Nineteen reasons to watch Browns-Patriots

By Os Davis  |   Friday, October 05, 2007  |  Comments( 0 )

New England Patriots
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Everyone, it seems, hates the New England Patriots. (All right, everyone in 31 American football markets and Los Angeles.) And no one is giving the Cleveland Browns - still mostly an unknown quantity for most of the league's fans, 51-point game notwithstanding - a chance on Sunday.

So how come CBS will probably be showing this one to most of the country to kick off the weekend's games?

This writer holds a minority opinion on the Patriots. All dyed-in-the-wool fandom aside, as a sports fan, how can you not love what New England is doing this season? The deadly combination of physical domination and ferocious willpower is akin to stuff displayed in other sports that you'll tell your grandchildren about: The incredible run of Michael Jordan's Bulls; the New York Yankees taking four out of five World Series to end the 1990s; Team France destroying the international soccer "competition" in the late '90s ...

This may be history in the making, folks. You should be watching.

But wait! I've got 18 more reasons to check out Browns-Patriots:

1. Because you've got a bet on the coin flip. Hint: Take heads. Rumor has it that Bill Belichick has been videotaping coin flips for seven years and has Romeo Crennel's tendencies down pat.

2. Because we could see the debut of Brady Quinn, a real trial by fire. Of course, the inaugural Quinn outing might require a 42-point lead coupled with a nuclear missile actually making contact with Derek Anderson's throwing arm.

3. Because you've got Tom Brady on your fantasy team. (Lucky #@*#%@!)

4. Schadenfreude. Pure schadenfreude.

5. Because you know the devastating 12 sacks the New York Giants ran up against Philadelphia last week? The Pats might beat that.

6. Because you know that awesome aerial display resulting in 56 points the Eagles put on two weeks ago? The Pats might beat that.

7. Because the Browns rarely get games scheduled for Sunday nationwide broadcast, Sunday night prime time or Monday night. Won't you support an underprivileged franchise? Just a few hours of your time can go so far in assuaging the self-esteem of one or many players ...

8. Because just imagine how happy you'd be if the Browns won this one, not to mention the joy of tormenting the nearest bandwagon-jumper.

Or even the nearest lifetime loyalist.

10. Because you've got Randy Moss on your fantasy team. (Lucky #@*#%@!)

11. Because the 2-2 Browns are actually competing in the AFC North and thus are worth checking out. With a loss, the Browns would be at just 2-3, but with three weeks running thusly: vs. the Miami Dolphins, bye week, at the St. Louis Rams. They may be in this thing.

12. Because you've got Kellen Winslow II on your fantasy team and you've got an awful feeling you should have benched him and you're going to lose by the two or three your No. 2 guy would have given you, but you just can't look away ...

13. Because, speaking of Winslow, Rodney Harrison will suit up for the Patriots - a chance to see the New England secondary at full potential for the first time this season. Scary.

14. Two words: Patriots cheerleaders.

15. Because really, the Browns have a chance. Because Crennel is a former Belichick acolyte, he'll have some insight into the New England game plan and neutralize the team's big guns. You know, just like Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm did for the Arizona Cardinals over the Pittsburgh Steelers ...

16. Because you're taking the over. (Which is right around 49, representing exactly the average Patriots score of 37-12.)

17. Because you're addicted.

18. Because what are you going to watch in the early slot, Miami at Houston?

Explaining why all year-round at RealFootball365.com
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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