Nothing limp about NFL as far as I'm concerned. What's better than downfield penetration on the way to scoring big time? Also, I do confess to getting excited when I'm lying in bed at night thinking about all the money the owners have.

I don't feel your sense of apathy on this one. I am just glad that the season is back on for this year and the labor disputes are behind us. Sunday football is an institution in this household, so no apathy here, just looking forward to watching the Bay Area teams, no matter how well they play, it is still football and a passion.

Even with our teams not contending for the last decade, you still get to see championship teams come in and play nonetheless. And like they say... on any Sunday... anyone can win.

I love all sports. Yes looking forward to football season. Yes these guys make a lot of $$$, but they also work real hard at it. They're working out rigth now as I type this comment. I know. I'm a graduate of The University of Texas in Physical therapy. In 1994 I fortunately got a job as a Physical therapist for the Dallas Cowboys. They were all great guys. We had a saying about the off season. "There is no off season". We all work hard all year round, and the players worked harder than anybody else. At least I got a share of some of the $, and experience. I have a private practice now. Thank you Football.

Was it EVER interesting?

Main Street Jay:

I hate to say it, but you're in the minority. Actually, I don't mind the sport of tackle football, as long as the headlines consists of well-respected winning teams and the game itself is treated like an artform. But the high-strung judgment-clouding passion? Passion is nice, unfortunately, it can be so extreme it's as if Planet Earth is not there at times. That can be very damaging to many valuable relationships, close and distant.

I'm all for having fun, yet can't we regain perspective once the Super Bowl is over? Can't we still build a better life for ourselves with our inner circle and other interests instead of sitting there, looking for shows or other activities to maintain the obsessive/compulsive mindset that often rules football fandom at all levels, especially in the Southeastern colleges?

From August to very early February, the NFL Experience can indeed be one of a kind. But please remember - it is only a game. It is NOT life-or-death! Pity the fools who believe otherwise! I used to be one of those fools as a kid. I'm glad I no longer ride that road; it can really eat you up inside; it's not worth a few ulcers (I'm lucky never had such symptoms).

Jay, if the NFL still turns you off, when you do talk to your kids, ask them what sports they enjoy most. If they love the more real football - soccer - then check out that sport at the college level. You'll be surprised at how exciting that game can be at times. Other than that, good luck pursuing other alternatives. You can find them.

What's better than watching a big buck penetrating the defense despite stiff opposition? Limp? Hardly. In fact, highly arousing. And ya gotta love those uniforms!

Karl Marx said it best when he said, ""Der Sport ist das Opium des Volkes."

And like the Jumpin' Jive, when your team wins, "It makes you 9 feet tall when you're 4 foot 5."

So let's appreciate sports for what they are and what they do.

My 90 year old mom would have perished without her beloved football. As for spending more time with family and getting off the couch; you should do that regardless of football!

Dear Sports Fan,

You refer to your involvement with NFL. Did it at all bother you to be participating in an industry where the average pro baller lives ten years less than an average person? Did you ever converse with the players about the dangers inherent in playing professional football? How players average lifespan in the league is a little less than 3 years, yet the wear and tear on the body over that period almost certainly ensures a significantly shortened life?

Glad to hear football was good for you. Kind of like a vulture feeding on the soon-to-be corpse, don't you think?

I agree with Just Askin' I may be wrong but it is my understanding that when they are through playing football , that they do not get lifetime health insurance, Most come out of the game with some horrendous injuries that will always cause them much pain. Maybe the pay is over the top and maybe our fighting men and woman should get the same pay. They put their lives on the line everyday, but our fighting people don't have a union.

Tango makes a good point. I myself liken what the NFL is doing to that of the banks and realtors who were all too happy to help poor people of color purchase homes they could not afford. In this instance, it is mostly 20 year-old black kids, most of whom haven't graduated from college -- rather, were admitted only to be used (exploited) by the NCAA money-making operation -- and are naively pie-eyed about their prospects to become superstars in the NFL. They are not told of their actual prospects being that of likely suffering debilitating injuries that will hobble them for the rest of their seriously shortened lives.

It angers me that a major university like UT can offer such a mindless degree as physical therapy. Shucks, "Sports Fan" can't even spell properly his own major. And the ethical dimensions of his practice? Forget about it. Simply a mindless practitioner, with a mindless degree, who can only gush about the $$ players make. Pretty sad statement about the unfortunate direction our universities and colleges are taking in pursuit of the buck.

It's just you...