Texas Linemen at The Opening 2016
I tuned in to ESPNU this weekend excited to see multiple hours of The Opening coverage. I even made a podcast about how to watch the “campetition,” that’s how eager I was for football fans at large to seize the opportunity. It’s not often in the dead of the summer something resembling actual football appears on television. If nothing else, an event like this whets the appetite for August and early September.
I turned on the TV both Saturday and Sunday to find ESPN covering the “7-on” competition only. This disappointed me. I wasn’t disappointed Nike left out of extra “7” at the end of “7-on-7.” They can do whatever they like with they’re branding and annual profits prove they’re on point. I was disappointed the big boys, the linemen, weren’t highlighted amidst the whole program.
ESPN did a couple of cutaways that showed the “Final 5 Linemen” competition. The Final 5 is like the Elite 11, except it’s for offensive and defensive linemen rather than quarterbacks. I know the excitement is usually with skill players so it makes sense to focus on whatever they’re doing. Television is a ratings game; if linemen are confusing and boring to watch ESPN definitely shouldn’t broadcast them competing.
However, after scouring the inter-webs for all The Opening coverage I could find I made a discovery: the Final 5 Linemen competition was the most exciting part. I know I’m biased, but of the footage I found it wasn’t even close.
