Opus 382

I don’t know what bothers me more; the haters or the bandwagon jumpers.

The haters are annoying but ultimately pathetic and certainly doomed if it’s true that whatever you put out into the universe comes back to you tenfold. That’s a hate-filled Twinkie thirty-five feet long, weighing 600 pounds. It is, as they say, a pretty big Twinkie.

The bandwagon jumpers are also annoying. And unctuous. Whenever I’m around bandwagon jumpers I find myself checking my pocket for my wallet every few minutes and I don’t even care if they’re offering to buy me a drink, which is, of course, the very least they could do.

Hello?

Thirsty man, here!

 

Another week, another big game. This time, the New England Patriots will take to the road – well, to the air I suppose – for a game with the Indianapolis Colts and their Nexus-6 QB, Andrew Luck.

Last I checked, New England was a slight underdog at +3.5. I’m good with that; the Patriots have always played better with a chip on their shoulder. I’m not good with so many pigskin pundits and bobbleheads taking the Flying Elvii for the win.

Okay. I know this is one of those things about Patriots’ fans the haters hate. Our team wins all the time (or so it seems because the do win 77% of the time) and we still want to have them thought of as lovable underdogs.

No respect?

That ain’t Rodney Dangerfield playing QB for the Patriot.

As a quick aside, Rodney Dangerfield is dead which makes for a rather poor and dated analogy but it does beg the question. Zombie Rodney Dangerfield might be quite a daunting opponent despite his lack of arm strength and 23.7 time in the 40. I mean, who wants to tackle that guy? The first guy who does is going to get bitten on the leg. You think zombie Rodney Dangerfield cares about unnecessary roughness penalties? He does not.

Where was I? Oh, right. Big game.

This game comes with plenty of implications, playoff-wise. New England could drop from the #1 seed to #3 with a loss. No bye week. A home game for wildcard weekend is nice but after that they’d likely need to win two road games to get to Super Bowl XLIX. The NFL is a world where anything is possible, but some possibilities have better odds than others. For those of us who penciled in a loss two weeks from now when the Patriots travel to Green Bay, this looks like a must win.

The loser can almost certainly kiss a first-round bye goodbye.

It’s a referendum game, too. If the Colts win they’ve got a seat at the big kids’ table (#2 and a bye) and Andrew Luck is the favorite for MVP. If the Patriots win it’s a quality road win against a playoff-worthy opponent (not to mention that #1 seed) and Tom Brady is the favorite for MVP.  

It’s kind of a big deal.

It’s an event.

For everything else the NFL is dealing with right now, this is game is what they want to be. For three blessed hours, it will just be football.

Maybe it isn’t as big as Brady v. Manning as some pigskin pundit or bobblehead was nattering on about. Brady v. Luck is still pretty damned good. Andrew Luck is the next big thing. (That’s money.) Brady is a first ballot lock for Canton. (Cash money.) Whatever happens this Sunday, you expect both of these teams to be in the playoffs, don’t you? Even better, it should be a shootout. Luck is going to throw for 300+ (because that’s all he does). We’re expecting the same from Brady, no? 35-30 somebody? You’re betting the over before you bet the under, am I right?

Sunday night.

The only game in town.

Everybody is watching.

The players know it.

It’s time for somebody’s close up.

40-37?

Let’s do this!