Let’s Talk Football – 11/11/22

Let’s Talk Football – November 11, 2022

Football Season is the best season of the year for sure. Nonetheless, as the season moves on I always seem to get annoyed. By January, I’m toast. I definitely get burned out by watching as many games as I can throughout the season. The following is a list of things that annoy me about football already this season:

* Regarding instant replay, WHO CARES what the call was on the field!?!!!! It shouldn’t matter one iota. Caring about the call on the field is like caring what somebody else said was the right answer on a math test. “What is 4 times 7 Johnny?” Uhh teacher, first let me look around the room and see what fingers everybody is holding up. Then I’ll give you my answer”. NO! NO! We want the correct answer, not what everybody else says it is. The point of replay is to get the call right. The point shouldn’t be to care whether we “have enough evidence” to overturn a referee. The replay should be seen by a neutral site viewer who is UNAWARE of the call on the field. You tell the guy to watch a video and make a call. If it’s 50/50, too bad. MAKE A CALL! The reason it went to Replay in the first place was because it was close to 50/50. So why does it matter so much what the guy on the field called? If the Replay Guy has no clue, tell him to flip a coin. The point is, the referee lost his privileges once they went to Instant Replay. As Jim Rome used to say, “Have a take and don’t suck”.

* The players all have long hair which covers up their nameplates on their jerseys. It makes it hard to see who they are.

* The cameramen are so bad about zooming in or zooming out. They are either too far away, or too close. We don’t need to see all five WR’s. Then after the play we don’t need to see a close-up of the QB’s helmet. Why not give us an in between view of the interior line, the box? We want to see who made the tackle. We want to see who is getting subbed in and out. We don’t need to see the QB’s closeup reaction to each play. It’s maddening.

* Semi-injured players stopping the entire game by taking a knee, falling down on the field etc. Why are these kids so selfish, especially when they have something like a hand injury but then they stop on the field to make the trainers come out and stop the game? It’s ridiculous. We grew up in a different atmosphere. We did NOT want the opponent to know we were hurt. We did NOT want the game to stop for us. We did NOT want any attention, especially medical attention for something so trivial. If your hand hurts, DO NOT FALL DOWN on the field and make everybody stop for your owwie on your pinkie. GET THE HELL OFF THE FIELD!

* BACK TO INSTANT REPLAY…. Stopping the game so often for often meaningless replay reviews. I understand some of these reviews are ultra important. However, it ruins the entire rhythm of a game. It’s the same with basketball, and almost all sports for that matter. e.g. “are there 1.7 or 1.8 seconds left?” C’mon guys, let’s get back to the basics. Was it a catch, or NOT a catch? 

* Refs getting in the way of a good game. “We have targeting. We’ll stop the game to review…. Oh wait, after further review, it was a normal tackle and NO targeting.” Sick of all this crap, sick of the refs thinking they’re the stars. They over-manage. They over-step. They take it away from the kids. I just wanna watch the boys play ball. Refs, GO AWAY!

* Color commentators that always agree with the coaches decision. For example, “Hey Robert, what do you think about going for it on 4th and 4 here? I love it Mark, it sets a great tone for your team. It’s too long for this field goal kicker anyway….Love it. Oh wait, he changed his mind. You know what, I agree that they should try to get points on the board here”. Oh brother. As Jim Rome used to say, “Have a take and don’t suck.”

* Anyone with the nickname “Boog” or “Booger”. When I blow my nose so hard it rips through the kleenex…. that’s what I call “Boogers McFarland”. What’s worse? The nickname “Booger” or the gambling commercial that shows the guy on his phone while sitting on the toilet? C’mon man, this is an example of “jumping the shark”.

* Players that ask for a hand to get up from a sitting position. Really? These are the greatest athletes in the world but they need a hand to get on their feet. Oh brother. If I were the other players or the ref, I would say, “No way dude, get up by yourself… bitch.”

* The broadcasting combo of Mark Jones and Robert Griffin III. These guys are all cliche and all about promoting their “Black Power” theme. Yeah, we get it, you guys are two black broadcasters working together but it’s way too Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff-ish. Things heard during their broadcast of Oklahoma/TCU: “The Roof is on Fire” regarding Ted Roof, “Get some! Big man” regarding a decent block, “It’s Miller Time” regarding Kendre Miller’s TD run, “What you talkin’ ’bout Willis” regarding Brayden Willis’s almost-TD reception, “For me, the home run king will always be Barry Bonds”, and that was just the first quarter. Oh, and I almost forgot about this bomb: “The Horned Frogs are disemboweling the Sooners defense” Really Mark? A little harsh, no? The first quarter took an hour and 9 minutes, so I guess we should give them a break given how much they had to talk during a brutally slow game. Watching this game was tedious in the extreme.  

* Whenever a player on a team that is playing on the road makes a good play, he shushes the crowd. Oh how creative young Jedi! “Ooooh, look at me (and only me) for making a sack, an interception, a touchdown, a catch, or even just a tackle in a road game. You should all be quiet now and watch me celebrate on your home field”. Oh brother. Just relax, or better yet, celebrate with your teammates who probably made the play possible because yeah, it’s all about teamwork and there are 10 other guys on the field too.

* What is targeting? What is a catch? When is he down? Where is the plane of the goal line? Ugh, if we have to go to Mike Pereira one more time I’m gonna choke on my mixed nuts. We all know the rules by now. At least, we know as much as Mike Pereira and his cronies. These guys get paid big bucks to share their opinion about “overturning the call on the field”? Oh no. The apocalypse must be near.

* Lastly, I am SICK of defenders all racing to the end zone cameras to pose and taunt the opposing crowd after EVERY SINGLE TAKEAWAY! The first time I remember seeing this was our Chicago Bears during the fantastic #1 defensive year of 2018. By 2019 it was already getting old. Now in 2022 it’s tedious in the extreme, unoriginal, and just plain stupid. Think of a new celebration guys, or don’t celebrate at all.

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That’s all for today. But hey, it’s only November. Just wait until January.

Dutch