Thank god, football is back.
I have plans to go back to Iowa this weekend for the Hawkeyes’ home opener and am downright GIDDY over the opportunity to watch a team play like they actually have something to prove. Not to mention the fact that I’ll be surrounded by an equally enthusiastic fan base that has yet to feel cheated and disenfranchised. (Operative word, of course, being YET.)
Remember what that feels like, guys?
It seems like it’s been awhile since we’ve been able to express anything other than frustration and annoyance over these St. Louis Cardinals. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t actually feel ANYTHING. No, my anger and despair have been replaced with apathy and indifference. After all, if no one in that clubhouse is going to give a shit, why should I? I feel like I’ve already gone through the five stages of grief and at this point, have reached a certain level of acceptance. These guys might be a supremely talented bunch of ballplayers, but they are certainly not a championship caliber team. Are we even sure we’d WANT to see them in the playoffs? That would be excruciating! And horribly embarrassing! TOO MANY FACEPALMS!
No, I think it’s probably better to just watch the flame-out with a measured understanding of how much less this is going to hurt NOW than if they keep us hopelessly optimistic until the final few series of the regular season. I’m just trying to play devil’s advocate here, people, but can you even imagine? Oh, it would be horrible. We’d all be running around punching babies and lighting nursing homes on fire if it actually came down to the wire and the Redbirds somehow fell on their swords in the end. (And you just KNOW they would.)
At least this gives us some time to mourn, I guess? Since the Cardinals have decided to lie down in the middle of the road and be flattened by the National League short bus, we have some time to process the complete failure of the season and spend a healthy amount of time assigning blame. There are so many targets for our vitriol! It seems that there is no shortage of ways the cogs in this machine have worked to undermine each other over the course of the summer.
In fact, just this morning I read an article on Hardball Talk about how TLR held Colby Rasmus out of the lineup on Sunday because of some asinine beef they’ve got with each other over WHO KNOWS what. (Maybe Colby wears fur?) No, but seriously, guys. REALLY??? I’m sorry, Mr. LaRussa, I know you’re a diabolical lawyer super genius. (Trust me, we ALLLLL do.) But unless Colby is missing limbs or running a terrorist ring out of the locker room, you put him on that baseball field! I MEAN IT! I DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR THIS BULLSHIT NONSENSE!
Ahem. ANYWAY, football is back, guys! High fives! Also, RIP 2010 St. Louis Cardinals!
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