Set Up Games and an Ivory fastball

So I can’t remember another time in recent history where this has happened to me.  I don’t think there is ANY WAY, the Broncos win this game Sunday.  That was hard for me to say.  I consider myself a very realistic football fan.  Objective.  Not completely impartial though and when talking Broncos, I fade to the optimistic side.  Now don’t get me wrong , I haven’t crossed over to the NegativeNelly/McG side of things (two people I greatly enjoy reading BTW).  But I’m being honest.  That being said, I have a couple points I’d like to bring up.

Moral Victories.  I don’t know who first said there are no such things as moral victories but it’s not a statement I subscribe to.  Although crushed, I’m sure, tell me there wasn’t some moral victory last night in the 49’s game.  Yes they lost the game.  But after the way they played week 1 they HAD to have come away with a bit of a ……. Something. 

Now that I’ve said that the Broncos are going to lose, I simply HAVE to bring up different thought all-together.  The cards are stacked against us this week.  Please!  Somebody, Anybody, put together a brilliant analysis that shows how the Broncos are poised to exploit the Colts weaknesses and the Broncos will go into week 4, 2-1.  I beg you.  I don’t see it.  BUT, before I had children I used to……place friendly wagers on various sporting event.  Myself and a buddy would talk daily throughout the week breaking down games and picking the games that had the greatest potential to make us some money.  We identified a phenomenon we called “Set Up Games.”  Every couple of weeks, you could find a game that was simply too easy.  A good example would be week 4 of 2009.  The Bengals played the Browns in Cleveland.  The Browns were 0-3 and the Bengals 2-1.  The Browns had scored a grand total of 29 points in their first 3 games and only 1 offensive Touchdown.  The Bengals, on the other-hand, we’re on a serious roll.  After the CRAZY loss to the Broncos in week 1, they had beaten Green Bay in Green Bay and Pittsburg in Pittsburg.  Now the lowly Browns had to face them.  I’ll be honest with you, I have no idea what the spread was in that game but for this conversation I’ll say the spread was the Bengals -6 (Meaning the Bengals have to win by 7 in order to win your Bengals bet).  In the end, it took a Bengals field goal with 4 seconds left in overtime for the Bengals to win.  Sure the Browns still lost, but it was a set up game.  Lots of people lost money on that game and although the Browns won their next game (a 6-3 doozy) they continued to get crushed week after week.  It made no sense.  It still makes no sense.  I think this week’s game is a set up game.  I can’t come up with a single GOOD case for the Broncos to win this game.  History is against us.  We are 2-7 against Peyton’s Colt with one of those wins being a meaningless game followed by a prompt @$$ kicking next game.  Strengths versus weaknesses don’t bode well for us either.  I certainly can’t see us pounding the ball down their throat the way Arian Foster did in week1.  Outside of that game, the superbowl loss to the Saints and the playoff loss to the Chargers in the 2008 Playoffs, they haven’t lost a meaningful game since week 8 of 2008!!  Add to that, our best player in our strongest area is hurt and it’s a recipe for disaster.  Set up game.  Don’t ask me how but if you’re a gambling person, don’t put your money on this game.  LEAVE IT ALONE!

Earlier I had mentioned moral victories.  I know it seems out of place but I wanted to get back to it.  For the record, I don’t think the Broncos win this game.  Set up game or not, my confidence level is hovering in the single digits right now.  So, what’s the moral victory?  When I was a freshman in high school, a friend of mine (Nate) embarrassed a senior during gym.  The senior made it perfectly clear that once class was over, so was Nate’s existence on this earth.  A few seconds before class ended Nate bolted for the locker room.  When I got in, Nate was meticulously getting his things in order.  His clothes were on; hair was combed and was tying his shoes when the senior (and all his friends) came in.  The senior told him not to go anywhere.  His beat down was coming one way or another.  The senior took off his clothes and went to the shower.  Nate, to my surprise, never flinched.  He opened his gym bag, took out a fresh bar of soap and walked into the showers (fully dressed).  He stood at the entrance for a moment until the senior turned to face him, and when he did, Nate did his best Nolan Ryan impersonation and blasted that ivory fastball directly into the senior face and then pounced on him like a starving cat.  Nate had the upper hand for a good 10-12 seconds but the senior quickly over-powered him and severely beat him.  I talked to Nate on the phone that night and asked him why he did it.  Nate calmly said “I knew he was bigger and stronger than me.  I just needed him and everybody that sees him for the rest of the week, to know that he was in a legitimate fight.” 

Here’s to a legitimate fight.

Go Broncos!