No sport has more drama than the NFL

For a manly sport (second perhaps only to Scottish telephone-pole throwing), the NFL has more drama than a "Real Housewives" marathon.

When it comes to NFL drama, there is no offseason, no reruns.

Spanish telenovelas don't have as many plot twists and "what the?" moments as does NFL football, which may help to explain why NFL Films narrator and Pro Football Hall of Famer John Facenda was known as "The Voice of God."

In our latest episode, Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield has been spurned for Deshaun Watson, who, while supremely talented, could make do with some therapy.

It's catapulted the Browns, those loveable, losing, bit players, to the main plot.

Last week, hands were wrung, and tsks were tsk'd at the sight of Watson being besieged by friendly fans at the Browns' training camp in Berea.

More Charita Goshay:Jim Thorpe's story reminds us that Hall of Famers are human

At the risk of re-flogging the horse, Watson is expected to sit out at least six games as punishment by the league for untoward and downright creepy off-field behavior involving more masseuses than most people even knew existed.

But Wednesday, the NFL appealed Watson's suspension, ostensibly to extend it. If that's the case, the players' union may wade in and ...

It's never going to end, is it?

Some have predicted that signing Watson will tarnish the Browns' reputation. It already has. However, let's not be virgins, here. A number of teams courted Watson; each of whom have had their own assorted and sundry scandals from gambling to substance abuse to domestic violence to vehicular homicide.

The Browns were just dumb enough to offer the most guaranteed money.

Though Watson's behavior can't be defended or even explained, many people seem to have forgotten that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was caught in a police sex sting at a strip-mall "spa" in Florida during the playoffs in 2019.

Prosecutors dropped the charges, stating that police didn't follow proper procedure in obtaining Kraft's video.

In the midst of all the harrumphing over Watson, it may have been missed that Miami Dolphins team owner Steve Ross was suspended and fined last week by the NFL for allegedly trying to entice quarterback Tom Brady and coach Sean Payton in violation of league policy.

Last year, a lot of fans and sports media dismissed former Dolphins coach Brian Flores' accusation that Ross tried to bribe him to throw games so the team would be better positioned for draft picks. The latest news makes that story even more plausible than it already was. Flores not only lost his job, he risked being blackballed from future jobs for speaking up.

Last week, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes accused some teams of applying double standards to Black quarterbacks, citing a clause in Arizona Cardinal Kyler Murray's contract that required him to study game film at least four hours a week. (The clause has since been removed.) It reignites an old controversy that everyone thought had been laid to rest by Grambling State University quarterback Doug Williams' MVP performance in Super Bowl XXII, back in 1988.

It is said that soccer elicits passions and fanaticism equal to those who follow the NFL, especially during the World Cup.

I'll never know.

It's hard to imagine 80,000 soccer fans enduring four hours of below-zero weather in a wind-whipped ice bowl, chugging overpriced light beer while shirtless and wearing a dog mask.

NFL football reminds us of what's fun and unique about being American.

Despite the encroachment of corporatization, it remains at heart, a game for working-class people.

For all of the off-field news, fortunately, the best of the NFL's drama is still found on the field. Every fan can tell you ― in more detail than you want ― about a pivotal game, a moment, a play that changed the tide of their team's destiny.

Every fan has a favorite player.

Every fan is convinced they can call better plays than the coaches.

They aren't always wrong.

An NFL football game is the only time when rational, reasonable and otherwise responsible adults are allowed to make complete and abject fools of themselves.

Why do you think Canton, Ohio, the cradle of the NFL, turns itself upside-down every year?

There's nothing else like it.

Charita M. Goshay is a Canton Repository staff writer and member of the editorial board. Reach her at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @cgoshayREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: No sport has more drama than the NFL