I feel like my position on the NFL is stuck between two prevailing opinions of football, with few sharing my perspective.
On one end are the people who are madly devoted to the league, they tailgate, leap on tables, hold Super Bowl parties, place bets, play in five fantasy leagues and collect the hell out of the star players. On the other end are the people who have dropped football from their lives -- It's barbaric, it shortens lives, it worships only money and some of its participants are some of the worst humans in sport.
I am neither of those perspectives (though I share traits from both). I like the NFL season -- far more than college football, which I can't wait to ignore forever. I am excited when the NFL starts, I appreciate it when there's no more MLB season, I enjoy the community that encircles the Bills and it is one of the few connections to my favorite city and the time I lived there.
I can't give it up. But it wears on me.
When was there a Super Bowl matchup that I really liked, one in which one of the participants wasn't hated or one in which I wasn't flat-out bored over? Packers-Steelers (2011)? Colts-Bears (2007)? It's been awhile.
I have no interest in this one, I will be rooting for a loser. As someone who can find something interesting in whatever baseball game is happening, I can't do the same for football. It will always be second-best.
Same goes for the cards. I will collect them -- mostly the vintage kind. But it's in between baseball pursuits. But since football is the thing right now (and because I received some cards), I'm returning to my 1979 Topps football chase. You remember 1979, right? When Chiefs and Eagles weren't a thought in the postseason? Good times.
I received these '79s from Cardboard Catastrophes. Jeff found them at a show. They are in beautiful shape. This particular card was the last of the Earl Campbells that I needed for the set. The Oilers were my favorite team at the time and Campbell my favorite player. It's a shame what the NFL did to the Oilers and Earl Campbell.
Steelers leaders does not include Lynn Swann because much like Earl Campbell, Topps didn't have the rights to feature the superstar, which seems like a major miss. Good thing I was a youngster and didn't notice things like that.
The final leaders card I needed, featuring the two biggest quarterbacks of the day. It seemed like the Cowboys and Steelers were always in the Super Bowl when I was arriving at the sport. It says a lot that Bradshaw is in the public eye -- still -- and I couldn't tell you what Roger Staubach is doing. Right in line with their personalities when they were players.
Another quarterback titan of the time. Fran Tarkenton stayed in the public realm a little more than Staubach after his career but he's really up there now and I haven't heard about him in awhile. The first Super Bowl I ever saw was Super Bowl XI with the Vikings and Raiders and I was rooting for the Vikings. In true NFL fashion, the Super Bowl said, "no, your team can't win," and I probably should have quit following football right there and then instead of staying and becoming a Bills fan of all things.
Anyway, the Tarkenton photo is classic, but I can see why folks would prefer the 1977 card.
Quite a difference.
Finally, here's Bradshaw again, hogging the post (I promise this card has borders, the slight curl of the cards plays havoc with the scanning cropping tool). Every time I see him on the Fox panel, I want to scream "retire already!" But I'm sure he can't.
Those are some very nice additions and most of the big names that were left on my want list. About all I have left are the Joe Theismann and Rocky Bleier cards and a handful of checklists. Seven cards in all. I should be able to take care of that quite easily.
I will watch the Super Bowl -- I'm off, what else am I going to do? But it's not going to come near to what baseball's big finale did for me. Will I still be watching highlights four months later? Absolutely not.
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