The NFL schedule is set to be released next Wednesday night. It has become a widely publicized event over the years. For fans of their respective teams, this is like Christmas to them with the NFL Draft being their Thanksgiving.
The Super Bowl champion traditionally opens at home, which has been the case since 2004. There have been a couple of years where that has not occurred. 2013 when the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens opened in Denver. 2019 when Green Bay and Chicago played on Thursday night in honor of the NFL’s 100th anniversary. In 2012, the Super Bowl champion New York Giants opened their season against the Dallas Cowboys on a Wednesday night.
I’ve followed the NFL since 1992, so I started watching around the time Bill Cowher became head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I discovered a show on ESPN called NFL Primetime which highlighted all of the games that were played that Sunday. I also picked up some pretty good taglines from that show as well, an example being “He Could Go All The Way!”. Don’t forget the nicknames either. Chris Berman and Tom Jackson were a team.
YouTube has really helped me to remember the NFL the way it used to be, before it became money hungry and what it is now. One way is to show the classic games from decades past. For the long time 49ers fan who rooted for Joe Montana, it brings them back to the glory days. For those who loved hearing the legendary team of Pat Summerall and John Madden, it makes them remember what great announcing was like.
I miss the days when Thursday night football and Saturday afternoon football were limited to a few weeks a year. Late in the year, we’d get a treat seeing Pittsburgh and Indianapolis battle for a wild card spot late on a Saturday. It gave you something to do after a day of Christmas shopping.
A few things the NFL got right were definitely realignment in 2002 as well as making the last week of the season all divisional games (2010). Also, making Sunday night football the premiere game of the week in 2006 has been nice and it brought football back to NBC. ESPN’s game has always been hit or miss no matter if it’s Sunday or Monday. Plus the announcers aren’t as great as Al Michaels and Madden/Collinsworth.
Face it, the NFL we knew and loved in our youth isn’t the same product it once was. Do I still get excited for the schedule release every year? Absolutely. Are the overseas games a bit much? Yes but it is an opportunity for people living in London or Munich to see their favorite team play. Last year, I got to watch a game be played in Pixar format on Disney+. That was the coolest thing ever. This September will see the first game played in Brazil. So, in a way the NFL going global is kind of a good thing. It just means one less home game for the fans.
Let’s appreciate the NFL while we have it. We were lucky to have a season in 2020 due to COVID. With the reports of former players suffering from CTE (too many hits to the head), does that too eventually put the game itself in jeopardy?
As for this upcoming season, I hope the schedule is favorable for the Steelers and the upgrades they made at quarterback help the team.
Stylish 🍒 