It’s Christmas so for a chan...

If you follow sporting events on a daily basis like I do then you probably focus much of your attention on winners. We don’t spend a lot of time talking about losers. Talking about losers is boring. Your discussions with fellow fans, friends and colleagues will be centered around the team that won the game, the player that made the last second shot, the amazing throw for a touchdown, the stop that saved the match and won the championship. We’ve all seen it happen a hundred times. It’s why we watch the game, that one exciting, unbelievable moment in time. That instant is totally unscripted, there’s no way you can predict it. Its reality television in its purest form. Those moments bring all of us together regardless of where we are and who we are with. The text messages start flying back and forth, “you gotta be kidding me”, “did you see that”? Or in some cases a single word, “unbelievable” and “amazing”. For just about every single one of us winning the game and the way we win it is everything.

Unfortunately there are times when our discussions on winning and the players that win the game are overshadowed by the losers and the players (and coaches) that lost the game. It’s rare but it happens. There are no high fives in these instances. Our text messages take on a more depressing, often sinister tone or in some serious cases, total silence. The pain of watching your team loose is a singular event. It’s personal and we often choose to suffer a loss alone, the only consolation being thoughts of what could have been with a victory.

It’s with these thoughts on winning and loosing that we find ourselves this week during the season of joy and celebration, Christmas week 2022, or more importantly, week 14 in The National Football League and championship final Sunday in the World Cup Competition.

Let’s talk about some of the losers and games lost first. I like to start at the bottom and work my way up.

The Dallas Cowboys always seem to be their own worst enemy. It would appear to a casual observer that they constantly over rate themselves and underrate their opponents. No surprises here right? A prime example of this was their loss this Sunday to a rejuvenated Jacksonville Jaguars team in overtime 40-34. After suffering through a year under the disaster that was head coach Urban Myer it finally looks like Trevor Lawrence and team are playing like they belong in the NFL. It’s good to see the number 1 pick in the 2021 draft smiling again. Conversely, Dak Prescott once again came up embarrassingly short in a game they should have put away in the first half. Sure, Dallas has clinched a playoff spot but who cares? They’ll most likely Blow it. Dallas may be loaded with talent but Dak Prescott is not a Super Bowl Quarterback nor do I think he has the potential to be one. Jerry Jones’s great experiment has failed. It’s time for American’s team to move on. A good place to start would be a new head coach and new offensive coordinator. I expect them to exit the post season early.

Speaking of experimental situations I’d like ok to know who inside the Indianapolis Colts organization thought that placing a former NFL player with zero coaching experience into a head coaching position would work out. This is like asking a hot dog vendor to pilot an Airbus A330 flying at forty thousand feet. It may or may not work out but if it doesn’t it’s a disaster. Well, in this case that plane has crashed. The Colts now own the biggest second half meltdown in NFL history loosing 39-36 to The Minnesota Vikings after leading 33-0 at halftime. Hopefully Jeff Saturday’s position at ESPN is still open because he’s gonna want it back.

Okay, everyone knows that The Miami Dolphins traveled to Buffalo and took a loss. You know it, I know it, the 12 million or so Bill’s Mafia fans living in South Florida also know it. For me personally it was painful. My texting comments went silent at about 11:40 p.m. on Saturday night. I still haven’t slept right. I wake up feeling empty inside. Yes, it was a great game. Yes, The Dolphins played well in spite of the cold and the snow and the constant pelting of snow balls by Bill’s fans but I find no consolation in a “game well played” when you take an L. With a playoff spot on the line this late in the season there are no moral victories. You either win or you are gonna watch the playoffs from home. If The Dolphins don’t close it out and secure a spot in the post season I may seek some sort of therapeutic release from being a die hard Dolphins fan altogether. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Working our way upward, someone mentioned a couple of weeks ago that if The Detroit Lions beat both the Vikings and The Jets they’d be in the playoffs. The Lions have now beaten both and own a 7-7 record and apparently are playoff bound. I suppose that at any time the Football Gods could turn on them but I doubt it. They are easily the hottest ticket in the NFL right now. They’ve been out of the playoffs for so long now I figure they have it coming. Being a life long fan of the underdog I’m glad to see it.

I feel pretty strongly that if the lions continue to win they will be a force in this year’s playoffs.

No one is flying higher or playing better than the San Francisco 49ers. In the past 3 weeks they have become a Super Bowl contender favorite and are the talk of the town. They have a stout defense, a strong and consistent running game and a dangerous passing attack. The entire football world is heaping praise, affection and accolades on their quarterback Brock Purdy who has played his way into the hearts and minds of millions of Americans in just three weeks. The last pick in this year’s draft, Mr. Irrelevant they call him, has become a favorite for MVP, Rookie of The Year and Super Bowl Champion in the eyes of many literally it seems overnight. As an anonymous source said just this past week, “He’s the future of The San Francisco 49ers”. Let’s just say I’m not holding my breath on this one. I’m predicting an early return to Mr. Irrelevant as soon as Jimmy Garopalo is healthy again.

The playoff picture is slowly but surely forming. Several teams can start making post season plans. The Bills, The Chiefs, The Cowboys, The Vikings and The Eagles have all locked in a spot in the playoffs. The Bengals, Seattle, Tennessee, Miami are all barking at the door to get in as is San Diego and Tampa Bay. Every game counts at this point. In the end however you can go 15 and 1 in the regular season but one loss in the playoffs will end your season send you off on vacation.

No one had a better week then the fans of international soccer and The FIFA Workd Cup tournament, especially the fans of Argentina and Leo Messi. The World Cup final between France and Argentina was a classic and ended up being a match that some say might be the greatest final ever. The World’s two great soccer talents, Lionel Messi and Kylain Mbappe, combined to score 5 of the matche’s 6 goals with Mbappe of France logging a 3 goal hat trick, a first ever in World Cup competition. In the end, Argentina took home the cup after an epic match which was decided on penalty kicks after ending in a 3-3 draw. All of Argentina will celebrate for weeks and Messi may now lay legitimate claim to the world’s greatest player. Remember, in 4 years the World Cup comes to America. Will we be able to match Argentina’s glory!?! Let’s all wait and see!!

Kev