Week 13 Picks - The Narrative

I hate narratives in sports media, but I understand they’re inevitable. Of course we’re going to find storylines to follow. Of course those storylines are going to take on a life of their own. It’s how human beings operate. Stories are how we make sense of the world, so I totally get that they’re going to infiltrate the world of sports, even if I dislike having to fight against them to try to find out what’s really going on.

But every so often we come across a narrative that is so irresistible that I can’t help but get pulled into it. Such is the case this week when Jordan Love faces off against Patrick Mahomes at Lambeau Field.

There is so much going on here. You’ve got Love making his second start against the Chiefs. You have him attempting to outduel Patrick Mahomes, the reigning MVP of both the league and the Super Bowl, which, as you may have heard, the Chiefs won. Taylor Swift might be there. This game is absolutely ripe for stories, and they all come wrapped up in the bright lights of Sunday Night Football.

The stories themselves are irrelevant, at least, mostly. It’d be only human if Jordan Love had some jitters in a game such as this. Players are people first, after all. But whatever the score at the end, I can guarantee he won’t be looking up at the scoreboard as some kind of final assessment of how far he has or has not come since 2021.

That’s not to say we can’t revel in the stories as they unfold. We’re not playing the game. We have no say in its outcome, one way or another. The stories are all we have. Weaving them is part of the fun of being a fan.

And in a game with this much going on, why not embrace them, at least for a bit?

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