This time of year is always a difficult time for me, beginning with the National Football League playoffs.
My team, the Kansas City Chiefs, decided to choke in mid-season instead of in the playoffs.
So, now I get to put my hopes on draft picks and Dick Vermeil.
But that's not what really bothers me.
As the Super Bowl game approaches, I experience feelings of enthusiasm and apprehension.
Year after year, NFL fans have tuned in to watch some of the most boring games ever played.
Sadly enough, these games were supposedly between the best that the National Football Conference and American Football Conference have to offer.
Last year, however, we finally experienced an entertaining and competitive game. We can only hope that this year's match-up between the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Giants will give us something to be excited about, besides the commercials.
But I'm not holding my breath.
It's thinking about after the Super Bowl that my feelings of anticipation are replaced with feelings of anxiety.
In creeps the feeling of abandonment that comes with the off season. Will I even want to watch Sports Center?
What will I talk about with friends and co-workers?
Will I have to resort to watching NASCAR or even worse, ice skating, on Sunday afternoons?
After pondering these life-affecting questions, a frightening thought enters my head: What about the XFL? You know, that new venture that Vince McMahon of the WWF thought up. My mind keeps envisioning men playing football clad in leopard skin tights with names like "jungle lover."
I can't help but wonder if it will desecrate the game of football that I know and love. So, I decided to look into it and try to find the positive aspects.
The XFL does bring us a hometown team, the Memphis Maniax.
Even a not so knowledgeable football fan like myself can recognize a few names from the Maniax roster.
Rashaan Salaam is the most identifiable as a former Heisman Trophy winner.
After reading most of these guys bios, I found that the XFL will display the talents of many gifted players, including a few from Memphis.
Many of these athletes left the NFL because of injuries.
The major difference between the two leagues is penalties.
What the NFL regulations deems a penalty, the XFL says is fair play.
The XFL doesn't provide near the same protection of its players as the NFL.
For example, there is no such thing as a fair catch.
Now, that doesn't sound too bad to me. I, personally, enjoy seeing a punt returner receive a good bowling over now and again.
The XFL season begins Feb. 3, so football fans won't miss a beat.
Yes, I am a skeptic.
I don't know if the XFL will pacify the needs of so many devoted NFL fans. But in my opinion, it's better than nothing.
I've decided to give it a chance.
So, it's not the NFL; but it is football. Who knows? I might even learn to like it.
