The Nothing In The NeverEnding Story
By Laddie Morse
In the absence of a new CBA, so many of us who love and follow the NFL, and K.C. Chiefs, have, to put it frankly, had a damn hard time with it.
Nicholas Alan Clayton said it really well in his post on June 3rd called, “Nikolozi’s Crazy Idea of the Week: the Moss Edition.” He said, “the lockout is literally the worst thing that could happen to our lives.” I’d been thinking something vaguely like that since March 1st and then when Nicholas posted… it hit me.
The lockout is like The Nothing in The NeverEnding Story.
Disclaimer: If you’re wanting to see the movie and don’t want to have it ruined for you, stop reading this right now. Then again, you’ve only had since 1984 to see it so, forget what I just said and read this anyway. Then go steal someone’s Kindergartner and watch it with them. It will be infinitely more interesting that way. Plus, you’ll have a great story to tell from prison.
The story line holds that the fantasy world of Fantasia is being threatened by something called “The Nothing”, a great void of darkness that is consuming everything in it’s path. The story is memorable because it is told through the eyes of a boy who is reading the very book that is also the movie you’re watching.
In the end, it is the boy reading the book, Bastian, who must make his “wishes known” by speaking them aloud and “open his imagination” so that the story, and his world, may continue to live and survive.
"The Nothing grows when there is no wishing, no imagination and no fantasy. The Nothing… is the current NFL. Normally the off season is a season in itself. It is a time to process, imagine, wish and dream."
Normally, the following is what my dreamscape is based upon during the NFL off season:
- There are weeks following the Super Bowl to look at any trends oozing from the S.B. victory. Time to reintegrate an prognosticate.
- There’s the build up to Free Agency. Looking at what our team needs and who our team needs to get rid of. Time percolate and calculate.
- There’s Free Agency: players visiting, cooking up possible additions, and going over the actual signings. Time to devise and address.
- There’s the build up to the draft. Time to forecast and hallucinate.
- There’s the three days of the draft extravaganza. Time to pause and celebrate.
- There’s the breaking down of each drafted player. Time to mutate and assimilate.
- There’s the off season workouts. Time to fertilize and acclimatize.
- There are the stories of players interacting and fitting into the team plan. Time to acknowledge and conclude.
The off season is a time when fans rekindle the dream about their team going to the Super Bowl. Most people are worried about losing games when the season is supposed to begin. I’m worried about losing the off season when the dreaming is supposed to begin. Dreamtime is important. Ask any doctor. Many off season opportunities to dream are gone.
It’s not about reality. It’s about dreaming. Coming down from a life long high of being an NFL dream junkie is not easy. But, it’s not really about that either because we’re all supposed to dream. We’re made for it.
Right now, I’m dreaming about game scenarios. Here’s a peak inside my dreamfeast:
- We’re in San Diego and its’ September 25th. It’s 21-17 Chiefs in the third quarter. The bolts have a 3rd and 7 at the 50 yard line, an obvious passing down for them. DC Crennel sends Tamba Hali and Justin Houston off the edges. They zip around the ends quickly and both lower their shoulders, arriving at Phillip Rivers at the exact same moment, just as he’s releasing the ball. The ball sails high, like a bad volleyball serve, just past the line of scrimmage and settles into the hands of Derrick Johnson. Derrick grabs it high, makes a move to the outside and high steps down the sideline 55 yards to pay dirt. The stadium goes silent. In my living room, I go silent too, after losing my voice.
- Its’ Early December and the Chiefs need one more win to secure a playoff birth vs. the Chicago Bears. It’s early in the fourth quarter and the score is 20-14 in favor of the good guys. The Chiefs have driven the ball to the Bear’s 35 yard line and Cassel has been handing off to Charles on a left side sweep all day with good success. This time Cassel fakes hard on the hand-off and turns to bootleg to the opposite side of the field. DE Israel Idonije bites enough on the fake to give Cassel time to pass but, Lance Briggs arrives knocking him down as he’s releasing the ball. 6-1 CB Charles Tillman has lined up on Dwayne Bowe on the opposite side which leaves 6-5 Jonathan Baldwin one-on-one against 5-8 CB Tim Jennings. Baldwin has already turned in and then out on an out pattern and he finds himself with plenty of room to catch the ball when Cassel zips the ball high. Baldwin leaps and grabs the ball with hands and arms outstretched then turns up field, steps on the accelerator and beats Jennings to the flag by five yards. It was Bowe who suggested the play to Haley. Bowe runs over and he and Baldwin tummy bump in the air.
- It’s the very first game of the season and the very first play of the second half: the kickoff, with the Chiefs receiving because Haley has deferred. Both Arenas and McCluster are back to receive. McCluster has already had a good punt return in the game so, Buffalo elects to kick to Arenas. Arenas waits for the ball at the 6, secures it cleanly and starts straight up the field along the right hash marks. With a burst he cuts to the left hash marks and McCluster cuts from the left to the right hash marks at the same moment. As they cross paths Arenas hands off to McCluster and Dex makes a lightning move to the inside and leaves the left side gunner in a piss-pool of his own indecision. For McCluster the view ahead is a party dress cause there’s a nice wide seam and the only man, boy, between McCluster and a TD is, you guessed it, the punter. McCluster barely gives him a juke and he’s Lot’s wife. The field is a blur and Dex leaps from the 5 into the end zone. Arrowhead is delirious and the noise is deafening. ESPN replays the play a million times in the next 24 hours. Chan Gailey clinches his jaw then squints and stares at one goal post… and then the other.
Have any dreams you’d like to share? Go ahead. It’ll be good for you. Speak Bastian speak.