The thing about episodic drama—as opposed to the self-contained, all-at-once effect of the movies—is that it begets a far more active audience. This is why television serials have become such a phenomenon over the past decade. When done right, they can mesmerize us for weeks, even months, before there’s any semblance of resolution. This is the case with Mad Men, and it’s also part of what makes the NFL intriguing.
The Joys of NFL (and Mad Men) Drama
In each case, the suspense builds as the weeks pass, we learn more, and as the end draws near, everything begins to mean more. As fans, we look for cues in our dramas. Both the fictional—Peggy outgrowing her role at Sterling Cooper, but still vulnerable, embracing Duck Phillips’ smarmy affirmation—and real—Arizona stumbling, well on their way to a brutal, 5-11 reality check.
Again, as the weeks pass, we learn more. There are red herrings, too; it’s still early, but at least one team that’s 3-0 now will miss the playoffs (I say Denver), and one that’s 0-3 will rebound to salvage their season (the Titans, perhaps?). By the same token, just last week, Don Draper’s run-in with Conrad Hilton made him seem the ultimate savant. This week, that coup is seen as the catalyst for Draper to be forced into a contract at Sterling Cooper, robbing him of leverage that’s served him so well in the past.
The point is… we don’t know. The arc of the stories (NFL, Mad Men, Lost, whatever) is out of our hands. But we can try to know, and the guesswork is what makes the NFL and great television better than just about anything else entertainment has to offer. A great game or a great movie is an unrivaled experience, but for the most passionate among us, following week-to-week is infinitely more rewarding.
The action runs the gamut from hilarious to tragic—Jim Zorn, alone, encapsulates the spectrum—but throughout it all, we are there, sub-consciously decoding each moment for its significance, and sitting spellbound as we do. The NBA, NHL, and MLB each have their own virtues, but football is the only sport that operates like a television drama—in between games, like breaks between episodes, all we can do is speculate as to what might happen next. And each week, we get more enlightened, until that final crescendo (Super Bowl, season finale), when everything crystallizes into a resolution that’s either immensely satisfying, or hopelessly maddening because it betrays the context that preceded it.
This may not make complete sense, but it’s why I love football, and why I love great television. Today, more truth was revealed—neither the Patriots nor Draper’s demons are subsiding anytime soon—and much was left to our imagination—what will the Eagles look like when Mike Vick really plays? How much more obnoxious can the Betty Draper storylines possibly get?
A lot transpired, and even more will happen in the coming weeks. And just like every Sunday, here I am on the couch, decoding the Drapers’ marriage and trying to figure out whether the Vikings or Giants can really be considered favorites to win the NFC. Only time can tell. So here I am, also, waiting anxiously for next Sunday night. It’s why the NFL and great television dramas engender such obsessive fans. We just can’t get enough of this stuff.
’Till next week…
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