Uh oh?

 

I had to endure the pain that is football on TV in the New York area.

At 1 p.m. today, we were stuck with the Jets at the Dolphins and the Cowboys at the Giants. Both New York City area teams are not good, to say the least.

I'm not as lucky here as others are. Ah, to have the days of the late 80s and 90s when the cable system gave us the NYC and Connecticut TV stations. At least we had options.

No more.

The Jets/Dolphins game was at least interesting before the Dolphins wrapped up the win. The Giants -- they of the free soda for season ticket holders on "Fan Appreciation Day" -- should have taken today off.

The Giants. Jeez, has it ever been this bad? The answer, of course, is yes. From 1964-1980 the Giants were middling at best, going over .500 only in 1970 and 1972.

Then, of course, the bottom dropped out with The Miracle at the Meadowlands in 1978, as the Eagles truly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

Yet, the Giants were always like the Yankees. There was always class with "Big Blue."

But, a soda?

Oh, have I buried the lead! My writing friends are no doubt shaming me quietly.

I'm pleased to have these games to watch, in addition to the Packers/Ravens and tonight's game also.

(Photo: Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Still, the bigger point is we're in a bit of a pickle again. In Montreal the other night, the Flyers/Canadiens game had no fans in attendance. Earlier today, the US/Canadian border was closed, essentially, to the National Hockey League. So, for instance, the Canadiens/Rangers game this week at Madison Square Garden is postponed.

Multiple NBA games have also been postponed.

We get a wonderful plethora (such a great word) of NFL action with two games tomorrow and Tuesday. We'll get three of them on TV.

All of this is courtesy of the new strain of COVID.

And I'm not here to panic or speculate. I'm here to just say...

WTF?

Is that wrong? Not the question, I mean my language. Too strong?

I find myself flashing back to the halcyon days in early 2020 when the messages were constantly mixed.

Just look at last night's "Saturday Night Live." Far be it for me to question this but the performers were unmasked for virtually the entire show until the end. THEN they wore masks to say goodnight?

Keep in mind there was no audience and just two regular cast members, along with host Paul Rudd and special guests Tom Hanks (America's Actor) and Tiny Fey.

Even the band was a keyboardist and a sax player who performed basically the saddest coda of "SNL" I've ever heard.

To be clear, I don't even watch the show but the clips -- what little I watched -- were enough for me.

Again, I'm digressing. 

So, what do we make of all of this?

You know I don't have answers. I never have. Speculation does me no good. I'm not a doctor.

To me, all of this calls Christmas into question for me. It makes me wonder about other sports (such as the ones I work in). 

I'm not worrying, per se. As I said, I'm not panicking. But I'm mindful. I'm observing.

Day at a time and all.

Hopefully, this passes quickly and we move on to whatever comes next.

(Photo: Yuki Iwamura/AP Photo)