So, Bill (Tuna) Parcells has retired. Again. And says this time it is for good. Again. As a result, we have a slurpfest. With the coverage and genuflecting that went on yesterday, you would think the man died. I feel bad for Sean Payton, Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy, having to answer questions about what football will be like having "lost" Parcells. I don't feel bad for Belichick, since for one, I don't know if he answered the questions (I thankfully missed that on ESPNNEWS), and secondly, because he is a dick, and I wish painful questions and other hazards upon him.
In two weeks, we will have Dungy and Smith, one, a long time NFL coach, the other, a newcomer of sorts to the head coaching ranks, meeting in the Super Bowl. The game has many angles that will be probed (ad naseum of course) over the next two weeks. But yesterday, because Parcells decided he had enough of T.O., and perhaps realizing the Tony Romo just ain't that good, these guys had to answer questions about the impact Parcells had on the game. Look fellas, Bill did great things for the Giants, helped build the Patriots, laid some decent groundwork with the Jets, but fucked all 3 over. Then he went to Dallas, where, quite frankly, he did NOTHING. Went 34-32. Lost the two playoff games the team went to. Flopped at the end of the season like a old man missing his viagra. The man is done. Yes, he is a Hall of Famer coach, but not based on his last 4 seasons. He will settle into a nice job with a network for a couple of years, then hear the calling of his mistress (which is not married, unlike Belichick's mistress), and roam the sidelines again.
But enough about Parcells. I also want to talk about some bashing that has been going on since Sunday in regards to Reggie Bush. Now, I agree, what Reggie did was wrong. But folks, enough is enough. We had everyone who writes a column beating on the poor guys yesterday. Then today, in a column about Marvin Harrison, Harvey Araton got his two cents in in the NYTimes. Yes, Marvin Harrison is a good ballplayer, and no, he doesn't showboat. But why bring Reggie into the mix. For pete's sake, he is a kid, who made a mistake. Jeez, take a look at the Giants. After every first down, you have Jeromemymine Shockey giving the first down signal, even when the Giants are losing. You have Michael Strahan and his buddies shooting jump shots after a sack. Go out west and see Shawn Merriman doing a roid rage dance after a sack. It permeates the league. Now this kid is going to have a rep based on one play. People are calling him a hot shot, one week after he pulled himself off the turf after an unbelievably hard hit. Let's not kill the guy OK?
It reminds me of the whole Lastings Milledge/Hi Five thing. People took that as showing up, and labeled the kid. Now, if he so much as passes gas, people are saying he has a bad attitude. Can we remember that these guys are kids, and need time to learn and grow. Oh, wait, they should know better, right? Well for the past 20+ years they've seen Mark Gastineau, the "Fun Bunch", Ray Lewis, and assorted other "professionals" doing stupid shit. We had the Patriots mocking Merriman, and giving a throat slash gesture. We had T.O. doing all kinds of stupid shit. You have Belichick blowing off the Jets after agreeing to take the HC job, and then snubbing Mangini after two games, one of which his protege had the audacity to win. Then we have Brady, Super Bowl winner 3 times, flipped the coin last year at the SB, fair haired golden child, running off the field without shaking hands, and nobody in the mainstream media has the testicular fortitude to call him out. I bet if Peyton had done that in a loss, people would have beat the shit out of him. But Brady does it, and no big deal. Being exposed to all that of course some young guys are going to think it is OK. To paraphrase Chris Rock "I'm not condoning it, but I understand."
And this isn't just in the NFL. We have basketball players taunting opponents. Some guys in the NHL do so. Baseball players do it, the big stare after hitting a Home Run. Some players and teams go so far as to mock chants that fans use to serenade favorite players (I'm talking to you Braden Looper and your Cardinal teammates. We Mets fans have long memories.). Albert Pujols bashed Ryan Howard for winning the MVP, he also had unkind words about the ability of Tom Glavine, after Glavine made him look like Rey Ordonez at the plate in Game 1 of the NLCS. This is not just Reggie Bush, this is a widespread problem. As "The Boy" stated in yesterday's comments:
I think people will start to focus more on the Patriot's general lack of sportsmanship, which does come from the top down. I've been saying this since long before LT mouthed off and before the Mangini handshake controversies. The Patriot's culture (it's business, not personal) has worked fine for them in dealing with personnel moves. However, I think that their lack of sportsmanship, whether in wins or losses, takes something important away from sports. Sport is about competition, teamwork, and respect for your opponent. That last part is missing under Bill. Fans of other teams and the media are starting to take note and I think Pats fans will be more aware of this now.
He's right. Sports is about competition, teamwork, and respect for your opponent. Now, as an Islander fan, I remember Billy Smith refusing to shake hands after a playoff series. The shake in the NHL is a longtime tradition. Billy had a point, in that they just spent 7 games or so trying to kill each other, why shake, but at the end of the day, you need to show respect. Billy was wrong, he should have grudgingly shaken hands. Brady should have as well. And the players in all sports need to dial it back a notch. I'm not saying guys can't celebrate when the score a TD, or make a big play. Just be smart about it. If your team is getting the shit kicked out of them, and you make a first down, no need to pose. If you score a TD cutting the lead to 21, or putting your team up by that much, act like you have been there. If you hit a HR, take a quick look, then do a fast jog around the bases. Don't stand there like you are staring at Jessica Alba dancing naked in front of you, run the damn bases. You score a game winner, dance a bit, pump your fist, whatever, just keep it smart. Young kids look up to athletes, like it or not, and they learn from them. So if you don't want some rookie pointing at you, don't do it yourself, and if you see a teammate do it, tell them not too. Bring respect back to sport. For each other, and for the fans.
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7 comments:
Pretty well-stated, Ed. I generally agree.
Great, great column today Ed. Well done. I especially liked how you got the Chris Rock line in there. I've been trying to figure out how to use that one for years.
Thanks Mike and Coop.
I agree that it was a good blog Ed.
I guess my problem with Bush is a general problem that I didn't express in my blog, I hate celebrations when the team the celebrating team is on is losing. It flies in the face of the word "team" when somebody does an individual thing (sack, first down, pick, HR, etc. etc.) and dances around like they won the Super Bowl but the team they are on is still losing. It's a joke. I agree with you that it goes on in every sport, not just football.
I also agree that a modicum of respect needs to come back into these games, because it's barely present nowadays. Shaking hands is the bare minimum. You have to do it in little league, why don't they have to do it in the pros? Isn't that where every little kid looks to for inspiration?
Anyway, I agree that Bush is a kid and screwed up, and he acknowledged it and I'm sure he won't be so quick to dance around like that again. As for the Lastings incident, I think that was more innocent because it was low-key and he was just excited he just hit a huge HR that tied up (or put them ahead, I forget and I'm too lazy to look it up) the game. My point is, the Mets weren't losing at the time. I think that is a more justifiable rookie mistake than Reggie Bush's. But in the end, they are both rookies and theoritically they shouldn't have done what they did. (Although I still saw nothing wrong with Lasting's actions, and if the camera didn't pick him up doing it, it wouldn't have been a big deal).
Regardless, nicely written blog Ed.
You know we haven't seen the last of Parcells, he's like herpes.
Fakehead - thanks. IIRC, the Bush TD tied the game. Doesn't excuse it, but I can get him being excited. It was still wrong.
Stephen A Smith time:
HOWEVAH - The media is making too much of this, and not enough of Brady. A rookie mistake versus a veteran showing a lack of class. The vet should be getting raked over the coals. Not the rookie.
At least Boomer Esiason had the testicular fortitude to call out Belichick for his BS post game interview.
The Bush TD brought them within 2. 16-14.
Or so I remember.
Thanks Mike. I saw that later on.
Again,it was a mistake, but him being beaten on for another day is just silly.
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