I wrote a few months ago after having given up on the Norv Turner-led Chargers that the only wish I had for this NFL season was for Kyle Eckel to get a Super Bowl ring. I certainly felt like an idiot after the Chargers advanced to the AFC Championship Game to face Kyle’s Patriots (I’m sorry, Norv!). While I was disappointed in the outcome of that game, I still felt good knowing that Kyle would get to go to the big one. Can you imagine? Kyle went from an 0-10 Navy team his plebe year to an 18-0 Super Bowl-bound juggernaut now. Talk about two different ends of the spectrum. And #38 was all over TV last night too, taking the field on special teams. It was great to see. Unfortunately, not only did Rodney Harrison not separate Eli Manning’s head from his neck, but the Patriots lost. Kyle didn’t get his ring. Fortunately, after his recent contract extension, we know he’ll get another shot next year.
On a tangential subject, watching the Giants win the Super Bowl made me glad that we don’t have a playoff for I-A football. How pointless is the regular season when a 10-6 division runner-up is crowned your champion? Not to take anything away from the Giants– they did what the NFL says they had to do. I’m just glad that college football is more do-or-die each week. There’s nothing like it.
The Birddog 
Exactly what I was thinking. I have no love for either team, and less for the Patriots, but they’re still the best team in the NFL regardless of the Super Bowl. Regardless of what people think, college football has it right.
come on Phat .. you aren’t still holding a grudge against Eli for the draft day stiff-arm he gave the Bolts, are you?
If you consider praying every night that he meets a fate not unlike Sonny Corleone’s to be holding a grudge, then yes.
I agree, man. If there were to be a playoff, limit it to conference champions. Does it make sense that the second best team in the NFC East is the Superbowl champion? Something doesn’t add up….
I don’t get the logic of comparing NFL playoffs to D1A. Even if you had a D1A playoff, you’d still have a meaningful regular season. Even the most insane playoff system developed wouldn’t be more than 3 games long. With 120 teams in D1A, there aren’t going to be any 6-loss teams in the hunt, no matter how you slice it. But there would be a Georgia or a Kansas in the mix.
Not sure how “meaningless” the regular season is when I compare the Pat’s division to the Giants’ division. The Pats are the only winning team in their division, but there are zero losing records in the Giants’ divison. The Pats are not Hawaii, but the Giants didn’t get to Phoenix by mistake.
The logic is that in college football you need to bring your best every week, while with playoffs you just have to be the hot team at the end of the year.
The Super Bowl was the second most watched TV event in the history of television. If sports are entertainment, they are doing something right. The FBS national champ “didn’t and died” twice this season. Same as Missouri, USC, Georgia, and WVU; Kansas had one loss. How would you feel if you are on any of these teams? At least the Pats controlled their destiny. Missouri, Kansas, USC, WVU, Georgia controlled their destiny as well as LSU did, and they are on the outside looking in. Would you advocate doing away with playoffs in all sports? After all, a team could get hot (see Rockies, Colorado) and win it all there too. Can you imagine if we got rid of the baseball playoffs and the World Series and let computers and pollsters decide the MLB champ? WooHoo!!!! Every game would matter!
The Super Bowl is a cultural event as much as a sporting event, and with the Patriots shooting for history and going against a team from the country’s largest TV market, it’s no surprise that so many people watched it. That doesn’t validate anything.
Professional sports have a completely different motivation. It behooves them to have as large of a playoff as possible in order to make the most money. As a result, the playoffs are very entertaining, but the regular season is an absolute bore. The same could be said for college basketball, where the tournament absolutely dominates and overshadows the regular season.
College football’s regular season is the crown jewel of the American sporting experience, in my opinion. I weep when I see so many people who want to change it.
Did you see you were nominated for Best New Blog and Best Non-BCS blog? Great work Phelix!
Sweet! I almost forgot about those. That’s awesome. I actually have a small part in one of the Best Post nominees too.
Too bad my Wagner campaign apparently fell short. I’m guessing that not updating his blog in a month probably didn’t help, but he’s got a lot on his plate.