The Fave 5: The List of Sadness

Posted by on in ,

am-show-fave-5

5. Arrogance

When speaking about the New England Patriots, Steeler safety Mike Mitchell said, “We can play them in hell, we can play them in Haiti, we can play them in New England. …  We’re gonna win.” This quote was given last week as Pittsburgh prepared to face Jacksonville. Other Steelers expressed similar wishful thinking. Unfortunately the Steelers will not play New England in Hell or Haiti this season because they were eliminated by the Jaguars. Guard David Decastro called his teammates’ obsession with New England during Jacksonville week, “embarrassing.” He is right, the only thing worse than losing to Tom Brady all the time is being so arrogant that you get caught slipping and wind up losing to Blake Bortles.

4. Defeat

With all the learning that can be done when losing big games, Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons could not pass up another opportunity to further their education by dropping a winnable game to Nick Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles. They are super excited to have learning partners in the Saints as well. Takk McKinley even tweeted about his excitement when he saw the Saints lose their playoff game to Minnesota. Learning is so much more fun when you learn with your friends!

3. Aggression

The real life football world usually calls for a sound balance of conservative and progressive thinking. Being level headed and knowing when to let up and knowing when to go for the gusto is what coaching is all about. Coaching in the video game world is different. In that world, the consequences are not as dire. You can afford to coach like an aggressive jagoff. Mike Tomlin coached like he was playing Madden against Jacksonville, throwing and running toss sweeps on 4th and inches. He kicked an onside kick when he absolutely did not need to. Making real life decisions the same way you would make decisions in a video game can be dangerous and even stupid, but it is how Mike Tomlin usually makes decisions, so at least he was true to himself.

2. Hopelessness

Tom Brady is in his 769th straight AFC Championship game. He is two wins away from his sixth Super Bowl and the only quarterbacks remaining in the playoffs to stop him are a couple of journeymen and a stoobum. Keenum, Foles, and Bortles may not inspire hope, but the good thing about Philly, Minnesota, and Jacksonville is that they all have front sevens that provide plenty of hope that Brady will be crushed before he can get number six.

1. Shell Shock

Anger and despair occur very often when you cheer hard for one side while watching any athletic event. A truly rare and indescribable occurrence is classic shell shock. The shell shock provided by Marcus Williams’ missed tackle and the Saints nauseating loss to the Vikings will live forever and one hundred years in the minds of Saints fans, football fans, and everyone who had New Orleans +4.5.