Frothy About Football

"The rivalry between the Jets and Patriots already feels frothier than the Yankees and Red Sox. There’s “Dream Team” boasting in Philadelphia, where Asomugha, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Vince Young join a franchise reborn under Michael Vick. If the magical Phillies weren’t sailing atop the NL East, they might cease to exist. Consider Rex Ryan’s leg tattoo. That freaky leg tattoo has gotten more love than the Major League All-Star Game and the entire AL Central combined. Eventually this leg tattoo will have its own Coors Light commercial, its own summer football tattoo camp and run for Senate in New Jersey."

I briefly touched on Gay’s points in last week’s Pittsburgh Pirates obit. Once the lockout was lifted, the NFL devoured the sports world. I mostly avoid ESPN in the summer – I can’t stomach 10 minutes daily on the Yankees and Red Sox – but in the last two weeks I found myself tuning into ESPN looking for football chatter.

(Embarrassing admission: I have actually switched over to Mike & Mike a few times recently to see if Mort or John Clayton are dropping by to talk football.)

Maybe this baseball season is just an anomaly, and the problem with interest is the lack of pennant races. Other than Rangers-Angels and Giants-Diamondbacks, where’s the intrigue? (Without cheating, can you name the starting rotation of the Diamondbacks? What about their infield?) The big spenders are pulling away, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. Perhaps the addition of a Wild Card team next year will add some drama to the marathon season?

Or maybe we should hold off on the optimism and see when the NFL decides to hold free agency. You know Bud Selig’s hoping it goes back to March and April.