Conference championships, etc.

The playoffs have produced especially satisfying conference championship games, and a Super Bowl in which I’m guaranteed to be interested. The Packers are one of my two favorite teams, but should their luck run out Sunday, I’ll have Julio Jones to pull for.

And the AFC game is evil vs. evil.

There are several reasons I should like the Steelers. There is a lot of great history there, with rich tradition and several true legends wearing that jersey over the years. And they tend to play football that appeals to me. They don’t bring a lot of flash; they just gut it out and hit you in the mouth. The main reason I don’t like them is that one of the biggest assholes I ever met was a huge Steelers fan, and I enjoyed considering his discontent when they would lose.

(Silly? Yes. But so is football in general.) I use the past tense because he died a few years ago. Maybe I’ll eventually get over it, now that my dislike is more force of habit than anything else.

The Patriots…well, it’s enough that they’re the Patriots.

So, it’s back-to-back semifinals next Sunday, then Super Bowl LI two weeks after that.

Then it’s the Dark Time—after football but before IndyCar.

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