Yes, I am about to commit blasphemy in its highest form, right here on my blog --
DEAR ESPN, PLEASE STOP COVERING FLORIDA FOOTBALL LIKE WE ARE THE ONLY PROGRAM IN THE COUNTRY
There, I said and I feel a little bit better. I know at least one of you might have just dropped a coffee mug and said 'woo hoo', but lets not get ahead of ourselves here (and clean up the mess please). I didn't say to 'stop covering Florida Football' just discontinue what you are currently doing. By that I mean, it is March people, we just started SPRING PRACTICE!
Here goes my rant, and I feel like Deonte Thompson (in that I am going to say how I feel and hope that everyone reading it doesn't dissect it, twist it, or fuck with it so they can make a headline). I guess I better digress first, because the Deonte Thompson 'real quarterback' quote is what got this whole thing started (and by the way there is plenty of blame to go around, including on Coach Meyer)...
The other day after practice, one of our WR's is asked to compare his old QB (Tim Tebow) to his new one (John Brantley). The WR in question, Thompson, said that, and I am paraphrasing, it was a little tougher with Tim because he might run, scramble or throw it at the last second. This meant he, as a WR, had to always be on his toes, and sometimes, quite frankly he wasn't. On the other hand, Brantley, is more of an 'pure passer' in that he drops back, has an idea of where he is going and delivers the ball in a much more rhythmic pattern, or as Thompson called it, "a real quarterback". There is where all the trouble began (big shocker, alert the world) one of Timmy's old teammates doesn't think Tim is a REAL QB!!!! Orlando Sentinel, Mike Bianchi (you douchebag -oops, personal opinion) let's make it a HEADLINE!!! Write a column, a blog, let the world know that a 21 year old kid says that 'Football's Lord and Savior is not a 'real QB'... I think you sense my sarcasm...
Do we really have a story here? Not really, but it is March and in between basketball games, baseball is in Spring Training, no one cares about basketball or hockey until the play-offs and Tiger's come back is 3 weeks away, so the National Sports News needs 'filler' and what better filler than another person dissing the Savior that is Tim Tebow! The PTI guys debate it and concur that "hey, it's really no big deal" and I thought, thank G-d that is over...but...nope, and here is where Meyer added fuel to the fire...the next day at practice HE goes after the reporter. Now I will tell you, I am glad he said something. My hope would have been that he would have pulled him aside and had a quiet discussion, but nope, he goes off on a rant, and yep, it's all on tape. So instead of this silly thing dying it is mushrooming and now it has spun out of control.
Last night, all I hear about is how Meyer is sticking up for Tebow and how this affects Tebow, and what it does to his draft status, etc...now I am scratching my head...Meyer was not in ANY WAY sticking up for Tebow, he was sticking up for his WR and current player. He was TRYING, though not succeeding, in trying to put the comment in perspective.
Like I said, there is a ton of blame here. One person I am not blaming is the original reporter, Jeremy Fowler, who asked the question. He did his job and I don't think he took the quote that much out of context. The person that did was Mike Bianchi at his paper that decided this needed to be his COLUMN of the day. He's the one I'd like to see Meyer in the back room with. I also understand that ESPN will cover anything and everything, but as a Florida Alum I am growing weary of the daily coverage and that sounds strange. To put it in context, I am a great Gator fan, but too many I am their worst nightmare as Gator fans already have a reputation about arrogance in the SEC. Layer that on with my Philadelphia sports upbringing and yep, I can be downright obnoxious. At least I admit it and I am seeking help (Step 1 complete - LMAO). In years past I would be rolling around like a pig in shit with all this coverage, but today I am afraid to turn on SportsCenter to see what is next. I love Tim Tebow, I love Coach Meyer, but at the end of the day the constant scrutiny about 'perfection' and 'Mr. Perfect' grew tiresome and hurt the team. I was hoping for a quiet Spring, one of developing young talent and of talk of re-building and then a nice build up to the Fall where we unleash John Brantley on the college football world...
Now, I just hope to go a weekend without seeing us on the 'crawl'
1 comment:
Totally agree on all points, Gilmaestro. You are still a loyal Gator. I might add: 1) News outlets now have so much space and time to fill that they have to create drama out of situations that are the dramatic equivalent of dryer lint. 2) Meyer was obviously defending Thompson, not Tebow, as Thompson's interview quote was pulled out and tweeted mercilessly by the Fowler, then misinterpreted by more desperate sports blabbers nationally. 3) Thompson has learned the harsh lesson of what happens when you speak with reporters. 4) Fowler and other reporters, if they worth their salt, know that sometimes they get their asses chewed out while on the beat. They actually get a kick out of it. 5) The media is obsessed beyond belief and nausea level with Meyer and Tebow, and now...they will probably start overanalyzing poor John Brantley too - and he seems like the kind of guy who wants to come to work with his cleats and his lunch pail and not babble about it incessantly. 6) Why in the wide, wide world of sports is the media not hovering over Nick Saban and the Bama 2010 team, since they are the defending national champions? Leave the Gators in peace, please!
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