NFL Championship Matches: My Three Wishes

1. I Wish The Vote For Season Awards Came After The Super Bowl

Surely this is a no-brainer? The regular season stops at Week 17, but we don't anoint the team which has the best record at that point as the champions. So why do we vote for the MVPs and Rookies of the Year at that point?

If any choice has demonstrated the lunacy of the system, it is awarding Charles Woodson with the Defensive MVP title. Woodson, a member of the same Packers defense that got burned by the Cardinals on Wild Card weekend.

Runner-up Darrelle Revis, on the other hand, has maintained consistency throughout the season, and shut down half of the field against the Chargers last weekend. When a team as talented on offense as San Diego won't throw in your direction, you are one special player indeed. I think a re-vote is in order.

2. I Wish That Both Sides Of The CBA Debate Would Grow Up

You don't own the game, guys. Arguing over how you divide the spoils from the hard work of the fans and sponsors who make it possible for you to have a game in the first place is, frankly, disgraceful.

To threaten shutting down the game because you can't bring yourselves to behave with any more maturity than a pair of seven-year-olds in a schoolyard is so far beyond reprehensible that I can't begin to describe it.

We, the fans, have no say in this argument. But we expect you to grow up and get your rear ends in gear, before you irreparably damage the game that we love and of which you are mere custodians.

3. I Wish People Would Appreciate Football As A Team Game

The only thing which makes my blood boil nearly as much as the CBA argument is the player who can't bring himself to acknowledge that special teams players have any value in the game.

Which is why it makes me mad when retired players, like Sports Illustrated' s Ross Tucker (no more than a journeyman lineman himself) start having a go at kickers and punters. This week, Tucker admitted to "never hav[ing had] much time for kickers" when writing about Nate Kaeding's performance on Sunday.

Frankly, is there any other team sport where one or two members of the team are routinely derided by their own teammates, simply because of the role which they have on the team? Kicker and punter are both positions which no team can do without, and it is time that both players and journalists (and Hall of Fame electors) started to recognise this and treat them with more respect.