Blog bat-around/thinking exercise: NFL edition

As promised a couple of days ago, I went ahead and did an NFL version of the most recent blog bat-around, which ended up being even more fun to do than the MLB edition.

Everybody knows the deal by now, right? First name that comes to mind when you think of a particular team, and the "why", if you're so inclined, which I of course am (how am I suppose to ramble on if I don't add the "why's").

There will be a few obvious choices in here (can't avoid those), but like the MLB edition, there were a few unexpected (even to me) names that were thought of first, so here it goes:

Arizona Cardinals - Kurt Warner: The last complete NFL game that I watched from start to finish was Super Bowl whatever (I can never remember the numbers), the one with the Cardinals and Steelers. I was actually rooting for the Cardinals too, which is probably why they lost, sorry Cardinals fans :(

Atlanta Falcons - Michael Vick: I hate that he comes to mind first anytime someone mentions the Dirty Birds, but he does... and probably always will.

Baltimore Ravens - Ray Lewis: He's a blowhard, especially when the cameras are rolling, but he was also a pretty darn good football player.

Buffalo Bills - Bruce Smith: I knew of exactly four defensive players when I was a youngster, all four of which will be on this list, because after all these years I still identify them with the teams that they played for at the time. Here's a question, will Bruce's sacks record ever be broken? Don't answer that, because no, it'll never be broken!

Carolina Panthers - Jonathan Stewart: My favorite Duck of all time!

Chicago Bears - Steve McMichael: A couple of people on this list are there only because of their association with professional wrestling at a time when I was completely obsessed with the sport (I know, it's not a sport, but you know what I mean), and Mongo was one of those guys.

Cincinnati Bengals - Ickey Woods: There's been a lot of talk about end zone celebrations over the last year or so, personally I don't have a problem with them, but anytime I see one and/or hear about one, I always think to myself  "Yeah that's nice and all, but it's no Ickey Shuffle!".

Cleveland Browns - Jim Brown: Upon his retirement, Cleveland should have just renamed their team the "Cleveland Jim Browns"!

Dallas Cowboys - Tony Dorsett: I don't remember which year it was, or even which particular card it was, but my first "old" football card was of Tony Dorsett, because of that, I will forever associate the Cowboys with him.

Denver Broncos - Floyd Little: Here's a pick that's a bit of a mystery to me, Floyd played way before my time, and I don't think that I've ever seen any footage of him, yet I still thought of him first when I got to the Broncos.

Detroit Lions - Barry Sanders: Upon his retirement, Detroit should have just renamed their team the Detroit Barry Sanders' :)

Green Bay Packers - Bart Starr: At this point in time, it's starting to feel like I've watched more old clips/games from NFL Films, than I have of things that have taken place during my lifetime - hence the Bart Starr association.

Houston Texans - JJ Watt: Can we refer to him as Mr. Texan yet?

Indianapolis Colts - Andre Rison: I know that most people associate Andre with the Falcons, but thanks to the 1989 Score set, and the crazy popular at the time rookie cards, he will always be a Colt to me.

Jacksonville Jaguars - Maurice Jones-Drew: He was literally the only Jaguar that I could think of.

Kansas City Chiefs - Joe Montana: Seeing him with anybody other than San Francisco was so weird at the time, and it's still weird to think about even now, but it was a pretty big deal at the time, big enough apparently that I still think of him more as a Chief than 49er.

Miami Dolphins - Dan Marino: One of the premiere quarterbacks from my childhood

Minnesota Vikings - Fran Tarkenton: Another NFL Films inspired pick.

New England Patriots - Tom Brady: Given the success that he's had over the last almost twenty years, this pick seems pretty obvious.

New Orleans Saints - Archie Manning: I already mentioned my first "old" football card of Tony Dorsett, well, my second one was of Archie Manning, so...

New York Giants - Lawrence Taylor: And now we've reached the third and final defensive player that I mentioned being familiar with as a wee one. His best days were behind him by the time I ever got to see him play, but even at that point in his career, he wasn't one to be taken lightly. His brief foray into professional wrestling just further solidified him with the Giants... at least in my mind.

New York Jets - Joe Namath: Three words... The Brady Bunch!

Oakland Raiders - Howie Long: I am such big fan of Howie Long's, so much so, that I've tried to avoid reading too much about him, you know, because usually when you find out too much about a particular athlete/celebrity, you almost always end up being disappointed. He was so great in Broken Arrow and Firestorm, and I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I actually kind of miss those Radio Shack commercials with him Teri Hatcher. Oh, and I do realize that most of his career was spent with the "Los Angeles Raiders", but he did play one season with the team in Oakland.

Philadelphia Eagles - Reggie White: Like Bruce Smith, Reggie was an absolute terror on quarterbacks when I was young, so once again, even though I didn't get to see him play a lot, it was kind of hard not to know who he was... and what he could do!

Pittsburgh Steelers - Joe Greene: Three more words... "Thanks, Mean Joe!"

St. Louis Rams - Kurt Warner: I know, twice on the same list, but I don't make the rules, so...

San Diego Chargers - Dan Fouts: Probably the most successful former Oregon Duck to ever play in the NFL.

San Francisco 49ers - Jerry Rice: I wasn't a huge fan of his when I was young, no real reason why, I just wasn't, but damn, every kid that I knew was either all about Bo Jackson or Jerry Rice... sometimes both!

Seattle Seahawks - Curt Warner: Never saw him play, but I've heard and seen enough Curt Warner Chevrolet commercials to last a lifetime.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Warren Sapp: I never really had a team in the NFL, but if I did, it probably would've been the Buccaneers, at least up until about ten years ago. Considering that they started acquiring some pretty talented players during the mid 90's, it's kind of amazing to think how long it took them to finally be consistently good.

Tennessee Titans - Kevin Dyson: Kevin Dyson is responsible for me losing $5 back in 1999, but I guess that's what I get for going against the grain and betting on the Titans to win the Super Bowl :(

Washington Redskins - Art Monk: I'm sure that some of you might be getting tired of hearing about my "old" football cards, it can't be helped though, at least not when making a list like this - anyways, an Art Monk rookie was the third "old" football card that was given to me. It's funny, I really can't remember much of anything anymore, but for some reason I can remember, in order, the first five "old" cards that I got, probably 25-30 years ago (Al Cowlings and Jack Youngblood were cards #4 and 5 respectively).

Okay, another one's in the books, now all that's left is an NBA edition, which I'm hoping will be ready to go live on Sunday - An NBA post on a Sunday? That's gonna bring in the views :)


Thanks for taking a moment to look at my page.