Opinion Corner: Let the season play out

Talk about it

As part of the cable TV programming package I’m breaking in, there was a free preview of the NFL’s RedZone channel last Sunday.

It’s the channel that shows only touchdowns as best I can tell. It’s the dream channel for the fantasy football pyscho we all know or the ADHD fan that needs constant action. I can’t understand the appeal of it. If you watch this channel two things are certain …

1.) You can’t like football, because you’re not watching a game. There’s only one game a week, enjoy it while it lasts.

2.) If you’re able to sit on a couch for hours watching only scoring plays, it’s pretty safe to assume you’re not scoring in any other way.

This is sports world we live in today: loud, fast, aggressive, ignorant — annoying.

Opinions are thrown in your face constantly, minus facts. Often times it seems similar to the declared approach of the top pollster of one of the two men running for President: “We’re not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact-checkers.”

Driving to work last Tuesday, two know-nothing radio talking faces were convinced that after one game new Oakland Raiders head coach Dennis Allen can’t do the job — one game was all these two yahoos needed to swing the gavel. You can’t know anything after one game, you can’t.

These snap judgments aren’t made just on a national stage, either. We all hear knee-jerk reactions or questions frequently about local teams.

Among the most common …

1.) “Jimmie football? Are we going to win a game this year? What’s going on? Answer: New coach, new offense, new offensive coordinator, lots of new players — give them time. Let them figure it out.

2.) “Is Blue Jay football coming around?” Hopefully. Obviously last night was not pretty, but essentially a new program is being put in place — there isn’t an easy-fix button. High school football , more than any other sport, is won and lost in the summer. If kids are not in the weight room, forget it. Because they are in Bismarck and most everywhere else.

3.) “Blue Jay volleyball — a contender?” Predicting or forecasting what teenage girls are going to do is a great way to look foolish, especially when expectation and or pressure is thrown into the mix.

4.) “Twins going to be any better next year?” No. … I’m breaking the snap-judgment rule here. Losing nearly 100 games in consecutive seasons is a pattern, not a fluke.

Soon enough everything will be played out and conclusions drawn. So enjoy the highs and lows while they last.

Sun sports editor Dave Selvig can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by e-mail at dselvig@jamestownsun.com

Tags: opinion corner, sports, opinion, nfl, football