Tuesday, January 22, 2008

The Giants Are Going To The Super Bowl?

Really? They are? These Giants? The 2007 Giants? The ones that allowed 80 points in their opening two games (both losses)? The Giants that this guy quarterbacks?


Really?

REALLY?

Wow. I was in NYC for the game, and many of my friends who are Giants fans had the same reaction. Sure, they're thrilled, but to say this has exceeded expectations would be like saying Eli is a tad tipsy in the above photo. Zwill (yes, he's still alive) said he thought this was a 6 win team at best. After the first two games this season I was convinced this was a bottom 5 team. Now, 17 games and 10 straight road wins later, this team is playing in the Super Bowl. Man, you gotta love the NFC. I will have more thoughts on the big game later. For now, there's one other thing I need to address.

While I hate to admit it, I agree with Angelo Cataldi. PAY. RYAN. FUCKING. HOWARD. PAY HIM NOW AND DO NOT STOP PAYING HIM UNTIL HE RETIRES. This, oh shortsighted and cheap owners of the Phillies, is NOT negotiable. I understand that he is only a third year player and not eligible for free agency until 2011. You know what? I don't give a fuck. He's 28, not 25. The only reason he doesn't have three more years of big league experience is because you shitfucks failed to realize his talent.

I remember going to a Reading Phillies game during the summer of 2004 and seeing some huge black dude swat two monstrous home runs and a double for a cool 5 RBIs. I turned to one of my buddies and said, "Who the fuck is Ryan Howard?" Now I know. If you continue to lowball this man until 2011, do you really think he's going to forget it? I wouldn't. If he ever plays for another team, it will be devastating to the Phillies for the indefinite future, possibly forever. That new generation of fans - you know, the ones even younger than I am - that the Phillies have established over the last two years, thanks in large part to Ryan Howard hitting over 100 homeruns over that span, would be crushed. It would be like letting Babe Ruth go to the Yankees. Is Howard as good as Babe Ruth? No. He isn't even the best player on his team. But he is, all things considered, the most important. And you don't let guys like that walk away and expect to not suffer the consequences. Pay the man. Pay him a lot. And then let us never speak of this again.

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