On Friday, Raf could hardly contain his excitement when he got his first look at the "Cowboys Annual 2010".
Most of us will have to wait until the official release date of the Maple Street Press Cowboys Annual in early August before we can fully appreciate why a man not normally given to irrational exuberance is so excited.
The first run of annuals by MSP in 2009 - with magazines devoted to the Cowboys, Steelers and Patriots - must have been a great success because MSP have more than doubled the number of magazines this year by adding the Redskins, Packers, Giants and Broncos to their lineup.
Like the Cowboys Annual, many of the other Annuals are also largely written and edited by staff from our sister blogs here at SB Nation: Kevin Ewoldt from Hog's Heaven edited the Redskins Annual, Ed Valentine from BigBlueView is responsible for the Giants Annual, BehindTheSteelCurtain's Michael Bean is the brains behind the Steelers Annual and the MileHighReport's John Bena signs for the Broncos Annual. If you are familiar with their sites, you know that all of these Annuals will likely be some of the best coverage you'll get for each of these teams.
Now, while I don't know what each Annual is writing about exactly, Maple Street Press have published the table of contents for each Annual. After the break, we resort to a little amateur psychology and creative editing to find out what each Annual is really saying about its team.
Oh, and you can still pre-order your copy by clicking this link.
A little judicious editing, careful omissions and some strategic rearranging of the table of contents of each magazine reveals what they are really saying:
Dallas Cowboys:
|
Table of Contents |
What they're really saying |
|
|
Sticking To The Plan by Rafael Vela |
The Cowboys have a plan, |
|
The Five-Year Plan by Dave Halprin |
a five year plan to be exact, | |
|
With A Little Luck by Bill Barnwell |
and with a little luck, | |
|
Breaking The Playoff Curse by Aaron Novinger |
the playoff curse will be completely forgotten | |
|
Super Boys by Aaron Novinger |
when the 2010 Cowboys are crowned the Super Boys. | |
|
Quality Over Quantity by Dave Halprin |
Quality over quantity | |
|
The Cowboy Factor Realized by Mike Fisher |
and other secret Cowboys ingredients | |
|
Running Into Canton by Aaron Novinger |
will see players from the current roster follow Emmitt to the Hall |
Washington Redskins:
|
Table of Contents |
What they're really saying |
|
|
Pour Some Sugar On Me by Ken Meringolo |
Def Leppard on an endless loop in their Sony walkmen, |
|
Back To The Future by Ken Meringolo |
and Michael J. Fox in their VCR, | |
|
Inexorable March To The Super Bowl by Ken Meringolo |
the Redskins fans are content to revisit their 80's Super Bowl heydays. | |
|
Redskins Memories by Kevin Ewoldt |
Fondly reliving memories | |
|
A Hog Gets The Hall Call by Michael Richman |
of Gibbs, Grimm, Green | |
|
Hogs Haven All-Decade Team by Ken Meringolo |
and other Redskins greats, | |
|
Fantasy Focus by Ken Meringolo |
they've created a fantasy world | |
|
An Offense Less Offensive by Doug Farrar |
where their offense still has cojones | |
|
Whoa, The Redskins Have Draft Picks? by Kevin Ewoldt |
and trading draft picks for aging veterans is a good thing. |
New York Giants:
|
Table of Contents |
What they're really saying |
|
|
A New Start by Ed Valentine |
The Giants are looking for a new start. |
|
Enormous Potential, No Guarantees by Scott Wright |
They believe they have enormous potential, | |
|
Anatomy Of Failure by Bill Barnwell |
but are worried that they'll fail again. | |
|
There Is Still Work To Be Done by Ralph Vacchiano |
They know there is still a lot of work to be done | |
|
Big Shoes by Ernie Palladino |
and that they have big shoes to fill, | |
|
From Question Mark To Strength by Mike Farley |
but they have more questions | |
|
Where Have The Linebackers Gone? by Andy Furman and Glenn Warciski |
than answers right now. | |
|
Remembering Giants Stadium by Jim Schmiedeberg |
But if all else fails, the Giants can still take comfort in remembering Giants Stadium | |
|
A Lifetime Of Memories by George Cronin |
and indulging in other memories of things past. |
Green Bay Packers:
|
Table of Contents |
What they're really saying |
|
|
Fully Loaded by Brian Carriveau |
The Packers enter the season fully loaded |
|
Man On A Mission by Brian Carriveau |
and, like a man on a mission, | |
|
Super Bowl's The Goal by Jason Wilde |
have their sights set on the ultimate goal. | |
|
Unleashing Aaron Rodgers by Chris Brown |
To get there, they're banking on Aaron Rogers, | |
|
Taking It Up A Notch by Jason Wilde |
who will himself have to further elevate his game | |
|
Still Casting A Shadow by Mike Johnson |
if he ever wants get out of that other guy's shadow |
Pittsburgh Steelers:
|
Table of Contents |
What they're really saying |
|
|
They're Still My Steelers by Michael Bean |
Steeler's fans this year are going to turn a blind eye to anything not on the gridirion |
|
Déjà Vu All Over Again by Tim Gleason |
because they're worried it might be déjà vu all over again. | |
|
Just The Numbers by Larry Acker |
So instead they'll focus on the basics, | |
|
Getting The Band Back Together by Neal Coolong |
try to get the locker room back together | |
|
Farewell, Fast One by Andrew E. Friedman |
and say good riddance to bad rubbish, | |
|
So Close, Yet So Far by Adrian Atkinson |
because they feel they still have a chance | |
|
A Special Time In Pittsburgh by Ivan Cole |
at postseason success - |
|
|
Men At Work by F. Dale Lolley |
if only the players would focus on what they're being paid to do. |
Denver Broncos:
|
Table of Contents |
What they're really saying |
|
|
Breathing New Life by MSP Annual Staff |
How do you breathe new life |
|
Average Is What Average Does by TJ Johnson |
into an average franchise? | |
|
Focus On Fundamentals by Jeremy Bolander |
You work on your fundamentals, | |
|
The Evolution Of A Coach by Jeremy Bolander |
hope that your 2nd year head coach knows what he is doing, | |
|
The Franchise by John Bena |
and bet the future of the franchise on Tim Tebow: Best selling jersey in the NFL. Check. A Nike shoe. Check. Cover on EA's NCAA 11 game. Check. Now he has to actually take a regular season snap. | |
|
Next In Line by Sayre Bedinger and Andrew Mason |
So let's all bow our heads and pray that he is next in line | |
|
The AFC West Legacy by Tim Lynch |
to continue John Elways legacy. |
all images via Maplestreetpress.com
To avoid any misunderstanding, the articles listed under 'Table of Contents' above are all actual articles and the authors listed are the actual authors as per the Maple Street Press site. BUT: The actual Annuals contain significantly more articles than the ones I have chosen to highlight, and none of the Annuals have their articles arranged in the sequence I have put them in above.