The End of Football Season

Football Season Sadly Winding Down
By David Lane Predictem.com

As football fans everywhere are enjoying the NFL Playoffs this weekend, a dark, cold, lonely feeling has already begun to set in for me. I'm practically sure this has nothing to do with anything ordered in the Predictem.com lunchroom so management is off the liability hook on this one. This one is familiar- in fact last year about this time the same thing happened.

The realization that football is coming to a close makes this time of year bittersweet for me. As the intensity increases, the date advances- one day closer to the Pro Bowl game in Honolulu, HI. You laugh!

There is NO game that is more bittersweet, totally not enjoyable, and painfully meaningless in the world yet it signals for diehards the last chance to see the NFL until the end of August. For this reason, football addicts will watch anyway. Most of you - and you know who I’m talking about - have found a way to get the NFL Network - no matter what the cable company says, right?

When cold reality gets here (otherwise known as the Pro Bowl), and you're trying to guess which side to take- AFC by 7 ½??? Over/under the total of 60 ½???– This article will be easier to comprehend. For many, this darkness has already begun to set in. Watching football this time of year for me is like a diversion from remembering how close football season is to actually ending. Time outs and kickoffs only to serve to remind me that there are only eight games and counting left - and that includes ‘cold reality’.

For gamblers, knowing that football Sundays give way to NBA double-headers, March Madness, and finally MLB. We know our days are numbered. Walk into any casino sports book on any given Sunday besides during football season and it can just be a let down. Already, Saturdays without college football have been trying on me as it is although the last two weeks have been full of bowl games so going through withdrawals is once again in the cards for me.

Although nobody to my knowledge has ever attempted using this let down as a defense in any court room trials (hopefully this article doesn't motivate them to do so), it wouldn't be difficult to understand them trying to. I was going to thumb through a few volumes of the American Psychology Association’s guide line to find a fancy name for it but thought better of it. I'm sure that it’s as close to post mortem depression as it can possibly be without an actual ‘mortem’.

Usually, this is the part where I’d write about something going forward or possibly even pick a team and point spread. This article is different. It requires only a list and viewing times of the remaining NFL games which also are the ONLY football games left. If anyone out there knows how to overcome this depression before next season arrives, let us know. We'd hate to go through this again next year. Until then, enjoy the ‘balance’ of the season and ALOHA!

NFC Divisional Playoffs
No. 3 Seahawks (11-6) at No. 2 Packers (13-3), Saturday, 4:30PM EST

AFC Divisional Playoffs
No. 5 Jaguars (12-5) at No. 1 Patriots (16-0), Saturday, 8PM EST

AFC Divisional Playoffs
No. 3 Chargers (12-5) at No.2 Colts (13-3), Sunday, 1PM EST

NFC Divisional Playoffs
No. 5 Giants (11-6) at No. 1 Cowboys (13-3), Sunday, 4:30PM EST

Remaining Playoff Schedule:

NFC Championship Game: January 20th

AFC Championship Game: January 20th

SUPER BOWL XLII (Fox)

Sunday, Feb. 3, 6PM EST, Glendale, Arizona

Pro Bowl
Sunday, February 10th, 2008. Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii