I suppose it might be because my team is not participating, but I found the NFL playoffs particularly painful this weekend. It is probably because of gambling and fantasy football, but I have found that most football fans watch the playoffs, even when their team did not make it, which is different than what I have seen with most other sports. I normally enjoy these Eagles-free games just because they are football, but I found these games pretty awful. As always, I make no pretense of being objective. My own dislikes had a lot to do with my disgust, although bad officiating and bad play certainly entered into it.

The first negative for me occurred on Saturday during the game between the New Orleans Saints and the Detroit Lions. In the second quarter, with the Lions up 14-7, Drew Brees fumbled when hit by Willie Young, a defensive end for the Lions. After a bit of bouncing around, the ball was picked up by linebacker Justin Durant, who had a wide-open path to the end zone and a two-touchdown lead. For no apparent reason, though, a referee blew his whistle. That signaled the play was dead, and that was that. Sure, the Lions still had the ball, but this was a huge moment in the game. Instead of having a quick 21-7 lead and all the momentum, the Lions went three and out and punted. The Saints went on a drive that ate up the remaining time in the first half, which ended with a field goal that cut the Lions’ lead to 14-10. The Saints went crazy in the second half, scoring touchdowns on all five of their possessions, winning 45-28. Would the game have turned out different if that ref had not screwed up that play by blowing the whistle? There is no way to know. With the way that football is affected by momentum, it is certainly a possibility. Sure, officials make mistakes, but this was a pretty bad one.

Sunday was worse. First, the Atlanta Falcons laid an absolute egg against the New York Giants, losing 24-2. Yes, they scored two points in a playoff game. Two points, against a Giants defense that was ranked 27th in the league in yards allowed and 25th in points allowed during the regular season. The Giants allowed 28 or more points in ten of their sixteen games this year, and the Falcons managed two. Oh, and by the way, the two points came on a safety, of course, when Eli Manning was called for intentional grounding in his own end zone. So the Falcons offense actually scored zero points. Awful. Please note by the way, that as an Eagles fan, I despise the Giants. Later in the day, things got worse. I am, in no way, a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I have noted here previously the disgust I have for their quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. I would normally enjoy a Steelers loss, but even that enjoyment was taken away from me, as the loss was to Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos. Tebow is possibly the worst quarterback I have ever seen, yet he manages to find ways to win. The Steelers defense, unlike that of the Giants, was ranked first this season in both yards allowed and points allowed. Despite that, they looked awful on Sunday against Denver. Tebow threw only 21 passes, and completed less than half of them as usual, but those ten completions went for 316 yards, including 80 on the first play of overtime on a touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas. Revolting. I had to close Twitter, as my feed exploded with Tebow-mania. I am pretty sure that is something for which I will never be in the mood.

Count week one of the NFL playoffs as something less than stellar for me, I guess. I hope the weeks to come bring less unpleasantness.

Bad sports, continued:

2) University of Tennessee swimming coach John Trembley, in his 23rd year coaching the Vols, was fired this week and is being investigated by Knoxville police for an unspecified reason. The firing was for “gross misconduct,” so I am guessing the alleged crime is a pretty bad one.

3) I guess it had been a while since the national media had a reason to bash Philadelphia sports fans, so some idiotic Flyers fans decided to provide them with some real ammunition. After the Winter Classic on Monday, a group of fans were caught on video beating up a two men wearing New York Rangers jerseys outside a nearby restaurant. Perfect.

4) Pittsburgh Steelers running backs coach Kirby Wilson was seriously injured in a fire at his home on Friday morning. He is expected to recover.

5) Chicago Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro has been accused of sexual assault by a woman in Chicago. Castro denies any wrongdoing.

6) If I am somehow ever coaching in the Rose Bowl, I hope that I will make sure I am not on camera before I pick my nose and eat it. Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Rudolph can not say the same.

7) This is actually a professional bowler. Hahahaha.

Good sports:

1) Tim Howard, the soccer goalkeeper best known for his solid performance in goal for the U.S. National team during the 2010 World Cup, actually scored a goal of his own during an English Premier League game on Wednesday. Howard, who plays for Everton, scored a goal on a clearance that was affected by wind and got by Adam Bogdan, the keeper for Bolton (or was it Notlob)?

Bad sports, good sports appears every Monday

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Alan Spoll

Alan Spoll is a software quality assurance director from the suburbs of Philadelphia where he lives with his wonderful wife and children. He has spent his entire life as a passionate fan of the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, Flyers, and Penn State. Recent Phillies success aside, you will understand his natural negativity. Follow me on Twitter - @DocAlan02

Latest posts by Alan Spoll (Posts)

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