Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Monday, September 13, 2010

Final Thoughts Before Kickoff

My posts have been sporadic lately, but I had to get this in before kickoff to lend it any credibility.

Really, this post consists of a single question aimed at a single group.

To those who have been saying:

Yeah, I think the Chiefs are probably an 8 or 9 win team.

Not "if everything goes right and Denver and Oakland are wretched and Philip Rivers gets hurt".

Not "best case scenario".

But with a matter-of-fact tone that suggests a sentiment of, "Yeah, that sounds about right. I'm making a statement with a reasonable level of confidence."

My question is this:

What the hell have you seen that makes you think it is likely that this team will win half its games?

Todd Haley is still a pompous prick who sounds constipated when he talks inanely about guys "caring" and "buying in".

Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis are nothing special; they are simply reputations created as underlings in New England.

Though Eric Berry can't hurt, our defensive front is the same one that allowed a Cleveland Browns journeyman to run for almost 300 years last year.

And last I checked, Matt Cassel was our quarterback.

Enlighten me - what the hell have you seen that suggests doubling last year's win total? I would even have accepted a preseason performance as evidence at this point...but there's not one to point to.

I really hope I'm wrong.

Posted at 8:13pm, FWIW.

Don't Get "Mad"

I don’t get Mad Men.

Granted, I’ve watched only two episodes, but two hours of my life is all the show’s going to get.

People blather on about how beautifully the show captures the 1960s—the clothes, the sexism, the smoking. I got over that in about 15 minutes. Yes, you’ve done your research. Now have your characters DO something.

I’m told I’d appreciate it more if I watched the whole series. Well, yeah; that’s normally the case with serial dramas. It’s just that I’m way past the point of investing time in things while hoping they’ll get better. I prefer instead to move on to better, more promising things. I would far prefer to miss out on something than wish I could precious hours of free time refunded.

I’m not saying it’s a bad show. It’s fine. The acting is good. The subtlety present in the storytelling is a nice counterpoint to the melodrama and David-Caruso-style jackassery so common on the procedural du jour.

However, I think the pendulum swings too far toward style and nuance. If you want me to watch the show, I need something of substance BEFORE your final commercial break.

I guess what I’m saying is I just don’t understand the hype.