Embrace the pigskin

It's that wonderful time of the year again. The Sunday plans will be cleared, the beverages will be refrigerated and the cheerleaders will look ever so babe-tastic in high definition TV. The NFL is finally back.

If you're not excited for the NFL returning, what's wrong with you? Here are a couple of solid reasons why you should love this glorious time of year:

Fantasy Football. Some of you might hate it, and that's fine.  You're really missing out, though.  It's a great way to make fun of someone, their team and their mother online at any time.  It's not as complicated or demanding as fantasy baseball or basketball (who the hell plays fantasy basketball?). The best part for me? Fantasy team names. I can't print them here, but there are about 20 different takes on Ben Roethlisberger's bathroom stall adventures, so try to be more original.  

Rex Ryan. I'm a huge Patriots fan and despise the Jets, but there's no way you cannot like this man. If you hear him talk, it's impossible not to admire him. I watched "Hard Knocks" on HBO and instantly gained a ton of respect for Rex Ryan. Not only is he a great motivator and coach, but also has the most creative and vulgar mouth I've ever heard. He called his defense "slapd*cks."  Slapd*cks!

The Red Sox.  As much as I love the Red Sox (and I'm still watching even though their playoff chances are almost zero now), I'm getting tired of seeing them lose, or even worse, win and still have no chance since the Rays and Yankees win on the same nights. Their record is good enough to contend for a wild card spot in the National League, but they have no chance at the postseason with Tampa Bay and New York ruining every team in their path. It's really frustrating, and the only way to relieve that right now is to switch sports and watch the Patriots (or some other team of your choice) for a couple weeks.

There might be a lockout next year. "Haha, good joke, Samer!"  No, I'm serious.  The closer we get, a lockout seems more and more likely since neither side can agree on a new collective bargaining agreement. Do you know how devastating a year without football would be? I can't even imagine a year without a Super Bowl. That's more frightening than global warming. Watch football now while you still can, and savor every moment of it, because it might be gone for what will seem like a very long time.