It's become a thing.
Get past Week 8 of the NFL campaign and prepare for a daunting flood of midseason awards and think-pieces from scribes and football heads across the land.
Bill Belichick, for one, considers it pure rubbish.
"That's great, but honestly, I don't think anybody is really focused on that," Belichick said Wednesday when quizzed about Tom Brady generating a mountain of midseason hype for New England's 8-0 start. "We're focused on the Giants (rather than) some midseason report card. Like, who cares? What difference does it make? Give me an F. Give me a C-plus. It doesn't matter. Right now I'm focused on the Giants. That's all I really care about."
Asked what grade he'd hand Brady after watching the ageless passer toss a league-leading 22 touchdowns to just two interceptions, Belichick wouldn't bite.
Let's face it: This guy knows how to have fun.