It hasn't been a very good time around here lately. I think I've said that in a few different articles, or in comments dropped into the discussion threads. There's been a significant rise in hatred. I've never quite understood hating another team. Rivalries are good, of course. As a Patriots fan, I always want to beat the Jets, and Sean McCormick and Benjy Rose are Jets fans so they want to beat the Patriots. However, I always thought of Football Outsiders as a place where people come not to share their hatred for another team but to share their love for the team they root for, and for the game of football in general.
I'm a little worried about the long-term effects of the Giants victory. There has always been a certain element of the fanbase, and a larger element in the media, that was obsessed with the playoffs as opposed to the regular season. That is about to become much, much worse. 18-1 should be seen as a badge of honor, not a taunt. The Patriots had a great season, but because that loss came in the final game, a lot of people regard them as failures. No matter which teams are the best next year -- it could be the Pats, or maybe not, maybe it is Seattle or Jacksonville or Cleveland or whoever -- all we are going to hear, non-stop, all year long, is "the regular season doesn't matter, a good win-loss record doesn't mean anything unless you win it all, look at what happened to the Patriots."
The problem is, only one team can win it all. Only one fanbase can root for the Super Bowl champions. The goal of sports is to bring something enjoyable into our lives that takes our thoughts away from our troubles or our boring jobs. Next year, I don't want the fans of winning teams to enjoy football a little less because of the constant worry that failure in the postseason will overshadow all the happy moments that came before. Fans should be happy when their teams have winning records. Any season where you make the playoffs should be considered a successful season. This isn't just about the Patriots. Dallas fans shouldn't feel like their season was a failure. Neither should Green Bay fans, or Indianapolis fans, or Pittsburgh fans.
And so, with this thought in mind, I sat down to chart a game that was left uncharted during the regular season, a Week 13 contest between Atlanta and St. Louis. And as these two crappy teams went at it, it occurred to me: I love football. One loss is not going to ruin it for me. If you are a Cowboys fan or a Colts fan, one loss shouldn't ruin it for you either.
In this one silly game, I saw all kinds of fun things. I enjoyed perhaps the most underrated announcer in football, Tony Boselli. I gained a new appreciation for Falcons defensive tackle Montavious Stanley, who was making a lot of good plays. I saw Steven Jackson and Jerious Norwood, always worth the price of admission. In an empty room, with nobody else home, I screamed "What are you doing???" at my television as the Rams somehow left Alge Crumpler wide open in the middle of the field on a third-and-8, with no Rams defender within five yards of him in any direction. I saw Gus Frerotte throw all kinds of good passes under pressure. I would say he was making rookie cornerback Chris Houston his bitch, except he was also making safety Chris Crocker his bitch, and I am not sure if a 36-year-old veteran backup is allowed to have two bitches.
The moral of the story: Even when it is a meaningless game played two months ago by two of the worst teams in the NFL, football is a lot of fun. No matter what team you cheer for, never let one loss ruin it for you.