September 13: Football's Back? Damn.

Yesterday I was stuck at work while my beloved Padres were in the middle of a crucial game with the despicable San Francisco Giants. It was the fourth game of a four-game series and the Padres were trying desperately to stay on top of the National League West. I couldn't care less about anything other than baseball so I was making routine visits to the bar for score updates. The game wasn't on TV which meant I was forced to rely on the sports ticker on the bottom of the screen.

Yesterday was Sunday. Yesterday was opening day for the National Football League. Yesterday marked the end of my quick score updates. For those of you that don't know, the ticker is alphabetized by sport; with the exception of Major League Baseball. The rolling scores go from AL (American League Baseball) to NCAAF (College Football) to NFL (National Football League) to NL (National League Baseball). Why the AL and the NL aren't together, I have no idea. I want to say as recent as last year it was done that way, but now it's not.

Throughout the summer, I've had the luxury of being able to avoid management just long enough to get a score update from the NL category before having to return to work. If I got to the TV too late, the score would repeat in a few short minutes. Now that this football sport is in full swing, I have to wait for the scores of college football (with accompanied player and team highlights) and professional football (with accompanied player and team highlights). If I get to the TV too late now, there's no way I can get away with just hanging out for the scores to start over.

When I had cable, I was always aggravated by the amount of attention SportsCenter gave to football. I always felt like they covered the sport ad nauseam and when I would tune into ESPN while lying in bed, I wanted to see what happened in the world of baseball too. Baseball has 162 games in a season and football only has 16 so I can understand a football fan's point that baseball might get more coverage. September, however, is one of the most important months in the sport and football just gets in the way of that for me.

People are always a bit shocked when they find out that I don't really have much of an interest in football. Upon meeting me, it usually takes approximately five minutes to learn of my obsession with MLB, but when hearing about my apathy toward the San Diego Chargers and football in general, people are usually taken back. Rarely will you find a man with a passion so strong in one sport and hardly any interest in any other sport. I'm that man.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a bandwagon Charger fan. I get pumped when they make the playoffs. I try to rearrange my schedule to watch those games. The other regular-season 16? I don't really care. The first game I sat down and watched last year was the Chargers first round loss to the New York Jets. I just can't get into football. I'm so emotionally attached to the Padres that putting faith in another team that I have no control over would literally kill me. Also, I think football is nothing more than a one-quarter sport. The fourth quarter is where all the action is. You can score four touchdowns in the first and the rest of the game is a wash. If it's a close game with minutes left in the game, then (and only then) is the game exciting.

The Padres are fighting to stay alive in September and I have to wait forever just to get an update because football is back. SportsCenter won't cover anything but Big 10 or 12 or whatever it's called and the NFL. How's a guy supposed to look busy when he has to stand around a TV for an hour just to get a few scores? Everyone is talking about fantasy football and "pick-em" games. What about me? What about baseball? Have you all forgotten that it's America's favorite pastime?