Study in Contrasts

The hair on my arms still stands on end when I listen to the last 7 seconds of Super Bowl XXXVI, and when I listen to the last play of the 2004 World Series. I mark my calendar by the sports being played, specifically baseball March - October; football September - February. It's a great feeling of security to know my beloved Red Sox will be playing all summer; my New England Patriots will be playing all winter.

I decided to take some inventory and compare my two favorite sporting events: football and baseball. Funny how different these two games are, really. One is hyper intense, the other not so much. One has a clock that means everything. One has no clock, time is relative.

Football vs. Baseball

NFL Best viewed: 60" HDTV, preferably with DVR to granularly breakdown each play. Best in a living room or basement "man room"
MLB Best viewed: If to be watched on television at all, it's a 13" B&W with a coat hanger antenna, best on a back deck in a Summer early afternoon. Most favorably experienced on a crackly AM radio.

NFL One Loss Means: A week (sometimes more) of moping around complaining about officiating and bad plays. Equal to a 10 game losing streak in baseball.
MLB One Loss Means: One loss. "We'll get 'em tomorrow."

NFL Playoff Loss Means: Season comes screeching to a halt. All emotion left on the field. Do or die.
MLB Playoff Loss Means: One loss in a playoff series. "We'll get 'em tomorrow."

NFL Preferred weather: Late fall sweatshirts to mid-winter gale force snow storms and parkas.
MLB Preferred weather: Late spring, Summer. T Shirts and shorts.

NFL Rivalry: The guys that beat your arse in the last big game.
MLB Rivalry: The guys that have beaten your arse over the last 100 years, with flashes of revenge on occasion.

NFL Standings: It's okay to root for a team you hate if it means your team will be better for it in the standings
MLB Standings: It's never okay to root for your nemesis. There's 161 other games in which the standings can correct themselves.

NFL Greatest Performance: Flawless execution by offense
MLB Greatest Performance: Flawless execution by defense

NFL Libations: Grab them before the third
MLB Libations: Grab them before the seventh

NFL Player Sucks: Cut, no pay.
MLB Player Sucks: sent to minors, traded, put on DL for "hamstring." Gets paid.

NFL Culture: Hug your buddy on a great play. Scream "HOLY FLIPPING STUFF!! FLIPPING YEAH!" (Most often uttered in a slightly different way)
MLB Culture: High five your buddy on a great play. Say "Yeah!"

Who do you take to an NFL Game? Your buddies
Who do you take to an MLB Game? Your kids

So how do I love both? I guess it comes to the time of year. Summer is a little laid back, while the time, enjoy your company. Take your time with the grill. Fall and winter is just nasty. There's little daylight in the day. No time to waste, nothing to while away. It's too cold to be outside grilling without a purpose.