I don’t know what happened yesterday in the pro bowl and don’t really care. I haven’t for a long time, just like I haven’t had that much interest in professional football since the Jets dropped a 4th quarter lead and their playoff chances into the mud on a Sunday afternoon back in what feels like ’15. There isn’t much appeal to it anymore. I cannot say if it is the lack of interest in the teams or if the weight of all the constant publicity just forced me to tune out. Or maybe its something else.
There’s a great quote from V for Vendetta that goes something like, ‘you have all the information to be had, now all you need is a story’ I feel like that is exactly how it works with sports. Reporters work hard to create that storyline that fans become invested in and right now there isn’t much of one. Folks have tried–billing this as the new generation of QB vs. Old, but even that isn’t really sticking. Instead that storyline is becoming more about the supposed arrogance of Cam Newtown vs. the class of Manning. Again, a fabrication that takes liberty with the information–the evidence–to structure a false narrative about two players and two teams that aren’t all that flashy.
The truth is, from a football perspective this should be a good game. Both teams boast incredible defenses and while Newtown is clearly the better QB at this moment in time, Manning has a better receiving corps and better RBs to wear people out.
Still, I don’t care.
I guess I want Cam to win because it’ll be funny to watch people spin. I guess I want the Broncos to win, because I have a lot of friends who are fans. It is football and I’ll watch and I predict a Panthers blowout but in the end, I’m just waiting for the Giants to get back to business.