Posted 7:44 PM by Gene

The NFL conference championships are tomorrow, and the Super Bowl's the following week, and all I can think of is Chevy Chase: Greedy owners blackmailing spineless mayors into building debt-laden stadiums so they can be at the top of the Forbes owner's list (I OWN THE NFL'S MOST VALUABLE FRANCHISE AND YOU DON'T!!!!!); greedy players who'll get unimaginable sums and tank the following year (I MAKE $12 MILLION A YEAR AND YOU DON'T!!!!!); greedy sponsors esconced in luxury boxes and ready to pounce on unsuspecting subordinates the next day (I WAS AT THE SUPER BOWL AND YOU WEREN'T!!!!!), greedy fans who think they're watching something "historic" and will never shut up (DITTO!!!!!). Chevy Chase (the phenomenon, not the man) has sucked the joy out of sports, no doubt the reason TV ratings for most of them are down, save the NFL (the immovable force) and any tournament Tiger's in (the irresistible object). Today I was watching Disney Sports's (pardon, ABC's) broadcast of the Duke-Maryland game from the new Comcast Center at College Park and with Dick Vitale yelling I could only imagine the tax breaks. It's a sorry thing when sports comes to this.

Living in Philadelphia I dread what might happen if the Iggles win the Super Bowl. Fortunately the game's on a Sunday night, and Monday's need for work should hold down the revels.

There is a silver lining to this: Hardly anybody outside the U.S. cares about the Super Bowl. Of course, hardly anybody in the U.S. cares about professional soccer. Given the sport's hooliganism abroad I say that's a good thing.