Howdy Beaver
By Alkali Springs Correspondent
How about one more football column to start this new year? Let's face it, in the outdoor department, at least at this writing, there is only cold and no snow to report. Much more interesting is the NFL.
And, of course, the first question is, "Who is going to be in the Super Bowl?" It looks to us like it could well be a Pittsburgh and St. Louis Super Bowl. However, there are a couple of slips that could occur in the next few weeks. First of all, Pittsburgh is riding high and proud. That usually means that a team is due for a fall. And for Pittsburgh, hopefully, that fall will be during a week that does not hurt its Super Bowl chances. And take St. Louis. At any given moment, either of two teams may come onto the field the good team or the bad team. One never knows which one is going to be playing on that day. Neither do the players. So if St. Louis' bad team plays, it is not going to do much and won't get to a Super Bowl. Watch out if the good team is playing, though. It is unstoppable.
Teams to watch besides Pittsburgh and St. Louis are Oakland possibly getting close and San Francisco getting even closer. Both teams are awesome this year, although Oakland is sort of pooping out at this late date.
Among non-Super Bowl teams worth a mention, how about Chicago? The Bears are looking more powerful each week. Can you imagine that at the beginning of this season they were even looking for a new coach? And look at New England under the leadership of backup quarterback Tom Brady. Now who would have thought that Drew Bledsoe would be sitting cooling his jets on the bench these days?
What about those Vikings? Vike fans must be cringing with embarrassment these days, as much as we Dallas fans. At least in Dallas we know there is no talent, but how can so much talent as Minnesota has do so terribly week after week? That is the question that someone will try to answer during the off-season.
Probably the best reason to watch the NFL in action each Sunday afternoon is that these days there are so many teams that are getting better and better. Teams like Chicago, Oakland and Philadelphia have been so bad year after year and suddenly are doing great. There is an equality about teams these days that has not been there for many a moon. You know it always used to be Dallas or San Francisco that won about everything every year.
Why, these years you can even hold your head up high being a Seattle Seahawks fan. Even though they are not doing well this year, you know that they will improve and probably sooner rather than later.
And that all makes for the best entertainment on TV these days.
