Expectations? What expectations?

For several years now, being a Jacksonville Jaguars fan has been difficult.  It's been especially difficult if you buy season tickets and go to the games.  The easiest answer for why is...we have SO sucked.  Yet I buy tickets, every year with a sense of optimism.  It's not only that.  I feel a little bit of civic responsibility.  Having the team here does a lot for the city, and if we don't support them, they'll go elsewhere.  I can afford to support them and want to, but that's a very small part of the equation.

I enjoy the game day experience.  I enjoy seeing the people I've grown to know that sit around us at games.  I enjoy the roller coaster of emotion that comes with being there, and sharing it with them.  I really enjoy it when we win.  Usually, even in a loss, we can find hope for next week, and we just hope it doesn't happen all that often.

For several years now, though, that hasn't been the case...the winning part.  It's like I keep handing them my money and coming to support the team and I get nothing but disappointment in return.  It's a bit like paying taxes.  This year appeared to be different.  The preseason looked promising.  Last week the team started the season with a loss, but looked like they had taken steps forward.  They gave me hope for a decent season.  They were progressing.  All that came crashing down yesterday.  The Jacksonville Jaguars looked as inept as I have ever seen them, and I've been there, in those same seats, since 1995, when the team made its debut.  I mean ever.  That was right there with the first season, when the Detroit Lions actually took a knee to run the clock down so they wouldn't run the score up anymore.  I had some expectations for this season, but after yesterday....sorry, I just needed to vent a bit.

laziness begets ignorance

"You know the Jaguars fans, the home crowd will not be a factor-"
-Antonio Pierce, ESPN SportsCenter

Ya know, after a while I just have to laugh. These talking heads who work for ESPN don't do much of anything if they can get away with doing nothing. I'm guessing Antonio Pierce has never been to a home Jaguar game. He's just jumping on the "Jacksonville is a pit" bandwagon. This year lots of stadiums are not selling out and blackouts are a huge issue. The national media has all kinds of economy excuses and they talk about how fans across the country are having a tough time making ends meet, let alone paying a few hundred dollars to take the family to a game. Not only that, you get a better view of the game from home on your TV, provided the game is being aired. Yeah, and last year when the Jaguars were having problems selling out the stadium, apparently none of these factors came into play. According to the national media, we just sucked.

Now, we have this piece of tripe. Yo Antonio "too lazy to do any actual research so I'll just make it up as I go" Pierce. Do us all a favor and actually watch tonight's game....and listen to the crowd.

more quick hits

I'm getting real tired of the Tiger Woods debacle. Maybe it's that it's so ugly, I want to look away, but I can't. Everywhere I look, he's there. This Sunday's sports page in the local fish wrap sported an article about how the black community is feeling discriminated against in his choice of mistresses. Let me wrap my head around this one. You're pissed because he only ruined the lives of a bunch of white hos? Couldn't find a nice black ho to send spinning in a tabloid nightmare. I'm sorry, but that's a bit warped.

Florida Gators - people around here are hanging their heads. I can't say I knew who would win the SEC Championship game, but before the game, a lot of my friends were talking about it like it was some foregone conclusion....show up in Atlanta, stomp on Alabama again on the way to the National Championship game. I kept telling them Alabama wasn't going to just play into their plans. The Tide played into their own plans. Now the same story is coming again....Alabama just has to show up and someone's going to hand them the National Championship. I think Texas may have a little to say about that. I'm glad they actually play the games, so all the experts get to see that they aren't.

In Division 2, where they actually have a playoff in college football, my little school from mainline Philly is actually in the semifinals. Go Wildcats!

2000 - 2009 is supposedly the warmest decade on record. Gotta wonder....who fudged the numbers? Even if it's correct, those climatological scientists are going to deal with ethics issues for a while, which could prove costly.

you know you're a bit warped when...

...you enjoy watching one team win a baseball game, but you get far more enjoyment out of watching the other team lose.

The Jaguars

My optimism for a respectable Jaguars season took a serious dive yesterday.

We've had season tickets for 15 years...since the birth of the franchise. I may be suffering from selective memory, and perhaps some other piece of ugliness was so bad I've wiped it from my collective consciousness...but, what I witnessed yesterday looked an awful lot like the worst performance I have ever seen from our football team. It was so bad, it would have been funny if I didn't care so much...

not ready to drink the koolaid

Everybody wants to get all giddy because the jaguars looked good in their last preseason game.

The passing game has sucked in recent years and looked much improved in that game. There was a pass rush, which had been missing before. The offensive and defensive lines looked much better than in previous weeks. They dominated the Redskins.

Yeah...but.....

First, it was the Redskins. It wasn't Indianapolis.

Second, it was the Redskin second and third string. Unlike the Jaguars, the Redskins first string players had already proven they can play, and got to sit out the last preseason game. The Jaguars played against the guys who aren't sure if they're good enough to make the team. They're playing for a spot. So, there's a reason they're playing. They aren't as good as the guys who took the night off. If they Jaguars didn't look good against those guys, I'd be really worried.

I'm encouraged by the execution the Jaguars displayed, but I'm not buying into the idea that they can do the same things against top shelf talent. That, I still need to see.

Brett Favre

Does adding Brett Favre really make the Vikings any better? Everyone seems to think it's a given. I'm not so sure. I think the move does more harm to his legacy with Packer fans (who will now hate his spiteful ass) than it helps the Vikings, who were pretty good without him.

Does anyone outside Minnesota and Green Bay really care what Brett Favre does anymore? I'm pretty tired of his act.

The Jaguars first pre-season game

I watched the first half last night, and I don't want to try to take too much from watching the first pre-season game. The team is young. Lots of rookies and lots of player turnover.

I saw some things that made me hopeful, but at the same time...watching the first team offense...it just looked a lot like it did last year, and that ain't good. Some of the first string players didn't play because of minor injuries, so there's that to consider, and some of the guys just haven't played together for that long. Some guys (Maurice Jones Drew) barely played at all.

I'm hopeful, but the reality is it needs to get a lot better. The first string offense didn't move the ball...at all. David Garrard led the team to one first down in three possessions. That's pitiful. I'm cautiously optimistic, but with more caution than before I watched that game. Please Jaguars...show me something I can believe in.....soon.

cycling as a spectator sport

I've never considered cycling much of a spectator sport. I probably kept up with/watched more of the Tour de France this year than any other, but still I wasn't glued to it. Bicycling has always been something I love to do but don't really care to watch someone else do. I can think of a few other activities that fall into that category, but I digress.

Not helping at all was all the doping controversy stuff. It just made me shake my head. Why do people think they can get away with cheating? Even if they do, in their heart of hearts they know...any accomplishment is a lie. This year I got into it a bit because of Lance Armstrong. I didn't care so much about him winning. I just liked the story of him coming back and giving it a shot.

Now, I have this. The race is over and done. Alberto Contador won and Armstrong came in third (which I thought was pretty freakin' amazing, all things considered) and they're on the same team and they rocked. Still, they don't like each other and now, they're sniping at each other. I know...huge egos are part of any sport. It's not just a cycling thing. This, though, is just stupid. Can't you guys just smile and be happy with your accomplishments, and be happy and have some respect for your teammate? Contador, you got scoreboard, dude. You won the thing. You need to be happy and leave everything else in your rear view mirror. Armstrong, you won seven of them and came back to take third place. You have nothing to complain about. You both kicked butt. Do you have to keep picking at each other? Just be proud of what you did, and not busy getting your bike shorts twisted in a wad, egging each other on. If it ain't doping, it's being crybaby pansies. I'd say you're acting like a couple of little girls, but that'd be an insult to little girls. Don't give me any of that, "But he said" crap. Grow up! Is it any wonder I don't make a habit of watching you people ride?

Ron Mexico is free

Mike Vick received his get out of jail free card, yesterday. I went to the gym last night and watched....no, not the American Idol finale(thank God - those people were on the other side of the room) but ESPN News, followed by the beginning of a basketball game where it looked like Cleveland was taking Orlando to the woodshed...surprise! Guess I should have kept watching. Back to ESPN though, where Vick was all the talk. What does this mean for his NFL career? Where will he go? What kind of impact can he have? How good will he be after two years in prison?

I don't want the guy to be unemployed. I'm OK with him playing football. He did his time and now he should be able to go out and make a living. I just don't want him doing it for my team. I don't care if he goes to one of our rivals and turns into the reason they beat us. I still don't want him here. I want the men on the football team representing my city to be decent human beings...ones who know they are role models and take that responsibility seriously. I want good citizens.... that are damn good at football. This guy held dogs under water until they died. He trained them to fight each other until one killed the other, and enjoyed watching them do it. When accused of it, he shrugged it off and said it doesn't really matter because "Everybody lub Michael Vick." No, Mike, we don't lub you...and it doesn't matter to me how damn good you might be at football, I still don't want you on my team, representing my city. You're a bad human being.

Now you might ask, what happens if Vick comes out and transforms into a model citizen. What if there is a Mike Vick foundation that supports animal shelters, and he begins tutoring inner city school kids, teaching them to say "love" instead of "lub", and serving up food in homeless shelters. Would that change your tune, Mr. Lumberyard?

Ya know, it might (not that Vick cares what I think). I can't say for sure, but it very well could. Maybe the day comes when he cares, not necessarily about what I think, but about his place in, and contribution to, society. Maybe he shows us all he's found his conscience. Let's cross that bridge when we come to it.

is the draft this weekend?

Damn, that snuck up on me fast. ESPN really ought to give that thing more play. When you only cover it 24/7 for a month, with occasional interruptions for March Madness updates, I don't think that's really enough.

It's starting to get like the presidential election. I just want it to be over so I don't have to hear about it anymore

hero takes a fall

Well, a second one. Jimmy Smith, one of the most successful players in the Jaguars' short history, was arrested yesterday.

Back when he was playing he got caught in a drug test for cocaine. He strongly denied ever using the drug, but eventually admitted he had a problem and went to rehab. After that, he played well, until he retired. By all accounts from people who know him (and I'm not one of them), Jimmy is a great guy and a good family man.

Well, yesterday he got pulled over for excessive window tint on his car, and when he got stopped, the telltale smell of pot tipped the officer off. A search revealed that, and cocaine, and he was arrested.

Well, he may be a great guy, but he's a great guy with a problem. I hope he gets the help he needs to get, and stay, clean this time.

the Jaguars grab Torry Holt

Wooo Hoooo! Well, sort of. The Jaguars went and got Torry Holt. At first blush, I should be ecstatic. Immediately our lame receiving corps got better. When you consider though, that last year's 'starters' have been tossed from the team and nobody is racing to snatch them up, you have to realize the bar is abysmally low. We got nobody, so just about anybody is an improvement. Torry Holt isn't just anybody. He's a damn good player...or was. He's older, and there's a knee issue. The Rams let him go, and the only reason he's signing with the Jaguars is because there was no rush to sign him from other teams. The race was between us and the Titans, and neither team was putting out a Herculean effort. That makes me skeptical. I mean, you gotta ask why. Why were the Rams so willing to let go of a guy who has played so well for them? Why didn't...say...the Falcons, or the Packers, or the Raiders, or any number of other teams, show the same kind of interest we did?

I guess I'm just leery of the whole free agent signing thing. The Jaguars, especially in the recent past, have had no luck in that arena. We overpay for people and get absolutely no (Jerry Porter) return on investment. I guess I've become a lot more like the State of Missouri. You gotta show me.

I'm gonna miss that guy...BOOM!

Often imitated, not quite duplicated, but very good at what he does, or did...John Madden is retiring from his broadcasting career. He's one of the most recognizable people associated with NFL football, and while I can't blame him for hanging up the microphone and settling down, I will miss him.

Watching football won't be quite the same anymore....

the moral victory

At last we put in a better showing than Michigan State. I thought our game was pretty bad, until I watched some of that debacle last night. Didn't come close to watching the whole thing. Didn't need to.

Congrats UNC. You guys definitely deserved the title.

ouch

It really wasn't that we lost that bothered me. I knew we were the party crashers amid the giants of college basketball, and our chances were slim. It was the way we lost. Put together a really poor shooting night and North Carolina's defense, and we just looked awful. Someone told me, they should have stopped trying to shoot the 3. Depth perception sucks in a dome like that. Well, my response is, yes I've heard that theory/excuse before, but it sure didn't seem to stop Carolina. They were making their shots behind the arc. We just weren't.

I was hoping we'd at least look like we belonged in Detroit, but that was just a pitiful performance. In the end, it doesn't bother me all that much. Villanova made it to the final four, which was more than I could ask. I would have liked a better game to go out on, but they didn't ask me.

Holy Carp...what do we do now?

I'll admit, when I wrote this a while back, I had no idea that Villanova would actually meet North Carolina in the final four. I had hopes of the elite 8 and thought if we could get there, if our opponent would be Pitt, we stood a chance, only because we beat them in the regular season, even if it was in Philadelphia in front of a huge home crowd.

So here we are, going to Detroit for the NCAA championships, in the final four and playing the team everyone (including Barak...who hasn't failed me yet, so I still have that going for me) expects to take the whole thing. It sure feels like the last time Villanova made it there, when nobody expected us to do anything and we took it all, but that was 1985. It's still called one of the greatest upsets in sports. I don't know if that kind of magic's in the air in Detroit this year. My unrealistic expectations are already met. I hate sounding like the 'just happy to be here' guy, but I am. Oh, I want to see my little David kick Goliath's butt, and I'll be ecstatic if it happens....but I won't be all that shocked if it doesn't. That's just me bracing for disappointment though. The team? They'd better be damn sure they're going to win.

YESSSSSSS!

I'll be honest. I didn't stay up and watch the whole game, but I saw some of it. It's the reality of Thursday night on a work night. I was also nervous because a lot of people were picking Villanova to win this game, but the reasons they were giving for it were disconcerting. It was all about being tired of Duke and their smugness. It was about how much they want to see Duke fall, but none of it was why they thought Villanova could win. They were just wishing Duke would lose.

But....

YESSSSSSSS!

I love March Madness.

I'm getting nervous

All the talking heads I listen to are picking my Wildcats to 'upset' Duke (if you can call a 3 seed beating a 2 seed an upset) in tonight's NCAA matchup, and that worries me. As a group, these talking heads are usually wrong, more often proving they don't deserve the title of 'expert' they attribute to themselves.

On the good side, Barak picked Duke, and his bracket is a flaming disaster. I understand after the first round, ESPN put his in the bottom 4% of all the brackets they had online from across America (yeah, nice going Mr. President)...so I got that going for me, which is nice.

why spend more time on overtime in the NFL

People don't like the fact that the NFL isn't discussing the way overtime works. Basically, if you play 60 minutes of football and come up tied, we flip a coin over who gets the ball first and whoever scores first wins. Something like 66% of the time, the team that wins that coin toss gets the ball and scores....game over. Essentially, you've placed the fate of the two teams in a coin.

I'm asking...so what? If your team has 60 minutes to affect the outcome of the game and prove itself better than its opponent and fails to do that, they deserve the coin flip. You have a whole game to prove your skill, use your strategy, and do whatever necessary to win the game. If the other team is good enough to make that impossible, but not good enough to beat you, neither of you has proven yourself worthy of a victory. You've battled yourself to mediocrity. If you truly deserved the win, it would have been decided long before the clock dies down to 00:00, but you didn't, or you wouldn't be in this situation. You deserve the coin flip, and just be happy that even if you lose that, you're given the opportunity to stop the other team from scoring and get the ball back to your offense. Next time, win the game in regulation time or take what luck gives you, and don't whine about it.