NFL 2012-2013 Season

[Kelleo]

Also known as season 47, I guess? Yeah, that should be right. My goodness, in a few years, the good ol' NFL will be celebrating its fiftieth. I can still remember hearing the Steeler fight song over the intercom in elementary school back in the nineties when I lived in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, they didn't win the Super Bowl that season, but yeah.

Anyway, this thread is to talk about the new NFL season coming up soon. The pre-season starts in August, then things officially kick off (Not a bad pun, huh? hehe) in September. You can also pick which team or teams you root for in the poll. For me, it's the Steelers and Dolphins, but primarily the former. I'm from Pittsburgh and I love my home city (despite it being so cold up there in the winter), and the Steelers are clearly one of the better teams anyway (not to mention black and gold just plain rocks and they have an awesome theme song called "Steel Defense" that uses the tune of a Lady Gaga song). They have won more Super Bowls and AFC championships than any other team, having six of the former and eight of the latter. They've also been to more Super Bowls, I think. Though they unfortunately lost two. Miami's just an awesome place all around and dolphins are cool animals. I think I have to say I'm a bit of a Falcons fan too, cause I absolutely loved Atlanta when I visited it and falcons are cool. I know, if I like a city enough, I just gotta support their team, lol.

Oh, also, if I had to choose between the Giants and Jets, it's the Giants, no contest. I hate the Jets with a passion and Eli Manning is a cool guy. Kudos to him for winning last season's Super Bowl, especially after his brother, Peyton, couldn't play due to a neck injury. Oh, and I hate the Patriots too. So definitely Kudos to the Giants for defeating them in a Super Bowl not once, but TWICE, and in one decade.

So, from what I know now, the Steelers pretty much have a whole new team. A bunch of older players retired, such as good ol' Hines Ward. I'm gonna miss that guy. He'd been on the team for longer than I've watched NFL football. 14 years, yup yup. And he was always really good. Another thing I know is that Peyton Manning is back, but he's going to play for the Broncos now (I forgot, I like them too, especially now that that attention whore, Tim Tebow, is out of the picture). Sucks for the Colts though, I guess, cause I heard that the only reason they were good in the first place was Peyton's quarterback skills.

Oh, everyone can also talk about their favorite players (Troy Polamalu is the awesomest, imo. Some of those interceptions he makes are so wickedly awesome. I'm definitely glad he's sticking around!) and their favorite games and plays. My favorite game happens to be one that I don't remember Polamalu doing much in. It's Steelers vs Packers from a few years back. It was the end of the game that made it for me though. It's the final quarter, and three seconds are left on the clock. The Steelers are behind by exactly a touchdown (score was 30-36), and they had a good shot at getting one in this last play. And in those three seconds, Mike Wallace (my other favorite player. Guy is a speed demon!) caught the ball in the end zone, then Jeff Reed (he's gone now. Too bad, he was a great kicker. Made a 53 yarder some time ago!) sealed the deal with a field goal right after that, letting the Steelers win with 37-36! I could just imagine the Packers thinking "NOOOOO!" lol. I hate them too, actually, and not just cause they beat the Steelers in Super Bowl 45. Oh, and did I mention that Wallace was a rookie during that game where he saved the Steelers in the game I just described? It was his first year, yup.

My favorite play is either the one where Troy Polamalu sacked Joe Flacco in that one Steelers vs Ravens game (those games are almost always good though lol), leading the Steelers to a victory later, or the one where Troy intercepted a long pass with one hand near the end zone against the Titans. The guy is just that good. These awesome plays he pumps out are what made me like Troy so much. TROY'S OUR BOY! (kudos to you if you get the reference) A definite honorable mention has to be from last season in the Steelers vs Patriots game where Troy batted the ball into the end zone after Tom Brady fumbled it, leading the Steelers to finish the game with a safety (pun intended, yet again, cause Troy is a safety lol), since it was the last play. Ohhh, Troy made such FOOLS of those Patriots in that play. XD

EDIT: Oh, also, because I love North Carolina and the city I live in now, I cheer for the Panthers too.

 

[Lyrebird]

I'm more of an Australian sports girl but my uncle took me to see a Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets. I like the Dolphins and I'm trying to learn the sport because I found it fun. I wonder how Ryan Tennehill will do in the 2012/13 season.

 

[UnovaCastaway]

I'm interested in seeing how Greg Schiano does in his first season as the Bucs' head coach. He coached the team at my alma mater, Rutgers, and turned it from the worst college program in the country into a perennial bowl team. (as a result, school spirit and exposure increased) Some people thought he did great developing college players into adults because of his "family man" lifestyle and that pro players wouldn't be developed the same way because of varying ages.

Schiano was poached from RU pretty suddenly in January, close to signing day with a lot of great recruits committed. Us RU fans were pretty ticked, but most of the recruits stayed because the assistant coaches rallied them.

(Schiano did sign a lot of former RU players in Tampa and symbolically signed a paralyzed player, Eric LeGrand, whom suffered a spinal cord injury in his neck while tackling on a kickoff return and is recognized for his positive attitude in rehab)

 

[Kelleo]

Yeah, new coaches are always interesting to wonder about. xP

I forgot another really awesome play I liked in a Steeler game. Daniel Sepulveda's fake punt from last season. Fake punts aren't easy to pull off, and that guy did it like it was cake! For a kicker, he has a good throwing arm too. Oh, I also like plays where Big Ben hands the ball to Antwaan Randel El and then Randel El throws it to a receiver. That's just awesome. Randel El is good at it cause he used to be a college QB.

 

[Italy-kun]

Saw this thread and thought of "JOHN MADDEN JOHN MADDEN JOHN MADDEN JOHN MADDEN. FOOTBALL!" from that video about that MMO that takes place on the moon. But back on topic, go Chargers! Does anyone remember who they drafted in the first round?

 

[Orion]

I'm interested in seeing how the Lions do this season. Matt Stafford is really getting that team to go in the right direction. They're almost a good team now.

 

[Kelleo]

I'm interested in seeing how the Lions do this season. Matt Stafford is really getting that team to go in the right direction. They're almost a good team now.

I'll say. The Lions were undefeated for awhile last season. o.o

I'm equally interested in seeing how the Broncos do now that they have Peyton Manning, the guy who drove the Colts.

 

[Ebail]

I'm a Panthers fan myself, so. After last season I'm hopeful that they can make a push for the playoffs this year.

 

[Kantomasta]

Packers fan since I was little. Got to see them live two years ago when they played the Seahwaks in preseason. Can't wait for this season, with some of the rookies coming in and all the players right now, it's gonna be a tough, fun year. Anyone gonna play fantasy?

Oh and Kelleo, I live no more then 30 miles from Polamalus family.

 

[Sweet Veil]

Not a big fan of any team in particular. But, the Chicago Bears have always been the team I've known that my daddy loves. I personally look forward to how the Steelers function as well with their new team of freshly trained rookies and new people. Going to be interesting, kinda hoping they don't get their asses kicked. Oh, and Tim Tebow. He has a lot of media hype, but I mainly want to see a recent portrayal of skills.

 

[Kelleo]

Not a big fan of any team in particular. But, the Chicago Bears have always been the team I've known that my daddy loves. I personally look forward to how the Steelers function as well with their new team of freshly trained rookies and new people. Going to be interesting, kinda hoping they don't get their asses kicked. Oh, and Tim Tebow. He has a lot of media hype, but I mainly want to see a recent portrayal of skills.

Hey, hey, the Steelers didn't get rid of EVERYBODY. xP And they've always been really good no matter who they get.