I heard John Madden talk about sportsmanship

Context
NBC is broadcasting a football game tonight between the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills. John Madden is a former football coach and the color commentator for this game. Towards the end of the first half, when the Patriots had built up a 35-7 lead, Madden said something to this effect: "Nobody should complain about the Patriots running up the score. If they don't want the score run up, they should play some defense."

Commentary
35-7 is not an insurmountable lead in an NFL game. In fact, the Bills themselves have come back from a bigger deficit. However, it's a pretty big lead for a team that's well on the way to an undefeated season playing against a team that's just above .500.

Madden is correct in that if the Bills lose, they have no one to blame but themselves. However, I think he's way off base when he says "no one" should complain. Maybe the opposing team shouldn't, but I think the fans should and do. It's not "competitiveness," which is how some people in the media have tried to dress up this particular bit of ugliness that the Patriots have carried out in almost every game they've played this year, it's poor sportsmanship. Which makes it a very short-sighted tactic for the team to carry out.

Consider why people watch sports. Is it to see someone score points? Well, sure, that's fun, but even Harlem Globetrotters fans aren't really interested in the final score. Sports fans like games that tell a story. Sometimes the story is "underdog emerges victorious." Sometimes it's "perseverance will carry you through" (pretty much always the story when Brett Favre plays). Or even, when two particularly bad teams play each other: "somebody's got to win this stinker."

But what kind of story do you get when one team consistently humiliates its opponents (and does not whistle Sweet Georgia Brown while doing it)? "We're better. We're really better. We're really really really better." When you don't have much of a story, you lose all but your most hard-core fans. And remember, we're talking about sports entertainment here. Not to be too cynical, but winning games is not nearly as important as convincing people to watch you win games (and buy your licensed merchandise).

I turned off the Patriots game at half-time. NBC is running another Patriots game next Sunday and I may not bother to tune in at all, which is saying a lot for a rabid football fan like myself. But I feel like I may have to exercise my right to complain about poor sportsmanship with my clicker. After all, I have no control over Buffalo's defense.

What did you hear today?