Posted on 11/13/2004 7:39:36 PM PST by qam1
Bear-n-Bama BUMP.
That you are right about the self-styled "Greatest" generation doesn't change the fact that the Baby Boomers are the biggest pack of preening, self-congratulatory, 'we-are-so-great-we're-humble-enough-to-let-our-parents-be-the-greatest' liberals since the Radical Republicans of the 1860s.
I remember Jack Lambert. When he made a tackle, he'd simply get up and walk back to the huddle (snarling all the way, mind you). He never understood these guys who jumped up and down after making a play: "Hey, that's what we're gettin' paid for."
There were plenty of people in the 70's willing to be jackasses in public. Streakers, Candid Camera (people had to sign a release for their bit to air), and shows like "That's Incredible!" and "Real People". Football had Billy "White Shoes" Johnson.
But the point is missed if we draw conclusions from the participants in the show. Who the hell wants to watch such drivel?
Athletes showboat (particularly in the NFL) because it boosts name recognition and can result in precious endorsements. The idiots on "Survivor" are there because they are flashers and we are the willing voyeurs.
Yes, the NFL should immediately change its product. It's not like it just signed a history-makingly huge TV rights contract or anything that would indicate that people like watching the product as-is. The NFL is obviously a huge flop because of these antics.
The NFL is a violent and fast game where adrenaline rushes fuel the players all game long in an almost tribal war, and celebratory strutting is perfectly natural in that setting. It's just like scalping your downed enemy or creating shrunken heads from them. It's meant to humiliate them in defeat.
Truth bump.
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