Think back. Waaay back. No, waaay waaay waaaaay back.
The date was November 20th, 2011.
Barack Obama was president. Rihanna's "We Found Love" was on top of the charts. Audiences were rushing to theaters to see Twilight: Breaking Dawn.
It was a simpler time. A time in the NFL when quarterbacks were on pace to break records and Tim Tebow was still being doubted. So much has changed since then. I mean, it was so long ago that Jay Cutler was the quarterback for the Bears. It's a new America, a new NFL, and the Seahawks are new too.
Remember when Russell Okung was playing for us? Or Sidney Rice? Or before John Moffitt had thrown it all away?
Today we will celebrate two moments in history that changed the way we think, changed the way we live, and changed the way we treat each other: Pearl Harbor is one of those moments. The other, more important thing, is the 11/20/11 game in which Seattle defeated the St. Louis Rams 24-7.
I'll never forget where I was that day. It was raining in Los Angeles, the way it always does on November 20th's of 2011's, and I had stumbled into a closer, different bar than my usual hangout because I was too hungover to travel the extra 5 minutes.
As I tried to piece my life back together that morning, I had realized I made a terrible mistake. This wasn't a Seahawks bar, and I didn't feel the passion and camaraderie that I do at the Backstage. Plus, this place was really rude to me because I only wanted to drink water and I was scolded for not ordering breakfast. "Because you're so packed on a Sunday morning?" I said to myself looking around at the other degenerates and low-lifes.
I watched Seattle dismantle and embarrass an inferior Rams team and saw them rise the ranks above the bottom of the NFC West at the very least. They had back-to-back wins for the first time in over a year. If Seattle beats St. Louis for the second time in four weeks, they'll have four wins in five games for the first time since five straight in 2007.
Back on November 20th, 2011, the Rams played old-timey vet Sam Bradford and he was 20 of 40 for 4.5 yards per attempt. This time, they may be without Bradford as he gets fragile in old age, and they might also be without A.J. Feeley. The most interesting thing about this Monday Night game might be hearing the words "Tom Brandstater, Fresno State."
If all likelihood, we'll get to hear Jon Gruden say, "I don't know how this kid is a third-string quarterback in the National Football League. He's got a cannon arm." and we'll be really lucky if Ron Jaworski says "sheeit" again.
That's not to say that I want Brandstater to come out of nowhere to pass for 300 yards, only that Gruden thinks everybody should start in the "National Football League." I mean, I've got heart (or at least a heart) so I could probably start in the National Football League.
This has been pegged for a long time as the worst game on Monday Night this year, but seeing a no-name quarterback start for the worst offense in the NFL at least gives it a certain level of interest that it wouldn't have otherwise.
Brandstater was drafted in the 6th round by the Broncos in 2009. He didn't post phenomenal numbers at Fresno State, starting 45 games and completing 59% of his passes for 47 touchdowns and 32 interceptions, but he's 6'5 and 220 lbs and Josh McDaniels possibly saw his next "Tom Brady" or "Matt Cassel."
A year later the Broncos instead found a version of Mike Alstott that throws passes and Brandstater was let go.
On June 7, 2010, he was a Colt.
On November 15, 2010, he was a Dolphin.
On August 6, 2011, he was a Cowboy and he was released on September 3rd.
On September 13, 2011, he finally fulfilled his 10-day dream of becoming a backup quarterback in the NFL again and signed with the Rams.
We are potentially days away from seeing Tom Brandstater, a QB who has never gotten into a game before, start for an NFL team on Monday Night Football against the Seahawks. Piling onto the awesome is that the Rams just signed Matt Gutierrez, a player with a 100% completion rate in his career, to back him up.
I would argue that Seattle needs to name Josh Portis the starter right now so that the game thought to be the worst Monday Night game of the year instantly becomes the best.
Just think about that... weeks from now, when we've got flying cars and Saw 32, you'll tell your grandchildren that you once saw Brandstater v. Portis in what will almost certainly become the "Game of the Day."
I just hope I'm still alive to see it.
For my previous Eight Simple Things on the Rams (though nearly the entire roster and history of the team has changed) you can go here.
For my twitter, you can go here.