The Shadow-gloom and Weight of the Sacred

...or the most boring Top 5 in the world...give me a break, though. I blogged every day this week.

As football season quickly approaches, I find myself searching for more and more football information. I peruse si.com and espn.com two or three times a day to see if there is any football news. I check the NFL transaction list to see if any new OU or OSU players have been signed to an NFL team. I really like baseball, but football offers a certain electricity that no other sport can match. Off-season moves are interesting. Trades. Cuts. Additions. The Draft. I normally even play fantasy football (I find that really embarrassing to admit, by the way). I like to watch the Cardinals play baseball, but it's hard to watch a baseball game otherwise.

Football is different, though. I can watch two teams I don't really like, teams in which I have no interest, play each other. With the upcoming football season just a few weeks away, I thought I'd list the teams in which I'm most interested during the 2010 season. I'm always interested in the Ravens because they're my favorite team, but this won't include them just because they're my favorite team. This list is about the most interesting storylines for the 2010 season, the teams that are going to be really interesting to watch.

5. Cincinnati Bengals--I've always been a fan of Chad Ochocinco because he's good-natured and makes football fun. Of course, they have T.O. this year and he always provides good drama, annoying as it may be. Their defense should be strong and I'm a guy who prefers to watch good defense over good offense. I think the Bengals will be a fun team to keep up with and will provide many exciting football games this season.

4. San Francisco 49ers--The 49ers were my favorite team growing up. I haven't been that interested in them since the late 90s when I began to shift to being a Ravens fan. I really like Mike Singletary as a coach and think they have a great chance to win their division. It will be interesting to see if they can build upon their momentum from last season, when they were entirely respectable.

3. Cleveland Browns--Mike Holmgren is one of all-time favorite NFL people. He's won everywhere that he's been and he makes teams better. Also, he's a really good person and it's always nice to see a stand-up guy do well. It's been pretty exciting to watch his off season moves during his first year as team President. I think the Browns will play the hard, in-your-face football fans respect as the team continues to gain the right players to win games. Also, it'll be interesting to see if Colt McCoy plays at all at QB. Also, how will Jake Delhomme play? Who knows.

2. New York Jets--This is the team everyone is talking about. They made it to the AFC championship last year before losing to the Colts. They made all kinds of off-season moves. They have a second-year Quarterback in Mark Sanchez and a big mouth coach in Rex Ryan. They play great defense and they play with a chip on their shoulder. I hope the Jets live up to the hype they've created because, if they do, they will provide some intense, awesome football.

1. Detroit Lions--That's right, folks. I think the Detroit Lions are going to be one of the most interesting teams to watch in 2010. They're a fresh, young team filled with talent. Matthew Stafford, Brandon Pettigrew, Calvin Johnson will all be fun to watch. They've been so bad for so long that I'm really cheering for the Lions to at least have a little more bite this year. I think that they should provide some good football from a solid group of young players.