Bedfordtimesregister.com - Can't wait for NFL season? I sure can!

Ballpark Frank

by Frank Aceto
Associate Sports Editor

I'm not looking forward to the NFL season.

Yep, you read it right.

I'M NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NFL SEASON.

Don't get me wrong, I love football. I admit I like baseball and basketball better, but I certainly get the same adrenaline rush as the other person when my favorite team's linebacker smashes the quarterback.

And I always enjoy covering the high school games.

Those contests are pure, magnetic, breathtaking and thrilling.

So why would a resident from northeast Ohio who writes sports stories for several newspapers make such a negative comment about the country's favorite pastime?

My reason?

I'm already SICK of hearing about it!

The season hasn't even started yet and I get the impression the NFL just completed its 15th week.

Is Brett Favre coming back? Will the Cincinnati "Bungles" eventually cut ties with Chad Johnson? Will Pacman Jones have ketchup with his fries?

Or maybe he'll eat a ghost or some kind of power pill.

Those things are what Pac-Man originally became famous for devouring, right?

I actually browsed the NFL portion of yahoo.com recently and noticed defensive tackle Kyle Williams signed a three-year, $14-million deal to remain with the Buffalo Bills.

Like any reasonable person, three questions popped up in my head:

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Who?"

Sure, practice makes perfect. That's why you see so many NFL players struggle to make an impact after missing significant time due to contract squabbles.

You need to wear the pads and fine-tune your skills during workouts and conditioning drills.

But seriously folks, do we really need to analyze every aspect of every team's practice regimen?

"Well, looks like the Giants aren't going to win another Super Bowl," a so-called football expert might say. "Osi Umenyiora showed improper technique and looked a step slower as he did his jumping jacks during practice."

And didn't an NBA guard already explain the values of working on your game a few years ago?

"We're talking about practice, man!" Allen Iverson barked. "Not the game!"

But most American citizens can't get enough of the gridiron. We live for this kind of stuff.

In a recent Sports Illustrated article, Magic Johnson said "This is what America wants" when the Lakers-Celtics final became official.

A couple of issues later, a reader's response to the Laker legend went something like this: "America doesn't want Lakers-Celtics. America wants football season to start."

My only response to that is, WOW.

I think it's safe to say I'm on an island here.

One might suggest a drug test for me in the near future.

In this country, it's football, football and more football.

Heck with everything else. This is what America wants.

Starting, well maybe now, just about every U.S. citizen will be glued to their television sets for a little gridiron drama.

Eventually, I will, too.

And it will make me weep.

E-mail: faceto@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-686-3914