The days and weeks leading up to the start of a sports season is always an exciting time. There is unfettered hope and anticipation. You can consume preview after preview and opinion after opinion that will either shout praises or spell doom, but in essence, it is all just for fun. Nothing said before the first tip-off, kick-off, pitch or puck-drop really makes all that much of a difference.
However, making predictions is one of the most tried and true traditions of the calendar year in sports. In February and March, the sprinklings of baseball prognostications begin to come through, then football preview magazines line shelves in every store you can see once the summer heats up.