Hilltopper39 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 No offense to anyone here but it's hard not to notice that the controversy created by Sherman seems to loosely related to your age. Most of the people who think Sherman is a classless dick seem to be older, and most of the people who are either not offended or like his actions seem to be slightly younger. I realize this is a very vague generalization but it does kind of speaks to the way different generations interpret things differently. Maybe all of that rap music and reality tv has desensitized us younger folks, or maybe us youngins are all dumber than we realize and we haven't matured enough to see these type acts for what they truly are. Either way I'm kind of glad the SuperBowl now has a legitimate villain because the Peyton manning coverage is already getting old. The Sherman stories will probably get old before the big game gets here but at least he slightly saves us from the Peyton-ocalypse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I don't think it's totally an age thing. I'm 25 and I think he's a jerk. Then again I'm really more of a baseball and hockey fan than a football fan in those sports the culture is much different. Baseball is all about "unwritten rules" and "respect for the game" (two terms that are used ad nauseum with baseball) and while there is a little more showmanship in hockey it's still nothing compared to what goes on in the NFL after every play regardless of the score or situation. I know comparing baseball to football is like comparing apples to oranges but when the importance of these unwritten rules is drilled into your head every minute of every day in MLB you can't help but feel like every sport should be the same way since the justifications for these unwritten rules apply to every sport. For example... it's an unwritten rule that you should never show up your opponent. Not only is it unprofessional but it gives them extra incentive to beat you. There's nothing to gain from doing it and a lot to lose (you give your opponents something to pin up in the locker room and you look like a jerk). It's also an unwritten rule that when you're being interviewed you need to be humble. Praise the opponent, talk about how "you were in the right place at the right time and you're glad you got the opportunity to help your team win" or something like that. It makes for some boring interviews but it also prevents huge news stories like this that make you and your team look bad. A lot of football players who are more conscious of the fact that they're representing themselves, their team and their brand understand this too and follow the same formula. You won't see Tom Brady or Peyton Manning acting like Richard Sherman did. This shouldn't be the case but unfortunately professional athletes are considered role models for kids. I understand there is a lot of raw emotion in sports but players need to be conscious of this. I'm not excusing this because most professional athletes are terrible role models and it is the job of parents to explain this but it doesn't change the fact that as crazy as it is these players still end up being role models. It comes with the territory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbomser Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 It's also an unwritten rule that when you're being interviewed you need to be humble. I'll agree with you on that, but there is a big difference between being interviewed right after the play happens, and 10-15 minutes later in the lockerroom. In every interview that he has done since, he hasn't shown that tenacity that was on the field w/ Erin Andrews. I'm not saying he's been humble, because he hasn't, but he is a part of the new school NFL, which has a huge showmanship aspect to it. Do I think he's a jerk, no, but this whole situation has been brought to a new level by people who have no business commenting on it. /End Rant... Brian "Sorry, but this whole thing seems racist to me" Bomser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 there is a big difference between being interviewed right after the play happens, and 10-15 minutes later in the lockerroom. You're right, but if you interviewed Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Derek Jeter, Kobe Bryant, Henrik Lundqvist or Robinson Cano right after they made a game winning play they wouldn't act like that. When you're a professional and you get paid to compete at the highest level then you should act like you're a professional. Brian "Sorry, but this whole thing seems racist to me" Bomser I've heard this a lot and it's infuriating. No matter what the race of the player was people would have a serious problem with anyone acting like that. This is not a racial issue. Just because someone is a certain race and many of the people criticizing him are of a different race doesn't make the people criticizing that person racist. That's ridiculous. America loves a good racial special interest story (Paula Deen, Don Imus, Reverend Wright) but the fact that people look for racism in every story when it usually doesn't exist and jump on everyone and everything they think might be racist forces people to be overly cautious when publicly speaking of or to people of a different race. Ironically this is probably the biggest thing keeping race relevant because it really shouldn't be anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 ^ I agree...I think that too many people are taking the race thing and running with it, which is a load of crap. And there have been people on Two Bills Drive (Buffalo Bills fan site) that are saying that Bills fans wouldn't be reacting negatively if he played on our team, which to me is also totally ridiculous. In the past, I have been plenty embarrassed over some of the Bills player's reactions when making big plays....black, white, mixed race - doesn't matter as I have seen all races do it. Even worse when they do it when they are getting spanked by the opposing teams. Really....you are flexing your muscles, pointing at the name on your jersey or taunting the opposing players or home team's fans...and you are losing by 28 points? How can those kind of actions be a good thing for the game? To be honest, I am proud of the coaches (or the league) when they take actions on that type of behavior. Yeah, Sherman was caught up in the moment...I get that and realize that it happens on the field all the time. But he came across to millions of people as very unprofessional & classless at one of the worst possible moments - in a post game interview. He should have known better & apparently realizes that now based on his back-treading comments in the following days. I will commend him for doing that, even if his coaching staff or mentors may have been nudging him to do so. Guess it must be mostly an older thing, but I am in the camp that all professional athletes should be trying to serve as role models for American youth and should always be thinking "what would the kids think...or what would my parents or grand parents think?" Especially when you are being interviewed in front of millions of people during one of the most watched sporting events of the year. I was a bit saddened that when I texted a congratulations to a close friend of mine that lives in Seattle on the win, but told him that I thought Sherman acted like a bit of a douche & his response was: "Douche nothing, he is a MAN! Best post game interview EVER!" I honestly couldn't believe what I was reading! One guy in the Bills forum said that his 9 year old son said to him, "Daddy, why is that man acting like a sore winner?" Pretty much sums it up right there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 (edited) http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-films-sound-efx/0ap2000000316744/Sound-FX-Sherman-and-Crabtree-clash Richard Sherman actually went up to Crabtree right after to try and shake his hand, which can either be interpreted as rubbing it in, OR acknowledging they had a great battle…and was promptly met with a shove. That part was overlooked. Lets also not forget Kaepernick openly mocked Cam Newton and no one accused him of being classless. In fact, most the media laughed it off as a joke. So because a guy shows raw emotion right after being stood up by the guy he tried to shake hands with, he's classes?? I just don't get the big deal and the double standard. To me, classless/stupid is celebrating a big play when you are losing by 40 points and just got a meaningless TD/sack/etc. against the 3rd string defense or offense of the opposing team. Not raw emotion on such a huge play. More importantly, things like this should remind us that sports are entertainment. Richard Sherman said it best: "I was on a football field showing passion. Maybe it was misdirected and immature, but this is a football field. I wasn't committing any crimes and doing anything illegal. I was showing passion after a football game." Personally, I think many of us would have reacted in the same way. Perhaps we would have been more tempered/sarcastic in our remarks toward Michael Crabtree, but lets be honest…if any of us just made the game sealing play on a receiver who was probably talking sh*t the whole game AND just shoved you after you tried to shake his hand, then had a microphone thrown in our face…we would have had something to say as well. Edited January 23, 2014 by Jew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteornotes Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 ^Agreed. Crabtree was running his mouth the whole game. Another article I read said that Crabtree tried to start a fight with Sherman at a charity event, so obviously Crabtree may have some issues. I personally find the 49ers in general to be one of the most classless teams in sports. There's a lot of extra shoving and punching and mouthing off and showing off from these guys that you don't see in a lot of other NFL teams. I personally want to see people with passion for what they're doing, and it's refreshing to see someone on camera that speaks their mind and isn't rehashing the same cliched crap you hear in every interview. The guy made the play that sent his team to the Superbowl, and they beat their division rival in the process. You can't tell me he shouldn't be fired up after that. dt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 I'm an old 49er fan, but I've never cared for Kaepernick's or Crabtree's antics, either. The team's personality has definitely changed from the old Joe Montana/Jerry Rice days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper39 Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 ^The attitude of those players is pretty reflective of the attitude of the team as a whole. I mean they are kind of a bunch of thugs and that's kind of why they are as good as they are. You have to have little bit of that to play defense the way that they do. Not the mention the head coach. Jim Harbaugh is the same kind of guy as Kaepernick and Crabtree and Willis, he's just on the sidelines instead of on the field. Jim used to come back to Western Kentucky when his dad was the coach there (before I was at Western but my brother played there and some other people I knew) and there were always stories of Jim almost getting into fist fights with current players during 7 on 7 pick up games over receptions and interceptions and stuff. So if that's the mentality of the head coach you netter bet that it's going to trickle down into the make up of the team itself. I'm not a big Kaepernick fan, not because of his attitude or anything just his play at times, but I do love the 49ers and they way they play football. This current Seattle San Fran Rivalry might be the best rivalry in pro sports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 I'm an old 49er fan, but I've never cared for Kaepernick's or Crabtree's antics, either. The team's personality has definitely changed from the old Joe Montana/Jerry Rice days. I agree, Chuck & I should have mentioned that in my rant above. I used to root for the 49'ers back when my mother was alive because her favorite team (other than the Bills) was the 49'ers. This current team is certainly world's apart from the Walsh/Young teams (Montana, Rice, Young, Craig, Lott, etc) that I remember watching when I was younger. They appeared to be a world class team & organization - at least they came across that way to the millions of viewers that watched their televised games. My mother severely disliked fighting or trash talking of any kind and would be appalled at the way some of the current players in the league carry themselves during a game. I guess I'm either getting old, am old fashioned, or I must be following in her footsteps because I am finding myself more and more disinterested in watching sports on TV or going to games anymore because of the increase in players that can't seem to control their negative reactions & emotions on and off the field of play. Not to mention the high ticket prices that fans now have to pay for teams so that they can over-pay to sign some of these narcissistic jerks. I agree with those that blame it on having too many cameras on the fields, constantly putting them in player's faces and plastering everything on social media afterwards. But I still think it's a bad idea to spend your post game interview talking about how you just served the opposing player (that you don't get along with) & making choking signs at the losing team. Professional, highly paid sports players should know that they are constantly in the spotlight now and should do their damnedest to try and act civil - especially when they know the limelight is on them. I don't care who it is or what team they play for. Call it boring or mundane, but it's the sensible and right thing to do. And the fans are even worse. I can't say how many letters to the editor I read in the Buffalo News this year about families that said that they would never go to another Bills game because of all of the stupid drunken & obnoxious fans who show no respect to the game or their surrounding fans. My best friend went to a Bills game with his sister this year and they were threatened after he reported some drunken younger woman and her two buddies to security because they were chanting obscenities and spilling beer on them and the family sitting next to them. The three were warned and were eventually thrown out of the stadium later in the game for fighting with another couple. Despite that, my friend and his sister still had to worry that these people would be waiting for them as they left the stadium! Another example posted in the Buffalo News...even though I am not a fan of the Patriots, a family that likes them should not be ridiculed to the point where the 13 year old teen daughter gets called a f%#king sl%t for wearing a Tom Brady jersey. Then to make matters worse, the family of four received death threats, were sworn at, and had snowballs and trash thrown at them as they tried to hurriedly leave the stadium fearing for their lives! That is just completely & utterly insane behavior! I was also appalled to read (after my post) that Seahawks fans were throwing trash at Bowman as he was carted off the field after being seriously injured? To me, this was way worse than Sherman's ill-timed interviews. Those fans should be banned from ever attending another football game - period. Could the younger youth that look up to these types of disrespectful players be having a negative effect on the way that they carry themselves in society? If they think it's cool to see their favorite player talk trash, push, shove and fight another player or spit in another player's face...aren't they going to see that as acceptable behavior in the real world? While most of us on here might not think so, there are plenty of dumb-asses out therein the real world that would. Even though I mentioned the race thing shouldn't have been an issue here, I about threw up in my mouth when I went back (again, after I posted the above) and read some of the cruel, harsh and disgusting racist comments directed at Sherman following the articles. Yes, he acted like a douche, but there is no excuse for someone to hide behind their computer and hurl sickening comments like that. I just wonder how long it will take before the PGA starts showcasing young talent that flips the bird to the fans, screams at the post game interviewer about how awesome they are (and how their opponent is trash) and starts fights with opposing players (I'll exclude Happy Gilmour). Golf might be boring to a lot of people, but it is one of the last sports that still showcases players loaded with talent that show the respect for the players and fans around them - as well as the ultimate in respect to the great players that played the game before them. I promise that I'm done venting and I hope that I didn't offend anyone because of the opinions that I've shared. I know some don't agree with my point of view, but I figured I would at least share my reasons for this building up in me the way it has. Maybe I'm old, but society in general is really starting to scare me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mechanic Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 What's up with the rules for this Pro Bowl? I thought I knew how NFL football worked, then I turn on the game and see a 2 minute warning at the end of the 3rd quarter. I'm guessing they also had a 2 minute warning at the end of the 1st quarter also? What's that all about? And no kickoffs... Let's take one of the most potentially exciting parts of the game and just eliminate it. Lame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 ^The Pro Bowl hasn't been exciting…ever? No one tries out of fear of injuring themselves. It's a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Yet every year, the league and the sports writers complain about how nobody cares about the Pro Bowl. Go figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simaticable Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I was just watching to see how many sacks/turnovers there were going to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbomser Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I have to admit, I may be in the extreme minority, but I did enjoy this years Pro Bowl. Yes the weird rules such as the extra two-minute warnings, and the ball changing sides each quarter were just that, but the players actually played hard. Seeing Mike Tolbert lower the shoulder and run over his own teammate Kuechly was awesome! And one of my favorite moments was when Team Sanders called a timeout, and the Ref said "Timeout Primetime". I couldn't stop laughing. All in all, the new format made it a bit more enjoyable to watch, as there was some defense (Finally allowing man coverage). Hope that this continues to be the case. That being said, those uniforms were hideous. I think Stevie Wonder can design something a bit more subtle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hercules Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I actually kind of thought it was fun too. I probably would have skipped watching it altogether, but I was making dinner and just had it on the iPad, and it was kind of a fun game this year for the half that I watched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarheel1231 Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 It all comes down to one team today! The Seattle Seahawks, obviously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simaticable Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Is it sad that I found the Pro Bowl more enjoyable than this game? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteornotes Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 The 24 promo was more exciting than anything in that game. dt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imagineerz Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 That was like experiencing a four hour tooth extraction without any novocaine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coupon Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Best game of the season! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Fight On to Pete Carroll! Only the 3rd coach with a college national title and NFL title! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arby Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 The 24 promo was more exciting than anything in that game. dt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 In the past, I have watched the Super Bowl; last night, however, I decided I wasn't all that interested in the game and watched Capote, instead. I guess it was a wise decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondbacker27 Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 I honestly wish The Broncos would've got up there. Last night just wasn't Peyton's night I guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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