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NFL Football Players Draft Injuries Rookies Season SuperbowlPublished: December 28, 2009
The last undefeated NFL team’s run to perfection ended Sunday night as the New York Jets beat the Indianapolis Colts 29-15 in Indianapolis,but the loss didn’t come without controversy.
With a 15-10 lead in the third quarter, the Colts decided to pull star quarterback Peyton Manning and many other starters to rest their stars for the playoffs and to avoid injury.
Not risking an injury to preserve a championship opportunity, seems like a logical thing to do. In fact, many teams that have already secured a playoff spot do so, but this time it was different. This loss ruined a perfect season.
This may not have been a damaging loss to the Colts front office.
“The perfect season was never an issue with us,” said Colts President Bill Polian. “We’ve said it time and time again. It’s somebody else’s issue, not ours.”
But Indianapolis fans and players, and the entire football nation, are hurt. The loss kills all momentum and could possibly lead to an early playoff exit. The loss is about more than wins and losses. It hurts competition, hurts the integrity of the game, and ruins the aspect of a perfect season.
So who benefits from the Colts’ loss? Not the fans, Not the players, and not even football. But one organization can use this game and the entire Colts season as a trademark for its existence; the Bowl Championship Series.
Otherwise known as the BCS, the Bowl Championship Series is the laughing stock of sports.
It crowns its champion through a computer ranking system and doesn’t give all teams a fair chance at a national champion, leaving even some undefeated teams out to dry.
For many, it has ruined college football and the legitimacy of a national championship.
With so many negatives, does the BCS even have any reason for its existence? The truth is, besides money, there aren’t many.
But the BCS can point to Sunday’s game as a reason it is better than a playoff. The BCS prides itself in validating the regular season and making every game matter and in that respect, it has certainly succeeded.
If Alabama had pulled its starters and taken a loss to Florida, it would have no shot at a National Championship. But the Colts are able to throw away the last few games of their season, ruining the entertainment value of the sport.
In a sense, the BCS is a playoff in itself. Every game is do or die for a chance to play for it all and that makes every game, especially the ones toward the end of the year, important.
College teams have something to play for in every game, unlike NFL teams, who have already clinched home field in the last few games of the season.
To most NFL teams, the regular season means nothing, but to college teams, every game is a must win; one NFL team is an exception to the rule.
The New England Patriots are the only NFL team to ever go 16-0 and as much as I don’t respect the Patriots for their cheating scandals and arrogance, I have to respect their integrity for the perfect season.
New England lost its quest for perfection in the Super Bowl, but at least it went down with a fight. Unlike Indianapolis, the Patriots didn’t give their season away; they lost in a valiant effort. And even in the loss, their legacy proves them victorious.
They set a standard for all other teams, but the Colts proved that in professional football, living up to that standard means nothing anymore.
But the BCS forces teams to live up to this standard of excellence. I have no doubt that college football’s top teams would rest their stars at the end of the season if there were a playoff, thus ruining end of the season rivalries and conference championship games.
Is the BCS the perfect system? Not even close. Should the NFL adopt a similar system? Of course not. But the BCS has come closer to proving its validity through Indianapolis’ failure.
So when Bill Polian says that the perfect season was somebody else’s issue and not his organization’s, I have to disagree.
Coach Jim Caldwell’s decision to pull his starters may have possibly saved a sprained ankle, but it ruined a legacy and the excitement of every game. 15-1 may be one win away from 16-0, but it is incomparable in significance.
The BCS knows this and while it may be a flawed system, it gained validity from Indianapolis’ loss.
Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com
Published: July 16, 2009
Every state has one team that they live and die by.
For many states, such as Ohio, the team is obvious, but for others, such as Pennsylvania and Texas, many great teams fight for that title.
This article will be broken up into segments: Northeast, Midwest, South, and West, in that order. Today, here is a look at the northeastern states, consisting of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia.
Connecticut: UCONN Huskies Basketball
Connecticut has no professional sports teams, but ESPN’s home certainly loves their college basketball. The men’s basketball team at the University of Connecticut is always a contender for the Big East and NCAA title. UCONN has been a pro factory throughout the years, producing some of the NBA’s greatest players, including Ben Gordon, Rudy Gay, Ray Allen, and Emeka Okafur.
UCONN is also crazy about their women’s basketball team, which is arguably the most dominant team in all of college sports and has produced great players such as Diana Tarausi.
Delaware: Philadelphia Eagles
Like Connecticut, Delaware doesn’t have any professional sports teams, but they don’t have any competitive college teams either. Sure, Delaware State and Joe Flacco did pretty well in the FCS Football Tournament a few years ago, but they really aren’t a marquee team.
For Delaware sports fans, you have to go northwest to Philly. While Baltimore sports do have a presence there, the Eagles are the team for many fans in the Diamond State.
Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont: New England Patriots
These are the random New England states with no sports teams. The Patriots are the pride of New England, except for the state that they actually play in. Some of these states have teams that are somewhat prevalent, such as UNH football in New Hampshire, but when it comes down to it, nobody in New England has a bigger following than the Patriots.
Maryland: Baltimore Ravens
Maryland’s favorite team really depends on the time period. Back during the Cal Ripken Jr. era, the late 1990s and the early 2000s, the Orioles were the team in Maryland. That slowly began to change after the Ravens won the Super Bowl and the Orioles got progressively worse. Baltimore definitely hasn’t forgotten the Orioles. If they start winning, they could become the favorite again, but you know you’re in a football town and a football state when you hear “F*** the Steelers” chants at baseball games.
Massachusetts: Boston Red Sox
It’s odd that three states have the Patriots as their favorite team, but not the state in which they actually play. Let’s face it; the Red Sox are the face of Boston and the rest of Massachusetts.
It’s impossible to get a ticket to a game at Fenway Park through the Red Sox, and the only hope a fan has of getting a ticket is paying hundreds of dollars through Stub Hub or Ebay. Ever since the BoSox have gotten good, tickets have become even harder to get. While the Patriots and the Celtics have both been good this decade, the Red Sox definitely take the cake.
New Jersey: New York Giants
Although it sounds like New Jersey only has one sports team, the lowly Nets, the state actually has three.
The names are deceiving, but the Giants and the Jets actually play in New Jersey. Since the Nets and the Jets have both been decent at best in recent years, in New Jersey, the Giants are the best thing since sliced bread. The Jets were just as popular as the Giants during the Namath era, but ever since their decline, the Garden State has become the Giants’ State.
New York: New York Yankees
This is a tough one.
A decade ago, this would have been a no brainer, but the Yankees have gradually decreased in popularity, while the Giants have gained popularity. Besides Syracuse basketball, college sports really have no relevance in the Empire State. Although the Yankees can’t even sell out their new, nice stadium, they are still the favorite in New York. Their 26 championships are unbeatable and they will always be the face of New York sports.
Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Steelers
There are three teams that could be considered for Pennsylvania’s favorite team: the Steelers, Eagles, and Penn State Nittany Lions (football), but for right now, the Steelers are the winners.
While Eagles fans have a reputation of being the hardest, the Steelers are the rowdiest, and nothing intimidates opposing teams like tens of thousands of “Terrible Towels” swinging through the air.
Penn State also has a massive following, but Pennsylvania is more about pro sports than college sports. It seems like the Steelers have the bigger following in Pennsylvania, but the Eagles aren’t far behind, and if they get better, they could take over the spot as the favorite team in Pennsylvania.
Rhode Island: Providence Friars Basketball
You can’t fit many teams into little Rhode Island, especially because Providence basketball has a monopoly over most of the state. The Friars are a small school that shouldn’t be very good, but they always compete, even in the country’s best conference, the Big East.
Providence generally finds a way to get to the NCAA Tournament and do fairly well, or contend for an NIT Championship, something many schools their size could never dream of doing. The fan following makes all the difference for this tiny school in this tiny state.
Virginia: Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are definitely the team in Virginia, especially northern Virginia.
The main focus is on DC teams, but the Wizards aren’t great and the Nationals are just plain awful. While the Redskins aren’t amazing, they have shown signs of improvement and have very loyal fans. They may not be championship contenders every year, but the fans certainly can rock RFK Stadium every Sunday during the fall.
West Virginia: West Virginia Mountaineers Football
Like Rhode Island, West Virginia doesn’t have any professional sports teams. That doesn’t bother West Virginians, though, who cheer endlessly for their Mountaineers.
Every Saturday during the fall, thousands flock to Morgantown in the Blue Ridge Mountains for Mountaineer football games. West Virginia has been very good in recent years. Two years ago, they were a loss against Pittsburgh away from a National Championship berth. Pat White was a big reason for that success and he shined during the Rich Rodriguez years.
Now that Rich Rod is gone, the Mountaineers are in a rebuilding stage, but still have potential and still have the loyalty of their fans.