Opening Day 2011

I’m thinking our first game of the season could also end up being one of our last.  In New Orleans and Green Bay there is the real potential for either team (or both) to reach the NFC Championship Game.  The offenses on both sides should light up the scoreboard and this game could resemble an old AFL shootout.  I would expect BIG numbers from both quarterbacks in this one and the victor could end up with the all-important home field advantage for the potential playoff rematch.  Sure it’s the first game of the season, but I think this one will end up being far more important than just one win.

In other games, Atlanta – Chicago and Philadelphia – St. Louis could end up factoring in as tie-breakers at the end of the regular season.  All of these teams could win their respective divisions and these first games may decide where the playoffs are held.  Great way to start for fans, not so much if you’re the coach!  No South Dakotas on this schedule.  You better be ready or you’re going to fall behind fast.

If those great games weren’t enough, we even get MORE!  Many other teams will be facing similar opponents this week as the season begins with eight divisional games, headlined by Pittsburgh meeting their alter-ego in Baltimore.  The Ravens are hoping to stick it to the defending AFC Champions (and personal nemesis) and jump out to an early lead in the AFC North.  This could be the year the Ravens finally break through and take the division from the Steelers, but it won’t be easy.  As past games have shown, this promises to be as hard-hitting a game as we’ll see all year.

Traditional rivalries litter the opening week of the season, and with the way the off-season threatened (and frustrated) football fans, I think it’s a good way to get started.

With the opening of play looming I would be remiss not to mention two more events of the week: the upcoming anniversary of the attacks on our country 10 years ago, and the passing of one of the NFL’s all time greats – and one of my personal favorites.

Lee Roy Selmon passed away Sunday after suffering a stroke over the weekend.  He was 56.

Mr. Selmon was the first ever draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, after completing a stellar collegiate career at Oklahoma.  He helped mold the Buccaneers into one of the toughest defenses in the late 1970’s and was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1979.  That year he helped Tampa Bay to their first winning season and playoff appearance, falling one game short of the Super Bowl.  Together with players like Wally Chambers, Richard Wood, and his brother Dewey, the Buccaneers allowed the fewest points in the league that season.  He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995.  To date he remains the franchise’s only true Hall of Famer.  As we rejoice in the dawn of a new season this weekend take a moment to remember Mr. Lee Roy Selmon.

There will also be plenty of talk this weekend about the tragic events from 10 years ago.  In-between trips to the fridge for another beer, or in-between brats at the tailgate, take a moment to remember those that were lost that day.  Take a moment to thank those who defend our freedom and our right to even have an Opening Day for a game as great as ours.  There is nothing more American than Opening Day.  This year it has special significance as it is falls on the anniversary of one of the darkest days in our history.

In the end this is just a game – but it’s OUR game.  An American game.

Time to strap that helmet on and kick it off.