For most people, watching preseason NFL football is akin to going to a wedding where you don't know anyone. Sure, it's a wedding, and there's the possibility of something entertaining (unintentional comedy of live music) or tragic (being left at the altar) happening, but you really want to be somewhere else.
Thank goodness Boise State players are getting married this preseason.
Nerd alert: I actually followed the Vikings-Colts preseason game using NFL.com's GameCenter on my laptop. Obviously, I wouldn't have done this if Ian Johnson and Vinny Perretta weren't fighting for roster spots. I don't care enough about Jim Sorgi's TD/INT ratio to rearrange my Friday night.
But with Ian and Vinny in the mix, the preseason Minny-Indy showdown was must see TV. The same is true of any Cowboys' game (Julian Hawkins and Orlando Scandrick), Broncos' game (Ryan Clady and Jeb Putzier), Packers' game (Daryn Colledge and Korey Hall), etc., etc. The NFL preseason is infinitely more fun to watch when Boise State players are on the field.
Here's hoping they last long enough to keep September games interesting to Bronco fans, too.
Person of the week
I am in love with J.C. Percy. Now I know how Jason Haberman has felt all summer.
Percy took the field with the first team defense in last week's scrimmage, and he definitely looked the part of a starter. He was fast, he was confident, and I'm pretty sure he made eye contact with me once. He could very well be lining up alongside Derrell Acrey for the first snap of the Oregon game on September 3.
What makes Percy's story even better is his Forsey-like rise from walk-on to stud. The Blackfoot High star received no D-1A scholarships after suffering a broken leg in high school that caused him to miss most of his senior season. Two years later, he is fighting for playing time as a redshirt freshman at one of the most important positions on the football team.
J.C. Percy, I give you four Paul J. Schneiders.
Meme of the week
The OregonLive.com comments
Inspired by reader Mikrino's behind-the-scenes look at OregonLive.com's comments, I spent some time seeing for myself just how bad they really were. And my eyes have only now stopped bleeding.
I knew it was bad in there, but I had no idea that they were setting the entire human race back a couple decades. The OregonLive.com comments have it all - from grammatical affronts to rampant ignorance to hateful all CAPS shouting matches. It makes the Statesman's comments section look like Shakespeare's Twelfth Night..
You've been warned. Don't make the same mistake I did.
A better way to settle the national championship than the BCS
A poetry slam.
This week's non-Boise State game I'm totally going to watch
Boise State's second scrimmage, Friday at 7:00pm, Bronco Stadium
Well, it's not a game, right?
Context-free quote from Nevada's Silver & Blue Sports boards
(Kellen) Moore has a worse statistical year than last year I bet.
Lace Banachek sign-off
According to recent Bronco news Boise State AD Gene Bleymaier is looking to further contract the Oregon Ducks to future games. Bleymaier wants Bronco fans to believe that he attempts yearly to schedule the Broncos with PAC 10 teams and they refuse. Are Bronco fans to believe that USC is afraid to play them on their own field? Not likely!
With one remaining slot open for 2011 the Broncos need that game to be a giant-a one and done deal with a big name university, not the Oregon Ducks.
Kevan Lee, founder of One Bronco Nation Under God, can be reached at kevan@obnug.com.