Where Has All The Pennant Fever Gone?

It's late-September.  Everyone of us is trying to get in that last beach trip.  Sports fans are in euphoria.  College and pro-football has begun (and hockey for all you Canucks), and pennant fever has taken its grip.

Wait, what pennant fever?

We were all unknowingly vaccinated from said illness through a combination of events that has caused most of this country to completely lose interest in our National past-time with a 20 cc shot of 'football'.

Football has completely taken over the press headlines and water cooler talk.  How many different stories, most not even related to football, have been covered and talked about ad naseum before the season even started?

Plaxico's brilliant math: loaded gun + saftey off + nightclub + sweatpants (allegedly) = good idea.  McNair's tragic murder.  Stallworth's murder and criminally light sentence.  Farve's ridiculous saga that actually made me throw my shoe at my tv ala that guy in Iraq and George Bush (Side note: luckily, I have small feet).  Brady's return and the standard lack of insight/additional information from anyone on the Patriots.  Vick's release from prison, re-instatement into football, and irony of signing to a team who plays in a city full of people that should be in prison.  Jerry Jones' jumbotron that can be seen from space.  Tila Tequilla's choking and DA's priceless response who basically said, 'ugh, go away'. 

And that's BEFORE the season started.  So, you get the idea.

Baseball has had no chance.  Nobody's chasing 0.400, 70 homers, or the triple crown.  Every race has been decided for a month now.  Even the most intriguing battle for the NL wild card spot seems orchestrated by the baseball writers, which essentially sums up to two dull teams doing their best to blow their chance at the postseason by exposing each of their fatal flaws (no bullpen, no offense, etc.) with a couple weeks left in the season.

Sorry, I'm not buying it, Buster.

Even the playoffs look boring.  Who doesn't expect a Yankees/Cardinals series?  Yes, anything can happen in the playoffs.  Fine.  No matchup, even Yankees/Red Sox, looks interesting.  Maybe, baseball needs a little scandal of its own to get us talking about it again.  Steroids? Nevermind, it's been done.

Come on, A-Rod, do something.  We need something to talk about.