Friday, January 28, 2011

Back When You Played…

When I was a sophomore in high school, I played football for the Southwest Raiders in Fort Worth, Texas. 
Now I wasn’t the best on the team, but I knew the game.  I knew the plays, how to properly execute them and what my role was on the team.  
I knew the guys on my team.  I knew what they were capable of; their weaknesses and their strengths alike.  When a guy wasn’t giving his all, I could tell.  I could also tell when a teammate had just spilled his guts to get every last yard he could.
We lost a lot my first year.  As a matter of fact, we lost all but one game.  But we never quit even though some of our fans thought we did.  Every week we practiced, our team believed we had a legitimate chance to win.  But the final score would always prove otherwise.
And after some of those tough defeats I would often hear from friends and critics of the team that I, along with others, should quit.  They suggested that we were wasting our time playing for a team with no chance to do anything.
However, they didn’t understand the heart, fire and determination I saw in each of my teammates.  When we lost, we lost together.  When we won, however rare that was, we won together.  We scratched and clawed for every yard every minute of the game.  We did it together—we did it all together.
The one thing we never did was quit.  I knew my teammates and they, no matter the circumstances, would ever quit.  We defended one another from the criticism; rallied around one another when booed.  We were a team and no outsiders would effect our commitment to each other.
During the NFC Championship Game, Bears QB Jay Cutler came out of the game in the second quarter with an injury.  No one knew what it was at the time, but the critics were prepping their attacks as they watched Cutler disappear into the tunnel before halftime.
We all watched Cutler struggle with passes as the second half got under way.  And after a few plays, he was subbed out for an ineffective Todd Collins.
As he sat on the bench being examined by the Bears’ medical staff, viewers were wondering what the hell was going on?  And then in came the third QB and Cutler was excoriated via the Twitterverse.
He was called a coward, quitter, loser and worst of all, Urban Meyer.  Fans were reportedly burning his jersey outside the stadium.  Others were storming out of the local drinking establishments cursing his name and the Bears for bringing him in to begin with.  He was the worse of the worse; the lowest of the low.  I’m sure a few inebriated fans were already adding Caleb Hainey to next year’s fantasy roster as they were sure he would succeed Cutler as the Bears next great QB.
Now I can’t fault the players who criticized him.  After all, they subject themselves to the massive trauma that is football every Sunday for our entertainment.  In my opinion they earn every dollar the make because more than likely, I will outlive most of them or at the least will out walk them.
The players have every right to say whatever it is they want.  They deal with injuries and have a pain threshold I could only imagine.  They deal with muscle and ligament tears, broken bones and head injuries.  They can say what they want, I just hope they can stick to the criticisms they level at the man.
But what I cannot stand is the second-guessing by media and fans that have never laced up a cleat or put on a helmet or shoulder pad.  I cannot tolerate the beating Cutler has taken by media types who have never taken a blindside hit and their only claim to fame is riding on an athletes coattails or stalking them around like TMZ waiting for a major story to break.  Or by fans whose only connection to their favorite athlete is how much merchandise they have purchased therefore they expect a player to owe them something.
   He did give you something.  He gave it to you all season.  He stood behind a shoddy offensive line and took hit after hit.  He had to figure out Mike Martz crazy-assed offense that had no primary receiver and excluded an all-pro tight end for most of the season.  He took criticism from a media that is probably the third worse behind Philly and New York.
And what people still haven’t realized is the man is the best QB the organization has had since the unimpressive Erik Kramer.  Before that it was Sid Luckman, and that was in the 40s.
So to question his heart is not only ignorant, it is stupid and shows just how overly entitled the Bears’ fans are.  They think they are supposed to win every year yet they don’t put the pieces in place to win.  When they had a running game, they sent Thomas Jones to the Jets.  When they had Muhsin Muhammad, they had no quarterback.  When they finally put a respectable defense on the field, they had a suspect offense led by a mental midget in Rex Grossman.  They are a mess, yet the critics want to blame Cutler for losing the championship game.
  The Bears organization did right by coming to Cutler’s defense because he deserved that.  They know his pain tolerance, we don’t.  They know when he plays hurt and the level in which he does, we don’t.  The know how hard he works in practice whereas we only get snapshots from the media in the 10-15 minutes allowed to observe practice and then we over analyze and scrutinize the reports we receive in the press conferences.
We don’t know anything.  Yet to act like judge, jury and executioner is pathetic.  We need to see the aesthetics in order to prove someone is really on the verge of a catastrophic injury.  We cannot take the word of the coach or medical staff.  It’s impossible for us to believe that someone would be hurt in the “biggest” game of their life.  There has to be a conspiracy somewhere.  That’s the only explanation, right? 
  Wrong.  What it all boils down to is jealousy.  Fans and critics can’t wait to destroy a guy who makes more money, gets all the girls and goes to all the fancy parties.  Because secretly, that’s what we all want even though we won’t admit it.  And when a player doesn’t live up to what you expect, he’s a bum or trash or worse, Urban Meyer.
I believe Cutler until proven otherwise, and even then I still won’t care.  But think about this if you do criticize him: the next time you have the flu or a sprained ankle or a broken leg and the doctor recommends rest and relaxation along with a note excusing you from work, tell him to give you some fluids, tape you up, get a cane and take your ass to work.
Otherwise you just quit on your co-workers.

Friday, January 14, 2011

The Great Escape

Nearly one week ago, the average sports fan was treated to some of the best matchups of this young year. 
We saw an improbable victory by the Seahawks over the Saints in a contest many saw as a game New Orleans would use as a primer to make another deep run into the playoffs.  However, one 67-yard statement run near the end of the game by a largely invisible Marshawn Lynch put the nail or 8 nails, in the Saints coffin.
And as if that game wasn’t good enough, we witnessed New York and a young Mark Sanchez lead his J-E-T-S to victory over arch nemesis Payton Manning and the short handed Indianapolis Colts. 
Sprinkled in between, and for those who cared, was the BBVA Compass Bowl featuring Kentucky and the coachless Pitt Panthers.  I heard it was an interesting contest, but honestly, I could have really cared less about any other games that weren’t BCS related.
But in the backdrop of the playoffs and the rooting interests of those whose alma maters were engaged in a bowl only meaningful to them, was another ominous event waiting to place a stranglehold on our attention and shake the nation to its very core.
While many of us were waiting for what was considered the best college football game of the season in Glendale, AZ., a young man was readying himself to place Arizona in the spotlight for other, ominous reasons. 
During the afternoon of June 8, while individuals, families and bystanders were at a shopping center in Tucson waiting for their congressional representative to meet with them, Jared Laughner inexplicably walked into the peaceably assembled crowd and opened fire.
From all accounts, his primary target appeared to be Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, whom he shot in the back of from not more than four feet away.  As she fell to the ground, Laughner continued firing without rhyme or reason striking 20 people, killing six and leaving several others, including Giffords in critical condition.
As many of us watched the news unfold, we couldn’t help but ask ourselves why?  Why is it when we cannot disagree and move on, some of us resort to violence?  Why is it that our rhetoric and our discourse, which many rational folks see as just that, rhetoric — is able to be taken seriously by those who chose to, solve questions through senseless acts of violence?
Why do we spend so much time tearing each other down while narcissistically building ourselves up?  Meanwhile, someone is out there on the other end of the television or radio readying themselves for “second amendment remedies?”
All these questions ran through my mind as I saw a shopping center become a trauma center on a peaceful, calm and inviting day.  As gurneys hurriedly evacuated patients to awaiting ambulances, I thought about those individuals that witnessed their family and friends mowed down by a lunatic without empathy for those he targeted and no regard for human life.
And then the white sheeted gurneys began to appear as the dead were solemnly wheeled away.  Even though we are seemingly immune to the violence as we are subjected to it daily on our televisions through programs, and movies, nothing can quite prepare someone for the senseless carnage that presents itself in our streets and public places.
For nearly 10 years, our country has been engaged in two wars across a vast ocean. It has gotten to the point where it is more or less reality TV to us or we try to ignore it by turning the channel and adopting a head in the sand mentality by claiming “that’s over there, not here.”
But when the violence hits close to home, in places my family and your family would and could be on a regular basis, it begins to immensely alter one’s perspective.  And many of us do what we as American’s are conditioned to do, stop, pause, reflect and move on—often within a few days.  This is one of those times where we need to seriously reflect on ourselves, hold our lawmakers accountable and act as we claim ourselves and our nation to be; a compassionate melting pot of cultures and ideas.  A place where our laws and principles hold no place for bigotry hate and unmitigated violence.  A nation where I can disagree with you, you can disagree with me and we can still be amicable, not enemies when the debate is done.
But most importantly, we must become a nation of responsibility, respect and tolerance. 
It’s ironic that it is engrained in our children to accept responsibility, respect each other and treat others as we are to be treated.  But there seems to be an age where we abandon those principles, and respect is trumped by intolerance.  We treat others worse than we would treat a known enemy and responsibility gives way to passing blame and claiming “not me.”
Where has all the civility gone?  Where are all the dreamers?  Where is the next generation of leaders that will lead us through the darkness only to have us emerge immersed in the beacon of hope this nation was so eloquently described as by President Reagan? 
I wish I knew the answer, but I don’t.  I wish I could push a button and solve all of the world’s problems in one fell swoop, but it is impossible, for what I want is not what everyone else wants.  And that leads us directly back to where we are right now.  And I’m afraid, prophetically, that is what will be the cause of the next tragedy that will unnerve us all.  But as much as I want to have all the answers and all of the solutions, it only becomes even more nerve wracking and I find myself needing an escape if only for a few fleeting moments.   
That is what makes sports great.  It has the ability to, if only for three hours; take our minds off the reality that is our world.  It gives us the ability to bond and share something, whether it is fandom or the hatred of each other’s teams, it brings us together and in some primeval way makes us a little more civil toward one another.
Sure we may not like some athletes, but we have to acknowledge the opportunity they give us to escape from the doom, gloom and tragedies of our world.  When I watch the Cowboys, I am reminded of how much they suck, which pushes that fact that there are two wars going on in the back of my head.
There is no Guantanamo when a Dirk led Mavericks team is throttling the Spurs or the Stars…are doing something irrelevant because it is hockey.  This is not to say I am diminishing our real world problems, but sometimes we have to escape in order to recalibrate.  It helps us place things in perspective a little better and then come back and make decisions that are beneficial to ourselves and those around us.
As our fellow Americans are laid to rest this week, let us understand and appreciate their lives and our own lives.  And after they’ve been eulogized and the families have all gone, take time to spend with your own family and do something together.  Tell them you love them while watching the Patriots and Jets battle or dissect the differences in the 3-4 techniques between the Ravens and Steelers.
It doesn’t matter what it is you do, just take some precious time and spend it on someone you love.  Then spread it amongst those you come in contact with and pretty soon we will have begun to solve our nation’s biggest predicaments; communication. 
This is your escape; experience it or forever regret that you wished you had.
Peace be unto you.

Friday, January 7, 2011

White Generals, Black Privates

For the last few years, I have been out on college football.  Didn’t care for the way the BCS is structured, I hated that the small teams basically get hosed every year and there is no playoff.
But after some convincing, along with (shameless self promotion) my regular appearances on The Dave Kenoly Weekend Sports Show/1190am; 4-6 p.m. on Saturdays and the Sports Daddies podcast, I started watching again.  And this is the season I’m glad I did. 
Little TCU upset big bad Wisconsin.  Oklahoma finally won a bowl game, almost in spite of the Stoopinator and Texas lost so many games I actually started to feel bad for them. 
Yeah there are too many bowl games, but there have actually been some that I’ve enjoyed.  The Outback, Fiesta, Sugar and Orange Bowls were some of the best matchups I’ve seen in a while and we still have the NC game and the Kraft Fight Hun…I can’t even get that one out without throwing up in my mouth.  But I think you get the picture.
Now for all the aforementioned good there had been, there’s been one pervasive thought that’s bothered me and it has reached a boiling point as well as damned near made me sick to my stomach every time I hear them: quarterback comparisons.
In the post Jimmy the Greek world of sports where an announcer or analyst is supposed to be a little more subtle about his descriptions of the college athletes, the PC depictions have only mildly given way to the underlying condescending explanations betwixt one athlete and another, mainly quarterbacks.
I have a friend, we’ll call him Brandon F., whom I routinely talk to about football to get the lowdown on the SEC and some other conferences that I could really care less about.  We’ve had a progressive discussion over the course of the college football season regarding the difference between black and white quarterbacks and the way commentators, analyst and draft experts pigeonhole each one into specific groups.
For me it came to a head prior to the Orange Bowl when noted liar, cheat and overall slimy degenerate bastard Craig James noted that there was no way Virginia Tech could beat Stanford because Cardinal QB Andrew Luck was basically to smart to lose.  He went on to say that when Luck makes a pass that seems overthrown or short, it’s done deliberately to give his receivers a chance to make a play on the ball, and basically if they miss, they messed up somewhere.  (I’m guessing that safety and interception was part of the game plan)
For VT QB Tyrod Taylor, however, he described a different game plan.  Taylor needed to move around in the pocket and use his athleticism to allow him to make plays because he, in essence, wasn’t smart enough to even be on the field with Luck.  Now the outcome of the game would lead one to believe that James was correct in his assessment.  But a closer look at the game would tell you that what lost Va. Tech the game was terrible defense, drops and poor execution. 
Taylor’s play in the second quarter where he scrambled to his left, spun off of a defender and made the perfect throw to David Wilson as he was falling out of bounds was the type of play James would have been thinking about while he was making love to his wife had that been Luck.  But since it was Taylor and VT had lost, it was just a footnote. 
And then I was reminded why I stopped watching college football in the first place.
Over the last 10 years there have been a number of black quarterbacks that have led their college teams to victory with the same amount of skill, intelligence and moxie as their white counterparts.  Yet when the Mel Kipers and Todd McShays of the world start to evaluate them, the descriptions couldn’t be more different.
Payton Manning had intelligence and field presence while Donovan McNabb was a skilled and gifted athlete.  Ryan Leaf was a natural leader but Jason Campbell was a game manager.  Never mind the fact that some of these guys were winners at their colleges, but they never got the credit they deserved.  Hell, some of them never even got the chance to play because, well, I don’t even know.
Charlie Ward won the Heisman, the Davey O’Brien and a National Championship at Florida State and where did he play football?  With the New York Knicks.  He couldn’t even get a sniff at quarterback in the NFL because scouts wanted him to switch to wide receiver. 
Grambling State’s Bruce Eugene was another.  The rap on him was he was too small (6’1) and too heavy (265 lbs).  They forgot the kid had a cannon for an arm, was deadly accurate, threw for 4000 yards and 48 touchdowns his senior year and scored high on his Wonderlic test (41).  And such is the case with many black quarterbacks.  They don’t even get a shot while midgets like Doug Flutie, old men in the case of Chris Weinke or has-beens like Chad Hutchison and Drew Henson get chance after chance. 
What really pissed me off last year was the fawning and selection over of Tim Tebow.  The guy is a glorified H-back masquerading as a quarterback.  His mechanics are terrible, his decisions are average but since he is such a super swell guy, he gets a shot.  Anyone else with his particular skill set would have been moved to tight end, receiver or fullback, a la Patrick Crayton, Isaiah Stanbeck, Antwaan Randle El, Heinz Ward and Brad Smith. 
But not the great savior Tebow.  And no matter how much he struggles “learning” the quarterback position, he will continue to get chance after chance to figure it out.  Meanwhile a Donovan McNabb gets benched and blamed for trying to lead a team of talentless hacks with zero offensive playmakers, a marginal defense and horrendous coaching for Rex Grossman.  Rex “40 TD-40 INT in 6 years” Grossman, who is the ultimate drunken bus driver and the worst QB on a Super Bowl team since Trent Dilfer and rookie Roethlisberger led their teams and basically just got tickets to the game and a couple of hats.
McNabb had one sub-par year before he was tossed to the scrap heap while many of his counterparts had many bad years and twice and sometimes three times as many opportunities to attempt to revive their careers either with their current teams or somewhere else (see Dilfer, Trent Greene, Gus Frerotte, Jeff George, Alex Smith and Jake Delhomme).  
Yet teams are willing trash guys like Jamarcus Russell, who would have been better suited in a well structured organization instead of the Dodge City atmosphere of the Raiders and Jason Campbell who, despite having four coordinators in four years in Washington, was released for lack of production.  I’m sorry, but when you have a space cadet for a coach and a nincompoop for an owner, how can you be expected to win?  In five years, Campbell has thrown double-digit interceptions only twice, has a 60 percent completion rate and has kept his cool through it all. 
Isn’t that what teams are supposed to be looking for?  Quarterbacks who can stand tall through adversity and lead their men when the times are tough all while staying cool under pressure?  If that’s the case, then where are the other Campbells and McNabbs?  Where are the organizations willing to give legitimate chances to Joe Webb and Heisman winners like Troy Smith?  When will the black QBs that make a few mistakes stop getting sent down the ranks while their white equivalents get all the support, accolades and attention, and in some cases, elevation to the top sometimes without proving anything?  (Do you hear me Jimmy Clausen?)
And what I fear is we are going to see the same thing this year.  When Auburn’s Cam Newton elects to enter the draft, in my opinion he should be the first QB taken—not Ryan Mallett and certainly not Jake Locker.  And while the Panthers are whining because they won’t get a chance at Luck, they should be happy they are getting the opportunity to select someone with the poise, confidence and exuberance of Newton.  If they don’t select him, then it’s their loss because someone will get a Class A QB with the skill set to match if taught correctly.
On January 16, it will have been 23 years since Jimmy Snyder uttered his infamous “black are bred to be better athletes” dribble.  Yet it seems there hasn’t been a day that has passed that we aren’t constantly reminded that blacks cannot play QB on the professional level, subtly and overtly by the people we listen to on ESPN and other sports networks.  One has to wonder how many stars we will never know because the mindset of the old NFL is still pervasive in the new NFL. 
  And instead of marching their teams to victory, they’re ordered to get in line and follow lesser talented men.

The Future

Minions


Must...boogie away....season!