I'm feeling pretty sick about how the SuperBowl ended. Too sick to write with my usual jovial hyperbole, and too sick to care about how I write. So I'm simply going to leave a numbered list of musings:
1) Ben Roethlisberger let me down, he let the steelers down, and he certainly let Brett Favre down. The SuperBowl may be the biggest stage in the NFL but he's been there twice before and should have overcome the hype and pressure that the big game brings. If it wasn't the pressure that got to him, then he simply fell on his face. I know that before the game I'd previously mused over the possibility of football immortality for the fella, but that's all lost now. Enough. No more of the man. I'm back to being a typical Tampa man, and thus, a Steelers-hater :)
2) Brett Favre. Somewhere, on a farm maybe in Hattiesberg Mississippi (I like to think), Brett Favre was watching this game. And what he saw was the Packers ease to their first Superbowl since 1996. And moreover, their first Superbowl since he left. Call me gay, call me a loser, but being the massive Brett Favre fan that I am, I'm worried about how this will affect the man's legacy down the line. He was awesome, and I want my kids to hold him in high regard. But will they? For me, his whole legacy now changes completely if you factor in that three years after he left the Packers, his replacement took down only their fourth SuperBowl in their history. Maybe I'm seeing it all wrong, but if he leaves and they're bereft of a Championship for the next twenty years, the memory of Favre is somewhat more epic.
3) Aaron Rodgers. The man is too good. So much that it irritates me. I think he might be close to the level of Brady and Manning, and I'd definitelly put him alongside Brees. Roethlisberger? Bleh, I'll get back to on that one. He's a retched mystery to me.
But Rodgers, wow, he was unstoppable. If it hadn't have been for his crappy jittery receivers, he'd have been a 400-yard SuperBowl man. But he isn't, and it makes me happy that he's not.
4) Mike McCarthy. The man is _____. And that's that. I have nothing to say about him. I'm not going to knock his appearance because that's irrelavant to a man's footballing prowess, but the man is totally bereft of any life or personality. If you told me he had no soul, I'd believe you. I understand that he's a clever guy, but to be remembered, you need character. And this guy has none. Last night I saw the list of Packers coaches to win a Superbowl: Vince Lombardi, Mike Holmgren, Mike McCarthy. He doesn't belong with those two people. Not until he starts smiling more anyway.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Roethlisberger and his Super Bowls.
Many wanted him out and early whispers spoke of possible prison time. Either way, this time 'Big Ben' had gone too far. On hearing that Ben Roethlisberger had again encountered a brusque run-in with the law, I took to the social-networking skies and proclaimed that it could only be Ground Hog Day.
Ben Roethlisberger was an elite quarterback, but he was no stranger to off-the-field troubles. His specifically-uneditable Wikipedia page lists such incidents under 'Off-field Headlines'. It begins with his motorcycle accident back in 2006 when he fell off his bike which he was riding with no helmet. He suffered a broken upper and lower jaw and a broken nose, and was consequently criticised heavily for being a irresponsible no-helmet-wearing clown.
The next year he went on to win his second Super Bowl and all was forgotten... Until the following June (2009) when a 31 year old lady claimed that he'd sexually assaulted her in his hotel room during a celebrity golf tournament.
This time things were serious; your dad might forget to wear a motorcycle helmet and end up breaking his nose, but when he's taking advantage of some whore in a hotel you kinda get pissed at the guy. I was still irked by the lingering question of 'Well what was she doing in his hotel room anyway? Cup of tea? Watch some cartoons?' It's easy to see how celebrities get into these situations, I thought. Anyway, nothing came of it, and it went away.
Until March 5. And March 5 2010 will forever be a great cornerstone is the illustrious career of Ben Roethlisberger. No matter what he accomplishes from here on, the alleged incidents in Capital City Nightclub will be earmarked on his timeline. Being accused of rape is always going to be a knife to the throat of any sportsman's career; especially when you're already host a reputation for being a bit of a fool.
The allegations brought against him are pretty well known enough now that I don't need to mention them. And my lingering feelings on the case reside over questions like 'Well why would she get hospital tests and make this all up? No money or liable fee was ever mentioned...'
Anyway, despite the fact that charges were dropped due to lack of evidence, there was much animosity felt amongst many Steelers. And whether he committed a crime or not, I fully sympathise and understand their anger. This man is paid millions of dollars every year to play for one of the best teams in football. And regardless of whether he was breaking the law last Spring, he was more or less breaking the quarterbacks code of conduct which preaches the avoidance of being a waster. Drinking in clubs? Partying until late like you're some playboy teamster? Not exactly Hall of Fame material. Can you envision Peyton Manning busting some moves on the dance floor with a group of freshman teens, knocking back tequila shooters? Hmm. Any more examples? Mark Sanchez lives in a sort of retirement home place with his wide-receiver buddy who's on the practise squad. They divide their off-season time between playing golf and playing catch and throw. Brady's sitting on sunset strip eating a salad, and Favre is definitely either out hunting or just sitting on his tractor wondering whether he'll come back for another year. See, this is what makes these guys great. They're not, as I like to say, "wastemen". Most of them don't drink, they don't party and they tend to be pretty focused. Remember when the Rams played the Seahawks on Sunday Night Football and that had that brief segment when they asked Sam Bradford what wild things he'd done with his money since signing that $60million contract? And his actual genuine answer was, "Erm, not too much really, I did buy a big ping pong table though. It's awesome, me and my friends have so much fun on it!" Yes. I know. I was aghast. Not a nice car Sam? Mansion in the hills? Just the table tennis then huh? At this, I thought he was an idiot, and immediately lost all interest in the fella. But with hindsight, this is probably why he knows all his plays perfectly. And probably why he almost took one of the worst NFL teams into the playoffs.
But you know what? I think Big Ben has finally realised all of this too. I'm not saying he's decided to turn boring - because he always has been! But I think he's certainly learnt his lesson. Or rather two lessons: the first being to straighten up and focus, and the second being to never fuck with the Rooneys. And consequently, tonight's game is his biggest stage. With all his ghosts behind him, he's now sixty minutes away from a third Super Bowl title; on a par with Brady and Aikman, more than , And Manning? Three Super Bowls would put him above the whole Manning family combined.
So much talk over the last couple of years has been about a QB being able to break into that Brady/Manning category, and constantly we hear the Drew Brees chatter mixed in with a whole lot of love for Phillip Rivers. Forget everyone else. If Roethlisberger wins tonight, he'll stand shoulder to shoulder with both Manning and Brady. No matter what anyone says about his stats or his off the field histories. This guy has spent the last nine months getting his act together; and three Super Bowls is no mean feat. In fact, from how I see it, a third Super Bowl, and Big Ben can start pitching his tent up in Canton.
Ben Roethlisberger was an elite quarterback, but he was no stranger to off-the-field troubles. His specifically-uneditable Wikipedia page lists such incidents under 'Off-field Headlines'. It begins with his motorcycle accident back in 2006 when he fell off his bike which he was riding with no helmet. He suffered a broken upper and lower jaw and a broken nose, and was consequently criticised heavily for being a irresponsible no-helmet-wearing clown.
The next year he went on to win his second Super Bowl and all was forgotten... Until the following June (2009) when a 31 year old lady claimed that he'd sexually assaulted her in his hotel room during a celebrity golf tournament.
This time things were serious; your dad might forget to wear a motorcycle helmet and end up breaking his nose, but when he's taking advantage of some whore in a hotel you kinda get pissed at the guy. I was still irked by the lingering question of 'Well what was she doing in his hotel room anyway? Cup of tea? Watch some cartoons?' It's easy to see how celebrities get into these situations, I thought. Anyway, nothing came of it, and it went away.
Until March 5. And March 5 2010 will forever be a great cornerstone is the illustrious career of Ben Roethlisberger. No matter what he accomplishes from here on, the alleged incidents in Capital City Nightclub will be earmarked on his timeline. Being accused of rape is always going to be a knife to the throat of any sportsman's career; especially when you're already host a reputation for being a bit of a fool.
The allegations brought against him are pretty well known enough now that I don't need to mention them. And my lingering feelings on the case reside over questions like 'Well why would she get hospital tests and make this all up? No money or liable fee was ever mentioned...'
Anyway, despite the fact that charges were dropped due to lack of evidence, there was much animosity felt amongst many Steelers. And whether he committed a crime or not, I fully sympathise and understand their anger. This man is paid millions of dollars every year to play for one of the best teams in football. And regardless of whether he was breaking the law last Spring, he was more or less breaking the quarterbacks code of conduct which preaches the avoidance of being a waster. Drinking in clubs? Partying until late like you're some playboy teamster? Not exactly Hall of Fame material. Can you envision Peyton Manning busting some moves on the dance floor with a group of freshman teens, knocking back tequila shooters? Hmm. Any more examples? Mark Sanchez lives in a sort of retirement home place with his wide-receiver buddy who's on the practise squad. They divide their off-season time between playing golf and playing catch and throw. Brady's sitting on sunset strip eating a salad, and Favre is definitely either out hunting or just sitting on his tractor wondering whether he'll come back for another year. See, this is what makes these guys great. They're not, as I like to say, "wastemen". Most of them don't drink, they don't party and they tend to be pretty focused. Remember when the Rams played the Seahawks on Sunday Night Football and that had that brief segment when they asked Sam Bradford what wild things he'd done with his money since signing that $60million contract? And his actual genuine answer was, "Erm, not too much really, I did buy a big ping pong table though. It's awesome, me and my friends have so much fun on it!" Yes. I know. I was aghast. Not a nice car Sam? Mansion in the hills? Just the table tennis then huh? At this, I thought he was an idiot, and immediately lost all interest in the fella. But with hindsight, this is probably why he knows all his plays perfectly. And probably why he almost took one of the worst NFL teams into the playoffs.
But you know what? I think Big Ben has finally realised all of this too. I'm not saying he's decided to turn boring - because he always has been! But I think he's certainly learnt his lesson. Or rather two lessons: the first being to straighten up and focus, and the second being to never fuck with the Rooneys. And consequently, tonight's game is his biggest stage. With all his ghosts behind him, he's now sixty minutes away from a third Super Bowl title; on a par with Brady and Aikman, more than , And Manning? Three Super Bowls would put him above the whole Manning family combined.
So much talk over the last couple of years has been about a QB being able to break into that Brady/Manning category, and constantly we hear the Drew Brees chatter mixed in with a whole lot of love for Phillip Rivers. Forget everyone else. If Roethlisberger wins tonight, he'll stand shoulder to shoulder with both Manning and Brady. No matter what anyone says about his stats or his off the field histories. This guy has spent the last nine months getting his act together; and three Super Bowls is no mean feat. In fact, from how I see it, a third Super Bowl, and Big Ben can start pitching his tent up in Canton.
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