I was already unsure about whether or not I was going to continue dedicating as much time to football content in 2023 as I had in 2022. Then the tragic sequence of events from the Bills/Bengals game framed the sport in an entirely different light.
There was no Thursday night game to kick off Week 18, but word came in on Thursday morning that Damar Hamlin was awake and communicative. Maybe it’s hyperbole, but it was reported that the first thing he wrote down when he awoke was “Did we win?”
While he has remained in critical care, he has shown continued signs of improvement and is now breathing on his own. Hamlin also was able to FaceTime his team during team meetings and tell them that he loves them. If there is any story in the NFL that is worth echoing, it’s that young man’s amazing recovery.
The NFL made whatever adjustments and compromises they could and we arrive at Week 18 with a lot of bizarre seeding and home-field scenarios, but all of that bickering feels so small.
At the beginning of the year, I said that I didn’t care about home-field advantage and I echoed that statement mid-season as well. So, I am going to do it one more time. I always believed that the Bills had the potential to be the best team in the league and if they were, then home field didn’t matter. I still believe that now.
I opted not to do a write-up this week because even after a really good Week 17 in the picks, all that didn’t matter. I get to go into Week 18 as a fan, with nothing on the line, and just enjoy the fact that Hamlin is getting better every day and that the team is able to breathe easier following that good news.
If you want to check out the show, it’s abbreviated because I have my high-school reunion to prep for. I will be back to preview all the playoff games and do the show as usual (more or less) next week. So, until then, take care, be well, stay safe, and be good to each other.
Thanks for reading! I still believe word of mouth is the best way to help, so if you enjoy what I’m doing, please tell somebody. And if you have a comment, I’d love to hear it! Liking, subscribing, and sharing go a long way too. And, as usual, be well, stay safe, and Go Bills!