[81alum]

I bet you could chart the optimism levels of the Cardboard over the last decade by looking at rosy posts right before each season starts and "sky is falling" posts right after each season's first loss.

This is the traditional time of year for excessive optimism.  Reality will come soon enough.

That doesn't mean reality will be bad--but it will almost certainly not be quite what anyone predicts just now, with no information based on real performances to go on.

All that said, I am heartened by the amount of optimism about this season.  OutsiderFan has been a tough realist in the past, and the fact that he is now optimistic seems significant to me.  But rather than trust this annual "consumer confidence" survey I'll just wait and see.

[81alum]

I bet you could chart the optimism levels of the Cardboard over the last decade by looking at rosy posts right before each season starts and "sky is falling" posts right after each season's first loss.

This is the traditional time of year for excessive optimism.  Reality will come soon enough.

That doesn't mean reality will be bad--but it will almost certainly not be quite what anyone predicts just now, with no information based on real performances to go on.

All that said, I am heartened by the amount of optimism about this season.  OutsiderFan has been a tough realist in the past, and the fact that he is now optimistic seems significant to me.  But rather than trust this annual "consumer confidence" survey I'll just wait and see.