One of the great things about the NFL is that every game feels like it matters, even though many games don’t. The Bears-Lions “showdown” on Nov. 13 isn’t going to be freighted with meaning, but by kickoff, we in the media will have analyzed the matchup to such an extent you’ll think the Super Bowl is about to be played. And you, being the passionate consumer of all things pigskin, will cheer and rage and throw things at the TV as if the fate of the planet were being decided over those three hours.
That same fervor extends to training camp, which doesn’t make much sense. Watching large, sweaty men grunt through a day’s work that doesn’t involve a scoreboard? In essence, it’s heat exhaustion as a spectator sport. Yet loads of significance is attached to what certain players do in August. When that certain player is the quarterback, it starts to feel like a search for the meaning of life.
