Can We Bring the XFL back?

0-2.  That was my record against the spread.  I believe that made MattyJ 1-1.  He has the day off thanks to Martin Luther King, Jr.  So, by my count that brings the total to:

Me: 104-96-1

Matty J 108-92-1

I’m sort of bitter about this super bowl.  I really like the game and the experience.

The first football game I ever watched was the Bears/Patriots super bowl.  At that time (I was 6), I cheered for the Bears, because I had a lot of stuffed animals.  Yeah, that’s actually better logic than I used on this blog this year – at least the Bears won.  Anyway, I moved the roughly 63,000 teddy bears I had into the living room and watched the game.

I watched the 49ers de-mol-ish the Broncos in ‘90 on that same TV (no stuffed animals this time… but I did have a shrine to Joe Montana – complete with candles – for many of my formulative years).

In ‘91 I got behind the Bills against the Giants and Scott Norwood broke my heart.  My brother liked the Giants so I hid under my bed for a solid half hour after that game rather than face the wrath of a 13-year-old older brother.

I even managed to get up a bit of excitement for my 49ers in ‘95 despite the team being led by Deion Sanders and Steve Young.

Then I joined Matty J in a computer lab for John Elway’s triumph against the Packers.  That work study shift was the worst considering the Packers are his team, but there wasn’t much use for a Packer fan to watch that game live anyway. (remember dial up internet?  I think we only ran about 3 hours behind the actual game with those “live” updates).

Recently I’ve had to settle mostly for cheering on the second coming of Joe Montana in Tom Brady – and even that one backfired last year.

But through all the lean years of 49er rebuilding (…and failing, and rebuilding again, and failing again and so on), I’ve never been more disgusted with a season, playoffs and super bowl.

The Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Arizona Cardinals.

Who cares?  I don’t.  The two real Cardinal fans and the band wagoners probably do, but seriously – come on.  That’s ridiculous.

So, my mind has turned to other sports.  I bought a fantasy baseball magazine yesterday – thinking about maybe getting into a league this year.

I’m watching a lot of Buckeye basketball, which is a surprise because I don’t usually start watching basketball until March and then only for a couple weeks.

And I’ve overcome my fear of watching hockey on TV.  I love watching it in person, but could never really get into it on TV.  Now, though, I can do it.  And the reason for that is clear – I ask myself “would you rather watch a Steelers/Cardinals super bowl or this hockey game?”  Hockey game it is – every time.

There’s also a new stadium being built in Columbus, and the team is now affiliated with the Cleveland Indians which should be good for the in-state fans (if not, so much, for the in-division – but rival – Chicago White Sox fans).

These are all things to look forward to.  Oh, and the Hall of Fame game is only like 6 months ago.

…That’s the next football game I’ll probably watch.