Is it time to blow up this edition of the Dallas Cowboys? I vote no

Now that I have had about a week-and-a-half to cool off after the latest end-of-season crumble by my beloved Dallas Cowboys, I believe I can speak rationally about what the club should do going into next season, and my suggestions will not involve the types of violence that would have been included had I tried to write this last week.

To all the haters … COWBOYS FOR LIFE!

One of the most common thoughts I’ve heard is that the team and coaching staff need to be blown up and rebuilt. This theory has been advanced by “experts” and average fans, and by Cowboys fans and Dallas haters. It may sound like the right thing to do, but the National Football League doesn’t work that way.

Tony Romo has been an obvious target, and considering the fact that the last play he will be remembered for after this season was one of the more pathetic interceptions thrown in quite some time, targeting Romo is expected, and fair. I am pro-Romo overall, but not to the point where I’m 100% all-in and blind to the facts.

When you take the field with Romo as your quarterback, you are signing on for the good and the bad. Romo will single-handedly win games, as he did on several occasions late this season. He will also single-handedly lose games, which he proved quite adept at doing last season, when he gift-wrapped victories for the New York Jets and Detroit Lions. I still think there is more good than bad in Romo. The bad tends to be overly magnified, which is part of the job of being an NFL quarterback in general, much less the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.

For those who want to see a change at the quarterback position: I’d love to hear your suggestions. The NFL is not fantasy football. Aaron Rodgers will not be the starting quarterback for the Cowboys next season, nor will Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, Tom Brady (like Dallas needs yet another reason to be universally hated), Peyton Manning, and so on.

Is replacing Romo with a backup with limited NFL experience the answer? Are the Cowboys really better off with, say, Matt Flynn, who had a couple of brilliant outings for the Green Bay Packers, but couldn’t beat out Russell Wilson for the Seattle Seahawks’ starting job? Is the team better off with someone like its current backup, Kyle Orton, who has extensive starting experience, but who played himself into a backup role? Hell, maybe the Cowboys should buy into the hype and go after Tim Tebow, for he shall lead us to the promised land! I would keep Romo over any of these options, without a second thought.

As for the draft, even if the Cowboys are able to swing the type of deal they pulled off last season, in moving up to select Morris Claiborne, are any of the quarterbacks who will be available really game-changers? Scouting and projecting is nowhere near an exact science — think of it this way: JaMarcus Russell was the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, and Romo was undrafted — but I just don’t see an Andrew Luck, a Robert Griffin III, or even a Wilson in this draft.

Overall, I see no choice but to proceed with Romo, for at least one more year. I am not a believer in change for the sake of change.

Another popular target, deservedly so, is Head Coach Jason Garrett. The coach is the easiest thing to change. As the cliché says, “You can’t fire all of the players.” And while Garrett do anything anywhere near as foolish as icing his own kicker, like he did to cost the team a game against the Arizona Cardinals last season, there were times when his judgment was questionable, at best, and I had a major issue with his tendency to give up on the running game at the first sign of adversity.

One thing I will say for Garrett is that this team has never lacked effort under his leadership, as it did on numerous occasions when “led” by his predecessor, Wade Phillips. Of course, the argument can be raised that the players should be motivated by their paychecks and the desire to secure their jobs, but sadly, as is the case on most teams in most sports, it doesn’t always work that way.

But I’ll play along: If Garrett is not the head coach next season, who should it be? Will the team really improve if it replaces Garrett with an NFL retread, or a college coach? I don’t believe that’s the solution.

I would have loved to see Sean Payton come back to the Cowboys’ organization, which never should have let him go in the first place, and there was a brief window of hope when his extension with the New Orleans Saints was declared invalid by the league, but Payton is back in the Saints’ fold and off the table.

I would make an exception for Mike Holmgren, but I don’t see any scenario where Holmgren would work for Jerry Jones. Holmgren clearly wants full control of the team, and as long as the Cowboys’ owner fancies himself as a GM, coach, and God knows what else, the two personalities won’t mix. If you need proof of this, recall that another coach who demanded complete control, Bill Parcells, was force-fed Terrell Owens, who he clearly never wanted on the team. Does that sound like complete control to you?

I also thought about Lovie Smith, mainly because the atmosphere around the Cowboys comes off as too relaxed, and it would be nice to have someone come in and put a foot up people’s asses. But Smith has only been marginally more successful than Garrett, and I’m not sure the move would accomplish anything.

Much like Romo, I believe Garrett deserves one more season. If there is no improvement next year, then it’s time for a change.

What should the Cowboys address during the offseason? The absolute top priority has to be the offensive line. The club tried to remedy this issue during the last offseason, by re-signing Doug Free and adding Nate Livings and Mackenzy Bernadeau, but it failed miserably. Free has been an utter and complete disaster, and if he can be cut outright without drastic damage to the salary cap, he should. Everyone else was just plain mediocre, at best. While former No. 1 draft pick Tyron Smith is probably the most talented member of the unit, he is also a penalty machine, and the penalties tend to come at the worst times, absolutely killing momentum. I don’t have any specific names in mind, professional or college, but changes must be made.

Another thing Dallas must do, which is much easier said than done, is try to figure out just how much they can rely on some of the players that have performed well but missed time due to injuries. Sean Lee, Miles Austin, and Demarco Murray are all outstanding football players, but an outstanding football player doesn’t do his team much good when he’s on the bench in street clothes, or, as was the case with Austin this season, trying to play through (admirable) at much less than full strength. Can the Cowboys afford to base their offensive game plans around Murray and their defensive game plans around Lee, only to see the two of them go down again?

As I said, this is far easier said than done. Injuries can’t possibly be predicted, and they are part of the game of football, but it’s frustrating to constantly see the team’s most valuable players out of uniform.

This should be an interesting offseason, to say the least, but the window on this team is closing, and closing quickly. I am not on board with rebuilding now. Rebuilding in football doesn’t really exist. At least when teams try to do so in Major League Baseball, their fans can follow their prospects’ journeys through the minor leagues and retain some hope (see: Kansas City Royals). Football doesn’t work that way. However, if this team doesn’t succeed next year, it might be time for drastic moves.

One more thing before I go: If this current nucleus of Cowboys never wins a Super Bowl, I don’t blame Tony Romo, or Jason Garrett, or DeMarcus Ware, or Jason Witten, or even Wade Phillips. I will tell you who I blame: Patrick FUCKING Crayton.

Patrick Crayton, the former No. 3 wide receiver? Yes, that bum. Why? The week before the Cowboys played the New York Giants in a divisional playoff game, Crayton did nothing but run his mouth. The two teams are divisional rivals, and the Cowboys swept both regular-season meetings. Talking trash accomplishes nothing. Shut up, don’t motivate the Giants any more than they already are, and play the game.

After running his mouth all week, Crayton dropped the pass that would have put the game away for the Cowboys, who, at 13-3, had their best season by far since the Super Bowl years of the early 1990s. A perfectly thrown ball to a wide-open Crayton in the fourth quarter would have, at minimum, resulted in 40 yards, a first down, and two or three more minutes off the clock. Instead, Hands of Stone dropped the ball, the Giants took over, and the rest is history.

Would the Cowboys have won the Super Bowl that year? Not necessarily, but you never know, and, as I said, the 2007 squad was the best in recent years.

So, to the Cowboys: Stay the course, improve the O-line, and let’s give this one more run. And to Patrick Crayton, wherever you are: FUCK YOU.

Overpriced tickets, empty seats, and clueless management

The fact that sports ticket prices are completely out of hand is far from a new revelation, and my favorite club in any sport, the New York Yankees, falls among the worst offenders, possibly even occupying the top spot.

Go team go!

Empty seats, especially in the premium sections, have become the norm, no matter how big the game, or how nice the weather. And as clueless as management at some of these teams can be, they are trying to remedy the problem. But are they trying hard enough?

I became a Yankees season-ticket holder (half-season through 2008, full season for 2009 and 2010) in 1997, and I gave my seats up after the 2010 season (click the link for the long list of reasons why). The Yankees have managed to treat me better as a former ticket holder than when I actually had the account active.

I have received several calls over the past few months from the Yankees ticket office, gauging my interest in rejoining the fold for the 2013 season. I am actually surprised that the club is putting that much effort into cases like mine. When I go to Dunkin’ Donuts, I usually drop the coins I receive as change into the tip jar. The $4,000 or so that my season tickets cost means less to the Yankees than those coins mean to me.

I don’t even bother answering anymore because, in all fairness to the Yankees, I am in no position to commit to tickets of any sort, and many of the factors have nothing to do with the team or its pricing. We are moving, which would make attending weeknight games virtually impossible, and our family expanded, which completely changes the priorities of our budget.

But the few times I did make last-ditch attempts to keep some kind of ticket plan, the seats they were willing to offer me at a reasonable price were pure crap. I may have tried to plead my case with Mrs. 9 if I could have gotten something in the first few rows of the 400 level, in the infield, but when I was offered high rows in the outfield, my response was, “Dude, I have a 50-inch TV. Why would I sit all the way up there?”

And it’s not just the Yankees: A good friend Is part of a group that splits premium (and I do mean premium) Mets tickets, and the Mets actually lowered their prices significantly. Still, the skeptic in me wonders: If the Mets had been a playoff team in any of the three seasons since moving to Citi Field, would they have extended that offer? My gut says no.

Another good friend stopped by tables that the New York Giants and New York Jets set up at an event, and he received the big-time hard sell from both teams. When they asked,” What’s it going to take to get you in these seats?” sounding like desperate used-car salesmen, his response was, “Drop the PSL.” Naturally, they refused.

For years, the only way to get Giants season tickets was to put your name on a waiting list and wait several years (my name was on one prior to the new stadium opening, and I was told to expect a 15- to 20-year wait). I find it almost laughable that I could pick up the phone today and become a season ticket holder if I wanted to, but that would require an investment beyond my means, especially when I don’t root for the team.

For those not in the know, PSL stands for “personal seat license,” which is the biggest scam in the sports ticketing industry. A PSL basically forces fans to pay a large lump sum of money, simply for the right to shell out more money for the actual tickets.

Some PSLs offer owners the right to purchase their seats for other events (concerts, other sports), but the Giants and Jets can’t even do that. When Bruce Springsteen plays MetLife Stadium, who gets the seat: The Giants fan, or the Jets fan? Those teams’ PSL holders receive perks, such as early access to ticket sales, but is that enough?

One of the most irritating things about PSLs is that teams pitch them to fans as investment opportunities, touting how much the fans can profit if they resell the PSLs. I realize running a sports team is running a business, but being a sports fan is an entirely different story. If someone is enough of a fan of the team to consider forking over several thousand dollars per seat for PSLs, selling those rights is the furthest thing from their minds.

Back on topic: It’s obvious that teams are recognizing the fact that the prices they are trying to charge in an economy that is still scuffling are completely out of hand, leading to the large pockets of empty seats in very visible locations (field level behind home plate for baseball, field level between the 40-yard-lines for football), but are they doing enough about it? My experience Saturday, which prompted me to write this blog post, suggests otherwise.

$275? Seriously?

A friend from college was nice enough to give me two tickets to Saturday afternoon’s Yankees game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and we took 0.9 to his first-ever Yankees game. They were fun seats, especially since I usually sit upstairs: section 117a (field level, behind the Yankees dugout), row 30.

However, when I looked at the ticket price, my jaw dropped. The face value of the tickets was $275 apiece. I am not by any means trying to sound ungrateful for the tickets, and I was happy to learn that my friend received them as a gift, so he didn’t shell out that ungodly sum of money for them, but seriously?

First of all, they were technically field level seats, but they were nowhere near the field. As I said, they were in row 30, but the Legends Suite seats are in front of the field level seats, so they were really about 40 rows up.

Second, they were in the back row, and the condiments station was directly behind us. I joked about getting something spilled on me when we first got there, and somebody with an $11.50 cup of Miller Lite soon obliged.

Third, the section to our right had a handicapped seating area in place of rows 26-30. I am all for ballparks having as much handicapped access and seating as possible, and I applaud the existence of this seating area, and all of the others in the ballpark. However, because of the location of this particular handicapped seating area, I could not see anything hit down the right field line.

Charging $275 for those tickets is beyond criminal. I would have been irate if I actually paid that silly price to sit there. And despite the beautiful weather and excellent opponent, there were plenty of empty seats around us.

Also, I have no way to prove this, but if you look at StubHub, there are usually thousands of tickets available for every game. In the case of Saturday’s game, there were more than 2,400 available on the morning of the game. Yet, despite the fact that StubHub users can assign any price they wish to their tickets, there are often large groups of listings at the exact same price, all for seats in sections like 117a, and all from a handful of user names. So, either a few people are rich enough to own several-hundred field level season tickets apiece, or the Yankees are flooding the secondary market with tickets they can’t sell. You decide. I already have.

Sports teams have a choice: Either take a serious look at your pricing policies, or continue to see more and more empty seats. But despite recent economic struggles, the teams’ management remains far too arrogant, for the most part, to admit that the current structure is out of hand. It will be interesting to see if this ever changes.

Eli Manning Way? Enough already!

Just when I thought I was going to be able to go five minutes without being reminded that the Giants won the Super Bowl, I had to go and read that the square mile of issues known as Hoboken is considering naming a street after Eli Manning.

Enough already.

I’ve given the Giants plenty of well-deserved props, but enough already.

The man has had four solid games. Six weeks ago, most Giants fans I know wanted to drop him off Pier A with rocks tied to him. And now, he’s worthy of a street?

Off the top of my head, I can name several recent area athletes who are far more deserving of that honor.

If you want to stick with the Giants, how about the quarterback who had the best performance in Super Bowl history, Phil Simms? Character issues probably rule out Lawrence Taylor (although how much worse is his character than that of just about any Hudson County politician?), unless the city is looking to name an alley where drug transactions occur. O.J. Anderson?

Granted, football’s popularity dwarfs that of hockey, but the New Jersey Devils have won three Stanley Cups in the not-too-distant past. How about Scott Stevens, Martin Brodeur or Scott Niedermayer?

The New York Yankees won four World Series in five years. How about Derek Jeter or Joe Torre? Or even Bernie Williams? Mariano Rivera?

Character issues kind of rule out most of the 1986 Mets, and the New Jersey Nets’ last championship happened when the team played on Long Island in short-shorts with gigantic afros and a red, white and blue basketball. And as for the Jets, are they still in the league?

I’m really not trying to trash Eli Manning. His play escalated at the best possible time, and I expect him to go into next season with a new level of confidence and stay in the upper echelon of quarterbacks.

But I say, “No way,” to Eli Manning Way.

Super jealous

I didn’t realize how jealous I was of Giants fans until this morning, when I got to the PATH station in Hoboken for my commute to cubicle hell. Every inch of the World Trade Center-bound platform was filled with Giants fans heading to the victory parade.

No one who has ever run into me in the morning will call me “Sunshine,” but being surrounded by Giants fans definitely darkened my already dark mood.

As I’ve already mentioned in my Super Bowl wrap-up, I don’t hate the Giants. But I don’t like them either. I did root for them on Sunday, but to be truthful, if my Cowboys couldn’t represent the NFC, I’d have much rather seen the Green Bay Packers take their shot.

It wasn’t a bitter, hateful jealousy. The Giants earned their championship with four hard-fought playoff wins, including one over my team. As KGB said in Rounders, “Give him his money … he beat me fair and square.”

It sucked seeing so many people so happy and not being a part of it. Not that I have any intentions of changing allegiances, mind you, but the flavor in the air was very similar to the few days after the 1996 World Series, when the Yankees shocked the Braves and the world.

I work in Manhattan, but nowhere near the parade. Yet when I went out for lunch, I couldn’t walk half-a-block without running into someone wearing Giants gear.

One observation made me laugh: So many of the Giants jerseys I’ve seen the past couple of weeks are brand-spanking new, which is fine. There’s nothing wrong with buying a new jersey, although hard-core longtime Giants fans may differ and chastise people for jumping on the bandwagon.

But I laughed because it reminded me of a conversation I had with a Giants fan at a bar in Hoboken very early in this football season, when I showed up to watch a Cowboys game wearing a Tony Romo jersey.

Giants fan (in what was clearly a sarcastic tone): NICE NEW Romo jersey you got there.

Me (doubly sarcastic): Well, he hasn’t even been the starting quarterback for a year yet. How fucking old of a jersey would you like me to wear? I’ll make you happy and show up in a leather helmet next week, numb nuts.

Anyway, as I said, there’s no hate in my jealousy. Giants fans: Enjoy this. This whole experience just makes my hunger for a Cowboys Super Bowl victory and a Yankees World Series victory that much stronger.

I’d have mentioned a New Jersey Nets NBA title, but they don’t let me drink at work.

Super Bowl XLII … from a Dallas fan’s perspective

It’s been just a hair over 24 hours since the officials at Super Bowl XLII had to go through the ridiculous process of clearing off the field just so Eli Manning could take a snap and kneel, running out the one second left on the clock. And I honestly still don’t believe the game I watched.

For those who don’t know me, I’m a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan. Rooting for the Giants was painful for me, but I couldn’t bring myself to root for New England. That franchise just oozes with reasons to hate them.

And while I don’t like the Giants, I don’t hate them. I don’t have anywhere near the contempt for them that I do for Philadelphia or Washington, or even San Francisco (yes, I know, the Niners have been harmless for years, but every single time I watch a football game, I see a replay of the God-damned Dwight Clark catch at some point, so I will always hate the Forty-Niners, no matter what their record is).

I respect the Giants’ organization and, for the most part, their fans. I’ve been to nearly 20 Cowboys @ Giants games and never had any problems. I have to root against them frequently for NFC East purposes, but, to steal an oft-quoted line from The Godfather, “It’s not personal. It’s just business.”

As far as the Giants @ Cowboys divisional playoff game three weeks ago, I had a bad feeling all the way through. When the list of four potential Cowboys’ opponents came out, the Giants were by far the last ones I wanted to play. My preferred order was: Tampa, because I thought they sucked and still do (taking nothing away from the Giants’ Wild Card victory there, but just sayin’); Seattle, because I wanted payback from the infamous Romo dropped snap last year; Washington, because I don’t need a reason to get fired up for the Redskins; THEN the Giants. Well, we all know how that worked out.

So now that I’ve had a full day to digest Super Bowl XLII, I thought I’d share my opinions on some of the best plays, standout players and what this means for next season.

The first half: As I said, I rooted for the Giants. And I thought it was a very, very bad omen that they pretty much dominated 30 minutes of football, yet trailed 7-3 at halftime. This whole season, it just seemed like New England was ready to strike at any moment, and I feared (and many Giants fans probably shared this concern) that 7-3 could become 21-3 very quickly. When you’re playing a team as talented as New England, you can’t waste opportunities, and thoroughly outplaying a team, yet being down four points, struck me as a big-time wasted opportunity.

12 men on the field: I thought this would be a huge momentum-turner. For those who don’t remember the play, the Giants forced the Patriots to punt and got decent field position, but one of the Giants was late getting off the field just prior to the punt snap, and Belichick threw the red challenge flag, got the play overturned and got the ball back for New England. I thought the momentum swing would be very tough for the Giants to recover from.

Justin Tuck: What a beast. If this guy didn’t play on the same team as Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora (yes, I confess, I did have to look up the spelling of his name), he’d be considered one of the best defensive players in the game. He should anyway. And if Strahan decides to retire, I don’t see this pass rush missing a beat.

The Catch, II: If you’ve been in the same ZIP code as a TV set since Sunday night, you’ve seen the play: Eli Manning somehow avoids being sacked by three Patriots, scrambles to his left and fires one deep, and David Tyree somehow catches the ball 32 yards downfield with one hand and his helmet. This would have been considered one of the greatest plays and one of the greatest catches of all-time if it happened during a regular-season game in October. The fact that it happened during the Super Bowl almost gives it Willie Mays-Vic Wertz status. Patriots fans will soon be as sick of seeing replays of this play as I am of seeing replays of Tony Romo’s bobbled snap in the Cowboys’ playoff loss at Seattle last year.

David Tyree: It seems like there always has to be someone who comes out of the woodwork and has a huge effect on a championship game after contributing marginally during the regular season. Queue David Tyree: Four catches during the regular season, and three during the Super Bowl, including The Catch, II. Unreal.

2:39: As well as the Giants played, and despite all of the cracks in the Patriots’ armor, I don’t think I would have taken 10-1 odds on a bet that Eli Manning would lead a comeback with 2:39 to go. But — say it with me, kids — that’s why they play the game.

Belichick leaving the field early: In the words of ex-New Jersey Net Derrick Coleman, “Whoop de damn doo.” I think it was ridiculous that they cleared the field with one second left just to make the Giants come out and kneel on the ball. Were the Patriots too lost, rudderless and misguided without their coach to send 11 people out on the field to line up and watch Eli take the snap? I hate Belichick with a passion for a number of reasons, but the fact that he’s getting criticized for leaving the field “early” is an utter and complete joke. Had he not congratulated Coughlin, then that would be an altogether different story. But to me, this is a nonstory.

The NFC East in 2008: How quickly things change. The Cowboys dominated the division in 2007. Doing so in 2008 will be much harder. Eli Manning is now on an entire different level. Confidence is one of the most important elements of being a quarterback, and his has to be skyrocketing right now. And his teammates’ confidence in his ability to get the job done, which is equally important, will be equally high. It’s hard to believe this is the same guy I watched when I went to the Vikings @ Giants game this season — four interceptions, all horrendous throws, three returned for touchdowns. No one who was at that game — even players’ families — would have had the audacity to predict a Super Bowl win. As for the other teams in the division, Washington was scrappy enough to get into the playoffs and will likely be dangerous next season, as will Philadelphia. Nothing is ever easy in the NFC East, but the 2008 season will be one of the biggest dogfights yet.

The Cowboys in 2008: I just hope this past season wasn’t the only opportunity the Cowboys get. But I just don’t see 13-3 happening next year. As I said above, the NFC East is going to be a war zone. I guess the best hope is to get more consistent pressure on the quarterback, improve the safety play (translation: either get Roy Williams to get his head out of his ass, or get someone else out there) and find a second running back to back up Marion Barber (I’d be stunned if Julius Jones returns). I still think the Cowboys will be one of the better teams in the conference, but nothing will be handed to them. If they somehow get the No. 1 seed again, they’ll have earned it, and then some.

Congratulations, Giants fans. Enjoy this. It was well-deserved. Your team clicked at the right time, did what they had to do and outplayed four teams under less-than-ideal circumstances. No one can take this away from the New York Football Giants or their fans.

Cowboys @ Giants, 9 @ Wedding

(Originally posted on my MySpace blog April 15, 2007) 

Murphy’s Law (the theory, not the band) just put a foot in my ass in a big way.

As anyone who has known me for more than 15 minutes comes to learn, I’m a huge Dallas Cowboys fan. And one of my favorite days of the year is when the Cowboys come to Giants Stadium. It’s a chance to drive 15 minutes, see my favorite team play live, enjoy great food and drink at my friend’s tailgate and see some good football. The game is rarely a blowout.

I’ve missed something like three of the past 20, and one was unintentional – tickets I thought I had fell through, and I ended up watching the game at a Hooter’s in Manhattan, dressed for a cold Monday night at the stadium and seemingly stripping off one layer after every drive.

The NFL released its schedule this past Tuesday and, starting me right in the face was Cowboys @ Giants, Nov. 11, 4:15 p.m.

Why? Why Nov. 11? Nov. 11 is the one day out of the entire football season that I CAN’T go to a game. My close friend and old roommate is getting married that day. Attendance is non-negotiable. I wouldn’t even think about not attending.

Well, in the interest of full disclosure, I may have had a fleeting thought (or 72) about blowing it off, but it’s not going to happen. I’ll be at the wedding.

But this is the kind of crap luck I have to deal with. The Cowboys play six night games. Why couldn’t this have been one of them? Or why couldn’t one of the crappier games on their schedule fallen on this day, like St. Louis, Minnesota or Detroit?

This fucking sucks.

The Cowboys do play at Miami and Chicago, where I have friends, so that’s a possibility. Washington isn’t a horrible drive, but that game is on Dec. 30, which just screams brutal weather.

Philadelphia is NOT an option. I won’t even get into why out of respect to two very lovely women and close friends who are in my beach house and a third who used to be in the house but moved on to marriage and children. But I will not set foot in that stadium during an Eagles game.

Life would be so much simpler without weddings. The industry is the biggest racket I’ve ever seen. “These flowers? $16 per dozen. Oh, wait … they’re for a wedding? Make that $125 per dozen.” Anyone who claims to really enjoy weddings is either full of shit or doesn’t get out of the house enough.

I vote for a return to caveman days, where courting involved bopping a woman over the head with a club and dragging her back to the cave. Think of how much less drama there would be.

So, what can I do but move on. I’ll enjoy the wedding and give it my undivided attention, then head straight for a sports bar and catch the second half. I’ll miss the experience, from waking up in the morning in full lunacy mode, to the tailgate, to the game itself. But I’ll be back next year.

That is, unless another wedding fucks that up, too.

(9’s edit on 1/16/08: Cowboys 31, Giants 20, and I was able to catch most of the game at a sports bar. Unfortunately, the Giants and Cowboys met again in the playoffs, and I really don’t want to get into that right now.)