Just a few short days ago, the National Football League opened one of the more exciting periods for fans that isn't named the regular season. NFL Free Agency allows players to switch around teams and accept deals to be higher paid or made a starter with a different team.
The vast majority of these trades do little for me. I'm more or less ambivalent to the signings of Percy Harvin and Steven Jackson and I definitely couldn't care less which poor sap is about to be the Jet's starting QB. Despite noting how I think a trade may or may not help a team, I'm most excited for the shake up that this period is known for. Any NFL fan should welcome change and equal competition instead of a few stacked teams contending for the super bowl every year.
Notable exceptions to my indifference are signings by the Chicago Bears, because they are of course my favorite team, and special intrigue for the signing of major players on perennial powerhouses leaving to go to a different team. This year's shining example is Wes Welker, a longtime New England Patriot who has decided to leave the team and play for none other than Peyton Manning, longtime rival of Welker's QB Tom Brady. Now THAT is television you can't script people.
The NFL administration just sits back and smiles through all of this, because when players move, fans get excited for the new season, and the NFL barely has to work to play up how exciting games between Brady and Manning will be, or tell everyone how good the Seahawks are going to be.
As with any sort of competition, there are always going to be winners and losers. Teams such as the Lions, Seahawks and Bears have done very well with their free agency, while teams like the Ravens and 49er's have been treading water and losing players to other teams the entire time. In addition to being infuriating to their fan base, this sort of passive attitude could land the Ravens devoid of talent around their mid level QB who they just let bully them into a big money contract. We'll take a moment to hear the massive smack to the face of the collective Raven Nation.
Alright and we're back. Whichever team you support, or if you are just a general fan of football, this free agency period is something that can excite fans and create good stories leading into the summer and eventually, take us into next season. All that's left is to cross our fingers and hope that all of these moves are worth the hassle and that we can all see some great football next season.
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