Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Big-Rigg
I'm sure you've all seen this Adrian Peterson play, but watch it again and this time turn up your volume real loud and listen to him screaming once he goes out of bounds...sheeshkabob, I got goosebumps, I love how that man plays. I promise you, if I were given 100 opportunities to tackle that man in the open field, I would not get him on the ground once.
On that note I'm reminded of one of my personal favorite football stories which is a complete blast from the retro past... please forgive me for the foray into soothing arms of nostalgia...
I remember playing against Gerald Riggs Jr. when we were both seniors in high school. If you followed much SEC action a few years ago, you'll remember him as the highly touted back out of high school with a lack of work ethic and an attitude to boot. He turned it on as a junior for the Volunteers, rushing for over 1,000 yards in only a few games as a starter, leading ESPN to cite him as one of their dark-horse Heisman candidates going into his senior year. Unfortunately, his final season in Knoxville was marred by a hip injury and disappointment as he was only picked up by the Dolphins in free-agency and subsequently cut. If the name sounds vaguely familiar, then you may remember his father, a 3 time all-pro running back for the Atlanta Falcons and also the franchise's all-time leading rusher.
But when Jr. was in High School, he was more talented and touted than Zack Efron. The man busted nearly every Tennessee state high school rushing record, accumulating 6,046 yards on 724 carries and scoring 90 touchdowns during his 4 years with the Red Bank Lions. He was the top running-back prospect in the country his senior year after going 15-0 his junior year and winning the TN state championship. Red Bank had already won 4 games his senior year when we came to play them for their Homecoming game. The lights were bright, the stadium was packed, and it was the TN HS game of the week, with 16 thousand on hand. No joke, everyone came out to see this kid run, and see him lay a beat down on the prep school from "the right" side of the tracks.
Here's some highlights from his junior year when they went undefeated. Riggs is number 21 and you'll know when you see him. His first run comes at the 57 second mark in the video (the audio has been disabled)
Let me rehash for you the 5 plays that Gerald and I shared that lovely evening.
Play 1: On the first drive of the game, Riggs took a toss sweep down the far sideline and busted out in the open. As the free-safety, I was the last line of defense and I took an extreme angle almost to the pylon to try and head him off. When I got close to him I remember praying he didn't cut it back inside b/c I would have been cooked, but luckily he thought he could beat me straight on, so I closed my eyes and dove, only to look up and see him still in bounds sprinting for the end zone...luckily the ref said his shoelace must have gone out of bounds and I guess that was my first official "tackle" on the man.
Play 2: In the 2nd quarter they made it to our 1 yard line and lined up in a power run formation. Now I was (and still am) the ultimate realist. I knew I had no business trying to tackle that man, and if it came down to me and him one on one on the one yard line... it would be no contest. So sure enough, they run off tackle, block down on the tackle, kick out the end, seal the linebacker and my worst nightmare comes true, it's me and Riggs one on one in the hole at the one yard line...I once again close my eyes and dive into the C-gap with "Livin' on a prayer" by Bon Jovi dangling helplessly off my lips...Riggs does a quick side-step/spin and walks into the endzone untouched while I fly by and get grass stuck in my face mask. (At the film study the following Monday, the head coach kept replaying that play over and over asking me whether or not I had the coconuts between my legs to tackle a running back one on one, and I just wanted to say, hey listen Ralph, I'm more than willing to tackle a high school running back, in fact, I'd put Efron through a wall, but don't expect me to be able to bring down a grown-ass man who will line up against LSU in 12 months!!! I'm 6'2/170 for crying out loud! I'm a beanstalk!) Sheesh.
Play 3: They should have never thrown the ball, but they did. Ball tips off a receiver's hands and luckily lands in my gut in stride. I take it down the sideline and guess who the last man to beat is...Riggs (he was also an all-state linebacker). So I think to myself, how poetic, oh how the tables have turned Mr. Riggs, now you have to take an angle on me and worry about my blazing 4.8 40 speed and whether or not I'll cut back on you like Reggie Bush!! This time Bon Jovi's "I'm a cowboy, on a steel-horse I ride..." was being audibly emitted through my mouthpiece as my 18 year old bravado reigned supreme. He didn't appear to worry about any of these possible contingencies because he laid into me along the sideline with the sound and the fury, and literally knocked me into the long jump pit that was 5 feet off the sideline...he then proceeded to use the back of my helmet as a means of rising to his feet while he rubbed my facemask in the sand...seriously, no joke, no laughing matter. And wouldn't you know it, the play was called back for roughing the passer!
Play 4: So on the very next play, they had a first down and had just dodged a bullet, so they went for the big momentum changing play and let Riggs throw a half back pass...mistake...he's a lefty and he fooled no one. Riggs proceeds to throw an absolute duck right to me, but the throw is so bad that he under-throws his receiver by 20 yards and me by 10 yards, luckily I had time to stop, turn around, jog back a few yards, check my email and make the pick. (I still count both picks on my official stats by the way, sorry Florida if I mislead you when you recruited me.) I remember Riggs did the classic "I'm the best player, so I never make a mistake" maneuver and started chewing out his receiver for not coming back for the ball...vintage.
Play 5: The wildcat is born. They finally wizened up and realized that the QB was just taking up space handing the ball off the Riggs each play, so I remember when Riggs took the direct snap for the first time, with a fullback leading the way. I knew we were out-manned and this time they even had an extra blocker to lead up on the safety...needless to say I closed my eyes once more and threw myself in Riggs' general direction...53 yard TD run, untouched. I don't recall any Bon Jovi at that moment, but if I had to retroactively choose a song of his to describe the perceived ambiance of the moment...it would have to be... "(didn't) Lay your hands on me."
I saw Mr. Riggs again back in 2008 when I was living in Chattanooga. He was training for a try-out with the Cleveland Browns and I was training for my collegiate debut with the Valparaiso Crusaders. We knew a lot of the same people and had a good time chatting (mostly about him and his UT and professional career). But when I brought up that game and I reminded him that I was the only player to ever intercept him...he said he didn't seem to remember too much from some silly random high school game...but how could I forget??
It's not the stage that makes the player great, it's the plays, each one as memorable as the last, in practice and on game day. For the large majority of those who didn't participate in athletics beyond high school, your athletic career was in no way shortchanged because you didn't get to play through college or even professionally. I know some my buddies that posted multiple back to back intramural flag football championships at the University of Utah (no easy task) will remember the plays they made in their championship games just as well as Brian Johnson, the Ute QB who beat Alabama in the 2008 Sugar Bowl, did in his. And I guarantee they had just as much fun if not more than he did in the process, and hell, they even had orange slices at halftime. Never feel bad for having a rip-roaring, balls-fun time engaging in, or reliving high school, intramural, or even pick up games where you stole the show, where you were worth every penny of the nonexistent price of admission.
Remember, it's not the stage, it's the player, it's the plays.
Would I want to trade places with Gerald Riggs Jr. or Brian Johnson right now? Nope. I love my life, my family and my career, and I'm going to have just as much fun trying to dunk on Gary (60 year-old who can flat out ball) tomorrow at the local YMCA during our weekly 11:00-1:00 pick up game as Riggs had scoring the game-winning Touchdown against LSU in OT at night in Baton Rouge in 2005...well...maybe.
Riggs rushed for over 200 yards that night against us, but we still won 18-13 on a last minute drive. How could I forget.
On that note I'm reminded of one of my personal favorite football stories which is a complete blast from the retro past... please forgive me for the foray into soothing arms of nostalgia...
I remember playing against Gerald Riggs Jr. when we were both seniors in high school. If you followed much SEC action a few years ago, you'll remember him as the highly touted back out of high school with a lack of work ethic and an attitude to boot. He turned it on as a junior for the Volunteers, rushing for over 1,000 yards in only a few games as a starter, leading ESPN to cite him as one of their dark-horse Heisman candidates going into his senior year. Unfortunately, his final season in Knoxville was marred by a hip injury and disappointment as he was only picked up by the Dolphins in free-agency and subsequently cut. If the name sounds vaguely familiar, then you may remember his father, a 3 time all-pro running back for the Atlanta Falcons and also the franchise's all-time leading rusher.
But when Jr. was in High School, he was more talented and touted than Zack Efron. The man busted nearly every Tennessee state high school rushing record, accumulating 6,046 yards on 724 carries and scoring 90 touchdowns during his 4 years with the Red Bank Lions. He was the top running-back prospect in the country his senior year after going 15-0 his junior year and winning the TN state championship. Red Bank had already won 4 games his senior year when we came to play them for their Homecoming game. The lights were bright, the stadium was packed, and it was the TN HS game of the week, with 16 thousand on hand. No joke, everyone came out to see this kid run, and see him lay a beat down on the prep school from "the right" side of the tracks.
Here's some highlights from his junior year when they went undefeated. Riggs is number 21 and you'll know when you see him. His first run comes at the 57 second mark in the video (the audio has been disabled)
Let me rehash for you the 5 plays that Gerald and I shared that lovely evening.
Play 1: On the first drive of the game, Riggs took a toss sweep down the far sideline and busted out in the open. As the free-safety, I was the last line of defense and I took an extreme angle almost to the pylon to try and head him off. When I got close to him I remember praying he didn't cut it back inside b/c I would have been cooked, but luckily he thought he could beat me straight on, so I closed my eyes and dove, only to look up and see him still in bounds sprinting for the end zone...luckily the ref said his shoelace must have gone out of bounds and I guess that was my first official "tackle" on the man.
Play 2: In the 2nd quarter they made it to our 1 yard line and lined up in a power run formation. Now I was (and still am) the ultimate realist. I knew I had no business trying to tackle that man, and if it came down to me and him one on one on the one yard line... it would be no contest. So sure enough, they run off tackle, block down on the tackle, kick out the end, seal the linebacker and my worst nightmare comes true, it's me and Riggs one on one in the hole at the one yard line...I once again close my eyes and dive into the C-gap with "Livin' on a prayer" by Bon Jovi dangling helplessly off my lips...Riggs does a quick side-step/spin and walks into the endzone untouched while I fly by and get grass stuck in my face mask. (At the film study the following Monday, the head coach kept replaying that play over and over asking me whether or not I had the coconuts between my legs to tackle a running back one on one, and I just wanted to say, hey listen Ralph, I'm more than willing to tackle a high school running back, in fact, I'd put Efron through a wall, but don't expect me to be able to bring down a grown-ass man who will line up against LSU in 12 months!!! I'm 6'2/170 for crying out loud! I'm a beanstalk!) Sheesh.
Play 3: They should have never thrown the ball, but they did. Ball tips off a receiver's hands and luckily lands in my gut in stride. I take it down the sideline and guess who the last man to beat is...Riggs (he was also an all-state linebacker). So I think to myself, how poetic, oh how the tables have turned Mr. Riggs, now you have to take an angle on me and worry about my blazing 4.8 40 speed and whether or not I'll cut back on you like Reggie Bush!! This time Bon Jovi's "I'm a cowboy, on a steel-horse I ride..." was being audibly emitted through my mouthpiece as my 18 year old bravado reigned supreme. He didn't appear to worry about any of these possible contingencies because he laid into me along the sideline with the sound and the fury, and literally knocked me into the long jump pit that was 5 feet off the sideline...he then proceeded to use the back of my helmet as a means of rising to his feet while he rubbed my facemask in the sand...seriously, no joke, no laughing matter. And wouldn't you know it, the play was called back for roughing the passer!
Play 4: So on the very next play, they had a first down and had just dodged a bullet, so they went for the big momentum changing play and let Riggs throw a half back pass...mistake...he's a lefty and he fooled no one. Riggs proceeds to throw an absolute duck right to me, but the throw is so bad that he under-throws his receiver by 20 yards and me by 10 yards, luckily I had time to stop, turn around, jog back a few yards, check my email and make the pick. (I still count both picks on my official stats by the way, sorry Florida if I mislead you when you recruited me.) I remember Riggs did the classic "I'm the best player, so I never make a mistake" maneuver and started chewing out his receiver for not coming back for the ball...vintage.
Play 5: The wildcat is born. They finally wizened up and realized that the QB was just taking up space handing the ball off the Riggs each play, so I remember when Riggs took the direct snap for the first time, with a fullback leading the way. I knew we were out-manned and this time they even had an extra blocker to lead up on the safety...needless to say I closed my eyes once more and threw myself in Riggs' general direction...53 yard TD run, untouched. I don't recall any Bon Jovi at that moment, but if I had to retroactively choose a song of his to describe the perceived ambiance of the moment...it would have to be... "(didn't) Lay your hands on me."
I saw Mr. Riggs again back in 2008 when I was living in Chattanooga. He was training for a try-out with the Cleveland Browns and I was training for my collegiate debut with the Valparaiso Crusaders. We knew a lot of the same people and had a good time chatting (mostly about him and his UT and professional career). But when I brought up that game and I reminded him that I was the only player to ever intercept him...he said he didn't seem to remember too much from some silly random high school game...but how could I forget??
It's not the stage that makes the player great, it's the plays, each one as memorable as the last, in practice and on game day. For the large majority of those who didn't participate in athletics beyond high school, your athletic career was in no way shortchanged because you didn't get to play through college or even professionally. I know some my buddies that posted multiple back to back intramural flag football championships at the University of Utah (no easy task) will remember the plays they made in their championship games just as well as Brian Johnson, the Ute QB who beat Alabama in the 2008 Sugar Bowl, did in his. And I guarantee they had just as much fun if not more than he did in the process, and hell, they even had orange slices at halftime. Never feel bad for having a rip-roaring, balls-fun time engaging in, or reliving high school, intramural, or even pick up games where you stole the show, where you were worth every penny of the nonexistent price of admission.
Remember, it's not the stage, it's the player, it's the plays.
Would I want to trade places with Gerald Riggs Jr. or Brian Johnson right now? Nope. I love my life, my family and my career, and I'm going to have just as much fun trying to dunk on Gary (60 year-old who can flat out ball) tomorrow at the local YMCA during our weekly 11:00-1:00 pick up game as Riggs had scoring the game-winning Touchdown against LSU in OT at night in Baton Rouge in 2005...well...maybe.
Riggs rushed for over 200 yards that night against us, but we still won 18-13 on a last minute drive. How could I forget.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Jason and the Argonauts
You ask any NFL fan born before 1975 who the best DB of all time is and you'll always hear the same ol' names- Jack Tatum was the meanest man (not to mention scariest looking, then and now) I've ever seen! Ronnie Lott chose to have his pinkie amputated rather than sit out a few games for the 49ers! Mel Blount had the best nose for the ball! And who can forget vintage Dick LeBeau (current Steelers Defensive Coordinator) who managed to haul in 62 career picks back when the goal posts acted as the 12th and 13th defender respectively and Unitas was the only man who had the coconuts to throw the ball down field!
Fast Forward to any knowledgeable fan born after 1975 and ask them the same question and you'll undoubtedly hear- Neon Deon Primetime Sanders! Cliche, but understandable. Champ Bailey! Got hawked by the Patriots TE Ben Watson on the one yard line, but good selection I guess. Rod Woodson! Arguably the best all-time, agreed. John Lynch! Slow, white, Stanford Alum, solid pick nonetheless. And of course you'll hear names like Ed Reed, Chuck Woodson and Troy Polamalu and true students of the game will throw out names like Aeneas "I single handily ended Steve Young's career" Williams, Darrell "4.0 40 year old" Green and Darren Sharper. (An entire future post dedicated to him, stay tuned!!)
But once in a blue moon, and this has probably happened to us all, you'll come across the guy who maybe catches a Sportscenter once or twice a month, and is a little behind on the current events, but he's caught a few games and he's remembered a few stats, and when the topic of DBs comes up, he thinks he's got the cerebral fortitude and the high register football acumen to hang with the big boys in a sports-related conversation and he'll inevitably throw the name JASON SEHORN out there...
Mistake.
It was Warren Sapp who first noticed the reverse racial discrimination when he called Sehorn "extremely overrated." And then went on to inquire, "How does a guy who has never been to the Pro Bowl get so much attention?"
Great question Mr. Sapp, but you and I both know the answer. The dude was one of the best-looking dudes we've ever seen in the league and he started at a glamor position (right corner back, the last Caucasian to ever start at that position in the NFL) for the New York football Giants for eight seasons. And the dude proposed to a super-hot TV star (Angie Harmon, Law and Order) on Jay Leno's Tonight Show in front of a nationwide audience.
But I'm with Mr. Sapp. Sure the man had 19 picks in nine full seasons in the league, not too shabby, but not up to pro-bowl standards. (For reference: Ed Reed already has 44+ in only 7 full seasons and Darren Sharper has 57+ in only 11 full-seasons). And sure, the man had one of the most athletic pick-6s in NFL history (the Giants fans voted this play the best play ever in Giant stadium) (see video below),
but the dude was also a part of two of the most infamous plays in NFL history as well. Question: Do you know why we didn't see a rematch of the Patriots-Rams in Super Bowl 36? Answer: Jason Sehorn (never mind Bulger's bonehead toss near field goal range). Sehorn was picked up by the Rams in 2003 and moved to Safety after the Giants were through with him once a horrific knee injury suffered while returning the opening kickoff of the 1998 season slowed him significantly. If you remember, the Rams and Panthers played one of the longest playoff games in NFL history, going into double OT. On the first play of 2OT, Steve Smith became a legend (Delhomme still working on it), and Jason Sehorn lived up to Sapp's expectations and floundered. At that point, he should have faded from our collective football consciousness forever just like his white safety counterpart on that play Adam Archuleta has. But he hasn't.
(see the 2:00 mark on the video below)
The second play occurred while boy-wonder still played for the Giants. Sehorn had an angle on a receiver heading for the pylon, but at the point of no return, when Sehorn had to decide whether to lay out and save the TD at the one yard line, or slow down and pull up his trousers that had so unceremoniously begun to fall below his waist, he chose image over grit, PR over PT, self over team, saving face over showing ass, and let an opposing receiver walk into the endzone without a fight. I never forgave him for that.
Jason and the Argonauts were a group of heroes; a band of brothers. And although Sehorn was a Trojan in college, he couldn't hold a freaking roman candle to the real heroes of the DB universe mentioned above. Ronnie Lott, also a Trojan, would lose an entire body part for the team, the profession and the game he loved. Sehorn couldn't even lose a little face. The ironic thing about all that is, if Calvin Klein came calling, Sehorn would probably bend it like Beckham and drop his pants in a New York minute.
Let's listen to Mr. Sapp and give credit where credit is due. If a football player is really white, really good-looking, and marries a beautiful model, then let's not give him too much credit until he proves to us all that he's really talented, really tough, and a true professional.
This is Little Boy Blue and I'm 6'2 soaking wet, Peace and Prosperity-
I welcome any and all comments or emails.
Fast Forward to any knowledgeable fan born after 1975 and ask them the same question and you'll undoubtedly hear- Neon Deon Primetime Sanders! Cliche, but understandable. Champ Bailey! Got hawked by the Patriots TE Ben Watson on the one yard line, but good selection I guess. Rod Woodson! Arguably the best all-time, agreed. John Lynch! Slow, white, Stanford Alum, solid pick nonetheless. And of course you'll hear names like Ed Reed, Chuck Woodson and Troy Polamalu and true students of the game will throw out names like Aeneas "I single handily ended Steve Young's career" Williams, Darrell "4.0 40 year old" Green and Darren Sharper. (An entire future post dedicated to him, stay tuned!!)
But once in a blue moon, and this has probably happened to us all, you'll come across the guy who maybe catches a Sportscenter once or twice a month, and is a little behind on the current events, but he's caught a few games and he's remembered a few stats, and when the topic of DBs comes up, he thinks he's got the cerebral fortitude and the high register football acumen to hang with the big boys in a sports-related conversation and he'll inevitably throw the name JASON SEHORN out there...
Mistake.
It was Warren Sapp who first noticed the reverse racial discrimination when he called Sehorn "extremely overrated." And then went on to inquire, "How does a guy who has never been to the Pro Bowl get so much attention?"
Great question Mr. Sapp, but you and I both know the answer. The dude was one of the best-looking dudes we've ever seen in the league and he started at a glamor position (right corner back, the last Caucasian to ever start at that position in the NFL) for the New York football Giants for eight seasons. And the dude proposed to a super-hot TV star (Angie Harmon, Law and Order) on Jay Leno's Tonight Show in front of a nationwide audience.
But I'm with Mr. Sapp. Sure the man had 19 picks in nine full seasons in the league, not too shabby, but not up to pro-bowl standards. (For reference: Ed Reed already has 44+ in only 7 full seasons and Darren Sharper has 57+ in only 11 full-seasons). And sure, the man had one of the most athletic pick-6s in NFL history (the Giants fans voted this play the best play ever in Giant stadium) (see video below),
but the dude was also a part of two of the most infamous plays in NFL history as well. Question: Do you know why we didn't see a rematch of the Patriots-Rams in Super Bowl 36? Answer: Jason Sehorn (never mind Bulger's bonehead toss near field goal range). Sehorn was picked up by the Rams in 2003 and moved to Safety after the Giants were through with him once a horrific knee injury suffered while returning the opening kickoff of the 1998 season slowed him significantly. If you remember, the Rams and Panthers played one of the longest playoff games in NFL history, going into double OT. On the first play of 2OT, Steve Smith became a legend (Delhomme still working on it), and Jason Sehorn lived up to Sapp's expectations and floundered. At that point, he should have faded from our collective football consciousness forever just like his white safety counterpart on that play Adam Archuleta has. But he hasn't.
(see the 2:00 mark on the video below)
Yup, that's Sehorn, on his face, and that's the last play of his career.
The second play occurred while boy-wonder still played for the Giants. Sehorn had an angle on a receiver heading for the pylon, but at the point of no return, when Sehorn had to decide whether to lay out and save the TD at the one yard line, or slow down and pull up his trousers that had so unceremoniously begun to fall below his waist, he chose image over grit, PR over PT, self over team, saving face over showing ass, and let an opposing receiver walk into the endzone without a fight. I never forgave him for that.
Jason and the Argonauts were a group of heroes; a band of brothers. And although Sehorn was a Trojan in college, he couldn't hold a freaking roman candle to the real heroes of the DB universe mentioned above. Ronnie Lott, also a Trojan, would lose an entire body part for the team, the profession and the game he loved. Sehorn couldn't even lose a little face. The ironic thing about all that is, if Calvin Klein came calling, Sehorn would probably bend it like Beckham and drop his pants in a New York minute.
Let's listen to Mr. Sapp and give credit where credit is due. If a football player is really white, really good-looking, and marries a beautiful model, then let's not give him too much credit until he proves to us all that he's really talented, really tough, and a true professional.
This is Little Boy Blue and I'm 6'2 soaking wet, Peace and Prosperity-
I welcome any and all comments or emails.
Monday, November 16, 2009
The Shark
It's that time of year again when the ravenous wolves and men with pitchforks come out of the woods and the woodwork to call for Charlie Weis' head on a gold-plated platter. Let's get a little retro and toss one back to the good ol' days when Weis was still coaching Willingham's recruits.
To get you mentally and physically prepared for the following article, please enjoy a little Stones, a little Shelter and a little Samardzija. (see video below)
If JJ Redick was the most hated collegiate basketball player in the country during his time at Duke, then Jeff "The Shark" Samardzija filled that role for big-time college football for two years with the Fighting Irish. Like Redick, Samardzija went down in his school's record books as the best to play his position (or in Redick's case the most productive player ever), no easy task when you consider the company they were in (Tim Brown, 1987 Heisman Winner, and Raghib Ismail, 1990 Heisman runner-up (lost out to BYU's Detmer), their combined stats can't hold a candle to Samardzija's). Like Redick, Samardzija played for the most polarizing and demonized school in the country for their respective sport (two schools we all probably secretly wished we could have attended if we were smart enough). Like Redick, Samardzija was the most loathed player on his team by opposing fans and players everywhere he traveled. Like Redick, Samardzija was brash, arrogant, cocky and causasian. But unlike JJ Redick, Samardzija was an All-American in 2 NCAA sports, and unlike Redick, he broke every major record at his school after starting for only 2 seasons; it took Redick all 4.
For the purposes of this article I will mainly focus on Samardzija the football player.
Besides catching bundles of Brady Quinn's bullets, Samardzija also caught 2 huge breaks at Notre Dame. First, after riding the pine during his freshman and sophmore seasons in South Bend, Tyrone Willingham, the coach that recruited him out of Valparaiso High School in Northwest Indiana, was shown the door, and Charlie Weis, equipped with his beer belly, bravado and insanely effective passing attack was given the keys to one of the most sought-after coaching positions in all of sports. Second, Rhema McKnight, a senior, and the Irish #1 go-to receiver, got his knee blown up early in the 2005 season, which allowed Samardzija to finally crack the starting lineup alongside Maurice Stovall to become the #2 receiver on the depth chart. No one could have expected what would ensue, not even Samardzija.
After only 2 full seasons with the Irish, Samardzija held the Notre Dame record for Career Touchdown Receptions (27), Touchdown Receptions for a Season (15 in 2005), Career Receptions (179) and Receptions for a Season (78 in 2006 and 77 in 2005). Although he had a better statistical year in 2005, when he was a relative unknown to defenses, he wasn't a finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award until 2006 when he lost out to Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson. Samardzija was an unanimous All-American in every major poll both of the seasons he started for the Irish.
In 2006 (ND pre-season #2), when the Irish were seemingly at the brink of extinction late in every game, Samardzija was the guy who always made a play. They were down more than 3 touchdowns in the 4th quarter to Michigan State when Samardzija sparked an unforgettable rally. They needed to go 80 yards in under a minute against UCLA, when Quinn hooked up with Samardzija on a 45 yard touchdown strike with 27 seconds left on the clock. (see videos below)
But here's something maybe you didn't know, his mother never got to see any of it. Samardzija was 16 when his mother died of acute respiratory distress syndrome. The disease came on quick and sudden, and left a husband and two boys, Jeff being the youngest, in her wake; left behind to pick up the pieces.
For whatever reason, I always loved watching Samardzija play, but I guess I loved watching JJ play as well. I'm the kind of guy that likes witnessing people do great things in sports. I would love it if Kobe got six or seven rings, or Brady won two or three more Super Bowls. Whereas most people resent cockiness and bravado in sports, I encourage it. Now I'm not talking a Blount fist to a Boise face kind of attitude, but I am talking Samardzija getting in the face and saying some choice words to a LSU or USC defender on the way back to the huddle, or offering a taunt or two to a helpless Stanford DB chasing him into the endzone. I think it gives players an edge, and I love it when those guys perform game in and game out.
Now I played a little college ball at Valparaiso University (4 career tackles, All-Conference performer (academic), Samardzija's high school squad would have probably dropped a 70 spot on us by halftime) and I can say with confidence that next to Orville Redenbacher (popcorn) and Bryce Drew (Valpo 1998 Sweet 16), The Shark has been the best thing to come out of this one-horse town. And the man has given back. He's pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into the high school's football program, and its weight-lifting facilities, and even got his sponsor, Under Armor to sponsor the team.
I'm still holding out a little hope that #83 suits up for the Bears one day. The man just has it when he's in pads. He was one of the most watchable, exciting and fun WRs I've ever had the pleasure to witness in college football, hands up, hands down.
This is Little Boy Blue and I'm 6'2 soaking wet, Peace and Prosperity-
I welcome any and all comments or emails. (I've added one extra video below. The 2005 ND-USC game was the best I've ever seen in my life! enjoy!)
To get you mentally and physically prepared for the following article, please enjoy a little Stones, a little Shelter and a little Samardzija. (see video below)
If JJ Redick was the most hated collegiate basketball player in the country during his time at Duke, then Jeff "The Shark" Samardzija filled that role for big-time college football for two years with the Fighting Irish. Like Redick, Samardzija went down in his school's record books as the best to play his position (or in Redick's case the most productive player ever), no easy task when you consider the company they were in (Tim Brown, 1987 Heisman Winner, and Raghib Ismail, 1990 Heisman runner-up (lost out to BYU's Detmer), their combined stats can't hold a candle to Samardzija's). Like Redick, Samardzija played for the most polarizing and demonized school in the country for their respective sport (two schools we all probably secretly wished we could have attended if we were smart enough). Like Redick, Samardzija was the most loathed player on his team by opposing fans and players everywhere he traveled. Like Redick, Samardzija was brash, arrogant, cocky and causasian. But unlike JJ Redick, Samardzija was an All-American in 2 NCAA sports, and unlike Redick, he broke every major record at his school after starting for only 2 seasons; it took Redick all 4.
For the purposes of this article I will mainly focus on Samardzija the football player.
Besides catching bundles of Brady Quinn's bullets, Samardzija also caught 2 huge breaks at Notre Dame. First, after riding the pine during his freshman and sophmore seasons in South Bend, Tyrone Willingham, the coach that recruited him out of Valparaiso High School in Northwest Indiana, was shown the door, and Charlie Weis, equipped with his beer belly, bravado and insanely effective passing attack was given the keys to one of the most sought-after coaching positions in all of sports. Second, Rhema McKnight, a senior, and the Irish #1 go-to receiver, got his knee blown up early in the 2005 season, which allowed Samardzija to finally crack the starting lineup alongside Maurice Stovall to become the #2 receiver on the depth chart. No one could have expected what would ensue, not even Samardzija.
After only 2 full seasons with the Irish, Samardzija held the Notre Dame record for Career Touchdown Receptions (27), Touchdown Receptions for a Season (15 in 2005), Career Receptions (179) and Receptions for a Season (78 in 2006 and 77 in 2005). Although he had a better statistical year in 2005, when he was a relative unknown to defenses, he wasn't a finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award until 2006 when he lost out to Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson. Samardzija was an unanimous All-American in every major poll both of the seasons he started for the Irish.
In 2006 (ND pre-season #2), when the Irish were seemingly at the brink of extinction late in every game, Samardzija was the guy who always made a play. They were down more than 3 touchdowns in the 4th quarter to Michigan State when Samardzija sparked an unforgettable rally. They needed to go 80 yards in under a minute against UCLA, when Quinn hooked up with Samardzija on a 45 yard touchdown strike with 27 seconds left on the clock. (see videos below)
But here's something maybe you didn't know, his mother never got to see any of it. Samardzija was 16 when his mother died of acute respiratory distress syndrome. The disease came on quick and sudden, and left a husband and two boys, Jeff being the youngest, in her wake; left behind to pick up the pieces.
For whatever reason, I always loved watching Samardzija play, but I guess I loved watching JJ play as well. I'm the kind of guy that likes witnessing people do great things in sports. I would love it if Kobe got six or seven rings, or Brady won two or three more Super Bowls. Whereas most people resent cockiness and bravado in sports, I encourage it. Now I'm not talking a Blount fist to a Boise face kind of attitude, but I am talking Samardzija getting in the face and saying some choice words to a LSU or USC defender on the way back to the huddle, or offering a taunt or two to a helpless Stanford DB chasing him into the endzone. I think it gives players an edge, and I love it when those guys perform game in and game out.
Now I played a little college ball at Valparaiso University (4 career tackles, All-Conference performer (academic), Samardzija's high school squad would have probably dropped a 70 spot on us by halftime) and I can say with confidence that next to Orville Redenbacher (popcorn) and Bryce Drew (Valpo 1998 Sweet 16), The Shark has been the best thing to come out of this one-horse town. And the man has given back. He's pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into the high school's football program, and its weight-lifting facilities, and even got his sponsor, Under Armor to sponsor the team.
I'm still holding out a little hope that #83 suits up for the Bears one day. The man just has it when he's in pads. He was one of the most watchable, exciting and fun WRs I've ever had the pleasure to witness in college football, hands up, hands down.
This is Little Boy Blue and I'm 6'2 soaking wet, Peace and Prosperity-
I welcome any and all comments or emails. (I've added one extra video below. The 2005 ND-USC game was the best I've ever seen in my life! enjoy!)
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The Dichotomy that is the Disparity
I don't know why it finally hit me, but it finally did. Maybe it's because of the NBA referees' extended holdout and the Association's decision to go with replacement refs for a while. Or maybe it's because when I performed my semi-annual "Tim Donaghy Status Check" (embattled former NBA referee sentenced to 15 months in Federal Prison for his participation in an illegal gambling ring), I discovered that Donaghy, who was due to be released later this month, was actually transferred to a recovery house back in June after a fellow prisoner, allegedly with New York Mob ties, took a paint roller extension bar and busted up Donaghy's knee, which required surgery! Or maybe it's because it's that time of the year, the only time of the year in fact, when all three All-American sports converge into one; with baseball, football and basketball games on display every day of the week for a small window of time.
It's really only during this unique time of the year when you get to witness the dichotomy that is the disparity of physiques between MLB umpires and NFL/NBA referees. I'm sure you've noticed this before. You'll be watching a NBA game and you'll think to yourself, wow, that ref has some really enviable arms, he must really hit the weights. Or you'll be watching an NFL game and you'll see Ed Hochuli face the scorer's box, flip on his mic and then make the "holding" sign while his right bicep tears away the seams of his skin-tight zebra costume, and you'll think to yourself, this dude should be the one in pads. (He actually played linebacker for UTEP and now he's a successful lawyer while he refs on the side.)
And then you'll be watching a little MLB postseason, and you'll see an ump go extra emphatic on a strike three call, and it may give you pause, and you might even wonder how many Krispy Kremes the man downed during the seventh inning stretch. Even with the chest protector under their shirt to add "pseudo-bulk," I've never once been inspired by a MLB umpire to count my carbs or cut back on my McDouble consumption levels. Well I guess that's not entirely true. The inspiration is there, but it's the same kind of inspiration I get from Jerry Springer's contestants; it just works in reverse.
But this is no laughing matter because on the one hand, you have Sports Illustrated writing articles about how in shape NFL refs are. And you also have a freaking 70 year-old NBA ref Dick Bavetta (the Brett Favre of the referee kingdom) who has never missed an assigned game since 1975 keeping up with the likes of Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade running up and down the court night in and night out. This is also the same man who got all bloodied up after laying out for the finish line at a charitable race against Charles Barkley during the 2007 NBA All-Star weekend. These guys are examples to men everywhere, because unlike the NFL and NBA players whose Adonis-esque physiques appear utterly unattainable for the average American man, when we see these normal men rocking man muscles running along side these athletic gods it gives us a little hope. Just like the 45 year old white haired guy you see at the community pool with six-pack abs playing with his kids that makes you really jealous because he looks better than you and you're still in your twenties. Yeah, just like that guy.
And then on the other hand you've got MLB umpires dying of heart attacks and strokes in their 50s and 60s. One such umpire, John McSherry, I'm sad to report, died on opening day 1996 after calling only 7 pitches behind the plate at a Reds game. He weighed over 300 lbs and suffered a massive heart attack right on the field.
I've got to imagine that calling 9 innings behind the plate on a July afternoon at Wrigley Field wearing 50 pounds of pads and sporting a facemask must be the most physically taxing of the 3 sports to call, and yet the MLB boys don't seem to really pay much attention to their cardiovascular health!
But then again maybe it's just a reflection of the sport in general. Baseball is the only sport to my knowledge where the managers still wear the players' uniforms. Could you imagine Utah Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan sporting a pair of John Stockton daisy-dukes while he dropped a series of expletives in a ref's face? Could you imagine Denver Broncos Coach Josh McDaniels hugging receiver Brandon Marshall at a post game conference while wearing shoulder pads and eyeblack? And baseball is the only sport to my knowledge wear a guy with the nickname "Kung Fu Panda" can start at the relatively glamorous and athletically demanding position of third base. That's why UCONN's Khalid El-Amin never would have made it in the NBA, he should have played 3rd for the Giants for crying out loud!
I guess what I'm trying to say is that in Baseball nobody really gives a flying flip what the hell you look like. You can be a 100 year old man wearing a baseball uniform charging the mound and getting flung around like a helicopter by Pedro Martinez (Don Zimmer) and we don't care. You can have a big beer belly and bad facial hair and still throw a perfect game (David Wells). You can have a big beer belly and bad facial hair and (I'm sad to report) no testicles and still make the All-Star team (John Kruk).
So what incentives do the MLB umps have to look their best when everyone around them looks just a silly and just as out of shape?
Raising umpire life expectancy beyond 60 years old could be a good place to start. Who knows, maybe they can get Dan Marino or Mike Golic to help with a NutriSystems endorsement deal?
I'm Little Boy Blue and I'm 6'2 soaking wet, Peace and Prosperity-
Please feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email.
It's really only during this unique time of the year when you get to witness the dichotomy that is the disparity of physiques between MLB umpires and NFL/NBA referees. I'm sure you've noticed this before. You'll be watching a NBA game and you'll think to yourself, wow, that ref has some really enviable arms, he must really hit the weights. Or you'll be watching an NFL game and you'll see Ed Hochuli face the scorer's box, flip on his mic and then make the "holding" sign while his right bicep tears away the seams of his skin-tight zebra costume, and you'll think to yourself, this dude should be the one in pads. (He actually played linebacker for UTEP and now he's a successful lawyer while he refs on the side.)
And then you'll be watching a little MLB postseason, and you'll see an ump go extra emphatic on a strike three call, and it may give you pause, and you might even wonder how many Krispy Kremes the man downed during the seventh inning stretch. Even with the chest protector under their shirt to add "pseudo-bulk," I've never once been inspired by a MLB umpire to count my carbs or cut back on my McDouble consumption levels. Well I guess that's not entirely true. The inspiration is there, but it's the same kind of inspiration I get from Jerry Springer's contestants; it just works in reverse.
But this is no laughing matter because on the one hand, you have Sports Illustrated writing articles about how in shape NFL refs are. And you also have a freaking 70 year-old NBA ref Dick Bavetta (the Brett Favre of the referee kingdom) who has never missed an assigned game since 1975 keeping up with the likes of Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade running up and down the court night in and night out. This is also the same man who got all bloodied up after laying out for the finish line at a charitable race against Charles Barkley during the 2007 NBA All-Star weekend. These guys are examples to men everywhere, because unlike the NFL and NBA players whose Adonis-esque physiques appear utterly unattainable for the average American man, when we see these normal men rocking man muscles running along side these athletic gods it gives us a little hope. Just like the 45 year old white haired guy you see at the community pool with six-pack abs playing with his kids that makes you really jealous because he looks better than you and you're still in your twenties. Yeah, just like that guy.
And then on the other hand you've got MLB umpires dying of heart attacks and strokes in their 50s and 60s. One such umpire, John McSherry, I'm sad to report, died on opening day 1996 after calling only 7 pitches behind the plate at a Reds game. He weighed over 300 lbs and suffered a massive heart attack right on the field.
I've got to imagine that calling 9 innings behind the plate on a July afternoon at Wrigley Field wearing 50 pounds of pads and sporting a facemask must be the most physically taxing of the 3 sports to call, and yet the MLB boys don't seem to really pay much attention to their cardiovascular health!
But then again maybe it's just a reflection of the sport in general. Baseball is the only sport to my knowledge where the managers still wear the players' uniforms. Could you imagine Utah Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan sporting a pair of John Stockton daisy-dukes while he dropped a series of expletives in a ref's face? Could you imagine Denver Broncos Coach Josh McDaniels hugging receiver Brandon Marshall at a post game conference while wearing shoulder pads and eyeblack? And baseball is the only sport to my knowledge wear a guy with the nickname "Kung Fu Panda" can start at the relatively glamorous and athletically demanding position of third base. That's why UCONN's Khalid El-Amin never would have made it in the NBA, he should have played 3rd for the Giants for crying out loud!
I guess what I'm trying to say is that in Baseball nobody really gives a flying flip what the hell you look like. You can be a 100 year old man wearing a baseball uniform charging the mound and getting flung around like a helicopter by Pedro Martinez (Don Zimmer) and we don't care. You can have a big beer belly and bad facial hair and still throw a perfect game (David Wells). You can have a big beer belly and bad facial hair and (I'm sad to report) no testicles and still make the All-Star team (John Kruk).
So what incentives do the MLB umps have to look their best when everyone around them looks just a silly and just as out of shape?
Raising umpire life expectancy beyond 60 years old could be a good place to start. Who knows, maybe they can get Dan Marino or Mike Golic to help with a NutriSystems endorsement deal?
I'm Little Boy Blue and I'm 6'2 soaking wet, Peace and Prosperity-
Please feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
The Kernkraft 400
Gentlemen...start your engines!
What exactly is Kernkraft 400? Is is the best NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race you've never heard of? Maybe in the Nationwide Series? It's not IndyCar is it?
Hell no. And if you get your jollies from watching a bunch of geriatrics (Mark Martin, only 50 years old, really??) dominate a sport where grown men drive in circles for 5 hours and finish at the same place they started, and the most athletic thing you can expect to see all day is a Carl Edwards backflip off the top of his Ford Fusion, then this is not the blog for you. And we recommend you just take your kids to a freaking carousel for crying out loud.
Moving on. Ironically, everyone but NASCAR fans is probably intimately familiar with Kernkraft 400. They just don't know it yet.
To help refresh your memory, take a listen to the video below:
That my friends is Kernkraft 400. What's with this song? Which arena pumped it through the loudspeakers first? And how in sam-hell did it permeate throughout every major US sporting venue from minor-league hockey outfits to major-league baseball stadiums?
For whatever reason, a lot of fans want to claim that their team or school was the first to discover and pioneer this tune, and bring it forth out of the relative obscurity of underground pacifier-laden European dance clubs to the US equivalents of the Amsterdam Ajax, but no one, not even Wikipedia, knows for sure which team got this bad boy spreading like a Baltimore County STD in the first place.
Here's what we do know. The song was written by the German electro-techno-tecmo super bowl band reverently referred to as Zombie Nation. Great. The song Kernkraft 400 apparently means "Nuclear Energy 400" in German. It was released in 1999 and reached the #1 spot on the charts in Greece that same year. Wonderful.
Here's my beef (100% USDA approved to you Mr.Wienerschnitzel). As US sports fans, we can't even get "the wave" going anymore even when the topless token drunk guy is in the front row leading the way during the "kiss cam" timeout, and we need the most dumbfoundingly repetitious and lyric-less song to get us N'rhythm, N'sync, and most of all, N'volved. But as unclever Americans without cheers of our own, it's like we're robots, or maybe even zombies that can't help ourselves from getting up and screaming and jumping along with this unsanctimonious song. Seriously, next time you're at a sporting event, any one, it doesn't matter, observe the riotous reaction that this song elicits from the most fair-weathered of fans. As a Nation, we love it. We're addicted to it. And that's why I hate it.
Check out this amateur video from some Euro Arsenal fan. These Euros even have songs for individual players!:
Now compare that to these Gonzaga hoops fans:
How about the Nittany Lion football fans:
Terps fans, this guy gets a little winded:
Wake Forest, yawn:
The Nats fans were the only ones that apparently had immunity to the song's ill-effects, but you probably couldn't even get them to stand up and cheer for a streaker eluding the authorities out in center field:
You catch my drift. I could go on for hours with videos like these. For Pete's sake we all look like a bunch of zombie paranoid androids!! Is this German song from the 1990's the only thing that gets us stoked anymore? Do we even stand up and sing along during the 7th inning stretch anymore? Do we teach our kids the YMCA by example anymore? Or has the gentle candle flame that is the innocent light in our children's near-sighted little eyes already been extinguished by the sounds of the Zombie Nation? Sheesh.
I think it's a cop out. I think it's unoriginal. And most of all, I think it's dangerous. Check out this article entitled: "UCF to Modify Stadium for Sway"
"Last season, when the song "Kernkraft 400" by Zombie Nation was played, fans would jump simultaneously, producing a synchronized motion that caused the stadium structure to move. The modifications will be made to decrease the synchronized motion that some fans found uncomfortable, Grant Heston of UCF News and Information said."
Believe me, UCF already has enough problems to worry about, not to mention this $400,000 renovation due to Zombie Nation. Maybe Cowboy's owner Jerry Jones can flip the bill, he knows a thing or two about shotty-structural engineering.
Here's the bottom line. If you think your school or team was the first to play this song, trust me, you weren't. Mine was....just kidding, bad joke. If you think you're something else because the only time your oblong butt gets out of its seat is to jump up and down to the beats of this slanderous song, well think again.
If you want to be original, be the only school or team that doesn't let this bastardized excuse for a song into their arenas. If you want to be original, take a page from the European football fans that have their own songs and chants that they sing in unison throughout the entire match and whose "arsenals" never have to worry about getting dirty or wet because those bastards are on their feet the whole time!!
This is Little Boy Blue and I'm 6'2 soaking wet, Peace and Prosperity-
(I have to admit that the baseball player in the video below made me laugh out loud, well played and touche' young sir.)
Does Kernkraft get you out of your seat at athletic events? Do you prefer Kernkraft or the Macarena? Please share your thoughts.
What exactly is Kernkraft 400? Is is the best NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race you've never heard of? Maybe in the Nationwide Series? It's not IndyCar is it?
Hell no. And if you get your jollies from watching a bunch of geriatrics (Mark Martin, only 50 years old, really??) dominate a sport where grown men drive in circles for 5 hours and finish at the same place they started, and the most athletic thing you can expect to see all day is a Carl Edwards backflip off the top of his Ford Fusion, then this is not the blog for you. And we recommend you just take your kids to a freaking carousel for crying out loud.
Moving on. Ironically, everyone but NASCAR fans is probably intimately familiar with Kernkraft 400. They just don't know it yet.
To help refresh your memory, take a listen to the video below:
That my friends is Kernkraft 400. What's with this song? Which arena pumped it through the loudspeakers first? And how in sam-hell did it permeate throughout every major US sporting venue from minor-league hockey outfits to major-league baseball stadiums?
For whatever reason, a lot of fans want to claim that their team or school was the first to discover and pioneer this tune, and bring it forth out of the relative obscurity of underground pacifier-laden European dance clubs to the US equivalents of the Amsterdam Ajax, but no one, not even Wikipedia, knows for sure which team got this bad boy spreading like a Baltimore County STD in the first place.
Here's what we do know. The song was written by the German electro-techno-tecmo super bowl band reverently referred to as Zombie Nation. Great. The song Kernkraft 400 apparently means "Nuclear Energy 400" in German. It was released in 1999 and reached the #1 spot on the charts in Greece that same year. Wonderful.
Here's my beef (100% USDA approved to you Mr.Wienerschnitzel). As US sports fans, we can't even get "the wave" going anymore even when the topless token drunk guy is in the front row leading the way during the "kiss cam" timeout, and we need the most dumbfoundingly repetitious and lyric-less song to get us N'rhythm, N'sync, and most of all, N'volved. But as unclever Americans without cheers of our own, it's like we're robots, or maybe even zombies that can't help ourselves from getting up and screaming and jumping along with this unsanctimonious song. Seriously, next time you're at a sporting event, any one, it doesn't matter, observe the riotous reaction that this song elicits from the most fair-weathered of fans. As a Nation, we love it. We're addicted to it. And that's why I hate it.
Check out this amateur video from some Euro Arsenal fan. These Euros even have songs for individual players!:
Now compare that to these Gonzaga hoops fans:
How about the Nittany Lion football fans:
Terps fans, this guy gets a little winded:
Wake Forest, yawn:
The Nats fans were the only ones that apparently had immunity to the song's ill-effects, but you probably couldn't even get them to stand up and cheer for a streaker eluding the authorities out in center field:
You catch my drift. I could go on for hours with videos like these. For Pete's sake we all look like a bunch of zombie paranoid androids!! Is this German song from the 1990's the only thing that gets us stoked anymore? Do we even stand up and sing along during the 7th inning stretch anymore? Do we teach our kids the YMCA by example anymore? Or has the gentle candle flame that is the innocent light in our children's near-sighted little eyes already been extinguished by the sounds of the Zombie Nation? Sheesh.
I think it's a cop out. I think it's unoriginal. And most of all, I think it's dangerous. Check out this article entitled: "UCF to Modify Stadium for Sway"
"Last season, when the song "Kernkraft 400" by Zombie Nation was played, fans would jump simultaneously, producing a synchronized motion that caused the stadium structure to move. The modifications will be made to decrease the synchronized motion that some fans found uncomfortable, Grant Heston of UCF News and Information said."
Believe me, UCF already has enough problems to worry about, not to mention this $400,000 renovation due to Zombie Nation. Maybe Cowboy's owner Jerry Jones can flip the bill, he knows a thing or two about shotty-structural engineering.
Here's the bottom line. If you think your school or team was the first to play this song, trust me, you weren't. Mine was....just kidding, bad joke. If you think you're something else because the only time your oblong butt gets out of its seat is to jump up and down to the beats of this slanderous song, well think again.
If you want to be original, be the only school or team that doesn't let this bastardized excuse for a song into their arenas. If you want to be original, take a page from the European football fans that have their own songs and chants that they sing in unison throughout the entire match and whose "arsenals" never have to worry about getting dirty or wet because those bastards are on their feet the whole time!!
This is Little Boy Blue and I'm 6'2 soaking wet, Peace and Prosperity-
(I have to admit that the baseball player in the video below made me laugh out loud, well played and touche' young sir.)
Does Kernkraft get you out of your seat at athletic events? Do you prefer Kernkraft or the Macarena? Please share your thoughts.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Jason and the Argonauts
You ask any NFL fan born before 1975 who the best DB of all time is and you'll always hear the same ol' names- Jack Tatum was the meanest man (not to mention scariest looking, then and now) I've ever seen! Ronnie Lott chose to have his pinkie amputated rather than sit out a few games for the 49ers! Mel Blount had the best nose for the ball! And who can forget vintage Dick LeBeau (current Steelers Defensive Coordinator) who managed to haul in 62 career picks back when the goal posts acted as the 12th and 13th defender respectively and Unitas was the only man who had the coconuts to throw the ball down field!
Fast Forward to any knowledgeable fan born after 1975 and ask them the same question and you'll undoubtedly hear- Neon Deon Primetime Sanders! Cliche, but understandable. Champ Bailey! Got hawked by the Patriots TE Ben Watson on the one yard line, but good selection I guess. Rod Woodson! Arguably the best all-time, agreed. John Lynch! Slow, white, Stanford Alum, solid pick nonetheless. And of course you'll hear names like Ed Reed, Chuck Woodson and Troy Polamalu and true students of the game will throw out names like Aeneas "I single handily ended Steve Young's career" Williams, Darrell "4.0 40 year old" Green and Darren Sharper. (An entire future post dedicated to him, stay tuned!!)
But once in a blue moon, and this has probably happened to us all, you'll come across the guy who maybe catches a Sportscenter once or twice a month, and is a little behind on the current events, but he's caught a few games and he's remembered a few stats, and when the topic of DBs comes up, he thinks he's got the cerebral fortitude and the high register football acumen to hang with the big boys in a sports-related conversation and he'll inevitably throw the name JASON SEHORN out there...
Mistake.
It was Warren Sapp who first noticed the reverse racial discrimination when he called Sehorn "extremely overrated." And then went on to inquire, "How does a guy who has never been to the Pro Bowl get so much attention?"
Great question Mr. Sapp, but you and I both know the answer. The dude was one of the best-looking dudes we've ever seen in the league and he started at a glamor position (right corner back, the last Caucasian to ever start at that position in the NFL) for the New York football Giants for eight seasons. And the dude proposed to a super-hot TV star (Angie Harmon, Law and Order) on Jay Leno's Tonight Show in front of a nationwide audience.
But I'm with Mr. Sapp. Sure the man had 19 picks in nine full seasons in the league, not too shabby, but not up to pro-bowl standards. (For reference: Ed Reed already has 44+ in only 7 full seasons and Darren Sharper has 57+ in only 11 full-seasons). And sure, the man had one of the most athletic pick-6s in NFL history (the Giants fans voted this play the best play ever in Giant stadium) (see video below),
but the dude was also a part of two of the most infamous plays in NFL history as well. Question: Do you know why we didn't see a rematch of the Patriots-Rams in Super Bowl 36? Answer: Jason Sehorn (never mind Bulger's bonehead toss near field goal range). Sehorn was picked up by the Rams in 2003 and moved to Safety after the Giants were through with him once a horrific knee injury suffered while returning the opening kickoff of the 1998 season slowed him significantly. If you remember, the Rams and Panthers played one of the longest playoff games in NFL history, going into double OT. On the first play of 2OT, Steve Smith became a legend (Delhomme still working on it), and Jason Sehorn lived up to Sapp's expectations and floundered. At that point, he should have faded from our collective football consciousness forever just like his white safety counterpart on that play Adam Archuleta has. But he hasn't.
(see the 2:00 mark on the video below)
The second play occurred while boy-wonder still played for the Giants. Sehorn had an angle on a receiver heading for the pylon, but at the point of no return, when Sehorn had to decide whether to lay out and save the TD at the one yard line, or slow down and pull up his trousers that had so unceremoniously begun to fall below his waist, he chose image over grit, PR over PT, self over team, saving face over showing ass, and let an opposing receiver walk into the endzone without a fight. I never forgave him for that.
Jason and the Argonauts were a group of heroes; a band of brothers. And although Sehorn was a Trojan in college, he couldn't hold a freaking roman candle to the real heroes of the DB universe mentioned above. Ronnie Lott, also a Trojan, would lose an entire body part for the team, the profession and the game he loved. Sehorn couldn't even lose a little face. The ironic thing about all that is, if Calvin Klein came calling, Sehorn would probably bend it like Beckham and drop his pants in a New York minute.
Let's listen to Mr. Sapp and give credit where credit is due. If a football player is really white, really good-looking, and marries a beautiful model, then let's not give him too much credit until he proves to us all that he's really talented, really tough, and a true professional.
This is Little Boy Blue and I'm 6'2 soaking wet, Peace and Prosperity-
I welcome any and all comments or emails.
Fast Forward to any knowledgeable fan born after 1975 and ask them the same question and you'll undoubtedly hear- Neon Deon Primetime Sanders! Cliche, but understandable. Champ Bailey! Got hawked by the Patriots TE Ben Watson on the one yard line, but good selection I guess. Rod Woodson! Arguably the best all-time, agreed. John Lynch! Slow, white, Stanford Alum, solid pick nonetheless. And of course you'll hear names like Ed Reed, Chuck Woodson and Troy Polamalu and true students of the game will throw out names like Aeneas "I single handily ended Steve Young's career" Williams, Darrell "4.0 40 year old" Green and Darren Sharper. (An entire future post dedicated to him, stay tuned!!)
But once in a blue moon, and this has probably happened to us all, you'll come across the guy who maybe catches a Sportscenter once or twice a month, and is a little behind on the current events, but he's caught a few games and he's remembered a few stats, and when the topic of DBs comes up, he thinks he's got the cerebral fortitude and the high register football acumen to hang with the big boys in a sports-related conversation and he'll inevitably throw the name JASON SEHORN out there...
Mistake.
It was Warren Sapp who first noticed the reverse racial discrimination when he called Sehorn "extremely overrated." And then went on to inquire, "How does a guy who has never been to the Pro Bowl get so much attention?"
Great question Mr. Sapp, but you and I both know the answer. The dude was one of the best-looking dudes we've ever seen in the league and he started at a glamor position (right corner back, the last Caucasian to ever start at that position in the NFL) for the New York football Giants for eight seasons. And the dude proposed to a super-hot TV star (Angie Harmon, Law and Order) on Jay Leno's Tonight Show in front of a nationwide audience.
But I'm with Mr. Sapp. Sure the man had 19 picks in nine full seasons in the league, not too shabby, but not up to pro-bowl standards. (For reference: Ed Reed already has 44+ in only 7 full seasons and Darren Sharper has 57+ in only 11 full-seasons). And sure, the man had one of the most athletic pick-6s in NFL history (the Giants fans voted this play the best play ever in Giant stadium) (see video below),
but the dude was also a part of two of the most infamous plays in NFL history as well. Question: Do you know why we didn't see a rematch of the Patriots-Rams in Super Bowl 36? Answer: Jason Sehorn (never mind Bulger's bonehead toss near field goal range). Sehorn was picked up by the Rams in 2003 and moved to Safety after the Giants were through with him once a horrific knee injury suffered while returning the opening kickoff of the 1998 season slowed him significantly. If you remember, the Rams and Panthers played one of the longest playoff games in NFL history, going into double OT. On the first play of 2OT, Steve Smith became a legend (Delhomme still working on it), and Jason Sehorn lived up to Sapp's expectations and floundered. At that point, he should have faded from our collective football consciousness forever just like his white safety counterpart on that play Adam Archuleta has. But he hasn't.
(see the 2:00 mark on the video below)
Yup, that's Sehorn, on his face, and that's the last play of his career.
The second play occurred while boy-wonder still played for the Giants. Sehorn had an angle on a receiver heading for the pylon, but at the point of no return, when Sehorn had to decide whether to lay out and save the TD at the one yard line, or slow down and pull up his trousers that had so unceremoniously begun to fall below his waist, he chose image over grit, PR over PT, self over team, saving face over showing ass, and let an opposing receiver walk into the endzone without a fight. I never forgave him for that.
Jason and the Argonauts were a group of heroes; a band of brothers. And although Sehorn was a Trojan in college, he couldn't hold a freaking roman candle to the real heroes of the DB universe mentioned above. Ronnie Lott, also a Trojan, would lose an entire body part for the team, the profession and the game he loved. Sehorn couldn't even lose a little face. The ironic thing about all that is, if Calvin Klein came calling, Sehorn would probably bend it like Beckham and drop his pants in a New York minute.
Let's listen to Mr. Sapp and give credit where credit is due. If a football player is really white, really good-looking, and marries a beautiful model, then let's not give him too much credit until he proves to us all that he's really talented, really tough, and a true professional.
This is Little Boy Blue and I'm 6'2 soaking wet, Peace and Prosperity-
I welcome any and all comments or emails.
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