The NFL Kicks Off Tonight!

Good morning, Fantastic Football Fans!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

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Introduction

How will billionaires enjoy the NFL kick off? Chances are that you won't see any at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Patriots owner Robert Kraft isn't a billionaire, or he would be the exception.

Yet billionaires can certainly afford to buy a ticket (even at scalper's rates).

Why won't billionaires attend? Some don't like football (I know that's hard to imagine). Many avoid crowds fearing that they might be abducted. Others have big egos. If they aren't going to be the center of attention, they don't bother. And the rest are probably off doing a big deal somewhere to add another billion to their vault.

If they do attend, most won't take the time to read up on the players and the teams.

What a shame! Imagine letting your wealth get in the way of one of the world's great pleasures. That sounds like getting your priorities backwards.

What's worse? Many won't even watch the game on television.

With the amazing John Madden providing color commentary, they could have gotten some sense of the game's dynamic and beauty beyond watching the scoreboard.

Recommendations

You can do better. You don't need me to tell you that.

But since you haven't been watching much pro football since the Pro Bowl, I thought it would be worthwhile providing a few reminders.

1. Visit www.patriots.com and www.raiders.com to get a good background on the teams. Pay particular attention to the news articles in the local press. They usually do the best job of analyzing the matchups in a game.

2. Go to the national media to get an overview of the season. http://espn.go.com/ is a good place to start. ESPN features a brief article about what the Raiders have to do to make the game competitive against the Patriots.

3. Listen to some sports talk radio after work tonight to get you in the mood.

4. Tune into your favorite local football show on television to see what they have to say about the game. If you are in Boston or Providence, be sure to check out Patriots All Access on WCVB. If you live outside of those areas, visit http://www.thebostonchannel.com/nfl077/4168988/detail.html to find out about past interviews with Bill Belichick.

5. Call a buddy who knows more about the two teams than you do. That may be hard to do if you live in California or New England, but chances are you know someone who knows at least one of the teams better than you do.

6. Look into the history of the two teams. There's a lot of bad feeling on the Raiders' sideline due to the enforcement of the tuck rule a few years back during the playoffs.

7. Write down what you think will happen. That will help you get a sense of when something new is going on. Otherwise, you would have expected it. For example, a lot of people think that Randy Moss will be critical in the game. If he's not catching passes for many yards, you want to figure out why not. He's certainly big enough, mobile enough and tough enough to have a big night.

8. Stop by the store and pick up your favorite snacks. Most people don't shop during the week and you probably didn't think about the game when you last shopped. As a result, you may be snack deprived if you don't make a store run.

9. Call everyone early who is likely to bother you during the game because they don't realize that the game is on. That speaks for itself.

10. If you're in the area, head down to Foxboro to enjoy the game from a local pub. There's no excitement quite like opening night on the NFL. To me it's bigger than the Super Bowl.

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many tens of thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell