It's a Not-So-Wonderful Column Idea

If you think this six-week period before training camp begins is excrutiating, just imagine what it must be like for NFL columnists, who sometimes need to be really creative to hit their weekly quotas. Exhibit A of that fact is the latest piece from SI.com's Andrew Perloff, which imagines what would happen if Terrell Owens had never played pro football--a variation of the old It's a Wonderful Life gimmick of what would life be like if someone were never born.

Perloff imagines various scenarios through the years of his alternative history, ending with the 2005 Phillies winning the World Series:

"With no Owens holdout, Philadelphia's sports radio home 610 WIP has nothing to talk about and slowly transitions to a classical-music station. Fans actually start to notice the Phillies and the extra support inspires the team to capture the NL East and eventually win the World Series, giving the city its first champ since the 1983 Sixers."

The column left me wondering which was a sillier idea--imagining a T.O.-less NFL, or that this group of Phillies would actually be inspired by fan support.