Frankly, I don't show frequent love to NFL place kickers because, like many football fanatics, I tend not to regard them as "real" football players. I often hate how a game can swing on the foot of a guy who only comes out for kickoffs, extra points and field goals--especially with the tough year kickers are having since the extra point extension to the 15-yard line last season. Well, if you ask Chiefs play-by-play announcer Mitch Holthus--who has long been one of my favorite radio network announcers--Cairo Santos might as well have been Moses, King David and Jesus Christ rolled into one. When their visit to Carolina was primed for overtime tied at 17, Panthers receiver Kelvin Benjamin handed Marcus Peters and the Chiefs' opportunistic defense an early Christmas present via a fumble on Carolina's 24-yard line with only 20 seconds remaining in regulation. As Santos nailed the first walk-off of his career, Holthus' call was one for the ages:
This would be the biggest kick for Santos...and all of Brazil holds its breath...17-17...it's now four seconds they're saying left in the game...ball in the center of the field...on a 37-yard attempt...placement is down...Santos' kick...he lines it up AND THAT BABY IS RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE! É SULCÉ É BOA! É SULCÉ É BOA! AND ALL OF BRAZIL AND THE CHIEFS KINGDOM REJOICES WITH AN INCREDIBLE, IMPROBABLE VICTORY ON THE ROAD!
First and foremost, thank God I kept my TuneIn Premium subscription because I wouldn't have located this audio otherwise. Second, when I do something even remotely as amazing as that, I need Mitch Holthus on speed dial and speaking Portuguese is purely optional Third, that's the best radio call I've heard since 98.5 The Hub color analyst Scott Zolak gave us, "BRADY'S BACK! THAT'S YOUR QUARTERBACK! WHO LEFT THE BUILDING?!?! UNICORNS! SHOW PONIES! WHERE'S THE BEEF?!?!" With that, fellow pigskin enthusiasts, let's recap Week 10...
One of the things which has helped me to overcome an emotionally trying period of my life outside of music has been football. It's like the home team knew I was going through it and needed to get excited for my favorite sport in the whole wide world because after starting off terribly at 0-2, they've ripped off four straight wins and at least look like contenders in the NFC East race. Granted, seeing the Capitals and Nationals flake out in early rounds amidst Stanley Cup and World Series talk, respectively, doesn't give me much hope for their playoff aspirations, but the turnaround is good nonetheless. I'm frankly happy the NFC East is not the "NFC Least" as it had been for the past several years as no team is under .500, making every win absolutely critical. I'm so pumped about the NFC East's comeback that, although I was cheering for the Packers to beat the Cowboys, it's hard to knock two rookies as impressive as Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott; heck, I marveled at many of the throws Carson Wentz made and he was making them against the home team! While many of the overall matchups throughout the league aren't always alluring from week to week, it's still not an all-out blah fest and Week 6 continued that trend...
Frankly, this week's intro to "Views from the Nosebleeds" was going to be a potential snoozer about the NFL's slight decline in ratings. However, when I saw this picture of Rashad Ross, DeSean Jackson, Niles Paul (one of five team captains) and Greg Toler with their fist raised during the National Anthem before their NFC East matchup with the Giants, I strongly considered becoming a fan of Washington's NFL team again. In a September 25 Washington Post article, head coach Jay Gruden's "haven't had that issue here" comments were reiterated along with this emphasis on the team's connection to the military: "[The team has] a ton of respect for what goes on for our country with those people. And for three minutes, for us to take our helmet off and stand up and give respect is how we treat it here with the Redskins." On the flip side, Ross insisted, "It's nothing against the National Anthem. It never was against it. It's about all these killings that's going on that aren't right." Jackson, who Ross acknowledged as spearheading the move, said this after the game:
We felt like there's a lot going on out there in our country now. We feel like we have an opportunity to be seen and be heard. We just want to support our people in a time of crisis like this where you have a lot of tragic situations, a lot of people losing their family members due to senseless killings by these police officers and things like that. We just wanted to make a stand, and I think just really putting our fists up and supporting our culture is something important.
Although this is what the NFL's most disliked player in Colin Kaepernick has been trying to communicate to the rest of America for over a month now, I am proud to see more and more brothers--who comprise nearly 69 percent of the NFL's player population--echoing the pertinence of his sentiment and standing in solidarity. I am more elated to see someone like Jackson--one of the team's most prominent players who once caught flack for his association with gang members back in his hometown of Los Angeles as a member of the Eagles--be a leader and effectively use his platform to help raise awareness of this social epidemic. I hope they keep it going and contribute in other ways like Kaepernick, but this is a fantastic beginning from a small but passionate fraction of the home team. Now that's how you introduce a spirited Week 3 in the NFL and the first two topics continue the trend...
I nearly got roped into two things known to drive up my blood pressure over the past eight years: 1) another season of fantasy football and 2) buying a copy of Madden NFL 17. However, there are three simple reasons why I won't drink the Kool-Aid with either: 1) both bled me dry financially last year, especially FanDuel, and a brother needs to save his duckets; 2) I don't have the time to invest in FanDuel or Madden because I have too many creative endeavors; and most important, 3) I want to be able to enjoy the game of football without worrying about how a dropped TD pass, a fumble or an aberration of a performance will drop my from a cool $500 to zilch in a matter of seconds. Therefore, in an effort to accomplish what I failed to do last NFL season, I unveil a new weekly series dedicated to my favorite sport: "Views from the Nosebleeds." So during a week featuring six fourth-quarter come-from-behind wins and four one-point victories--the latter being an NFL record for an opening weekend--let's go over some of my "views"...
