You know what I love about sports? Statistics. You know what I hate about sports on television? Useless statistics. Example: Today, Brett Favre threw for his 40th mile today. Really? Forty miles? Did we need a break in the action to be read that statistic? I understand that the statisticians need to earn their keep, but I don’t care how many MILES Favre has thrown; because, as you may know, football is not a game of miles - it’s a game of yards.
Am I overplaying that? A little. But it’s a point I have not brought up yet, so I feel that its’ time had come. In tonight’s brawl between Brett Favre’s Vikings and his former team, the Green Bay Packers, there was plenty of action to go around. In what was probably the best game of Sunday Night Football this season, the push for supremacy for two teams that were picked as Super Bowl contenders at the beginning of the season was electric.
Neither team has nabbed the number of wins that was expected of them at the beginning of the season; but nobody, least of all our faithful broadcasters, has given up faith on these teams making it to the postseason. In fact, many of their filler conversations consisted of discussing their thoughts on why these two teams haven’t performed this season. Part of keeping the game interesting when nothing is happening on field is going from play-by-play to in-game analysis instantly. I know, it’s sad that it has come to this.
Speaking of ‘analysis’ - one thing I’ve never really cared about is an athlete’s personal life. I don’t care if Tiger Woods slept with 100 women, I don’t care that Junior Seau drove his car off a cliff, I don’t care that Big Ben likes to party, and I don’t care that Brett Favre sent nude pictures to some woman two years ago. I hate the NFL’s code of conduct rules - which are 100% unfair (see Big Ben) and I hate that broadcasters feel the need to update us on the latest NFL gossip. I’m all for trash talk; because, you know, that has to do with football. But this? Eh. I’d rather not hear two guys dissect Brett’s “little” problem.
On a slightly technical note, I’ve started watching Sunday Night Football online via NBC’s website. It’s really convenient since I don’t have a television in my bedroom and prefer to sit in there if I get the chance. It also means that if I’m on the road, all I need is Internet access to watch the game. I think it’s a great move by NBC to offer this feature, and I’d encourage you to take advantage of it in a pinch. If you want to see the game in any manner of clarity, I wouldn’t recommend running any other programs - depending on your Internet connection, of course.
Another technical bit of awesome was the return of the Sunday Night Vision that I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago. For those who haven’t been keeping up week after week; Sunday Night Vision is an overlay of black onto everything except for the yard lines and the players. This is great because it makes everything on the field pop - think of it as 3Ds lesser cousin.
A solid broadcast of a great game. It came down to the wire and you could tell that the broadcasters were into it - as they always are. That’s what’s great about football, it’s easy to get into a game even when your team isn’t playing. Why else would we have two nights dedicated to a game that showcases two teams that most people don’t give a damn about six days a week?
You can check out the box score over at ESPN.
