how to have a great day of football on the Patriots bye week

is it wrong that i am watching Sunday Night Football in complete amusement, having just watched Poor Peyton throw his career-high fifth interception? maybe we ought to get him one of those shaded visors for his helmet like LaDainian Tomlinson wears. ya know, since he thinks wearing his helmet will keep us from knowing he's crying again. even if the Colts win, which is never far from possible, it's still great entertainment to watch Peyton struggle. (edit to add: the Colts just lost & it really triggers my gag reflex that now we're going to talk about how all Peyton's weapons are injured & he's playing with a pieced together offense. please. how many of their seasons have the Patriots limped to the finish line, with guys like Troy Brown playing offense, defense *and* special teams. no one has ever offered up that excuse for New England, even when they take their bedraggled team all the way to the Lombardi Trophy. no one ever makes the excuse for New England, least of the all the Patriots. way to ruin the ending of the game for me, including a *sixth* Peyton interception and a missed short field goal by Vinatieri that would have given Indy a one-point lead, Al Michaels. you really raise the bar for the title of sportshole.)

my 4pm game was the Cowboys & Giants. i have never been much of a Cowboys fan, but i do really like Tony Romo. match him up against The Younger Manning Spawn & a Cowboys win suddenly is very appealing! if only i didn't have to listen to Joe Buck for three hours. sheesh, the man is like the freaking plague, the way he contaminates my favorite sports. i wonder if Troy Aikman ever wants to just toss him out of the booth. (i don't ask this question about McCarver because he is usually too busy talking to himself & is oblivious to everything else, while Aikam actually has a clue.) he doesn't even pay attention when Troy is talking about things that actually are worth listening to. Buck's too busy glancing over his shoulder, into the camera, because God forbid we aren't all looking at him & listening to his idiocy. ::rolls eyes::

i really thought i was all set for football today. good games all around. my 1pm games were a choice of Jacksonville/Tennessee (looked to be a very good match up but too hard to watch though, too many dark & similar colors in their uniforms) and Green Bay/Minnesota. have you been reading here long enough to know what my choice of games would be?

Favre!! i was contentedly camped on my couch watching the Packers squash Adrian Peterson flat, the newly discovered Green Bay running game emerge via some guy named Ryan Grant (who i picked up for my fantasy team during the week on a hunch!), and Favre spreading out his passes all over the receiving corp. midway through the third quarter though, FOX got this bright idea that no one would want to watch a blow out, so they switched the game over to the Eagles & Redskins. the nerve! i pouted, changed the channel to the CBS game, then took a nap in protest. that'll show 'em.

as my NFC favorite team now sits at 8-1, with the timeless Favre at the helm, defying odds, breaking records, and shutting up the critics who said he should have retired two years ago, i thought now would be the time to share the quotes that moved me when Favre led Green Bay to it's sixth win, two weeks ago on Monday night.

"Many athletes are great, but very few make the needle move. Very few cause you to sit in front of the tv for hours, just because you don't want to miss what they do and the way they do it. We watch Tiger Woods on Sunday in red because every shot he takes carries with it the possibility of something so great that you would hate yourself if you missed it, like that chip end in Augusta and the fist pumps that followed it. We watched Michael Jordan in that same way, because every time he held the ball in his hands, he might deliver something unforgettable, like that jump shot over Craig Elo. Or all those times when Jordan hung gracefully in mid air like a portrait. It's the same with Favre, who at 38 now qualifies as an actual living legend. Nobody -- not even Peyton Manning or Tom Brady -- brings the flair Favre does. Nobody shows more enthusiasm. He doesn't make *all* the crazy throws that he tries, but he'll keep trying them, no matter how many times they're picked off, because nothing ever discourages him. He always thinks that the next one is going for six. And that's why we give him a hall pass for all those ridiculous interceptions, because Brett Favre'll keep slinging, and the next pass he might fit through the eye of a needle and then jump into someone's arms like a teenager. Look. You don't just get to watch Brett Favre. You *have* to watch him." (Tony Kornheiser)


"As the years pass, the downers increase in volume. He's too old. He's lost a step. It's time to go. Pay them no attention, for we are survivors. Legends write their own stories. My Brett. Our Favre." (Deanna Favre)


so many people gag & say they cannot stomach the open love given to Favre. but the way he plays this game is so pure, so filled with passion, so rare to find. i hate to listen to all the sliming & squishing the talking heads blather about Manning & even Brady. that kind of admiration belongs to few. and one of those few is Brett Favre. i could wish for no better season for him than one like this. one that makes the dues he's paid over the last several years so worth it. this game will be less when Favre finally takes off his cleats, pads & helmet for the last time, but until that day, i will enjoy every minute that he stands on that field & does what he does. a Green Bay/New England Super Bowl would be my football nirvana, and i can honestly say that i would be happy no matter how it turned out. i feel like i'm living in a sports dream this year.


(photos from Yahoo! Sports)