it's not ALL bad - at least the Patriots won...
hey - you can say all you like about bill and the patriots - but you can't deny they're a good team - their record speaks to that quite plainly - and it's good to see a good team move forward.
i'm sure your teams will right themselves in time - patience.

You love football. We don't agree on politics or football teams, but your books are awesome.

Go Texans!

::pats George gently::

I'm sorry. There's always next week?

This post made me laugh....

Cheer up, GRRM, after all, you could be in Detroit.

WHO DAT!!

You can always escape into work.

... :D

Cheer up, George. It could be worse. You could be a Detroit Lions fan.

Cheer up bud. The Giants aren't that bad. They have some holes in the D. But it really is fixable even with the talent they have. Fewell will figure it out and the players will trust their own assignments rather than trying to cheat and playing out of position. On offense Nicks looks like he's getting his legs back. Hopefully during the bye Diehl will be back to his best otherwise I hope they keep him on the bench. Bradshaw needs to be the backup. Brown is clearly the best fit for this OL. Eli will stop playing with his kids and finally understand that what's most important is football.

As for the Jets. They will never win anything as long as Woody Johnson is the owner. So stop expecting. If they have a season or two where they perform above expectations enjoy it. I think of the Jets as NFL comedy.

At least with a loss you know how to feel and you feel that way. My team tied (49ers). I feel an empty, apathetic void.

Hope Eli isn't hiding an injury or something, he looked worse than he has in years. Thank god for the bye week, couldn't come at a better time. Just for once I want a 13-3 season where we cruise to the playoffs but it's just not in the Giant's DNA. Buckle up for a bouncy rest of the season.

What a perfect occasion to shift your interest in American football to basketball ;-)

Come to our side...

I'm not sure if in a few years I will feel the victory was worth the destruction of Westeros, but woooooo! Bengals won a game! Against a team with a winning record!

Well I'm a Packers fan so I do a little jig everytime the Giants lose this season :P But i totally understand what you're going through When the packers lose my whole week is ruined. And that Seahawks game gives me nightmares :(. Looking forward to the Giants V Packers in a few weeks

Until Jerry Jones dies and the Cowboys are free again, the NFL remains dead to me.

But Texas A&M beat Alabama on Saturday. Life is glorious and filled with hope.

Do you watch soccer? At least sometimes? Around World Cups? :)

What about rugby.

My condolences. There really isn't much else to say about either the Jets or the Giants this week. :/

very sad and painful indeed...especially the Giants.

Should the worse happen come playoff time, do you still watch NFL football if both teams are eliminated? Which of course is unthinkable.

It could always be worse. Look on the bright side, at least your not a Lions fan :(

Sure, the Jets are terribad, but the Giants are probably just taking their annual pre-postseason nap. After what we've already seen from these guys, I will never discount a limping, 6th seed Giants team in the postseason. And they WILL be there. They could stop playing entirely at this point and still run away with that sorry division.

Just in time to be curb-stomped by big brother Peyton in the super bowl!

Coming from a disappointed giant fan myself. Hope it doesn't depress you into killing off more Starks.

History of the Giants...

Start good -> bad in middle of season -> good at end of season and barely make playoffs -> win superbowl

signed,
A depressed cowboys fan

Hey George is it Tebow time yet?

This might cheer you up!! It's not football, but at least it's something positive related to sports.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPsXlQnTGdQ

From the 25 second mark: the introduction to this season's Sacramento Kings team pays some major homage to the Night's Watch vows!!

If the Youtube link doesn't work, search for "2012 Kings Blackout Intro" in Google. Enjoy!

(Source of this delight: I spotted this on the WinterIsComing.net tumblr page)

Hi George,

Sorry about the Jets and Giants.

I know football is near and dear to your heart (as it is for many Americans). Was this always the case?

I'm in my mid-fifties; born and raised in Canada. As a youngster my focus was more on the CFL than the NFL. Over the years, I've been exposed to a lot of U.S. made film and television. And, to the best of my recollection, much of the American zeitgeist in the forties and fifties was focused on baseball. I can think of several films centered around the sport of baseball (Pride of the Yankees, Eight Men Out, Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, etc.) But I can't say the same for football. I can think of only a few films where football was featured in some degree: Knute Rockne, Rudy, Brian's Song and, most recently, The Blind Side.

Nowadays, it seems like having football and/or military service on your resume is a great plus. Did football always rank high on the American consciousness? Or was there a specific turning point in football history which popularized football into the juggernaut it is today? I'm going to assume it was the birth of the SuperBowl.

Just wondering if you can shed a little light in this area.

Much appreciated.

-- Ray

I think the Chargers and Jets have traveled similar paths recently: very high expectations without achieving the ultimate prize. Philip Rivers and Mark Sanchez have both regressed mightily this year, too.

Regarding the Giants, Eli's past four games have been horrendous! A midseason slump? An injury? An indication of something bigger?

What's worse is that the Giants and Jets have built their success the past few years on a lights-out defense, but their defenses -- especially the Jets' -- have been meh this year.

Ugh. It'll be a looooooooong winter, good sir.