Could it Be?

I know Peter King would faint on the spot if he heard this, but dare I suggest that the NFL world is tiring of Colts-Pats?  I’m going to be honest I’ve been tired of the matchup for a few years now, but just assumed given all of the media attention and general continued excellence of both franchises that the game still represented an unmatched rivalry in the league.  It still might, but a poll I just saw over on ESPN.com has me thinking more than ever that the Pats-Colts NFL rivalry is starting to slide the way of the Yankees-Red Sox MLB rivalry circa about 3 years ago.  You know, the point where ESPN and the major networks had bludgeoned the matchup into our heads with such incessant fervor that we reached our tipping point and the nation of MLB fans outside of Boston and New York grew loathe to even think about “the best rivalry in baseball.”  At some point, I think, sports fans crave something new – even if it’s just for a several year interlude before getting back to the good stuff a la the Celtics-Lakers NBA rivalry – where we like to evaluate whether there are any newcomers to the elite rivalry party.  Well, this week’s NFL entry is the rivalry between the Bengals and Steelers.  Like Alabama-Auburn or Michigan-Ohio State, these teams and fans have always hated each other, but perhaps more along the lines of the former than the latter the rivalry has taken on more of a regional scope than that of the national glare – with 2005’s 3 game series being a notable exception – thanks in large part to the Bengals ineptitude.  The Steelers have attempted – rather successfully I might add – to insert themselves into the self-fulfilling rivalry promotion triangle between the Pats, Colts and the networks over the past few years, going so far as to win a couple of Super Bowls and generally distinguish themselves as a better candidate for Team of the Decade than the Colts if not the Pats despite what King may believe.  This wasn’t intended to be an extended post so I’ll get right to it, but despite the fact that Peter King dedicated 2 full pages to Pats-Colts this coming week in his review of LAST week’s games (and zero to Bengals-Steelers), today’s ESPN.com poll asked just shy of 32,000 people which matchup was more important this weekend: Pats-Colts or Bengals-Steelers.  Granted, any answer here would not so much mark a definitive move away from Pats-Colts interest so much as an acknowledgment that it isn’t the only game, there are 28 other teams in the NFL, and, in fact, since the Pats and Colts aren’t even in the same division their regular season matchup is quite possibly nowhere near as big as it’s made out to be.  Regardless, the answer – supported by more than 75% of the individual states as well – was 53% thought Bengals-Steelers to be the more important game.  I will obviously try to watch Pats-Colts as well, but Amen to the recognition that there just might be another option out there.