I really did feel like something of a dummy when the Redskins won the trade battle for the rights to draft Robert Griffin III. I bought into a player and knew that the Browns had the weapons to make the trade happen. When they failed to get it done, I was sad for myself even as I could see some positives for the Browns for not giving up as much as the Redskins did. I was almost more upset that I spent so much time talking about a guy who would never become a Cleveland Brown. That was back when the pre-draft hype was actually fun. Somewhere along the line this turned from being really fun to causing stress and consternation, if not being just downright annoying.

You can figure out exactly where it happened for me because I started reminding myself that this was supposed to be fun in the posts. I lied to you all and said I was still enjoying myself. It’s like when you go bowling once per year and you’re really excited for it. You rent your shoes get a pitcher of beer and play a few games. Then because you haven’t bowled a lot your shoulder starts to groan a bit. Those energetic skips down the lane turn into chores. You’re still bowling and that should be fun, but the beer is low in the pitcher and nearly room temperature. It’s just over. You’ll remember only the fun parts nine or ten months later when you decide that it would be really fun to go bowling again, but if you thought really hard about it you’d actually remember the sore shoulder, warm beer and the strange smell of chemical shoe spray. [Read more...]