I figure it's a lot like all the lottery winners who go broke. Except these guys can expect there to be more windfalls in the future.
I honestly think this is coming. If you have BEIN network, which is televising 6nations or fox soccer plus which is covering the AVIVA and Heineken Cups....you should watch. It may take a game or two to watch and get a feel for it but it is far more exciting than the NFL. Watching two halfs that are forty minutes long, without timeouts or breaks is far better than huddling up after every play and TV timeouts......this is coming from someone who grew up with football. Nowadays, I can only watch football on the NFL redzone, otherwise it is boring to watch.
Nope, never happen. You honestly think that another sport will take over from NFL Football? Not on a niche channel people have to search out and then struggle to understand the sport. Cricket, Soccer, Rugby... These are sports that are wildly popular worldwide, and will never, ever catch on in the states. Ever.
Going to have to agree with iczorro here, the sports here (even the clearly superior ones like baseball) don't really have a prayer of catching up to the NFL in the next 8-10 years (and that's being kind). A sport with next to no following here to begin with has even less of a shot.
You don't need to be gay to understand why it's a big deal, you just have to have some common sense. Sports is in a lot of ways the last publicly-visible avenue of lots of kinds of intolerance, not just homophobia. Personally I think it's due to how little the public hears about what is said in locker rooms, on the field and in practice. When a politician says something offensive, it's immediately decontextualized and thrown into the public arena; when an athlete does it, there often aren't cameras or reporters around. Just because we're more progressive than most everywhere else doesn't mean we're where we need to be, especially not in a locker room context. (Which, gasp, does in fact have a number of people who weren't raised to be especially gay-tolerant. Unless you think athletes generally come from high-income backgrounds and went to liberal arts schools.) I do think we're generally moving in the right direction, and in 20 years hopefully this won't be an issue, as that consciousness will have filtered to the different parts of society. Today? You'd have to be stupid to not realize why this is a big deal.
I was pretty drunk when I wrote that post and was babbling. Of course it's a pretty big deal. I do however think it's lame that his career (probably at least the first half of it) will be defined by him being 'that gay player'. I don't think either of us really knows how gay tolerant the NFL is or isn't. I would imagine it's probably like general society where homophobia won't be openly accepted, but you'll have a few that have a problem with it. Could be wrong there, and of course just because someone isn't outright homophobic doesn't mean they aren't going to treat him differently. He deserves credit for coming out. If I was in his position I'm really not sure if I would have done the same because of the media shit storm that is going to follow him. Someone had to do it eventually. The math says that there are probably at least a few other gay players currently in the league.
I had a friend who was a trainer in the Chargers locker room when Vincent Jackson was there. She said it was an open secret that he's gay. The fact is that 20 years from now, it won't be a big deal, or as big a deal. But someone had to step forward and be the first guy, so good for him. Of course, the elevated notoriety means he's a lot more likely to get endorsement deals, public speaking fees, etc. I would be surprised if he doesn't write a book when he retires. He turned being a gay athlete into a retirement strategy.
The bigger issue here is that the fucking Broncos keep stealing everyone from the Patriots. What's next? They're going to try and sign Bill Belichick? What the fuck. Aqib Talib is the only fucking sure thing we had on defense. Now he's gone, and of course the fucking Broncos got him. God damn it.
He's old and has been injury prone. Bailey is probably going to retire a Bronco. He's been on that team since 04. Been in the league since 99. That's a lot of years for a football player. And now its a pass happy league, it was time to move on from him.
Yes, I know this, the conversation is based on his release. Hence why I said "It was time to move on from him." He can still come back and retire a Bronco since most of his years are there. That is a thing that happens. Unless he's taking this release as some major slight and lack of loyalty like the Broncos blogs are trying to make it.
We call that "Pulling an Urlacher" Related, I'm thrilled the Bears cut Peppers and aren't resigning Hester. I still think Hester has value as a returner, but he's an idiot and thinks he is the best all around player in the NFL. Really, he just said it. He was a bad WR and a worse CB. Peppers was a beast but he lost a step and will lose another. More than the moves itself, it shows Emery is focused on rebuilding this defense, realizes he needs cap space to do so and isn't handcuffed by loyalty like Angelo and the Bears front office has been. Lamarr Houston was a good, albeit a bit pricey, pick up after missing on Bennett. Still work to be done, but its a good start.
It will be interesting to see what the bears do in the draft. They actually have a really good offense and if they have a good off season they're a legit threat to go all the way next year. Even still, it's going to be pretty damn hard to compete with the 49ers and seahawks. Those teams are just so stacked, and a lot of their talent is still young.
The broncos just added Demarcus Ware. Aren't teams who were just in a super bowl supposed to be losing talent rather than piling it on?
The way they're structuring the deals, it seems they are mortgaging their future to win now. If they lose this year due to lack of chemistry, the injury bug, or just plain ol' lady luck not smiling down on them, they have some shit years ahead of them. Not to mention how much longer is Peyton going to play? Oh, and 3 years, 10.5 mil for Donald Brown? The Chargers front office is comprised of morons.
Yeah, the broncos are definitely taking a gamble, but given how hard it is to win the super bowl I think it's a good one. They're built to win now, might as well go all in. I would think they're also trying to do what they can to get a Lombardi trophy before Peyton retires. There's no way to say how much time he's got left, but he's really getting up there and given how hard it is to acquire an elite QB there's no way to know when they'll have another one. It could be decades before the team has another QB like Manning.
Just cause... Wow. Bucs coach Lovie Smith will be starting Josh McCown at QB, no chance for competition for Glennon. I knew Lovie was clueless when it came to offense, but he had better at least let Glennon compete for the spot. McCown has 10 years of shitty play and half a season of looking good in an offense that made everyone look good.