During the holiday season, it is trendy to offer toasts, so I'd like to toast the San Diego Chargers. Here's to the Chargers and their recent victory over Indianapolis. The loss by the previously-unbeaten Colts is the best thing that has happened to the NFL this season.
Don't get me wrong — watching the majesty of this flashy, strike-in-the-blink-of-an-eye bunch of thoroughbreds was thrilling all the way to Week 14, when the Chargers threw a gigantic roadblock in front of Indy's chase for perfection. Historic records like the Dolphins' miraculous unbeaten season, though, are better left unbroken.
It is fun to let them teeter a bit. It's kind of like the palpitations you get when a china glass is bumped and spins momentarily, before someone lunges for it and returns its balance. For that brief moment, there is a beautifully-combined anxiety and excitement. You are exhilarated, wondering if the glass will break, but you're relieved when it doesn't. When you think about it, this is how it is with great records in sports.
Every week this football season, no matter what team or player you root for, you kept an eye on Peyton Manning and the Colts. Will they win again? Can they do it? What impact will a 19-0 season have on the game? It added excitement to every week of a pro football season that can, at times, become quite mundane.
It's the same in baseball, when someone puts together a 25- or 30-game hitting streak. We watch daily. We tune into highlights, and soon the networks even begin cutting into our favorite shows to update us on the progress of the guy chasing the immortal Joe DiMaggio and his 56 consecutive games with a hit (by far, the greatest record in all of sports).
When a record actually falls, though, something truly wonderful is lost — a treasured piece of history. Be honest. It was exhilarating watching Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire break Babe Ruth's single-season home run record, but in the aftermath of their remarkable feats, didn't you find yourself wondering if Ruth's great records might soon be forgotten?
Just a few years later, Barry Bonds overcame McGwire. Now, where is the history? Just who was that guy named Ruth...
I say let's cheer on all the record runs. Let's root for Tiger Woods to tame Jack Nicklaus, for Bonds to chase The Babe, and Manning to haunt Dan Marino. Then, just when they're all on the brink, let's hope for the records, and for the history, to withstand the runs.
Here's to the San Diego Chargers. Cheers!
Mark Barnes is a novelist, regular contributor to fantasy football site 4for4.com, and NFL football radio analyst. He appears weekly on ESPN radio in High Point, NC and on WBAL in Baltimore, MD, where he discusses pro football and fantasy sports. Mark's novel, "The League," is the first-ever published work of fiction with a plot based on the dangers of a multi-million-dollar fantasy football league. Learn more about "The League" and Mark's work at NFLStory.com.
December 30, 2005
chuck thall:
i thought this article was inciteful and brought a different view of what all reporters have been writing about all year. a fresh look is always welcomed, and, in fact, invited. i’m tired of the same old reporting, and found that mark opened a new path in my thinking. thanks.