My memories of football start with the Ice Bowl, and the 69 Super Bowl. The 70s made me love football...the characters (coaches as well as players), the raw brutality, the team identities (players spent their entire careers with the same team)...The Steel Curtain, Fearsome Foursome, Purple People Eaters, Doomsday Defense...
It was before players became LLCs, and "recovery" was not done in hyperbaric chambers, but in bars and taverns. In the mid-90's, I was watching a game and a talking head said that, "in today's game, guys like Nitschke and Butkus would come out on 3rd down for an extra DB", and I turned it off, watching sporadically since.
No question the players since then are more dynamic, better athletes (much better with training), but the 70's holds my heart.
80s and 90s are about the same, but I had to pick one
Now 75% of the rule changes are dumb (barely any kickoff returns, take the extra point from the 40 or something) and it's geared toward gambling, scoring, artificially close games, less hitting, and getting a few more chicks to tune in
Add in the woke crap and it's hard to watch. I might have one more year in me.
I watch the NFL but I don't get too excited about it. It's corporate/business football, there are certain players that are fun to watch, but getting all spun up over a particular team and buying a jersey of some dude that will bail at the next big contract, then hating him when he plays for a rival team is absurd. I always like College ball because it had a local vibe with a good % local products, trying like hell to win games and have fun, because such a small % make the pros, players used to come to a school because they wanted to, now it's different with NIL. I think the NFL is as entertaining today as it's ever been, the rules that prevent great defense sucks, but the league across the board is competitive...I dunno
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Plus, my Cowboys won three super bowls that decade.
It was before players became LLCs, and "recovery" was not done in hyperbaric chambers, but in bars and taverns. In the mid-90's, I was watching a game and a talking head said that, "in today's game, guys like Nitschke and Butkus would come out on 3rd down for an extra DB", and I turned it off, watching sporadically since.
No question the players since then are more dynamic, better athletes (much better with training), but the 70's holds my heart.
Now 75% of the rule changes are dumb (barely any kickoff returns, take the extra point from the 40 or something) and it's geared toward gambling, scoring, artificially close games, less hitting, and getting a few more chicks to tune in
Add in the woke crap and it's hard to watch. I might have one more year in me.
The cap and free agency have watered it down
Joe Gibbs > Bill B.