I am a born and bred Canadian from Vancouver, BC. I love my hockey, it is a part of me. I’ve been raised watching the B.C. Lions and Vancouver Canucks, and I’m a die hard fan, no matter who’s on the rosters and how little success they have. So why the hell should I care about the NFL – the south of the border football league?

I guess it’s the same reason I love watching golf, tennis or even basketball, the personalities and the storylines. Tiger Woods against Phil Mickleson, Roger Federer versus Rafael Nadal – when they play, I watch, in the hopes that I may witness that rare unforgettable sports moment.

I am not in an NFL Fantasy Pool, so I’m not personally invested in any of the individual or team results, yet every year there are story lines that make me want to sit down and watch. Two years ago, after head coach, Bill Belichick, was caught and reprimanded for cheating – spying on other teams practices – his New England Patriots, led by quarterback Tom Brady, attempted to complete a perfect 19-0 season, with zero losses and a Superbowl championship. Every week, as they inched closer to the goal, the drama heightened and more and more tuned in. That same season, Brett Favre was playing in what everyone presumed would be his last season following an amazing career, and he was having a renaissance with the team, finally producing a winning season after a long down cycle. Favre’s apparent last games as a pro football player were watched by all, as he took the 13-3 Packers to the NFC Championship against the eventual Superbowl Winners – the New York Giants.

As another season is almost set to begin, the NFL has produced more storylines than ever. Favre comes out of retirement for the second time in two years to play for the Minnesota Vikings, allowing him to face his former Green Bay Packers for two revenge filled matches. Chad Ocho-Cinco (he officially changed his name from Chad Johnson last year) has demanded a trade for 2 years from the Cincinatti Bengals, and yet the loudest trash talker in sports is set to return to the team. Terrell Owens will be given yet another chance to be a good teammate for the Buffalo Bills, after three failed attempts with former squads. And of course Michael Vick, he who funded an illegal dog-fighting chain and allegedly participated in the torture and killing of many of the animals, is returning to play for the Philadelphia Eagles. Drama like this can’t be found anywhere else on television, not on Big Brother, Gossip Girl, or even The Hills!

But I am Canadian and I care not for the NFL. I will only watch about 8 hours of that crap every week.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wishes his players would hit people with sticks. Imagine the headline, “Plaxico Burress strikes himself in the leg with concealed crowbar.”

Vancouver Canuck Alex Burrows is facing possible charges for hitting a goaltender with his stick in a Montreal summer league game. This is an NHL headline today.

Burrows probably wishes he played in the NFL, where newsworthy items include Burress shooting himself at a club with his own gun last year; Pacman Jones allegedly smashing a stripper’s head into the stage in just one of his numerous altercations; Michael Vick bankrolling a dog fighting operation; and fights at nightclubs happening weekly.

Amidst NFL stories, Burrows’ stick infraction would hardly turn a head. Unfortunately for him, he plays in the NHL in Canada, where players are disparaged for declining to sign an autograph let alone breaking the law.

“Terrell Owens wants NFL to Reinstate Michael Vick,” reads one of the headlines on the TSN.ca website. The article explains that Owens believes Vick is deserving of a second chance after being imprisoned for two years for bankrolling a dogfighting operation.

After reading this, the question is, does Terrell Owens actually hate Michael Vick? Certainly any support from one of the NFL’s most controversial players can only hurt Vick’s cause, and it definitely carries no weight. Owens is not one of the game’s ambassadors, or even a respected individual. He has been a cancer to every dressing room he’s ever stepped into, a fact that is well known throughout the sporting world.

According to the article, published by the Canadian Press, Owens would also welcome Vick as a teammate. Wouldn’t that be splendid? A quarterback who would rather run with the ball himself than throw it to someone else, and a receiver who throws tantrums any time he’s not thrown to, plus the fact that they’re both apparently mentally unstable. Actually, that could possibly be the most entertaining thing we’ve ever seen in football, and it wouldn’t be surprising if it became the most watched team in the league.

Next week on TSN.ca: “O.J. Simpson Thinks Plaxico Burress Should Serve No Jail Time.” Ok, maybe that’s going too far.