Style over Substance?
For those who follow the NFL, this weekend was a classic battle between style over substance.
Or maybe it wasn't? Let me rap on a little.
The braggadocio-laden New York Jets beat the IBM-faced New England Patriots in what has been hailed as the biggest upset of this year's playoffs (note, every game seems to get this treatment, but oh, well). The Patriots were supposed to be the invincible team that would cruise to a fourth Super Bowl under the leadership of head coach Bill Belichick and uber-quarterback Tom Brady. The Patriots more or less win week after week, year after year with a sort of no nonsense, run-up-the score, old-school approach to victory. They got the substance?
The Jets on the other hand are deemed to consist of a bunch of loud mouths, swaggering fools and ninnies that are allegedly despised by long-time NFL fans. Their season has been a roller coaster ride of mirth and mayhem that has drawn the tsks tsks of many. They got the style?
So how did style overcome substance? Maybe it really didn't. The Jets play the game like it was once played. People remember the 1985 Bears because they were so damn cocky. It is the same thing with the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s, Paul Hornung in the 1960s, Bobby Layne in the 1950s and the Chicago Bears in the 1940s. The NFL and its fans have thrived on the fast-talking, shoot from the mouth types for decades. It is why pro football became America's sport. That is the substance of the game -- action, live for the moment and played with passion.
The Patriots have become the "style." Dour, unfeeling, unflinching, robotic. So hooray for the Jets, they showed that sometimes the perception of a team should actually be the reality. That style does overtake substance when the media confuses which is which.
Or maybe it wasn't? Let me rap on a little.
The braggadocio-laden New York Jets beat the IBM-faced New England Patriots in what has been hailed as the biggest upset of this year's playoffs (note, every game seems to get this treatment, but oh, well). The Patriots were supposed to be the invincible team that would cruise to a fourth Super Bowl under the leadership of head coach Bill Belichick and uber-quarterback Tom Brady. The Patriots more or less win week after week, year after year with a sort of no nonsense, run-up-the score, old-school approach to victory. They got the substance?
The Jets on the other hand are deemed to consist of a bunch of loud mouths, swaggering fools and ninnies that are allegedly despised by long-time NFL fans. Their season has been a roller coaster ride of mirth and mayhem that has drawn the tsks tsks of many. They got the style?
So how did style overcome substance? Maybe it really didn't. The Jets play the game like it was once played. People remember the 1985 Bears because they were so damn cocky. It is the same thing with the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s, Paul Hornung in the 1960s, Bobby Layne in the 1950s and the Chicago Bears in the 1940s. The NFL and its fans have thrived on the fast-talking, shoot from the mouth types for decades. It is why pro football became America's sport. That is the substance of the game -- action, live for the moment and played with passion.
The Patriots have become the "style." Dour, unfeeling, unflinching, robotic. So hooray for the Jets, they showed that sometimes the perception of a team should actually be the reality. That style does overtake substance when the media confuses which is which.
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