Saturday, December 8, 2007

Empathy?

Not in any way, shape or form does this reflect my opinion or actions. If any offense is taken, I hope it is not towards me as I hope to invoke a conversation without creating a controversy.

That said, I have a question:

Which one of you New England Patriots fans are responsible for this Wiki as of December 8th, 2007 at 12:07PM?

"Eugene "Mercury" Morris (is) a homosexual male (born January 5, 1947 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a former American football player who played running back in the American Football League in the 1960s and the NFL in the 1970s, and played in three Super Bowls."

"On
December 5, 2007, Morris went on ESPN's Sportscenter and rapped about the 1972 Dolphins being the only team that will ever go undefeated in an NFL season. Morris was on ESPN with Josh Elliott in response to the New England Patriots undefeated record of 12-0, which, at the time, was 5 games short of matching the '72 Dolphins. Which he will be proven wrong about when the Pats are 19-0 with their fourth Superbowl"

Morris has managed to make people who despise New England sports teams and their fans to root hard for the Patriots to run the table. It's impressive, really. Now again, I don't condone or particularly care for the homosexual comment, but it speaks to how quickly a villian can become adored - if only for a moment. Sometimes, you root for a rival team so that your favorite can have a greater standing or chance in the playoffs. Yet, after these wonderful soundbites -sadly, his rhyming style is better than most rappers out now - well, comment yourself.



This weekend's theme is hoping that these villains who seem to represent wealth and cockiness (these Patriots and Floyd Mayweather, Jr.) are vanquished by a couple of heroes that are represent what is supposed to be a humble working class (the Pittsburgh Steelers and Ricky Hatton). Yet, you don't see Pernell Whitaker rounding the sports media circuits, do you?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Pittsburgh Steelers have never been about being humble. Players saying the better team didn't win when they lost to the pats in 2001, making super bowl plans public before the AFCG in 2004 and did you not hear Pitt Safety Anthony Smith this week?

"We're going to win,'' Smith said today after practice. "Yeah, I can guarantee a win.''

I'm ready for next week's storyline

Jason Clinkscales said...

Oh, I read that. And I laughed hysterically. Smith may end up being a really good player, but he just got here.

It's all about perception and because of the city and the franchise's stability, the Steelers have always have that perception.

MissMelony said...

I would have to agree with Rick here. Perhaps I am tainted by the sheer need to believe in the Pats, which of late has become a part of my very existence. Still, I dont find them cocky. They admit when they make mistakes, they fight harder when they know the game is too close for comfort and they don't go into any games overly boastful. Forgive my naivete... I don't see them as the wealthy cocky. I see them as a team that used to be the underdog, finally getting their golden ticket (for the 3rd time).

You could put the blame of this perception you speak of (which i still don't see) on the backs of the fans. I think you are projecting thought of these regions of the country onto these teams... but not everyone in NE is rich and snobby and not everyone in Pittsburgh is Humble (though they do have Mr Rogers skewing that curve). In any event i don't see the Pats as cocky... maybe its because I'm from NE... we are different on the other side of Worcester you know.

Jason Clinkscales said...

Much appreciated comments. You guys forget I'm well aware of how diverse New England really is. That said, society tends to take one stereotype and run with it. Pittsburgh, contrary to perception, hasn't been a working-class, steel mill kind of town in years. That's evidenced by the infusion of tech and health companies over the years as well as the growing stature of their colleges as research leaders. This isn't my perception by any means, but you're talking to a person that has forever fought the stereotypes of New Yorkers to the world.