Convenient Loss of Memory: Bill Simmons Edition
Low hanging fruit, I know. Even as a self-confessed Colts/Manning hater, I was offended by this quote from Bill's retrospective running diary of the second half of the Superbowl.
So it was a classic "Sliding Doors" moment: If Manning comes through and Indy prevails, his résumé becomes impenetrable. But that pass prevented it from happening, and also, it might be the worst pass ever thrown in a big modern moment by a great quarterback not named "Favre." (Seriously, can you think of another one?)
Yes, I can actually. His name is Tom Brady, and on 3rd and goal, he threw a pass, off his back foot, from the 15 yard line at a receiver in the endzone who was blanketed by the best cover-corner of the decade, who then returned it all the way to the Pat's 2 yard line, and ended the very real possibility of New England winning 4 Super Bowls in 5 years. How's that for a horrible pass by a great quarterback not named Favre in a big modern moment? Video for those who don't remember:
Champ Bailey Interception
marvin | MySpace Video
16 comments:
I think the best part of that play is when Bailey is showboating near the endzone, and Ben Watson comes out of nowhere and absolutely clobbers him.
IIRC, that was a pretty horrible game for Brady in general.
I hate all this "If the colts won, Manning would be the best ever. Since they lost, he's not in the discussion" talk. People place so much emphasis on championships unnecessarily. It's not like they say Charles Haley is the greatest defensive end of all time (I'm too young to remember him, but he has the most rings). Manning's still the best I've ever seen, which means he's probably the best ever. I don't care what his postseason record is.
It seems like there are two types of athletes whose greatness most fans judge by the number of championships won: NBA stars and NFL quarterbacks. I can understand the NBA star thing, since the NBA in my experience has the least intelligent fanbase of the four (three?) major sports, but I'm a bit surprised more NFL fans don't know better. For some reason people still cling to this image of the quarterback, a guy who doesn't contribute on defense, as the man who makes or breaks the team. It's basically the same thing as people who measure pitchers by wins and losses, except most baseball fans have moved past that antiquated stat.
Of course, we all know Simmons is only bashing Manning because it's standard Boston fan protocol to do so. They know Manning is the only thing keeping their guy from being considered the best QB in the game, so they have to find ways to question his greatness. I was rooting for the Bears in Super Bowl XLI, but when the Colts won I was glad I wouldn't have to hear those chowderheads parroting "Brady 3, Manning 0" anymore.
pwned
Angelo,
I totally agree. Was the pass horrible? yes. But he's 1/2 in Super Bowls. He's career is not over yet. If the Colts didn't have him, they'd be 6-10. He's managed all this success without a good defense, while Brady has had dominant defenses for the majority of his career.
Venezuelan Beaver Cheese,
As Exhibit A against baseball fans: many Yankee fans, until a few months ago, were longing for the return of one Scott Brosius, who was the definition of average, to replace the greatest baseball player on earth. Why? Rings. And heart. And grittiness. And a certain je ne sais quois.
To be fair, Biggus Rickus, there are always a few idiots, especially among fanbases of popular, heavily-hyped teams. Since the Yankees have been winning for so long, there are plenty of morons who've hitched their wagons to the pinstripes because they believe that rooting for a winner makes them a winner by extension. I think your average baseball diehard knows better than to judge a player by the number of rings he has. The average football or basketball diehard? I'm not so sure.
Living in the south I don't know a ton of die-hard baseball fans, so I have nothing to really go on besides things I see and hear in the media. There's an awful lot of criticism of teams/players who "choke" or whatever and and an overinflation of some guys with rings. Eckstein and Jeter come immediately to mind. I can only assume that these media people maintain jobs because some part of their reader/viewership agrees with them. Living in a football-worshipping region I can also attest that many football fans do not simply judge people on rings, though there are certainly way too many who do.
I guess the simplest summation is to say that the average person is kind of dumb. I believe mean IQ in the States is like 103, but that may have changed in the few years since I last saw the figure. So by extension, the average fan of any sport is going to be kind of dumb.
OK real quick: Bailey wasn't showboating. He had just sprinted 101 yards after defending receivers on a drive that started at the New England 22 yard line.
I'm not saying Watson's play wasn't great too, but Champ was just gassed. Don't mistake that for giving up on the play or showboating.
Also, Jack M, I think I love you. If I wasn't happily married, I'd leave my wife for you based solely on this post.
Eliot,
Ha ha...thanks...
/slowly backs towards restraining order office
Jack, I think we should have a spring wedding.
Hey Jack, can you do me a favor and stop being totally jealous of Bill Simmons?
Yeah, sorry about that. I was going from memory since I can't watch videos at work. I still think it was amazing watson was able to run him down.
It's cool Fred, I thought the same thing when I saw the play live on TV and I'm a Broncos fan. It wasn't until after the game when they were interviewing Bailey about it that I realized his explanation for it made sense.
And what's even more amazing than Watson's play is that there wasn't a good enough replay angle to show whether or not the ball went out of the back of the end zone--in which case it would have been Patriots ball at the 20 yard line.
VBC,
That annoying trait can be found in people judging NHL goalies too.
Somehow "how many Stanley Cups they win" will determine if they're great or not.
Retarded.
I like saying the big "3 1/2" North American sports.
Sorry Alex, I can't see or hear you with my four Stanley Cup rings plugged in my eyes and ears.
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