We've Got The Beat

While there may be no happier time for me than post-season baseball, the sad reality is that I will have to begin following another sport come November.

That sounds relatively simple, but as a lifelong Chicago Bears fan - Can you really expect me to get enthusiastic about football here this year? Sure, I'll watch every Sunday and cling to some pretty crazy dreams (victories, division title, etc.) with some pretty clipped wings (injuries to Grossman, Urlacher, Brown, etc.) that may amount to . . . five, six wins? Certainly not the playoffs.

It's usually around the time of the NFL playoffs that I regret not following the season's top teams a little more closely, as evidenced last year by the lone player for the NFC Champion Carolina Panthers I had heard of. So this year, I need to get a head start.

Perhaps it was the recent ESPN movie about Pete Rose, or maybe it was the five-part series the network tied in with the film's hype, but I found myself strangely attracted to the thought of gambling on football this season. But on the Bears? C'mon.

The reason for this increased interest in making money off of football has a little something to do with scraping together funds for a plane ticket to a cousin's wedding next year. The reception is a little bit of a haul. And that's not even considering the cost of a date, but I still haven't decided who I want to ask yet.

In marrying these two predicaments, I discovered the team/the beat I'd like to follow: The 2004 Seattle Seahawks.

You see, there's family out there in Washington state (including the groom-to-be). Following this rag-tag group of grid-iron misfits will not only be fun to watch this season (have you seen where they play?), but will allow me to look like some sort of genius when this smaller-market team makes it to the Super Bowl. "I was saying that all season," I'll tell my relatives.

I intend to follow the Seahawks for the remainder of their season and spend most of my time patting myself on the back about how right I was. Or I could end up publicly kicking myself for being far too arrogant right from the get-go. Who knows?

"But, Seattle? In the Super Bowl?"

Listen. Aside from their dominant home record since moving into Qwest Field (undefeated at home last season, longest current home-winning streak in NFC), the Seahawks have one of the strongest defenses in the NFL, allowing only 13 points in their first three games.
Did I mention their division? The NFC West is so weak and pathetic that even Seattle's opponents are conceding it's not their year. Fans in St. Louis, San Francisco, and well, if there are any Arizona Cardinal fans - all are giving their props to the Seahawks.

It's hard to imagine that Seattle couldn't ultimately finish with the best record in the NFC, securing home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Donovan McWho?
I will keep an eye on key injuries, the team's relations with local media, and preview their next opponent.

If I get the balls to put any money down on this team, I may lighten things up by talking about that, too. Something tells me it might not be in the best interests of my "journalism" angle.