In a new series we’re calling “Good Men Picks,” we will be picking sporting events based on which team a good man should root for. For the innagural edition, I break down tonight’s Monday Night Football matchup between the New York Jets and the Baltimore Ravens.
New York Jets
Case For:
It’s hard not to like Mark Sanchez. He’s a kid who was thrown into the fire last season and, for all intents and purposes, sucked. He’s back for year two, though, and is as happy and confident as ever. Mike Westhoff, the special teams coach, is one of our favorite coaches in any sport.
The Jets haven’t been to the Super Bowl since Joe Namath shocked the world in 1969. Jets fans are among the most miserable in the league.
Case Against:
Oh the Jets, the shit-talking Jets. I love a team that’s confident. Hearing Rex Ryan’s pre-training camp speech gave me chills, but the team might’ve finally taken it too far. Antonio Cromartie recently compared the Jets to the Miami Heat. That’s the same Miami Heat that everyone’s written off as a bunch of egomaniacal losers who are ruining basketball and, arguably, all of professional sports.
Then there’s the whole Darrelle Revis thing. For a team that tries to act tough, they looked real frail here. Revis sat out all of preseason, signed a contract one week before the season, and then said that he could see himself doing the same thing all over again in two years. Yet, he’ll be starting for New York tonight.
Baltimore Ravens
Case For:
We really like the Ravens quarterback, Joe Flacco. He’s a young, smart, good dude from a humble collegiate background. The city of Baltimore is struggling and could use a boost, too.
We also love Baltimore’s nickname, the “Ravens.” Any time you can combine sports and literature, that’s a good thing in our book. (The team is named after Edgar Allen Poe’s poem, and their mascot, a raven, is named Poe. Awesome.)
Case Against:
This is pretty easy. There’s no way we can pick the Ravens, and that’s all because of one man: Ray Lewis.
Lewis is the face of the franchise. The man was arrested for murder in 2000. The charges were dropped in exchange for his testimony against his co-defendants and a guilty plea at a lower charge. As a result, Lewis is the proud owner of the largest non-substance-related fine in the history of the NFL.
Also, his pre-game dance is obnoxious and frightening.
As a general rule, if your team’s best player has been arrested for murder, you will not get picked. So, for this week, Good Men Picks endorses the Jets. If you don’t have anything riding on this game, or you just want to be a good person, you’ll root for the Jets.