Sunday, February 01, 2004
The 'Hawks In The Super Bowl Would Be Great, But It's Still No World Series
If you live in the Milky Way Galaxy, you know that today the NFL crowns its champion in Super Bowl XXXVIII. Every year on Super Bowl Sunday (or, as I like to call it, The Most Anticlimactic Event In Modern Western Society), I cap off a week of watching the excruciatingly detailed Super Bowl Week reports, which I view with intense dispassion, by sitting through four-and-a-half hours of a sloppy football game about which I care even less.
I've always figured my apathy is because neither team is "my team." If I was forced to declare an No Fun League team, it would be the 'Hawks, in a by-default sort of way; the Cougs have always been and will always be "my team," as far as football goes. If the Seahawks had a miracle run and made the Super Bowl, I'd be excited, for sure. But as I tried to kill time between getting up this morning and this afternoon's kickoff, I had an epiphany of sorts: Even if the Seahawks won the Super Bowl, my reaction wouldn't be "Yes! Super Bowl champs!" Rather, I'd probably be thinking, "Too bad the Mariners can't do that."
The World Series has always captured my interest, from the time I was eight years old and I watched Bill Buckner let one go right through the wickets to keep the Mets alive in '86. There's 100 years of history behind the World Series, from Cy Young and the 1903 Boston Pilgrims to Josh Beckett and the 2003 Florida Marlins, that the NFL simply can't approach, let alone rival. The Series has thrived through war, depression, racial conflict, and countless other hard times in this country, and will continue to do so. The Super Bowl is, and always will be, a made-for-TV drama that we all pretend to care about just to have something to talk about when the weather sucks and we have nothing to do.
The Super Bowl calls its winner the "World Champions." In what other country is football played? Isn't this like the Inuits calling their best igloo builder the World Champion? Baseball is truly an international game, and the World Series showcases its best two teams, made up of players from North and South America, Asia, and Australia. The "World" in "World Series" is both relevant and appropriate.
If the Seahawks win the Super Bowl, I'll be happy for a day. When the Mariners win a World Series, I'll be happy for years.
That's it, gotta go. The pre-pregame show's about to start. I'll take New England and give up the points.
I've always figured my apathy is because neither team is "my team." If I was forced to declare an No Fun League team, it would be the 'Hawks, in a by-default sort of way; the Cougs have always been and will always be "my team," as far as football goes. If the Seahawks had a miracle run and made the Super Bowl, I'd be excited, for sure. But as I tried to kill time between getting up this morning and this afternoon's kickoff, I had an epiphany of sorts: Even if the Seahawks won the Super Bowl, my reaction wouldn't be "Yes! Super Bowl champs!" Rather, I'd probably be thinking, "Too bad the Mariners can't do that."
The World Series has always captured my interest, from the time I was eight years old and I watched Bill Buckner let one go right through the wickets to keep the Mets alive in '86. There's 100 years of history behind the World Series, from Cy Young and the 1903 Boston Pilgrims to Josh Beckett and the 2003 Florida Marlins, that the NFL simply can't approach, let alone rival. The Series has thrived through war, depression, racial conflict, and countless other hard times in this country, and will continue to do so. The Super Bowl is, and always will be, a made-for-TV drama that we all pretend to care about just to have something to talk about when the weather sucks and we have nothing to do.
The Super Bowl calls its winner the "World Champions." In what other country is football played? Isn't this like the Inuits calling their best igloo builder the World Champion? Baseball is truly an international game, and the World Series showcases its best two teams, made up of players from North and South America, Asia, and Australia. The "World" in "World Series" is both relevant and appropriate.
If the Seahawks win the Super Bowl, I'll be happy for a day. When the Mariners win a World Series, I'll be happy for years.
That's it, gotta go. The pre-pregame show's about to start. I'll take New England and give up the points.
Comments:
Post a Comment