Making An Exhibition
by Jody Jamieson
4/8/2008
 
The Hall of Fame game has come and gone, and we've finally seen our first football from the rosters of 2008. It's great to see the game back, but as always with pre-season games I have a mixed reaction to the whole thing. A good friend of mine phoned me early afternoon on Sunday, as the excitement for football is building. It's 2.30pm and 10 and a half hours till the Colts and Redskins play at the beautiful Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio. We're giddy about it as we are every year but for once I actually remember how I greet the Hall of Fame game. I get excited, jabber incoherently when the game kicks off, before being underwhelmed and praying for September as the third stringers come out to play the 2nd quarter.
 
But there's a bigger problem for me. Sunday Night Baseball I am willing to miss for once to see the game. But ESPN in their infinite wisdom decide to put the Phildelphia Phillies on. No! With the mlb.tv package there's a simple solution. Colts-Redskins on the TV, Phillies-Cardinals on the computer. With the TV at one end and the computer at the other I'm standing in the middle of the room watching Vinatieri hammer the ball high in the air to start the game, while glancing over to watch Todd Wellemeyer throw a strike to Jimmy Rollins.
 
My excitement dies pretty quickly in the Hall of Fame game as it always does. Antwaan Randle El makes a nice catch to open the scoring before the Top of the First has even ended (3 up 3 down for the Phils) and then Jim Sorgi gets the ball. I yawned when Jim Sorgi got the ball against Tennessee last December and I yawned again. Sorgi looks okay though but gets sacked for a loss just as Troy Glaus hits an RBI double at Busch to give the Cardinals the lead. Damn it! And then it's Quinn Gray. Ohh Quinn Gray. I thought he did a good job in Jacksonville last year but he looks awful as he throws off his back foot a couple of times, with no composure whatsoever. A complete contrast to Todd Collins, who after replacing Jason Campbell early looks like a guy who never sees anything new in the game. Not bad for a guy who went 10 years without a start.
 
Ryan Ludwick homers for the Cards. 2-0 and I'm feeling a little bit of despair. Colts fans meanwhile see Quinn Gray throwing to no-one as Jared Lorentzen stands by on the sideline, looking aggressive. It's a depressing thought if Manning doesn't make it back in time for the Bears game on September 7th with Sorgi, Gray and Lorentzen waiting in the wings.
 
Meanwhile, as one of the two biggest reason for my interest in going on in Canton (Colt Brennan, the other being Mike Hart) gets ready for his first action as a Redskin, my depression lifts as Chase Utley homers to right field. 2-1. Brennan looks composed, and well suited to the offense. Throwing two touchdown passes while going 9/10, Lorentzen is in and it's an INT returned to the house! Hart is in the game now. A 6th round pick I had a few months ago as one of my sleepers comes in and he looks pretty good as Utley beats out a double play ball in the 8th inning. Man at first, 2 down. Ryan Howard singles, and suddenly it's getting interesting. Burrell ties the game with a single and I forget who Mike Hart is. Shane Victorino comes in to hit a 3 run home run and I go wild!
 
Mike Hart is involved in the last play of the game as a Lorenzen pass to Hart looks like going for 6 till Nehemiah Broughton makes the tackle on the 3. A little later Brad Lidge completes the win for the game, albeit a 5-4 win with the bases left loaded and at four in the morning I cheer so loud I probably woke up half the street.
 
All this just reminds me of the problems I have every September. The pennant races in baseball approach the home stretch as the NFL is getting underway. Last year trying to balance my love for the NFL on a Sunday as the Phillies made a late run at the collapsing New York Mets is a trying time. So I start to wonder about the issues going to be had this year I look at the schedules to match them up and my heart sinks. Phillies play the Mets at the same time as the Eagles open up the season at Lincoln Financial Field against the Rams. Oh joy.
 
Baseball season always takes priority over the NFL preseason. August is baseball time. September is when the juggling starts for me, and the plans are in full force already. mlb.tv runs archive games as the games end, so you can watch whenever you like and you can avoid the score. I'll probably have to put duct tape on the top right hand corner of the TV to make sure the Phillies score doesn't flash up on the FOX ticker, but heck, it's a small price to pay.
 
The preseason should excite me more than it does, but in all honesty it just gets on my nerves. Just as spring training does in baseball and as friendlies do in soccer. I have a distinct hate of all things "exhibition" in sport. August is baseball time. But pretty soon it will be September.
 
I can't wait for real football. I'm ready for some real football. Won't somebody PLEASE bring on the real football!