This country is really fucked. There is so much of an unfathomable shitstorm going on that ol’ Samichlaus has wanted to put his keyboard aside, crawl up into a little ball and quietly wait for 4:15 PM Sunday, September 11th when my beloved Packers open the season against the Detroit Lions. Imagine that. A mere four years after the original national calamity, and in the midst of this years national calamity and I can’t wait for the sacred day.
You know, it’s about time.
Someday September 11th will be just another day, well, another day with an asterisk. Much like the bevy of other milestone days that have passed into the fabric of history, like December 7th and April 14th and correct me if I’m wrong, August 15th, September 11th will one day be anticipated as “next Tuesday”. This year September 11th is opening football Sunday, and also September 11th. That's a start.
The Packers open against the Lions in Detroit, which is an astonishing stroke of good fortune because the Lions usually suck. This year they feature weak armed QB Joey Harrington are somehow expected to be an offensive juggernaut. Their backup Quarterback Jeff Garcia has a broken leg to go along with his limp wrist. Not that there's anything wrong with that, or that Harrington is in any danger what with the Packers "pass rush". They have a few good receivers in Charles Rogers (who should be getting his yearly season ending injury any day now) and Roy Williams. Also, their running back Kevin Jones from Virginia Tech is pretty good too. Another featured performer is special teams demon Eddie Drummond who returned two punts and two kickoffs for touchdowns last season. Hmm, maybe this isn’t such an astonishing stroke of good luck. Detroit’s got some chops.
Meanwhile the Packers haven’t shown much D in the preseason and I keep praying that they’ve simply been playing possum. Yeah, right.
I have to say I was somewhere between thrilled and ecstatic when I heard the Packers released Cletdius Hunt. The guy was a 300 lb waste, though I would never tell him that to his face. He was lazy and insubordinate, and to make matters worse he was a stoner. I was talking to my inside source in Milwaukee about two weeks ago and we were lamenting Hunt. The common pang about this loser was “I don’t care if we have a less talented player. Let’s play someone who wants to play”. Good riddance.
One final thought: I am so fired up for the season. Every year around this time I make a promise to my wife that this year I won’t scream at the TV, and this year I won’t get upset, and this year we’re going to have fun. Every year, about 10 minutes into game one, all promises are usually in shambles.
This year is different.
The aforementioned shitstorm in the Gulf Coast has put a lot of things in perspective for me, but in regards to my Sunday afternoons for the next 18 weeks it’s taught me that it’s really just OK if the cornerbacks can’t tackle. I am grateful for the strange reality of sports, the escape that it affords me, and the child-like thrill I feel when my team wins. And when I look at a small house that dare I say only has one bathroom I thank God almighty that I’ve got a place to pee.
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