Pro Football and Me

Sam Huff

As a fan, my relationship with professional football has been less than constant. Growing up in the New York suburbs I was a NY Giants fan and remember meeting two of the team's greats -- linebacker Sam Huff and quarterback Y. A. Tittle -- back in 1961. In those days the Giants conducted some of their practice sessions at Fordham University in the Bronx. It was the summer before my senior year in high school and I was taking some special summer course Fordham offered to high school kids. I've long forgotten the name of the course, but vividly remember encountering both Huff and Tittle in the cafeteria at lunchtime. They were very kind and gave this (then) skinny kid their autographs which I have since lost.

Y. A. Tittle, Giants Quarterback

I remained a Giants fan until my fellow Naval Academy alumnus, Roger Staubach, signed with the Dallas Cowboys in 1969. By then it had been seven years since I'd lived in New York so it was fairly easy to switch allegiance. And it became even easier as the Cowboys began to enjoy real success. I remained a Cowboys fan through 1979, Staubach's last season in pro football. By then, however, Diane and I and our family had moved to Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

Roger Staubach

Although I still followed the Cowboys and had some residual attachment to the Giants, virtually everyone in New England was a Patriots fan, and that eventually included several of my children. Of course, in those days the Patriots were not counted among the premier teams of the NFL. They had occasional good years and had made the playoffs on a few occasions, but it wasn't until 1985 that they went to their first Super Bowl, only to be crushed by the Chicago Bears. But the peer pressure was heavy and I eventually became a fan. 

My first decade as a Pats fan wasn't very rewarding and there were some very bleak years, including that 1-15 season in 1990. Changes in head coaches included Bill Parcells, who led the team to a couple of playoff seasons, including a Super Bowl which they lost to the Packers. Parcells was followed by Pete Carroll, who also brought the team to the playoffs but was unable to get them to another Super Bowl.

Steve Belichick, Navy Scout

Then, in 2000, Robert Kraft hired Bill Belichick and the rest is history. I remember Belichick's father, Steve Belichick, who was on the Naval Academy's coaching staff for decades and was highly regarded as one of the best scouts in college football. His young son would join his dad on the Navy sidelines and absorb all that happened.

Bill Belichick, of course, has since become the most successful head coach in NFL history. Many view his drafting of Michigan quarterback, Tom Brady, as a stroke of genius; and, of course, it was. But while Brady is a great quarterback, perhaps the greatest, Belichick's success resulted from his remarkable coaching and his ability to create and sustain a series of very talented teams, and to do so under the restrictions of the NFL's salary cap. Truly remarkable!

Brady & Belichick: Super Bowl LIII

Today I remain a mild Patriots fan and am, therefore, happy with the outcome of last night's game in Atlanta. That the Pats' defense could limit the Rams' remarkable offensive machine to only three points is mind-boggling. Already, though, many of the talking heads on ESPN and elsewhere are claiming the Patriots' days are numbered and it will be a long time before they win another Super Bowl. I think I've heard that a few times before. We'll see. 2019 might be an interesting football season. 

As you can tell by my lifetime of changing loyalties, I am by no means a rabid fanatic. From my perspective professional athletics have evolved into a big-money-driven industry that is open wide for corruption of the kind that has already filtered down into intercollegiate athletics. And so I view the NFL, NBA and all the rest as no more than simple entertainment, nothing to get real excited about. It's all just a game which most fans can't afford to attend in person. So feel free to enjoy the game, but don't skip church to see it.