All is Right with the World

1989 Topps, #45

The title of this post is a line the narrator -- the adult Ralphie -- proclaims at the end of my favorite Christmas movie, A Christmas Story.  It also happens to be the proclamation my good buddy and fellow Bills fan Mike H. bellows after every Buffalo victory.

It also happens to apply to the sporting mood of today -- at least for me.  On the baseball front, R.A. Dickey nabbed his league-leading 18th victory of the season with 6 2/3 innings of two-run baseball in St.
Louis.  And, then there's...

FOOTBALL!!!

Thanks to our dear POTUS, the beginning of the NFL season was bumped up a day to Wednesday to accommodate the Democratic convention's apex moment (or so they tell me).  Well, that's okay with me.  The season can't begin soon enough!

And to help ring in this most wondrous time of the year, I felt it appropriate to post my all-time favorite football card.  And it happens to be of my all-time favorite football player, Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas.

I believe I was 12 years old when I conned my dad into driving me to the closest sports card shop (which was not so close, might I add) so that I could buy this card.  I don't really remember what I paid for it, but it was absolutely worth it.

Since then, I've come across two other copies of this card, including a somewhat off-centered version from -- of all places -- one of those Target repacks.

Anyhow, I can't say I'm a lover of 1989 Topps football.  It's an incredibly bland design.  But, the photo they chose of Thurman is a classic.  It's replete with a sun-induced scowl that perfectly sums up the somewhat cranky temperament that both Thomas and the team took on during the late-80s and early-90s (aka the Bickering Bills).  This, and the Super Rookie moniker, more than make up for the milquetoast appearance of the card otherwise.

What's that you say?  You want a Super Bowl prediction?  I guess that's a pretty fair request at the dawning of another NFL season.  Plus, every Tom, Dick and Harry with an internet connection has given theirs.  So, what's one more?

Well, I'm not enough of a homer -- nor am I on drugs -- so I can't tell you the Bills will be visiting the Big Game in February.  Heck, at this point, ending the league's longest playoff drought would be a success for this team.  I think it's certainly a possibility, but we'll see.

So, here's my Super Bowl pick:  Packers over the Broncos.

[Ed. Note:  I'll spare you any faux-analysis of the above prediction. There's enough of that out there as it is.]

Happy Football season, folks!  Without a doubt, all is right with the world...

MK