Oh, Grow Up!

Ah to be young and immature.  Except when you were supposed to grow out of that phase three or four years ago.  Well for all the 49er season ticket holders, for all the Utah Utes alumni, and for all quarterbacks who have yet to show their potential and shine, Alex Smith was your hero.  I found myself no longer caring about my fantasy team (my one fantasy team that lost had only the Saints' Colston left to play, one other had the 49ers' Gore and was in no danger of losing, and the other had no players this past Monday and also was in no danger of losing).  I wanted only for the 49ers to win (a long shot) and for Alex Smith to finally take control of his team (an even longer shot).  Normally one out of the two isn't the best outcome, however in this case its a joyful outcome and I'll tell you why.

Here's the deal this league is perpetuated on the idea of maximum entertainment per game.  Be that on the field or in the atmosphere surrounding the game.  Therefor it is in the best interests of the NFL and its affiliates that each game be as equal as possible.  While the idea of an extreme underdog pulling off an incredible win will draw a larger spike of enthusiasm and entertainment value for that week but when that underdog loses the  next, that intrigue dies away at an exponential rate.  The excitement level would be lesser week by week but it would stay at a constant rate if each game were to have the outcome be a possible 50/50 percentage.  To attain such a sports utopia, each team needs an unquestioned leader at the quarterback position and that leader needs to have complete command of his offense, which requires that he be far beyond efficient at his job.

OK so maybe that is a far-fetched, half-baked idea but it does have some tangents that we all hope for.  We all want our teams to win their division year in and year out, which requires that the other teams in the division be far weaker than yours.  But knowing that reality is far different, we also want division rivals to falter at every turn.  This requires teams who aren't near that talent level to achieve the impossible.  We almost saw that Monday, but that is the league that we love so much, so close yet so far away.  So what do occurences like this one mean?  They are the basis for my reason to still believe that the Cowboys can win every game for the rest of the season (or at least like 9 or 11 more).  They give every underdog hope, maybe not as much as this.  Or even this.  But still it helps us all feel that we can accomplish anything.  Cheesy I know but this is the male soap opera.  And hey we all need a silver lining from time to time.  Especially the Cowboys.  And their fans.