America's NEW Favorite Pastime... Football!

A 162 games seemingly drawn out forever without no end in sight...yes, that is baseball. Where a game, a series or even a month or two provides little in terms of ramifications to the teams ultimate fate in post season advancement. Baseball fans are summoned to the numerous, repetitive commercials, delays between each pitch and batter, not to mention the play by plays provided by announcers that tend to put one to sleep by reenacting a play over and over again. Then comes their stories and events of their day as a mode fillers to avoid the deadly sin of any announcer, known as silence. Many teams have numerous Mulligan's built in over the course of their prolonged season in which they can have injuries to star players or suspensions handed out, that don not seem to have detrimental impact on a teams goal of getting to the playoffs. Like a basketball game where the game begins with five minutes left, the baseball season can be cued in in September without ever really missing a beat. The new, favorite pastime has evolved as the juggernaut of the sports world and it has taken the world by storm...WELCOME to the NFL(National Football League).

Exit baseball and enter professional football as each game is intense, enjoyable and each and every game has significant implications and poses a dramatic impact as to the likelihood of a team making the playoffs...or not! Injuries, schedule, success in the draft, player performance, turnover ratio, penalties and coaching prowess all come with profound implications as every play and plan of action is seemingly viewed under a microscope due to the short 16 game seasonal format with little time for error.

Their are too many variables effecting the outcome of a football game as coaching style and effectiveness have a strong bearing and promote a major emphasis on how a team prepares and readies itself for the next game. The reliance upon a coaching staff in football alters a teams chances of success more so than with a baseball team and its lengthy season. A coaching staff has very little time to prepare its players and manage the game, not to mention the various key components that go into establishing the right scenario of personnel on both sides of the ball.

Preparation for the draft and incorporating the right pieces into the mix of player personnel for the upcoming years is crucial. This combined with the fact that the popularity of the NFL draft on ESPN at the end of April is amazing, more so than that of the baseball draft that very few are concerned with, in my opinion.

This is just one piece of the overall excitement that is associated with the NFL season. Ratings for the NFL have risen substantially in recent years especially, not to mention the playoff , Super bowl and post season activities. High caliber action on both sides of the ball with intense hitting and movement by all the players creates a more interesting and fun game to stay focused with as opposed to baseball where the pitcher and catcher make up most of the excitement as the other players stand around and try to stay mentally focused. Just think, if it is hard for the players on the baseball teams to stay mentally alert, think about how we, as baseball fans, must feel.

I think that the scheduling and team personnel is more evenly matched. The salary cap tends to maintain a more suitable and stable environment to give each team a fighting chance to get to the Super bowl. This allows for more dedication and involvement by its fan base since their team could be the next Super bowl champs. It isn't like baseball where the juggernauts such as the Yankees have a combined salary that exceeds that of the Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins combined, and these two teams are probably heading to the playoff, whereas the Yankees are heading home to work on their golf game. I am a Yankees fan and the 26 World Championships are great, don't get me wrong, but the baseball season has lost alot of its swagger over the past few years. All those years of winning with spending a fortune on elite players and superstars has caught up with them and other teams as the A-Rods of the world don't guarantee you anything! All those years of teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers and Braves consistently winning...what did that do for the small market teams and their fan base? IE. Tampa, Kansas City, Minnesota and Toronto, another year of not making the playoffs is the going trend.

Football is not nearly as damaging to its fans high hopes of its team advancing to the playoffs or further. Maybe a salary cap that is reflected in the balance of the NFL should be considered as a possible solution of making the game of baseball more exciting once again. Where the egos and monetary numbers that reign supremacy in baseball will be deflated and brought back down to earth. Now if we can only get by the delays in baseball that seem to go on for eternity...hey if anything it allows us to take a bathroom break or get something to eat and drink.

With so much at hand considering the excitement and the speed at which the NFL schedule and game carry out, why not jump on board to the new America's favorite pastime! You may want to join one of the numerous fantasy leagues as well to further stimulate the senses and become more increasingly involved with that that is the NFL!