Fair Weather Fans

Wow! It's been a rough football season for me so far. You see I'm a Notre Dame fan and a Denver Broncos fan. Need I say more? Just when you think it can't get any worse, it does. It's bad enough that Notre Dame has looked like a pretty decent high school team all year long, sporting the worst record in their storied history, but to lose to Navy for the first time in 43 years! Gosh, do you realize what that means? The last time Notre Dame lost to Navy, your grandparents were sitting on the couch in their parents homes watching the game (at least it feels as if it was that long ago).

Then there are the dear old Broncos. And that really is what they looked like yesterday... old! They looked like players at the end of their careers struggling to keep up with the young players with something to prove. They have the distinct dishonor of being the worst team in the NFL at stopping the run. That fact was indisputably evident in yesterdays mauling by the Detroit Lions, 44 - 7. They were porous on defense and anaemic on offense. After watching yesterdays debacle by the Broncos, the Washington Redskins should feel good about the fifty-something points scored against them by the Patriots, at least they can hang their hats on the fact that it was the Patriots (potentially the best team in any era of football by the time this season is all said and done). To what do the Broncos attribute their embarassing loss?

But, I am a legitimate fan and not a fair-weather-fan. I proudly sported my Broncos hat while I visited with a group of buddies to watch the Patriots win against the Colts. I endured all the good-natured ribbing, while trying to save-face by explaining the tremendous benefits of remaining loyal even in the face of tremendous adversity (I'm sure there's a spiritual lesson in there somewhere). I was pulling for the Patriots as I really would like to see them rewrite history by going 19 - 0. Come to think of it, I live a little closer to Boston now than I do Colorado. Maybe I should consider becoming a Patriots Fan!