Shanked

Foot.  Ball.  Fate.

Indefensible

Order has been restored.  Defense still wins championships.  Well, not yet, of course.  Pigskin Pundits and Bobbleheads seemed very much like self-righteous, puritanical church deacons pointing to the fall of those sinners in Green Bay and New Orleans as a sign of what happens to those who ignore the fundamentals of their faith.  They will be struck down by God’s own zone blitz.

Perhaps I should say order has nearly been restored.  The New England Apostates have yet to be dispatched to Pigskin Purgatory.

Semi-Final Thoughts

After such knowledge, what forgiveness?  That – with props to T.S. Eliot and apologies to Billy Shakespeare – is the question. 

“…Think now

History has many cunning passages, contrived corridors

And issues, deceives with whispering ambitions,

Guides us by vanities.”

-      Gerontion, T.S. Eliot

Opus 63: My Name is Michael and I am a Patriots Fan

The first team that I ever hated was the Oakland Raiders.  As a young boy I rooted for the Denver Broncos PE (Pre-Elway).  The Raiders would routinely roll the Broncos.  I feared the Raiders.  And I hated them.  They were savage, inhuman, unfeeling, bloodthirsty creatures from a drive-in motorcycle vampire movie. I was young so I cut myself a little slack.  I was clearly irrational when it came to the Raiders.  I can see how crazy that was, because I am no longer a child, I’m an adult.  I’ve got a house, a family, two cars, a high stress job I may or may not survive (I like my chances), a kid in college halfway around the world and two indoor cats.  My name is Michael and I hate the Jets.

Running Up the Score on Jesus

Then there were four, one of them riding a pale horse, wearing a hoodie.

I Wanna Be Sedated

I have spent the last 48 hours being subjected to a one-two punch of the tenth anniversary of the Tuck Rule and recent Patriots failures in the playoffs.  When there’s a break in that action, I’m asked to consider the possibility that Tim Tebow may, in fact, be the second coming of Jesus Christ.  Through all of this I’ve come to the undeniable realization that I’ve really got to cut down on the coffee.

Do You Believe God Uses Football Games to Send Messages to People?

There are some people who believe their mere presence on this earth justifies the existence of God.  This seems rather egocentric to me.  My anecdotal evidence is not compelling.  I’m not so sure it would take a supreme being to create some of the people I know; more likely a mischievous demi-god with a truly eccentric sense of humor.  Anyway, I heard some chatter on WEEI, the local sports radio station.  Apparently, there are people who believe that Jesus is fixing NFL games in order to place Tim Tebow center stage at the Super Bowl to testify because (apparently) Jesus needs the pub.  Seriously?  Jesus needs to leverage the Super Bowl’s ratings to maximize the marketing opportunity for his brand in Tim Tebow?  Really?  Whatever happened to the badass dude who would just smite something every now and then?  Pillars of fire, floods, frogs, all the first born of Egypt – that guy didn’t need a football game to make his point.