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Believe the Hype
November 2, 2007 7:47 AM
Indy Star columnist Bob Kravitz says we should embrace the hype surrounding Colts-Patriots. He compares it to the Lakers-Celtics series in the '80s.
It's almost a shame the game has to be played. Seems like we could use an extra week of buildup, although I"m now reading about the matchup between the trainers.
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Hos, you should sue.
:
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Bob Kravitz
Hey, stop sniping; this game is worth the hype
We still have two days left to break down the Colts and Patriots, two days to talk more junk, to engage in the kind of insipid message-board discourse that always attends these kinds of games. (Sample e-mail example from a Boston-based writer: "You suck.'')
And that was a distant cousin. Or used to be.
Let's stop right here, right now, and appreciate what is happening this week and what will happen Sunday at the RCA Dome. Let's place a five-minute moratorium on the childish, "Nyah, nyah, our quarterback is better than your quarterback'' foolishness and just embrace this game and this rivalry, gaze upon it like a piece of fine art.
During Thursday's meet-the-media session, Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney was asked, "How much would you be willing to pay to watch this game?''
"It's priceless,'' he said, giving hope to all those ticket re-sellers who figure to make a small fortune this weekend. "This is becoming one of those old NFL Network, NFL Films games. You go back 20 years and you see something like this. It (the rivalry) has turned into one of those.''
In the salary-cap era, the only thing tougher than sustaining long-term excellence is maintaining a long-term rivalry. And not even a divisional rivalry, at that. The Colts haven't shared the AFC East with the Patriots since 2001. In the years since the two went their separate ways, the rivalry has just gotten hotter and more compelling.
"Realignment (in 2002) was one of the greatest days of my life, getting out of that AFC East,'' Colts quarterback Peyton Manning said this week. "And now I feel we are in the toughest division in football, so now sometimes you wish you could go back . . . ''
He laughed.
"New England can probably clinch the AFC East this week with the lead they have in the division,'' he said. "We're just trying to stay ahead in the division.''
What the Colts and the Patriots have built is a rivalry that is almost unique to professional sports. Most rivalries are geographic or divisional: The Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. Auburn-Alabama. Familiarity, or geographic proximity, breeds contempt.
You know the rivalry this most closely resembles? The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics of the 1980s. Two teams in different divisions. Two teams based thousands of miles from one another. Two teams that always seemed to meet in the NBA Finals.
What's most remarkable about the Colts and Patriots is they're maintaining their status, and keep this rivalry alive and kicking, in an NFL that is built on the foundation of parity. Modern-day NFL teams are not supposed to be doing this. While the Patriots re-tooled with big-time free agents and the Colts re-loaded from within, both teams have returned to this point even better equipped to grab the Lombardi Trophy.
Yes, there's some "hatred,'' as Colts linebacker Gary Brackett said Thursday. But there's also a lot of mutual respect, which is very cliche and boring and, um, true. They're like two billionaire business moguls who fight for one more sale than the other guy. There is rivalry. But there is also the mutual understanding that both are cut from the same cloth.
Embrace the hype.
Embrace the fact this is the latest in the modern history of the game that two undefeated teams have met.
Earlier this week, Colts president Bill Polian went on his radio show and tried to put a wet blanket on all the hype, saying it's all media-driven folderol -- that's another Bill-ism, folderol -- and it should be remembered that the season is only half-finished and the Colts are headed next to San Diego.
All true.
But don't dismiss or disparage the hype. It's hype that helps make the NFL what it is. It's hysterics and passion and the weeklong lead-up to game day that makes the NFL the most important sports brand in this country.
You think the National Hockey League wouldn't give its last two teeth for a little bit of hype? To paraphrase the line from "Wall Street,'' hype, for the lack of a better word, is good.
Especially now, in a season that has been sullied by the Michael Vick mess, the Spygate fiasco and the Pacman Jones suspension.
Colts and Patriots Sunday isn't Super Bowl XLII, but it's awfully close to Super Bowl XLI1/2. These two teams live in an exclusive, gated community. San Diego and Pittsburgh have spent some time in their guest houses, but for now, this is a two-team race.
And the NFC? Please, let's not go there. This is what happened years ago when the NFC, and specifically Dallas and San Francisco, were overwhelmingly dominant and playing keepaway with the Lombardi Trophy.
A lot of things can happen between now and January, and they usually do, but history shows that whoever wins the regular-season game between these two teams gets home-field advantage when the pair meet in the postseason. And the home team has always won, then gone on to win the Super Bowl.
OK, then.
Now back to our originally scheduled sniping.
Bob Kravitz is a columnist for The Indianapolis Star. Call him at (317) 444-6643 or e-mail bob.kravitz@indystar.com.
LINK
Believe the Hype
November 2, 2007 7:47 AM
Indy Star columnist Bob Kravitz says we should embrace the hype surrounding Colts-Patriots. He compares it to the Lakers-Celtics series in the '80s.
It's almost a shame the game has to be played. Seems like we could use an extra week of buildup, although I"m now reading about the matchup between the trainers.
-----------------
Hos, you should sue.
: -----------
Bob Kravitz
Hey, stop sniping; this game is worth the hype
We still have two days left to break down the Colts and Patriots, two days to talk more junk, to engage in the kind of insipid message-board discourse that always attends these kinds of games. (Sample e-mail example from a Boston-based writer: "You suck.'')
And that was a distant cousin. Or used to be.
Let's stop right here, right now, and appreciate what is happening this week and what will happen Sunday at the RCA Dome. Let's place a five-minute moratorium on the childish, "Nyah, nyah, our quarterback is better than your quarterback'' foolishness and just embrace this game and this rivalry, gaze upon it like a piece of fine art.
During Thursday's meet-the-media session, Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney was asked, "How much would you be willing to pay to watch this game?''
"It's priceless,'' he said, giving hope to all those ticket re-sellers who figure to make a small fortune this weekend. "This is becoming one of those old NFL Network, NFL Films games. You go back 20 years and you see something like this. It (the rivalry) has turned into one of those.''
In the salary-cap era, the only thing tougher than sustaining long-term excellence is maintaining a long-term rivalry. And not even a divisional rivalry, at that. The Colts haven't shared the AFC East with the Patriots since 2001. In the years since the two went their separate ways, the rivalry has just gotten hotter and more compelling.
"Realignment (in 2002) was one of the greatest days of my life, getting out of that AFC East,'' Colts quarterback Peyton Manning said this week. "And now I feel we are in the toughest division in football, so now sometimes you wish you could go back . . . ''
He laughed.
"New England can probably clinch the AFC East this week with the lead they have in the division,'' he said. "We're just trying to stay ahead in the division.''
What the Colts and the Patriots have built is a rivalry that is almost unique to professional sports. Most rivalries are geographic or divisional: The Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. Auburn-Alabama. Familiarity, or geographic proximity, breeds contempt.
You know the rivalry this most closely resembles? The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics of the 1980s. Two teams in different divisions. Two teams based thousands of miles from one another. Two teams that always seemed to meet in the NBA Finals.
What's most remarkable about the Colts and Patriots is they're maintaining their status, and keep this rivalry alive and kicking, in an NFL that is built on the foundation of parity. Modern-day NFL teams are not supposed to be doing this. While the Patriots re-tooled with big-time free agents and the Colts re-loaded from within, both teams have returned to this point even better equipped to grab the Lombardi Trophy.
Yes, there's some "hatred,'' as Colts linebacker Gary Brackett said Thursday. But there's also a lot of mutual respect, which is very cliche and boring and, um, true. They're like two billionaire business moguls who fight for one more sale than the other guy. There is rivalry. But there is also the mutual understanding that both are cut from the same cloth.
Embrace the hype.
Embrace the fact this is the latest in the modern history of the game that two undefeated teams have met.
Earlier this week, Colts president Bill Polian went on his radio show and tried to put a wet blanket on all the hype, saying it's all media-driven folderol -- that's another Bill-ism, folderol -- and it should be remembered that the season is only half-finished and the Colts are headed next to San Diego.
All true.
But don't dismiss or disparage the hype. It's hype that helps make the NFL what it is. It's hysterics and passion and the weeklong lead-up to game day that makes the NFL the most important sports brand in this country.
You think the National Hockey League wouldn't give its last two teeth for a little bit of hype? To paraphrase the line from "Wall Street,'' hype, for the lack of a better word, is good.
Especially now, in a season that has been sullied by the Michael Vick mess, the Spygate fiasco and the Pacman Jones suspension.
Colts and Patriots Sunday isn't Super Bowl XLII, but it's awfully close to Super Bowl XLI1/2. These two teams live in an exclusive, gated community. San Diego and Pittsburgh have spent some time in their guest houses, but for now, this is a two-team race.
And the NFC? Please, let's not go there. This is what happened years ago when the NFC, and specifically Dallas and San Francisco, were overwhelmingly dominant and playing keepaway with the Lombardi Trophy.
A lot of things can happen between now and January, and they usually do, but history shows that whoever wins the regular-season game between these two teams gets home-field advantage when the pair meet in the postseason. And the home team has always won, then gone on to win the Super Bowl.
OK, then.
Now back to our originally scheduled sniping.
Bob Kravitz is a columnist for The Indianapolis Star. Call him at (317) 444-6643 or e-mail bob.kravitz@indystar.com.
LINK
