Upon Further Review: Your NFL Off-season Entertainment List

By Angela Moryan

The moment all football fans simultaneously loathe and adore is just around the calendar corner as Super Bowl 50 takes over the CBS broadcast waves. It’s the day NFL fans await as they suffer through the inconsistent wins and losses of the 17-week regular season.

Well, maybe that’s just New York Giants fans.

But once that final coin is tossed and the colorful streamers are shot from the stadium rafters, the season is over. Win or lose, the NFL is officially over until August. Seven months without football, if you don’t count the draft, off-season contract extensions and spring training.

I’ve fallen into this depressing limbo more than once in my lifetime, wondering and searching for something else to occupy my Sunday afternoons. I’ve tried many different combinations, but I think I’ve finally found the perfect mixture of football off-season entertainment for all avid sports fans.

Now, the natural inclination might be to filter on over to the MLB. With league-wide opening days in April, this seems like the best option for the patriotic sports fan. But that still leaves two months without sports, and, let’s face it, baseball really doesn’t get interesting until they’ve passed the 100th game.

Instead, start with the NHL. Ever since Atlanta lost the Thrashers to the Winnipeg, Georgians have seemed to forgotten that hockey even exists, but following hockey right after football season allows fans to have less commitment to teams they might only like because of regional obligations.

Since the league already has plenty of games in the record books, fans can easily choose from the top contenders and claim them into the playoffs. Or, if they’re are actually loyal to a certain squad, they can miss all the heartbreaking losses from the first half of the season and focus on the road to the Stanley Cup.

This only cures the need to follow a sport, though, not the longing for athletic entertainment on Sunday afternoons. So, to fill that void, try out NASCAR. The stock car racing league often gets poked fun at for the “lack of skill” it takes to drive a car around a circle. But with a little dedication to the race, fans can quickly understand the need for brains to take the checkered flag. The melodic hum of the engines is also great for a post-church nap.

So, the NHL’s gets you to the beginning of June with NASCAR on every weekend. Of course, a break might be necessary during March to, once again, fill out an NCAA bracket and lose the

And just like that, ESPN begins to discuss NFL preseason while we start drafting for the next greatest fantasy team. All is right in the world again because NFL is back on TV.

If I can survive, you can survive. Just take my method and duplicate identically. You will not be disappointed.