Reflecting on 9/11/11 and the First Day of Football

When 9/11 happened I was in sixth grade. I was sitting in the back of Mrs. O’Brien’s class when my principal, Mr. Nardiello, walked in and told my class what happened. He said the World Trade Centers have just been attacked and since we were the oldest in the elementary school he felt that we should know. After he told us what happened I raised my hand and asked if they were the Twin Towers because my dad took me past them a few months earlier. That’s what he called them and the Twin Towers were about as much as I knew about New York at the time.

Ten years later, after Saddam Hussein’s reign ended, the first black President was elected, Osama bin Laden had been killed, and the economy had been so disastrous that it was compared to the Great Depression, I sat with all my friends at a packed bar around noon on the anniversary. The place was buzzing with breakfast and diner-goers on their way out and being replaced by those who have been waiting for this day since the Super Bowl ended. Voices were loud, teams’ jerseys were worn, and drinks were being served while I continuously took my phone from my pocket to check the clock and waiting for 1:00. Time wasn’t moving like I wanted to so instead of 12:30 it was 12:06 then 12:10 then 12:13 then 12:20 and so on. After the eternity I waited, each of the 20-or-so TVs in the bar turned into the football paradise I have been waiting for. It was then that the bar got silent. The Bears, Steelers, Giants, Cowboys, 49ers, Patriots, and Eagles fans, active a moment earlier, fell silent as each TV played the same trumpet ballad. The images on each TV changed to 20 American flags stretched across the entire surface of the fields and each player from each team held a part of it. To say you could’ve heard a pin drop would be cliché, but true nonetheless. To say we stopped being fans and started being Americans would be cliché, but true nonetheless. To say that all of our lives came into perspective, if only for a moment, would be cliché, but true nonetheless. It was a moment you’ll remember where you were.

But, to get to the football side of it, I couldn’t wait to get to that bar. I turned 21 in April and knowing that I would finally experience a “Sunday-Funday” had been on the top of my “I Can’t Wait for Another Reason to Hide the Fact That I May Be an Alcoholic” list. I went to sleep early Saturday night (it was really 1:45, but who under the age of 30 has a respectable bedtime?) and woke up early on Sunday. After calling multiple people I got a ride from a friend’s girlfriend. She said it was no problem because she “knows her place on a football Sunday,” her words, not mine (besides, that’s a whole different monster I don’t want to deal with). Here are my observations on the first Sunday of the NFL weekend.

The Eagles Still Have Holes on Defense- That offense can score whenever it wants to. Whether it’s Lesean McCoy running the ball or catching it out of the backfield or Michael Vick making plays with his feet or Desean Jackson exploding for an 80-yard touchdown (he dropped a guaranteed 90-yard touchdown pass that had the whole bar say OOOOOOOOOO-awwwwwwwww) or Jeremy Maclin scoring when Desean is double-covered or the other Steve Smith catching a pass across the middle. The offense is lethal. Having said that (in my best Larry David voice), this team was awful against the run. If Steven Jackson didn’t get hurt, he would’ve rushed for 400 yards and 4 touchdowns. My friend JJ said to me about 30 times that the Eagles should get Lofa Tatupu and after the third time I was agreeing with him. Casey Matthews isn’t ready for that role yet. And PLEASE PAY DESEAN JACKSON.

Goddamn the Packers are Good- When you have videos like this, you’ve made it. Is there any question that the best team in the NFL at this moment is Green Bay? That offense is as explosive as the Eagles and they can score on any play. Aaron Rodgers, who stole his people’s champ from Freddie Mitchell (but we’ll let that slide, I guess), has become a legitimate MVP candidate and is threatening to take Peyton Manning’s spot as the second best QB in the league. They are the most solid team offensively and one of the most solid teams defensively. Now with Randall Cobb as a potential special teams threat, they are virtually unbeatable. It’s amazing how great of a job Mike McCarthy and Dom Capers have done in Green Bay. Favorites to repeat? They have to be.

The Steelers Looked Terrible- I don’t know how much more Big Ben could’ve embarrassed me. I took him as my starting QB in two of my fantasy leagues and bet on the Steelers going into Baltimore and bet on the Steelers carrying me to an overall solid weekend. Basically what Big Ben and the Steelers did was the equivalent to a kid throwing a tantrum in the middle of a Shop-Rite after I stressed that “Oh, little Chazz is great, he has never once acted up in public.” Feeling embarrassed I would tell my Steelers child that, “When we get into the car, I’m beating seven shades of shit out of you.” (To be honest, I didn’t lose that much money on the Steelers, but as a broke college student you have to add two zeroes to every number to find out how much it truly costs.)

Calvin Johnson is a Grown Man- The man has the best nickname in sports just continues to prove that no matter where, who, when, or how the ball is thrown, he’ll go up and catch it. He’s been doing it since he’s broken into the league. The only way to stop him is to make up a rule about how catching a ball is a process and it doesn’t end with two feet hitting the ground followed by his entire body hitting the ground. Honestly, if he can have a solid quarterback, he will eclipse Andre Johnson as the best wide receiver in the league. Matthew Stafford looks like he can do it if he can stay healthy. Here’s how a huddle between Stafford and Calvin Johnson sounds like.

Stafford: Megatron I want you to do a 10-and-out, I’ll hit you on the back shoulder.

Johnson: How about I just go deep and make you look like a superstar?

Stafford: I was the number one overall pick, Calvin.

Johnson: I made Drew Stanton and Shaun Hill look decent.

Stafford: Okay, deep pass to Calvin on two.

Is There Any Doubt That Tom Brady is Great?- I don’t know how much more I should continue on this subject, but here it goes. He has done more with less than any other QB in history. Think about it, Montana had Rice. Peyton Manning had Marvin Harrison. John Elway had Terrelle Davis and Shannon Sharpe, the best tight-end ever. Tom Brady’s receivers during his Super Bowl runs, Troy Brown, David Patten, and Deion Branch. I’ll let his line from Monday Night Football talk for me; 32 for 48, 517 yards and 4 touchdowns. And Peyton Manning can compete with him as best ever?

Tony Romo Does It Again- Nothing to say here, Tony Romo’s actions speak louder than my words.