Stop Making Me Love You, NFL

I had intended to write a longer post about my increasing apprehensions about the NFL and football in general. Concussions, suicides, bounties, Michael Vick, Ben Roethlisberger, Penn State, and a commissioner who vows more safety while simultaneously advocating for two more regular season games. All this added into a sport that never fails to draw me in, week after week, especially as late fall and winter kick in--more invigorating weather demanding a more energetic sport than late summer baseball usually provides. This is made worse when the Bears show signs of promise, as they do now (Urlacher's knee not withstanding--the man is superhuman and will overcome accordingly). I, like all of us, know on some level that the game can have horrible repercussions on everything it touches. This is most clearly understood during the off-season. But when September rolls around and the games begin, the blinders are always so comfortable. And that (in addition to the moving and the more time sensitive Bar Rescue) is why I'm having trouble writing that post just now.

Here are my predicitions for the 2012 Season:

• NFC North winner: Green Bay
• NFC East winner: New York
• NFC South winner: Atlanta
• NFC West winner: San Francisco
• NFC Wild Cards: Chicago, Detroit
• AFC North winner: Baltimore*
• AFC East winner: New England
• AFC South winner: Houston
• AFC West winner: Denver
• AFC Wild Cards: Kansas City, Pittsburgh
• NFC Title Game: San Francisco over Atlanta
• AFC Title Game: Houston over Baltimore
• Super Bowl XLVII winner: San Francisco over Houston

*Baltimore makes me a little queasy this year, what with Terrell Suggs' Achilles probably being the difference between a playoff berth and a Super Bowl berth. I've developed something of an emotional connection to the Ravens and am thus inclined to give them more credit than I really should. I actually tend to have a dimmer view of the Bears' prospects in any given year (or week)--probably something to do with experience and a deeper sense of risk. One is always more likely to be disappointed by their favorite child.