will probably watch the Super Bowl because it will be the only thing on, but I've a feeling I won't be paying much attention to the games leading up to it. This upcoming weekend I'll be traveling, and the weekend after that I'll be in Lake Charles getting some casino therapy after the New Year (and, as an accountant, year-end close).
Of course, none of this matters anyway, because New England's going to win it all and UCF are the true National Champions. Don't "@" me.
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