Hypocritically Optimistic

Every Major League Baseball offseason, I get a tremendous amount of joy (and a moderate amount of frustration) from listening to Mets fans talk about how good their team is going to be next year.  In spite of all of the signals that annually suggest that an overpaid Mets roster will limp to a third-, fourth- or fifth-place finish, fans of the Amazin's can always convince themselves that their team is poised for a deep playoff run.  Listening to their absurd arguments, I've always promised myself that I will stay committed to reality when it comes to forecasting success (or lack thereof) for my favorite teams. 

For the first time that I can remember, though, the NFL offseason and the New York Giants' 2011 prospects are causing my realistic side to do battle with my optimistic side.  Deep down, I know, recognize, and have come to terms with the fact that the Giants are likely to struggle this year.  Outside of drafting already-injured first round pick Prince Amukamara and resigning the consistently inconsistent Ahmad Bradshaw, New York added virtually nothing to a roster that missed the playoffs in 2010, and lost a number of key role players including Steve Smith and Caught Looking favorite Kevin Boss.  With the Philadelphia Eagles seemingly loaded and the Dallas Cowboys - and diabolical owner Jerry Jones - always a threat to pull together a dominant team, things look somewhat bleak for the 2011 edition of Big Blue.

But then again, maybe not.  After all, isn't it possible that the shortened summer practice schedule created by the lockout helps a cohesive unit like the Giants, as opposed to a new and rebuilt Eagles squad?  Now that Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham have another year of the offense under their belts, maybe Eli Manning really is in the same class as Tom Brady, like he claimed this week, and will prove it this season.  Why, just this morning ESPN.com columnist KC Joyner proclaimed that the Giants, and not the Eagles or Cowboys, were the favorites to take the NFC East crowd, and has some pretty good reasons to back his point up.  And with everyone underestimating them, maybe this is the year the Giants fly under the radar deep into the playoffs like they did in 2007.

You can see how easy it is to go from realistic fan to optimistic fan in no time.  And while the logic above is way more realistic than anything I've heard from Mets fans each and every Spring Training (not only is a surprise run in football more likely than in baseball but, come on, it's the Mets we're talking about here . . .), it's not really that different.  So while I'll be working hard to curb my enthusiasm about the Giants' chances until after the regular season starts in mid-September, next spring I'm also going to try and remember to cut all of those "glass is half empty" Mets fans some slack.  After all, it's the allowance for some completely irrational pre-season hope that makes sports so great.