Let's chat about the National Football League. This week's schedule, all times Eastern, is the final week of the regular season.
The next post will be a single, post-season thread that'll include discussions about the playoffs and the Super Bowl.
Sun 2025-01-05 1:00PM Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots
Sun 2025-01-05 1:00PM Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons
Sun 2025-01-05 1:00PM Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers
Sun 2025-01-05 1:00PM Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Sun 2025-01-05 1:00PM Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens
Sun 2025-01-05 1:00PM Houston Texans @ Tennessee Titans
Sun 2025-01-05 1:00PM Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts
Sun 2025-01-05 1:00PM Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos
Sun 2025-01-05 1:00PM Miami Dolphins @ New York Jets
Sun 2025-01-05 1:00PM Minnesota Vikings @ Detroit Lions
Sun 2025-01-05 1:00PM New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sun 2025-01-05 1:00PM New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles
Sun 2025-01-05 1:00PM Los Angeles Chargers @ Las Vegas Raiders
Sun 2025-01-05 1:00PM Seattle Seahawks @ Los Angeles Rams
Sun 2025-01-05 1:00PM San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals
Sun 2025-01-05 1:00PM Washington Commanders @ Dallas Cowboys
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Notes -
The Commanders have had a good year, they did make the playoffs, they are in the 2nd tier of playoff teams in their conference, they will likely be the underdog in whichever playoff game they play. The 'don't follow it at all' thing to know about them is that they have a young QB Jayden Daniels who looks very promising, will almost certainly win rookie of the year this year, and if things go well, will be the Commanders QB for a very long time.
The Super Bowl will be some weekend early to middle February, as it will likely be every year for the foreseeable future.
Life is too short to pretend to have knowledge about things you don't care about.
My advice in these situations, is to not fake it, but be respectful that the universe of things to know and care about is big, and the things that you care about don't necessarily have priority.
In general, you are not going to read any cliff notes version of football and 'blend in' with people who actually care about it, similar to any subject.
I don't follow superhero movies at all.
I've gotten a lot of mileage out of "Oh, I don't really know that much about it, what happened?"
Giving the people who do care about it some space to show off their expertise will nearly always result in a reasonably smooth social encounter.
Ah no it's not like that, it's more like I end up in situations where I'm a third person in a conversation and the other two know everything and can have the in depth conversation, and I'm left sitting there like wtf happened.
I need a good minor interjection like "I heard the commanders have a good new quarter back?" And then once they answer that I can bow out of the conversation having briefly politely participated.
"Did you see that ludicrous display last night?"
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Don't do this. It's better to just admit that you know nothing than to show some tidbit of knowledge that gives people the wrong impression. When I was younger I followed NASCAR reasonably closely (and my dad follows it closely to this day), but my interest waned over the years. Then my dad scored free tickets to the fall Charlotte race and we stayed with friends who lived near the track, and we ended up as part of their contingent that went every year. So on the ride in I find myself sharing the back seat of a car with a friend of a friend of a friend who drove down from Hickory and I try to make small talk about the race. I knew enough to make this kind of small talk, but the fact that I initiated the conversation gave this poor guy the wrong impression and he immediately started asking me in-depth questions about my opinions on things I was in no position to have an opinion about. At this point, I couldn't even claim that I didn't follow it that closely, so I was forced to fake it to keep up, and this guy was entirely too nice for me to disappoint by admitting that I had no clue what I was talking about.
It's better to just act like a babe in the woods and admit you don't know anything from the get-go. Then you can ask questions that people into the team will be more than happy to answer. People generally like discussing their interests with curious outsiders.
Y'all are acting like this is the Wednesday wellness thread and I'm asking how to socialize with people.
I know me, and I know how to socialize with people.
If you're in a situation in which people are talking about football, and you're not interested or have nothing to add, there's nothing wrong with excusing yourself.
I'd be interested if there is something sufficiently interesting happening.
I don't mean that facetiously. Like I'm not against football. I just don't want to follow the day to day. But if something like deflategate, or some amazing string of wins, or some new way of playing that shakes things up happens I want to know.
If someone had to sum up each season and describe the interesting things that happened within one paragraph, I'd totally read that.
I do like the amazing feats of athleticism and the close strategic calls. I know about 99% of the rules (and I'm interested in learning how those rules change season to season, and why they changed).
I feel like people are sometimes all in on football or totally anti football, and y'all are maybe grouping me in anti football. That's not where I'm at. I'm partially interested.
There's not one interesting thing happening each week; there are multiple storylines happening at once. You pick these up by keeping up with NFL news, watching the games, reading weekly discussions on a place like /r/nfl.
Thankfully, it's easy to figure out the ongoing storylines right now because we're approaching the end of the season. For example, the Detroit Lions are on an outstanding 13-2 run going into the playoffs. They have historically been a bad team, but they're looking better than ever and could be a potential challenger to the Kansas City Chiefs, the reigning two-time Super Bowl champions.
Speaking of the Chiefs, another storyline to watch is their current run to be the first team in NFL history to get win three Super Bowl in a row, a feat not even the New England Patriots of the Brady-Belichick era, a dynasty many consider to be one of the greatest of all time, could accomplish.
No one is putting you into a group. You've barely posted in these threads enough for anyone to think that.
If you're partially interested in the sport and want to follow the stories, read news coverage that summarizes the games each week. Words can only go so far, though. Weekly highlight reels will really give you a sense of the athleticism and tactics used in each game. But, honestly, the best way is to put in the time watching the games (and listening to the commentators). You see the action in real time, and, if you're consistent, you start to pick up patterns and story lines. You don't have to watch all the games, but a good chunk of them on Sunday is your best bet. Monday Night Football is usually the "game of the week."
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