After New England's 59-0 blowout of the Titans today (I guess technically yesterday), I'm sure that pundits and fans will be buzzing with self-righteous anger about class and sportsmanship. In the interest of disclosure, just a few years ago I would have been spearheading the outrage myself, but to be honest, I don't care anymore.
That is not to say, of course, that I oppose sportsmanship or class. I absolutely agree that at lower levels of competition, a dominant team should take its foot off the pedal. It's classless to embarrass a poorly performing team because a lot of those kids don't get to choose where they play. DeMatha will always kick the crap out of most public schools, but that's not the kids' fault.
But in the NFL, you mostly get to choose where you play, and you're compensated handsomely whether you win or lose or lose by 59. And frankly, the talent level among NFL teams is pretty close, all things considered. Should you stop scoring because you might make Vince Young feel bad about himself? Who cares? Tennessee handed him $26 million of guaranteed money, life's not that bad. You deserve to be embarrassed once in a while.
And let's not forget the legendary 1993 playoff game between the Bills and the Oilers, in which the Oilers led 35-3 in the 3rd quarter, only to lose in overtime.
With all that said, boy were the Titans awful. They completed as many passes to the Patriots (2) as they did to their own players, whose 2 receptions went for a total of -7 yards. Nate Washington came into the game with 172 season receiving yards and left it with 150 season receiving yards. Clearly, this game was punishment from the football gods for punting on 4th and 3 from their own 40 with like 7 minutes left in the 4th quarter trailing the Colts 31-9. Are you even trying to win?
I think Bill Belichick is a douchebag, but you've got to admire the man's balls. Going for it on 4th down on his own...24, was it? He coaches football like I play video Madden.
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