baseball | Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

5 Reasons Why NHL Hockey Is Better Than NFL Football – Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

2017 has been a transitional year for me considering Having been an ardent NFL Football fan since I was six (6) years old. Having lived through four (4) Minnesota Viking Superbowl losses and other football heartbreaks during my short life.

During my fifty plus going on fifteen, Having experienced football strikes, witnessed trades that sold a team out for years, and Having cried during drafts because we could have had a star but selected a nobody. Having asked on many occasions what is going on without receiving a real answer to my question.

In 2016, I took it on the chin when there was unrest in the NFL and curbed how many games I watched to a minimum. I 2017, the unrest became a revolt and Having not watched an NFL game this year and have no intention to start. Having discussed in other blogs, I am not going to discuss this issue anymore because it does not matter.

Being a true believer in “When One Door Closes, Another Door Will Open”, validates my transition from the NFL to the NHL. For years, my bride who is a lifelong hockey fan, tried to get me to watch hockey on a consistent basis. I did watch hockey during the playoffs and occasionally during the regular season but my choice was football.
So, this brings me to 5 Reasons NHL Hockey Is Better Than NFL Football:

NHL Hockey has regular season games almost every day of the week starting early fall and finishing early spring.
1. NFL Football has sixteen (16) regular season games a year normally on Thursday, Sunday and Monday.
NHL Hockey allows players to settle differences on the ice although players are penalized.
1. NFL Football does not allow players to settle differences on the field to the same level that the NHL does.
NHL Hockey players stand for both the United States and Canadian national anthem.
1. NFL Football players do what they want. This is a different topic of discussion.
NHL Hockey allows fan participation in the game, hats, squids, octopus, catfish, etc.
1. NFL Football frowns on similar participation.
NHL Hockey fans are nearly on the ice, banging on the glass, get hit by pucks.
1. NFL Football fans are normally segregated from the game and often in the nose bleed section.

I could go on about why NHL Hockey is better than NFL Football but believe Having addressed effectively. I was upset about the situation with NFL Football but now it is a small simmer and NFL Football has joined MLB Baseball after the 1994 strike.

Having adjusted to my new reality and we have purchased NHL Center Ice which made my bride of thirty (30) years happy. During the first two (2) weeks of the NHL Hockey season, Having learned much about the game since we watch from 6 until 12 each night. I anticipate watching over 1,000 hours of NHL Hockey this season and it is great watching the skill of these athletes.

You can teach an old dog new tricks and being fifty plus going on fifteen I am happy about this. Perhaps, in time I will return to NFL Football but I will never have the passion I once had for the game. I hope it does not take me as long to return to football as MLB Baseball since I went from 1994 to 2017 without going to a game.

One last item of interest. If a lifelong fan of NFL Football like me is willing to say screw it, how many more are out there with the same attitude?

In closing, thanks for reading this article and it is great being fifty plus going on fifteen (50 plus going on 15).

Wishing you health, safety, and success. Please feel free to provide comments.

Jay Patterson

Sports Heroes September 2017 – Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

With the beginning of fall, a convergence of professional sports seasons occurs unlike any other time of the year.

Major League Baseball (MLB) is winding down and the Cleveland Indians are one of the hottest teams playing ball prior to the playoffs.
National Hockey League (NHL) is ramping up with two more weeks of preseason play and Las Vegas has a team.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) completes preseason play this week and the big question is Cleveland or Golden State.
National Football League (NFL) is entering week three (3) of the 2017 season and the NFL cannot figure out why viewership is taking for the second straight year.

I am an avid National Football League (NFL) fan who has followed the Minnesota Vikings and Oakland/Los Angeles/Las Vegas Raiders since the late 1060s. My Vikings have broken more hearts than Zsa Zsa Gabor and my Raiders have won Superbowls and have been the laughingstock of the NFL.

When I talk about being an avid football fan, my level of interest includes:

Counting days until the draft, preseason, regular season, playoffs, and Superbowl.
Purchasing and reading magazines and subscriptions to websites to be better educated.
Purchasing televised subscription services for all NFL games and I love the Red Zone.
Studying stats so I can participate in football picks each week.
Studying player and team stats so I can participate in my fantasy football team.

Well, it is week 3 of the NFL season and I have walked away from the NFL with exception of doing football picks and fantasy football since I have obligated my involvement with friends. I don’t like it but I do not like the new political NFL.

Please do not get me wrong since I believe that everyone should be able to support their political leanings but professional players are at work when they play and is it right to take your politics or religion to work?

So there is a void in my fall sports needs and to fill this void I am filling my time with non-political sports like college football and hockey.

I do have other options and I am warming up to MLB baseball again but the 1994 baseball strike still catches in my craw. NHL hockey is an option but a couple weeks out so perhaps we dive deep into hockey. I love NASCAR but all the rule changes have resulted in less interest and Junior is having a poor final year but I hope he is having fun.

Perhaps, the NFL will figure out that people do not really care about politics when watching football and will take a handle on this issue but perhaps not. Until the NFL does treat political protests like a personal foul, I will refrain from fully participating in my favorite sport.

Have a great day and it is great to be Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen.

Jay Patterson

What Happened to My Sports Heroes – Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

Can you believe the 2017 National Football League (NFL) season starts tomorrow!!

2017 continues to buzz by and I have conflicting thoughts about the upcoming season and even if I want to play fantasy football this year.

What are my conflicts?

Sports have normally been a haven from politics where you could kick back, watch the game and only get miffed if a referee made a bad call or if your team just did not show up. There were blips of politics here and there but politics were normally checked at the door.

In recent years, we have experienced a significant increase in individuals wanting to make a statement at the expense of the team, fans and sport and I have an issue with that. I have become much grayer and less black and white as I have aged but I resist the motivation of bringing politics, religion, etc. to work and/or sports.

In 1994 Major Leage Baseball went on strike over unfair pay practices and other concerns and I thought it quite ironic that an MLB player was going on strike and impacting the concession employees, etc. because the millions in direct earnings and product endorsements were not enough for the professional player.

Well, I went from 1994 until this year without attending a baseball game in person and I would be shocked if I have watched 10 games in 23 years on TV. I doubt I made any impact at my level but there were more people like me out there.

So, the NFL season starts in one day, my fantasy football team is drafted, and I am uncertain if I can support an organization that allows its employees to blatantly exhibit beliefs that I may or may not agree with. Last year, I compromised with my beliefs and did not watch regular season games but played fantasy football.

Why?

When I was growing up, we had a number of students that did not stand for the Pledge Of Allegiance or the National Anthem for religious reasons so is this any different? I believe there is a difference between religious and political reasons but I must also admit that much blood spilled and lives lost to allow people the right to do as they please even if I do not agree with it,

With that said, the 1994 baseball strike is different from the politics of present day sports because greed caused the strike and conceptions and/or misconceptions are driving the current environment. I do not believe sports figures are the hero figures I had as a child but I believe they are role models that should be an example to our young in what is acceptable behavior.

In the end though, it is not the sports figures job to raise our children but ours.

You can agree or disagree with politics and religion in sports and you must decide how to deal with it fairly. I have chosen a gray line to deal with it because very little is black and white.

Have a great day,

Jay Patterson