Originally posted on 11/08/2010:

The Colts/Eagles game was the final straw for me. Reminded me of the "Bus" Bettis Super Bowl. Maybe even more blatant.

Now this is just me and my opinion, and I saw my first NFL game in person in 1955. Now that was football. Lombardi and Halas football squaring off at Wrigley Field. A simple but great game for a more simple time. Boys hate to say it, but on many levels it was a much better package than what you see today regardless of the athletes not being as big or as talented.

This is now an entertainment production. As I said in another thread, the NFL is so well leveraged now that it can easily craft itself, its teams and its storylines to do whatever the NFL damn well pleases.

As far as last night's storyline: "White Knight' Manning vs. "Dog Killer" Vick. The "White Knight" leads the glorious comeback. Of course he had to for theatrical value. Falls a bit short, but surely not by design. But then that's OK too. Great theater was created nonetheless.

I now find this show business spectacular unwatchable not to mention unbettable. You all love the NFL and thats cool. That of course is your perogative. It can be entertaining and is designed to be for sure, regardless of the officials making it rain with dirty laundry to manipulate the theatrical production.

So I'm not going to watch anymore of it. Passed on the late game and will pass tonight also. Have made a list of things that I can enjoy doing on Sunday afternoon. The list is extensive. And this is not a gut reaction. After that Bettis Superbowl I never again renewed my Sunday ticket package.

So boys go ahead and flame me as an irrelevant old fossil. Tell me I'm full of chit. That's OK and is certainly true at least to some degree. But somewhere on this board someone, I'm sure, has a brain and agrees with me. Plenty of other games and sports where one can get an action fix.

I miss bases already.