Football, baseball, apple pie and television

So much going on leading up to the 49ers-Rams and Chiefs-Bengals’ games that I see hardly any potential for putting thought into prognosticating the eventual outcomes.

This past weekend’s games were incredible.

Rodgers and the Pack go down to the Niners.

Then Brady and the Bucs fall to the Rams.

All of the speculation about the fates of Brady and Rodgers leads me to speculate on their futures: You heard it here definitely the first time. They will both be back later this year once summer camp opens up.

Football players are different from baseball players in that it’s over once they retire. Once they hang up their cleats and walk away, they don’t return. In the Not For Long league, once it’s over, it’s over (except for 37-year old Eric Weddle, of course, who the Rams signed to bolster their weakened secondary).

But seriously, folks, football players play the game as long as they’re still playing at high levels.

Brady and Rodgers’ levels don’t get much higher than currently. Unless you consider the heights in which Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes are playing, granted, they’re almost 15 years younger than Rodgers or thereabouts and 19 years younger than Brady (or thereabouts).

When battering the quarterback was still allowed in the old days, marquee quarterbacks required a backup for when starters were inevitably injured. Quarterbacks nowadays can expect not to get hit as hard due to the obligatory 15-yard penalty flags routinely thrown for flagrant fouls of this kind.

I’m sure none of this is news to either Brady or Rodgers.

So, that’s why I’m saying, play the game for as long as you’re able to play it at MVP levels.

And that’s what I fully expect them to do. If you think it seems an obvious no-brainer, then you would be correct. On the contrary, the media writes stories just for clicks (instead of kicks, but I digress).

In the meantime, we sit on the edge of our seats as the NFL steals spring training thunder from baseball and its pending lockout (or whatever ridiculous work stoppage team owners and players are considering). All the while, Brady and Rodgers may or may not be keeping us in suspense.

Baseball has been in decline fan-wise.

Football is just the opposite.

Covid didn’t keep fans from packing NFL stadiums.

Baseball fans didn’t start coming out to ballgames until the playoff chase got underway in earnest back in late July, early August.

Even then, games did not consistently pack stadiums.

The NFL is a money-making machine, and MLB is, well, not so much.

It’s hard for fans to sympathize with either baseball players or the owners when they both make so much money.

Sports are still an escape for fans.

And there’s nothing like being at the game.

I couldn’t help thinking that during the Packers-Niners game at Lambeau Field, fans attending must have been cold, yet well-fueled as it were.

All the libations no doubt flowed freely.

But, it had to be a challenging ride home for the home crowd fans.