Yes, I'm an old fart.
I don't recall in years gone by (OK, decades) tearing every game apart, play by play, pass by pass, run by run, tackle by tackle, then pouring over a stat sheet and finding faults everywhere in a victory.
I (we) looked at the W's and L's and were happy as clams with a win, and sad (or mad) at losses. Case closed.
I can't say that the artfulness of the game didn't play a role. But it feels to me like some football fans are turning the game of football into some kind of a weird combination of baseball and soccer, where every movement is charted and where form and art in the game is as valuable as the outcome.
Football is closer to war where winning and losing on the battlefield is defined only by the final outcome. It's beauty or ugliness, or speed of victory, are entirely secondary and quickly forgotten except among staff members who are the planners for the next battle.
By the modern definition, I'm not sure I'm a sports fan any longer. Like you, how in the world people can be finding fault and worrying in the context of a 4-1 record against quality opponents (our loss coming against the lone still undefeated team in the NFL), I just can't fathom. It's upsetting to me. It's like the joy of the game is gone, and all that matters is stats and every play looking like a thing of beauty.
These are human beings out there. We can assign them near god-like status, demanding near perfection on every play, but they are still humans. They can have good days and bad days. The can have periods of not being fully "on". I'm not about to start making excuses for any Rams player or coach because guess what.... they don't need it. I know they're all doing a good job because the W-L column says that they are.
I don't think any pre-season prognosticator (including myself) expected them to be 4-1 after 5 games what with the turnover on the D, yet another new DC, a new QB, a new OC, and about 5 other assistants coaches. And with our emerging star RB Akers never even making it to training camp. These sorts of massive changes take time and reps to get sorted out.
Now the Rams are about to have a short series of games with teams no where in the class they've been facing. I think we're going to see the Rams soon go to 8-1 and no worse than 7-2. If that thought isn't enough to rejoice over then what's the point of being a sports fan...a Rams fan... at all?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/09/2021 04:27AM by RockRam.
