NFL fans will overreact to Week 1. Matt Starkey Chiefs website
Another opening week of NFL football is in the books. Joy and hope abounds, but so does misery and despair. There are a wide variety of emotions across league fan bases. As loyal readers of this column, you guys are aware of my affinity for writing about fan bases and their crazy ways. NFL week one freak out fans is perhaps the funniest bunch. So here for your reading pleasure are a few examples of week one freak out fans:
“We’re going to win the Super Bowl!”
This fan sees the result of the first game of the year and believes his/her team is going to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at season’s end. The most extreme positive overreaction a fan can possibly have is thinking it’s possible. Typically, this fan is the one whose team had reasonably low expectations, but came out guns blazing and most likely beat a team everyone thought they should lose to. Or perhaps they blew out a similar team in spectacular fashion. Either way, there’s no need for this type of sentiment this early given meager expectations. Their conviction is only matched by the stupidity of their takes.
“I think we’ve got a shot.”
Very non-committal optimism describes this base. They tend to waffle on their good fortune after one game, even though they find it hard to hide. This one game is enough to confuse their true feelings for the rest of the season. I can almost guarantee these fans have long-term relationship problems due to commitment issues, but I can’t 100% confirm…well, kind of.
“I don’t think we’re going to the playoffs.”
Pessimism tends to settle in when teams underperform. If this fan’s team barely beats or losses to a team deemed inferior, despite reasonably good expectations to start the season, they will nose dive quicker than the first ducks during hunting season’s opening day. They’ll go all negative on you. From “we’re going to win our division”, to “I don’t think we have what it takes to make playoffs or go far if we do.” These fans tend to blow in the winds of change and up & down like the stock market.
“Who are the top prospects in the 2019 draft?”
Some fan’s expectations are so fragile and weak that one loss has them looking forward to the upcoming draft. Their team didn’t have high hopes to start with. It usually begins the season before. They miss the playoffs, pick in the top third of the draft, and have little to no hope of improving their chances due to roster deficiencies that require more than one good offseason to correct. Best way to describe them: if Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh was an NFL fan base, this would be the category he’d fall in.
If you fall into one of these four categories, I suggest you seek help. Call the hotline for ridiculous sports fans ASAP. If you do not fall into one of these categories, congratulations, but you’re lying to yourselves. Most fans fall into one of these categories after the first game of the NFL season. Remember, “fan” is short for “fanatic.” We all have a little crazy in us. Don’t be ashamed…unless you’re Super Bowl fan after one game. You guys can all swim in the Galveston waters with raw meat bathing suits.
It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
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