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Sports Then and Now



In the NFL, and in Buffalo, it’s the Year of Living Hypothetically 0

Posted on October 24, 2009 by John Wingspread Howell

The Bills dramatic victoy over the Jets is the lone highlight of the young season.

The Bills dramatic victoy over the Jets is the lone highlight of their young season.

So far, at least, it’s been a very strange season in the NFL. Some have called it bizarre.  I think that adjective applies.

The one thing that distinguishes the NFL from other major professional sports is its parity. That is no accident. The league has gone to great lengths from its straight bottom up draft (compare to the NBA’s lottery draft) to revenue sharing to salary caps, the league has done everything other than working a handicap into game scores to establish and maintain relative balance. The result is that the NFL is the most watched professional sport in the United States, and pro football has supplanted baseball as America’s pastime.

That being said, what’s going on this year? We’ve had a string of lopsided victories, including a 59-0 routing of the Tennessee Titans by the less than peak-performing Patriots. And what’s more, how have the Titans gone from winning 13 games last year to being unable to score 13 points this year? In addition, we have as many as five other teams that threaten the maxim that on any given day any given team can beat any other. More than once, sportscasters have said of the game they were reporting, “this doesn’t even resemble the NFL.”

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      The Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month is one of the most underappreciated wide receivers in NFL history, despite boasting a career that spanned 16 seasons and saw him excel as one of the league’s premier deep threats. Known for his speed, route-running, and ability to make plays downfield, Harold Jackson left an indelible mark on the game during an era that was not yet pass-heavy. Standing at 5’10” and weighing 175 pounds, he defied expectations of size to become a dominant force on the field. Over the course of his illustrious career (1968–1983), Jackson totaled 10,372 receiving yards and 76 touchdowns, placing him among the top receivers of his time.

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