Stranger things

We're just about halfway through the NFL season now; from my perspective as a Giants fan it's indisputably the midpoint, with 8 games down and 8 to go, and this coming Sunday as the bye week. The G-Men opened their campaign a devastating 0-and-6, but they somehow managed to win their last two games! Yes, one of those wins was against the even-more-hapless Vikings, and the other was over the faltering Eagles, but they still count, and the latter one counts even more as a division win. This in turn, of course, leads to consideration of just how unimpressive the NFC East is from top to bottom at this point in the season, but whatever the merits of that argument it happens to work out in the Giants' favor. The Giants may only have two wins, but so do the Redskins, while the Eagles have a mere three; the Cowboys are somehow sitting atop the division with a mediocre 4-and-4 record.

So it's not over! First place is theoretically within striking distance! I thought the rest of the season was going to be a pointless exercise in futility, but apparently there are a certain number of meaningful games left to play, after the Giants take a week to rest and recover and strategize. Exactly how many games will be meaningful will depend on whether the Giants continue to eke out wins or hit the skids again, plus whether or not the other NFC East teams get their own houses in order. Still, it's not impossible that New York could contend down to the wire. This would entail heroic levels of fortitude, almost unbelievable amounts, but still!

Yes, Marvel Comics had an NFL-themed superhero for a hot minute there. Oh, 90's.

Concurrent with the realization that I still have an active rooting interest in the remaining Sundays between now and New Years, it dawns on me that forsaking the Giants' season was actually something of a mental/emotional relief for me, one less reason for my heart to arbitrarily soar or sink on a weekly basis. It was a sucky realization to come to, but I did and I got over it. Now, I'm re-investing myself, almost in spite of myself, because old habits die hard. Strange business, this loving things that will never love you back.