It's August and you know what that means! The NFL is back...sort of. Starting Thursday, August 11th, all 32 NFL teams will begin to play preseason games against each other until the season officially kicks off on Thursday, September 8th with a Superbowl rematch between the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos. Despite the last football game being in February, many NFL fans claim they will not watch any of the preseason games because it's too "boring". Well, as a fellow fan of the National Football League, I am here to say otherwise. Preseason football can be fun to watch. Here's why:
1. Rookies have a chance to show their worth
Being drafted onto an NFL team is just the first step in a hard and long journey for many rookies. The reason they were selected is because they did well enough in college and their talents matched the needs of a certain professional team. Now that they’re on a roster, it’s really time for them to prove themselves. There are often times where a player is drafted, even at the number one pick, and he still turns out to be a bust. Since most any player can look good during practice and training camp, the best way to see if they have what it takes is to put them on the field in a real game situation. And since preseason games don’t count at the end of the day, what better opportunity could there be? These rookies will leave it all on the field to prove that they’re worth a spot on the roster and, in general, sports are most exciting when players try their hardest.
2. Preseason is a chance for teams to see what needs to be fixed going into the regular season
This is especially true for teams that will probably be fighting for a playoff spot in the regular season. If you’re a fan of a bubble team (like me, I’m a huge Jacksonville Jaguars fan) then preseason football will be a chance to see what your team needs to do to get that playoff spot. For example, take my Jaguars. For the most part, our offense was set last season, especially with the passing game. What we need to improve upon the most this season is defense. With all the defensive positions that we added over the offseason, the four preseason games the Jaguars play will give us (the fans) a chance to see if our defense is actually better or not. And if it isn’t up to par, we know that something will have to be changed come September 11th when we open the season against the all mighty Green Bay Packers.
3. Football is football
The above statement is true. If you’re a true fan of the sport, then you’ll watch it regardless of whether or not it’s preseason. I mean, I was willing to watch the Hall of Fame game on Sunday before it was cancelled. All things considered, preseason football isn’t the worst thing in the world. I’ll be watching. Will you?
