NFL: You Have to Hate Boston At This Point
Completely randomized, sorted thoughts follow.
There's just no way around it, the biggest problem with all the New England teams isn't the fact they're good organizations or they can outspend everyone else. It's the fans.
The NE/SD game coming up? I expect the Pats to win going away. First, they've been riled up. And second, it's the Chargers that have been doing the riling. They've been complaining more about the Patriots than even the Jets which only goes to show that the Pats have summer homes inside the Charger's heads.
Anyhow, to follow up on the camera shuffle, as I say here, the punishment stinks on many levels. But, it seems like my unfortunate home team, the Lions (By the by, they managed to sell out their tickets at the last minute so this weekend's game against the Vikings - who slaughtered my erstwhile crush the Falcons in Week 1 - will actually be on the TV. Um, yay?), are caught up in the periphery of this. They're reportedly one of the teams involved in accusing the Patriots of videotaping their signals and/or reporting them to the league.
Mr. Drew Sharp from the local Free Press wrote a devastating column about the whole thing. In case you can't tell, I like him. He's the kind of curmudgeonly, "what have you done for me lately," pessimistic bastard we could use more of on the sports page. Quoted for truth:
"As if the Lions' basic sideline defensive signal -- the confused shrugged shoulder -- demands special deciphering."
At this point, though, with Vick and the NBA referee scandal and steroids and HGH and more, it's becoming increasingly obvious that this isn't an isolated issue. In endemic. There's a real, fundamental problem at the core of the sports world with regards to what's acceptable when it comes to cheating. It's the "win at all costs" attitude coming home to roost and it's squatting directly over the concept of integrity, churning stomach full of rancid birdseed. Because once you take away the idea that sports are inherently fair, that the contest are essentially equal, matters of skill and luck, then the whole house of cards will come tumbling down. The danger isn't outrage, like mine. It's the apathy that's going to follow once the anger fades and I just can't bring myself to care enough to flip on a game anymore if something isn't done to restore my confidence that these games matter.
Late Update: Looks like things just took a dramatic turn. This could get sticky.
Labels:
Games,
The Sport of Kings
2 comments:
Though as I replied previously, to never being a Pats fan, I can't hate Boston Sports Teams altogether here. I'm not a big Bruins fan, and I hate basketball so the Celtics are like blah. The fact is, Belichick is the source. He's the one that introduced this into the Pats organization. He's been doing this video-taping thing his entire career, and it took one of his own (Eric "Mangenious") to put a stop to it and show the world what Billy B is trully all about: Winning at ANY cost.
On the other hand, I love the Red Sox. They are one of the most entertaining clubs in MLB to a declining baseball fan like myself. They had been the underdogs for the longest time, and then in '04, they became equals. However that in itself is a little scary. To become equal with the Yankees, you nearly have to become the Yankees, the thing you swore to hate.
The Red Sox are going to win the division and go onto the playoffs, and who then who knows. At least the Red Sox can say they didn't build their team off of free agency. The Red Sox farm system is ranked 8th best out of the 32 teams. They develop great players and deal trades to accuire their veteran talent.
Lester, Pavano, Garciaparra, Nixon, Pedroia, Ramirez, Papelbon, Hansen, Eckstein, Buchholz: Household names of today that the Red Sox sent to the Majors. Not to mention a few household names of yester-year: Clemens, Burks, Shilling, Naehring, Vaughn, Bagwell.
I can follow and believe in a team that can do their own home-growing, and not just toss money at whatever they think puts them in the next Cup/Bowl/Series/Finals. That's why I love those Red Sox, and that's why I can't "hate boston".
One of my friends is from Boston. Great town, love to visit. He's been giving me no end of shit about the Appalachian State thing so I consider the whole camera flap to be karmic payback.
I really can't stomach any Boston team, though, now that my infatuation with the Patriots has ended.
I'm a longtime Pistons fan so I cant' stand the Celtics. Red Wings fan so old school rivalry with the Bruins. Although it's really more for the Western teams of the original six, Chicago and Toronto but, you know, hate those bastards. Hate them even more because they've been driven into the ground in recent years and nowhere near good enough to properly loathe. Don't like Boston College, either.
Can't stand the Red Sox ever since they finally snapped their playoff jinx. Because, yeah, they're the Yankees now without everything to recommend that teams. The history, the prestige, the crazy years like the 70s with Martin and Steinbrenner and more (Not that I much like the Yankees. But at least they have that history behind them.) Instead, they're arrogant upstarts who've spent their way to competitiveness. Who think their long years of suffering now permit them to act like complete dicks. Who think they're now somehow better than everyone else. Which I guess sounds a bit odd coming out of the mouth of a Red Wing fan because, you know, same thing happened there but, um, yeah, consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
Plus, you know, they directly compete against my Tigers. Like this year where their success means the Kitty Cats have to fight it out with New York for that wild card spot. If Detroit doesn't in their division then one of those three isn't going to make the playoffs and I think it's pretty clear which one I hope isn't on the outside of that. It's the Yankees this year but it could just as easily be the Sox the next.
As for the Sox being a homegrown team, I can't say I really follow the farm system but it seems to me the advantage of having more money than everyone else isn't just that you can outbid others in free agency. Which the Red Sox have certainly done with Dice-K. Or lavish expensive contracts on your own marginal players to keep them from jumping ship in the offseason. As the Red Sox did with players like J.D.Drew. But it also means there's more money to invest into that farm system. To use to sign and train and equip those players who haven't quite made it to the major leagues. Those funds don't automatically make them winners but they give the team a competitive advantage that others who don't have their revenue streams have to overcome. They might not play rent-a-player like the Yankees do, but don't tell me they're not buying them with money hand over fist.
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