This past weekend was the icing on the cake for me. Usually, I avoid Facebook and Twitter on Sundays, especially when the Pats are playing, but after the Gronk hit and the PI (pass interference) call in the endzone, I had to see what the world was saying. Guess what ... I regretted it immediately.
"The NFL wants the Patriots to win..."
"The refs give them every call..."
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen!"
First of all, no it's not the most ridiculous thing you've ever seen. Trust me. It's not.
It's sports. It happens. Refs are human and enough time is spent looking at replays that we can't start analyzing every flag or whistle, even the most important ones. They are reacting in real time to the 2nd quickest sport out there (hockey being the quickest ... debate for another day if you disagree) and just because one of the guys in stripes decides to grab at the hanging yellow cloth from his back pocket, or NOT, and make what he felt was the right call, the NFL's in on it? It's the Patriots or even worse their fans fault? I disagree.
So does TB...
It has been a crazy year in the league for ALL teams. Not just the Pats or the Giants or Steelers or whoever else is your favorite team that you think the league is biased against. It's been crazy for everyone. Did you see that Minnesota/Baltimore game yesterday? Refs or no refs, that was awesome to watch and why we watch sports. You never know what is going to happen.
Side rant - I can't even imagine what being a Vikings fan is like. Feel like every week, you could skip the first three and a half quarters and watch the last 6 minutes of the game, because that's when everything happens ... and to always lose on top. Madness.
My second question is why do you care?
It was an easy weekend to attack Boston sports after the Thornton cheap shot on Orpik (a guy who spent most of his life in this city) and we all HATE to see that no matter who it is on whatever team they play for. Am I crazy to think that because he's a Bruin that the national spotlight is paying more attention to it than say if it were John Scott or relatively enough, James Neal? Don't even get me started on the bombing related tweets ...
Boston is a big sports town I get it. Without Boston, sports as they are today would not exist and we'd have to replay a bunch of finals and championships over the last 10 years over all of the major sports. It's the anger and hatred and conspiracy theories that are baffling me and they seem to be flowing in EVERY single Sunday. It's getting out of hand.
For my second question about why do you care ... if I were to look back on my social media posts and comments from the past decade or so, I think a safe bet would be to say that 90% of them have been around Boston sports during games with the other 10% referencing major sporting events -- Super Bowl, Masters, PBA, etc. Yes, Boston is where I live and those are my favorite teams, but my point is that them winning is my sole concern throughout the course of a season. Nothing else matters! Teams I hate can lose and players I loathe can score hat tricks after we trade them, whatever! Do I care about calls in the Seattle or San Fran game yesterday? No, I will watch the whole thing and be intrigued, make observations (mostly to myself) and questions plays and calls, but do I really care either way? Nope. I don't even care if the Yankees win a game because the umpire called 16 straight balls in the Bottom of the 9th and the winning run was walked in. Is it amazing? Yes. Do I think MLB is rigged? Ah, no. Am I glad to see the Yankees win? No, but it doesn't have any impact on my life. Good for them. Way to go. Now, how did the Sox do? If it's not my team, then I don't care and if it's not yours, you shouldn't either.
Hell, I hate Peyton Manning, but what he's doing this year is insane. It's fun to watch. If he beats Tom Brady's TD passes record, which he is well on pace to do, great. Both had memorable years, but if I could somehow use my researching skills to analyze the number of tweets claiming Brady cheated, Boston is a scam, or the refs gave him TD's, I guarantee it would trump the number of "conspiracy" tweets at Peyton. Yes, I'm using the world conspiracy. That's how crazy this is! Personal records of Boston athletes being questioned. If Manning wins the Super Bowl, great, but I certainly won't find myself insulting the Broncos or the city of Denver or even his truly ugly mug. He did whatever he needed to do to win and that's sports.
As the old saying goes, you win some and you lose some.
Anyway, I'm not even sure that I can provide a good answer to my first question which is why I'm asking it. If you honestly feel, in your heart of hearts, that there is justification in your claims and really think that Stern, Goodell, Bettman, and Selig ALL want Boston to win everything, I'd love to hear it. If you realize it's crazy, just stop posting about it -- week in and week out.
"Just block/delete them, Marshy."
No chance, number of friends/followers is a key stat in today's Millennial age.
Obviously, I know it's my fault because of where I, and the majority of people I know/follow, live, so clearly I'm seeing it more and more. I just hope people born and raised in Philadelphia and Dallas and San Francisco deal with the same thing and it's not truly a Boston hatred thing, but I really don't think that's the case.
Leave Boston alone. What is so bad about us anyway? I will never understand the hatred towards the Pats or the Sox. What did we ever do to you besides win? These are fun teams with good guys. Worry about the issues, drafts, and starting lineups of your squads and sit back to watch us win. Again. It's actually kind of fun and if you live here, enjoy it.
I mean, this Pats team? Are you kidding me? These last minute wins are a trip, which unfortunately, may have just ended ...
After everything this city has been through, I say keep the freakin parades coming and a few calls this way or that has ZERO to do with why we win titles.
Personally, I think this whole conversation I am writing about is a waste of time.
#marshynews
