Welcome back to the blog! I know it’s been awhile and a lot has happened since my last entry, so let’s take some time to get things caught up.
First things first, the NFL preseason has begun and I’m getting pumped to watch some football, finally. Unfortunately, preseason football isn’t exactly the most exciting thing in the world, no matter how big a diehard you are. I don’t know about you, but it’s not really killing me to know who the #5 wideout or #6 defensive lineman is going to be on my favorite teams. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still football, but meaningless football is only a very slight upgrade over your average regular-season baseball game.
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The Brett Favre saga has officially gotten worse before it’s gotten better. We all hoped and prayed that Favre getting traded would finally put an end to the incessant Favre talk in the national sports media, but this hasn’t been the case. Especially now that Number 4 is in the Big Apple. No surprise, everything Favre does at training camp is now a major story (or “Breaking News” as ESPN loves to call it).
BREAKING NEWS: Brett Favre threw an incomplete pass in practice!
BREAKING NEWS: Brett Favre took a shower after the Jets afternoon practice session!
BREAKING NEWS: Chris Mortensen reports Brett Favre is considering putting Sweet ’N Low in his iced tea with dinner!
God help us all if the Jets have anything resembling a good season. The Favre-fest will last throughout the season and more and more magically powers will be attributed to the Rocket-armed quarterback. (On a side note, did you know he used to play for the Packers? No, seriously, he did!) Is it just a coincidence that his number is the same as the number of Horsemen in the Apocalypse?
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The Houston Astros are on a tear (sort of) since the last time I posted and are now within 1 game of .500 (!), so of course they’re contenders. And with the news Saturday that their most consistent hitter Carlos Lee, their left fielder, will miss up to the remainder of the season with a broken pinky, they may be in the market for a replacement left fielder. Hmmm, who’s a power-hitting, high-on-base left fielder with limited defensive ability that’s sitting on free agency? Hmmm…
According to the Houston Chronicle’s Richard Justice, Astros manager Cecil Cooper has said that if the ‘Stros sign the Barroid, he (Cooper) would quit. Now I don’t know what to root for!
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The Colorado Rockies’ recipe for getting back into the NL West race: lose five of seven games at home against the two worst teams in the National League, including losing 3 of 4 to the Gnats and 2 of 3 to the Pods. Net result: lost 1 game on the division leader. Wow.
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Oh yeah, and the Olympics started.
Showing posts with label brett favre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brett favre. Show all posts
Monday, August 11, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
The Enemy Within
My rant yesterday about Brett Favre got me to thinking about what I would do if the unlikely were to occur and he wound up a Minnesota Viking. Could I cheer for a guy I despise if he could help my team win? Could I enjoy his success? It's a tough question to answer.
There have been a couple instances in the past when I player I dislike has joined a team I like. When Jeff Kent joined the Astros, I didn't think much of him (particularly because I dislike the Giants), but I got fairly used to him in the couple of years he played in Houston. My dislike for him, though, was nowhere near my feelings about Favre.
Then when Pettite and Clemens joined the 'Stros from the hated Yankees, again I was reluctant to cheer for them, but eventually did, even if half-heartedly. I was able to put aside my feelings for the individuals (to an extent) in order to enjoy my favorite team's success.
When the Broncos, another of my favorite teams, drafted Maurice Clarett in 2005, I was guardedly optimistic that he might turn out to be a good player. He clearly did not, and proved before he even hit the practice field that he would be a problem. Still, I don't hold a grudge against the guy because his life is such a mess. I can only feel sorry for him.
The difference between Favre and any of the other players I mentioned is that my level of spite is much higher for Favre. Would that change if he suited up in the purple and gold? At this point, I would guess that it might, if he helped them win, but if he stunk the place up, I'd be even more spiteful of him for bringing his F-game to a favorite team of mine.
So, I pose this question to you, the reader. How would you feel if someone you despised joined a team that you liked? Could you root for said player to help your team, or would you continue to hate the player, regardless of the effect on your team?
My guess is that most people would put up with a player they hate if the player got results for the team. Just look at Barry Bonds' popularity in San Francisco. I think most sports fans will gripe about a player, unless that player is on a team they like, in which case their tolerance for the player goes way up. For the average fan, winning trumps all other concerns.
There have been a couple instances in the past when I player I dislike has joined a team I like. When Jeff Kent joined the Astros, I didn't think much of him (particularly because I dislike the Giants), but I got fairly used to him in the couple of years he played in Houston. My dislike for him, though, was nowhere near my feelings about Favre.
Then when Pettite and Clemens joined the 'Stros from the hated Yankees, again I was reluctant to cheer for them, but eventually did, even if half-heartedly. I was able to put aside my feelings for the individuals (to an extent) in order to enjoy my favorite team's success.
When the Broncos, another of my favorite teams, drafted Maurice Clarett in 2005, I was guardedly optimistic that he might turn out to be a good player. He clearly did not, and proved before he even hit the practice field that he would be a problem. Still, I don't hold a grudge against the guy because his life is such a mess. I can only feel sorry for him.
The difference between Favre and any of the other players I mentioned is that my level of spite is much higher for Favre. Would that change if he suited up in the purple and gold? At this point, I would guess that it might, if he helped them win, but if he stunk the place up, I'd be even more spiteful of him for bringing his F-game to a favorite team of mine.
So, I pose this question to you, the reader. How would you feel if someone you despised joined a team that you liked? Could you root for said player to help your team, or would you continue to hate the player, regardless of the effect on your team?
My guess is that most people would put up with a player they hate if the player got results for the team. Just look at Barry Bonds' popularity in San Francisco. I think most sports fans will gripe about a player, unless that player is on a team they like, in which case their tolerance for the player goes way up. For the average fan, winning trumps all other concerns.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Top 5 Reasons I Hate Brett Favre
With the sainted Brett Favre in the news lately whining about wanting to come back and play again, it has dredged up all the reasons I dislike the man, and added a couple of new ones. Here are the things about him that really stick in my craw:
5. Everybody loves him - I tend to dislike those teams/persons/things that everyone likes. I always pull for the underdog, for the lesser-known, and am annoyed when someone is made out to be Mr./Ms. Perfect and that not loving him/her is absolutely unthinkable. Favre is one of these people. Broadcasters, analysts, everybody related to football seems to have a non-sexual crush on Favre. Now, I don't blame Brett for that, but it is still a reason I loathe him, especially because...
4. Everybody always talks about him - Okay, we get it. He's a great quarterback, he's tough, he's played through some difficult situations and has achieved some incredible feats. I've heard about them... over, and over, and over, and over. Can we just please talk about something else? I hear there's a guy named Bonds who hasn't been talked about enough.
3. He can't make up his damned mind - For a man who is supposedly a maverick or a gunslinger or some other romanticized Wild West cliche, he sure can't make a decision. If he showed as much restraint and forethought when he played football as he does when thinking about whether he wants to play football, he might not be the career leader in interceptions. But no, when he's not flinging around a football, he's wishy-washy and indecisive. Maybe the Packers need to send a linebacker blitz after him during the offseason to get him to make a decision. What compounds this problem is that his indecisiveness makes reason #4 exponentially more annoying because all anyone can talk about is what he's going to do. When he finally "retired" earlier this year, I was able to survive the weeks of tributes and gushing about him because I thought it meant I wouldn't have to hear about him anymore. But noooooooo, he just had to get "the itch", which means not only will he be around longer, but when he re-retires, we'll have to go through all this garbage again! Which brings us to...
2. He's selfish - I understand that it's tough deciding when to retire, that you only get one life and you have to make the most of it, but come on! If you think you might want to play again, then don't f-ing retire! If you retire but get "the itch", put on some Gold Bond or BOOM, tough-actin' Tinactin, as the Brett-Favre Fan Club President John Madden would recommend, and gut it out. The itch will pass. Don't go changing your mind and screwing with your team, your fans, and especially those who despise you and wish you would disappear. Let the Packers move on, like they had been planning. Let your fans honor your career, then move on and find someone else to admire. And let the rest of us be rid of your annoying presence. Don't give a big middle finger to everyone by coming back and then demanding you get your job back, or else you'll go work elsewhere.
1. He's given me reason to not hate the Packers as much - This may be Brett's greatest crime of all. For all the reasons he's given me, a Vikings fan, to despise the Packers, to pull something like this is just a low blow. Why has he given me reason to think better of the Packers? Because of the way they've handled the situation, by telling him he can't come back and expect his job back, and that they won't just release him to go play elsewhere. They've told him they're doing things on their terms and that, as much as he's done for the franchise, he can't call the shots. I respect that, and it pisses me off. Leave it to Brett to be the one person who could douse the flames of my hatred for the Packers.
5. Everybody loves him - I tend to dislike those teams/persons/things that everyone likes. I always pull for the underdog, for the lesser-known, and am annoyed when someone is made out to be Mr./Ms. Perfect and that not loving him/her is absolutely unthinkable. Favre is one of these people. Broadcasters, analysts, everybody related to football seems to have a non-sexual crush on Favre. Now, I don't blame Brett for that, but it is still a reason I loathe him, especially because...
4. Everybody always talks about him - Okay, we get it. He's a great quarterback, he's tough, he's played through some difficult situations and has achieved some incredible feats. I've heard about them... over, and over, and over, and over. Can we just please talk about something else? I hear there's a guy named Bonds who hasn't been talked about enough.
3. He can't make up his damned mind - For a man who is supposedly a maverick or a gunslinger or some other romanticized Wild West cliche, he sure can't make a decision. If he showed as much restraint and forethought when he played football as he does when thinking about whether he wants to play football, he might not be the career leader in interceptions. But no, when he's not flinging around a football, he's wishy-washy and indecisive. Maybe the Packers need to send a linebacker blitz after him during the offseason to get him to make a decision. What compounds this problem is that his indecisiveness makes reason #4 exponentially more annoying because all anyone can talk about is what he's going to do. When he finally "retired" earlier this year, I was able to survive the weeks of tributes and gushing about him because I thought it meant I wouldn't have to hear about him anymore. But noooooooo, he just had to get "the itch", which means not only will he be around longer, but when he re-retires, we'll have to go through all this garbage again! Which brings us to...
2. He's selfish - I understand that it's tough deciding when to retire, that you only get one life and you have to make the most of it, but come on! If you think you might want to play again, then don't f-ing retire! If you retire but get "the itch", put on some Gold Bond or BOOM, tough-actin' Tinactin, as the Brett-Favre Fan Club President John Madden would recommend, and gut it out. The itch will pass. Don't go changing your mind and screwing with your team, your fans, and especially those who despise you and wish you would disappear. Let the Packers move on, like they had been planning. Let your fans honor your career, then move on and find someone else to admire. And let the rest of us be rid of your annoying presence. Don't give a big middle finger to everyone by coming back and then demanding you get your job back, or else you'll go work elsewhere.
1. He's given me reason to not hate the Packers as much - This may be Brett's greatest crime of all. For all the reasons he's given me, a Vikings fan, to despise the Packers, to pull something like this is just a low blow. Why has he given me reason to think better of the Packers? Because of the way they've handled the situation, by telling him he can't come back and expect his job back, and that they won't just release him to go play elsewhere. They've told him they're doing things on their terms and that, as much as he's done for the franchise, he can't call the shots. I respect that, and it pisses me off. Leave it to Brett to be the one person who could douse the flames of my hatred for the Packers.
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