Is History "Classless"?

For weeks, the possibility of a broken record in the NFL has been on the minds of many. Dan Marino's record for most passing yards in a season was in reach of a few quarterbacks, but none more than Saint's quarterback, Drew Brees. On Monday night, Brees only did what he always does, play like one of the best in the game.

He weaved, side-stepped, and danced around in the pocket all night long. He threw with an accuracy that would frighten a military trained sniper. The sound from the pounding linemen could scarcely be heard before the ball had already hit one of his receivers. All this was just a typical night for Drew Brees.

Brees continues to be one of the best around.
(AP-Bill Feig)

Even with his impressive abilities and already a Super Bowl ring on his finger, Brees has been nothing if not humble throughout his career. His quick to give credit where credit is due, or to put blame on his own failure. He has long been considered a "classy" guy.

This especially irked some people on the conclusion of his final drive of Monday night's game. With 5:08 remaining in the game and the Saints already up 38-16 on rival Atlanta Falcons, Brees marched once more. The defense had turned the Falcons over on downs on their own 33-yard line. That distance is easily within striking distance of Drew Bress, but that isn't the point.

Some felt that the Saints should have tried to run out the clock. Let's start there. There's five minutes left in the game. Yes, many teams might decide to coast in that situation and let the running backs take over. Of course, most teams don't have one of the best quarterbacks in the game who is only 30 yards away from breaking a legend's record set in 1984.

Now the issue of the score. Yes, the Saints were up 22 points, and often, in any sport, it's thought of as unsportsmanlike to run-up a score on a blowout late in a game. However, that's not the point here, and shouldn't be. Drew Brees is shooting for history. Does it really matter whether the Saints won by 22 or 29? Either way it's a blowout. The Falcons got embarrassed either way, and can use it for motivation when the two teams likely meet in the playoffs.

Drew Brees and the Saints had every reason to push for history.
(AP-Rusty Costanza)

The final touchdown actually had no true relevance to record at all, it was merely icing on the cake. If Brees started on his own 1-yard line. I would have loved for him to just get the 30 yards and then he could hand it off the rest of the night. However, he has handed a circumstance that put both him and his coach in a tough position.

Instead, he was able to cap off a very short drive that put his name in the record books and, because of the touchdown, was able to enjoy the moment. He stood there smiling and acknowledging his teammates who helped him and the fans that supported him.

Anyone who thinks that this was a classless move, such as members of the Atlanta Falcons, is probably looking at this out of frustrated emotion. They're going to look back on this and think of how stupid that statement sounds. One of the classiest men in sports was given one of the best opportunities that he could ask for, and we're supposed to care what the score was? The score will be the furthest afterthought in the future. The National Football League and its fans will remember a talented, humble, and "classy" man who simply did his best and joined history.

What Lockout?

Really!?

I don't know if you're like me and are kind of wondering what that thing was that lasted 135 days. Oh yeah, the big scary NFL lockout. Yeah, about that... What was the general population getting worried about? Does anyone actually think that a billion dollar industry was going to disappear over night? Of course not.

Both sides had too much to lose to allow for this to happen. The amount of money that the owners make is ridiculous, and almost downright criminal. The players are getting paid plenty as well, but they'd have virtually nothing else for them with a lockout. Unlike the NBA, NFL players are not wanting to play in Europe or any other league simply because there is virtually no money it. NBA stars can still get huge salaries elsewhere, but football is not so far reaching.

SQUIRREL!!!

So, if both sides couldn't let this happen then why was it reported so heavily over the past 4 months? Because, to quote Jon Stewart, "The media really is like the dog in Up."

Stewart wasn't referring to sports journalists specifically, but it certainly is applicable to all kinds of journalists. You look at the history of journalism and you'll see that journalists find a story that seems popular, especially if it's different, and they milk it for all that it's worth until what comes out is absolutely trivial.

Now this may not be a journalist's choice because often they get thrown into stories that they have no interest in or even know virtually nothing about the subject. Trust me, this happens more often than producers, reporters, and audiences would like, but there's little that really can be done about it. However, that's a topic for a very different time and place. 

How could you hate that!?

The Proverbial... SQUIRREL!!!

But I digress. In order to stay competitive, news organizations are always looking for something new to get ahead of the competition. Whether it's the tennis ball of a new epidemic or the sound of the mailman's truck with the latest tidbit on Presidential candidate high school crush, journalists chase it down like it's responsible for the shabby doghouse they live in. In this case it's the "NFL Lockout Squirrel" that's drawn the chase of sports journalists. And boy do I hate squirrels, at least in this metaphorical case.

This 135 day marathon followed every bit of that formula for unnecessary coverage. It was something different, it gave the illusion of being something truly scary, and it had the potential for a lot of interesting information, right? Well maybe not so much on that last point. Every day there seemed to be an "update" on the lockout as if something had actually happened. We would hear potential suggestions for the new CBA, but then we'd find out that they barely get past introductions.

Now I'm sure there are diehard football fans that feel they need to be updated on every little bit of information that is available, and that has been geared thanks to the Internet and our obsessive compulsive need to have up-to-date information. However, there is a BROAD line that separates what's important from what's trivial. Quite frankly, I would have been content with the first day being, "There is an NFL lockout" and why, and then the last day being, "The NFL Lockout is over" and here's what was agreed upon.

We're talking about meetings, man. Not a game. Meetings.

Instead, we got a long summer of possibles and maybes, and long time before a real answer. So, what I emphasize about this video is our PATIENCE!

Now if only we could be patient in our informational intake. Unfortunately, journalism is sucked into this "We have to have the breaking news" state of being. People spend countless and pointless hours waiting for the news to break when they could be doing something actually productive. Is it really going to kill the audience if they receive the information 5 minutes later because it will take that long for it to be texted or tweeted anyway?

In the end, this is simply the state of journalism and its audience right now. People want information now, and journalists have to provide it for them, even if the information is trivial.

As for the NFL, the preseason is underway, there are already injuries, there are new rules in place, and it's not really different from any other year. People are going to make the argument that shortened practices and such will be the reason for this or for that, but really it's football! People are going to get hurt for a number of different reasons, most of which don't start with "Lock" and end with "out". Plus there are much cooler ways of getting hurt, like playing guitar hero.

So, the next time the media tells you to be scared about the impending apocalypse, just sit back have a nice chuckle. And remember:

If this guy hasn't predicted it, it probably won't be that bad.