The Weird, Wacky and Awesome World of the NFL - General Banter thread

TO.

ESPN 30 for 30 : Elway to Marino starts on ESPN America tonight at 10pm if anyone has it.

Hazys

I thought this was pretty cool:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/03/vince-lombardi-accepted-gay-players-on-his-team/

Vince Lombardi accepting and fighting for gay players on his team back in the 60's...the fact that it is 50 years later and this is still an issue is amazing.

frostie500

Hazys wrote: »

I thought this was pretty cool:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/03/vince-lombardi-accepted-gay-players-on-his-team/

Vince Lombardi accepting and fighting for gay players on his team back in the 60's...the fact that it is 50 years later and this is still an issue is amazing.

Very cool indeed. I always liked watching any of the Lombardi era NFL films because it was clear that while he was an ultra hard task manager and disciplinarian his players all spoke of their respect and admiration for him as a man as much as a coach even though lots of them had their working relationships end difficultly with Lombardi.

I think in the 66 America's Game there was a black defensive lineman, Willie Davis I think, and one of the Bill Curry admitted that he was ashamed to say that when he first met Davis he was filled with racist thoughts against his teammate but once he saw the impact that Davis could make on the field he saw that Davis was no different to him. I loved though how he said something along the lines of if it wasnt for Lombardi and the NFL he would have continued to believe in the racism that he was brought up with. As a result I'm actually not too surprised about this story. Even nearly 45 years after dying it's amazing how much of a trendsetter in the NFL that Lombardi continues to be

My own thoughts on it is that I've always believed that as far as sports are concerned coaches and players dont care too much about what goes on outside of business hours with their teammates and players as long as they can get the job done. Does a receiver care that his QB is gay as long as he gets the ball to him? Do any of Jason Collins teammates care that he is gay as long as he puts his body on the line giving a teammate a screen or getting a rebound? Course they don't.

On a side note I was embarrassed to see that when another journalist asked a question about why there has never been an openly gay member of the MotoGP community (as a rider, team principal etc.) the reaction from the other members of the press was nervous laughter when the question was asked or when the riders gave their answers. With that kind of reaction it's very difficult to see how anyone in the MotoGP paddock could come out without feeling that they would be either ridiculed

Realt Dearg Sec

frostie500 wrote: »

My own thoughts on it is that I've always believed that as far as sports are concerned coaches and players dont care too much about what goes on outside of business hours with their teammates and players as long as they can get the job done. Does a receiver care that his QB is gay as long as he gets the ball to him? Do any of Jason Collins teammates care that he is gay as long as he puts his body on the line giving a teammate a screen or getting a rebound? Course they don't.

the problem arises when they don't get the job done, and the dude's sexuality comes back into play, with the opposition, with the team, and with the fans, for and against. getting respect when its going well is one thing, and a massive leap forward, but when its going badly is the next test. Ask donal og cusack, he blazed a trail in a very masculine, homophobic world, but in the process showed that maturity and respect will win out over ignorance and stupidity. I'm sure the same will be the case in the NFL. But I expect a longer road. too serious altogether, you know yourself ;-)

Red Crow

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

the problem arises when they don't get the job done, and the dude's sexuality comes back into play, with the opposition, with the team, and with the fans, for and against. getting respect when its going well is one thing, and a massive leap forward, but when its going badly is the next test. Ask donal og cusack, he blazed a trail in a very masculine, homophobic world, but in the process showed that maturity and respect will win out over ignorance and stupidity. I'm sure the same will be the case in the NFL. But I expect a longer road. too serious altogether, you know yourself ;-)

I think it has to be accepted that no matter how much effort is put in to surrounding people with different culture and ways of life; there are still people who'll choose to be ignorant often due to their own insecurities. That will never change. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying its okay to be homophobic or racist but the fact is that some people really never change. This is especially magnified as it's a professional sports star who's supposed to be a role model for the young.

It doesn't matter if you're black, Jewish, gay, Asian, fat or small people shouldn't give a damn about where people are from or what sexuality they are because as long as you're not from Kilkenny you're all right in my books :P

Realt Dearg Sec

Eli Manning wrote: »

as long as you're not from Kilkenny you're all right in my books :P

then we have a problem. :-)

But no I think attitudes can and do change, things that were once acceptable attitudes become verboten. Imagine trying to argue against black head coaches or quarter backs. Yet not very long ago, that would have been possible in polite conversation. The change happens because people force it to do so, not by magic. It won't be remotely odd to have a gay player in any major American sport in about ten or fifteen years and this conversation will look a little silly I suppose. But only because people insisted on standing up for what's right like kluwe and ayanbadejo.

Arawn

Eli Manning wrote: »

I think it has to be accepted that no matter how much effort is put in to surrounding people with different culture and ways of life; there are still people who'll choose to be ignorant often due to their own insecurities. That will never change. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying its okay to be homophobic or racist but the fact is that some people really never change. This is especially magnified as it's a professional sports star who's supposed to be a role model for the young.

It doesn't matter if you're black, Jewish, gay, Asian, fat or small people shouldn't give a damn about where people are from or what sexuality they are because as long as you're not from Kilkenny you're all right in my books :P

What's wrong with the original capital??

Red Crow

Arawn wrote: »

What's wrong with the original capital??

The hurlers!

Arawn

Eli Manning wrote: »

The hurlers!

Oh yeah a lot of em are proper ***** alright

poldebruin

Patriots have traded for LeGarrette Blount. He's still only 26, and has some charactor question marks (surprise!). A 7th rounder and Jeff Demps for a $650k - one year deal. Seems like a low risk move, and the guy showed his potential in 2010.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/05/blount-agrees-to-pay-cut-with-patriots/

TO.

poldebruin wrote: »

Patriots have traded for LeGarrette Blount. He's still only 26, and has some charactor question marks (surprise!). A 7th rounder and Jeff Demps for a $650k - one year deal. Seems like a low risk move, and the guy showed his potential in 2010.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/05/blount-agrees-to-pay-cut-with-patriots/

Trade was done during the draft but contract tied down today. Good to see the Pats got him to take a pay cut. Means it now becomes a low risk trade. As a Pats fan I am hoping the Pats can iron out his kinks and nonsense.

Son Of A Vidic

TO. wrote: »

Trade was done during the draft but contract tied down today. Good to see the Pats got him to take a pay cut. Means it now becomes a low risk trade. As a Pats fan I am hoping the Pats can iron out his kinks and nonsense.

A very good value piece of business there, with Blount ending up having to take a 62.5% pay cut.

DDC1990

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

A very good value piece of business there, with Blount ending up having to take a 62.5% pay cut.

As a Bucs fan I can tell you that you might be disappointed. Blunt isn't quick and he is terrible as a short yardage back. For a guy that is 250 he gets blown out of it so often. Crap in the passing game as a catcher or blocker. Manages some huge chunks of yardage at a time, but then is ineffective for 90% of the game.

No issues in terms of attacking teammates or opposition recently and he has a good attitude.

Son Of A Vidic

DDC1990 wrote: »

As a Bucs fan I can tell you that you might be disappointed.

But I'm not expecting anything from him tbh. I just commented that we got good value, given that he virtually gave away his salary.

DDC1990

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

But I'm not expecting anything from him tbh. I just commented that we got good value, given that he virtually gave away his salary.

That's OK. Ridley and Vereen are far superior in my opinion. I don't expect Demps to make any impact in Tampa either outside of being a KR. Bit of a dead trade.

TO.

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

But I'm not expecting anything from him tbh. I just commented that we got good value, given that he virtually gave away his salary.

Agreed. He obviously has some talent and if the Pats get him to perform and get anything positive out of him its a win win for the Pats. If the Pats cant fix his playing we dump him and lose nothing really.

Son Of A Vidic

DDC1990 wrote: »

That's OK. Ridley and Vereen are far superior in my opinion. I don't expect Demps to make any impact in Tampa either outside of being a KR. Bit of a dead trade.

I was amazed that we were able to offload Demps at all. Glad that we have a guy that might be able to play. As opposed to a guy who doesn't want to play.

JaMarcus Hustle

Browns draft pick Armonty Bryant last week, answer questions from Cleveland reporters re: being arrested in college for selling weed:

‘“Good people make mistakes’ is something that I’ve always been told by my coach,” Bryant said. “I feel like it was just a stupid move on my part. I should have been more mature about the situation and be more focused on football, which is something I really want to do with my life.

“Now that I’ve gotten that second chance, I feel like I won’t let anyone down. I won’t let myself, the people around me or the Cleveland Browns down. I appreciate them for taking this chance on me.”

9 days later: Armonty Bryant arrested for DUI in Oklahoma.

Silver-Tiger

JaMarcus Hustle wrote: »

Browns draft pick Armonty Bryant last week, answer questions from Cleveland reporters re: being arrested in college for selling weed:



9 days later: Armonty Bryant arrested for DUI in Oklahoma.

Lombardi and Banner were getting some heat for drafting this maniac. Only took a few days to find out did they gamble pay off.

HigginsJ

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1632572-titus-young-arrested-twice-in-15-hours-on-sunday

Oh dear, Titus :rolleyes:

Zippy1991

Hey guys,
I'm gonna be in boston towards the end of the October and I'm a Dolphins fan.
Turns out the Pats are playing them the weekend I'm there.
Could anyone advise me on the best way to lay my hands on two tickets for this game?
Thanks in advance.

Zippy

Hazys

Zippy1991 wrote: »

Hey guys,
I'm gonna be in boston towards the end of the October and I'm a Dolphins fan.
Turns out the Pats are playing them the weekend I'm there.
Could anyone advise me on the best way to lay my hands on two tickets for this game?
Thanks in advance.

Zippy

A small amount of tickets go on general sale on Ticketmaster in late June/Early July, so try there first as you have a decent chance at getting them at face value.

If you don't get them then, try one of the ticket tout websites a month or two out from the game, but expect to pay at least double face for them.

adrian522

Hazys wrote: »

A small amount of tickets go on general sale on Ticketmaster in late June/Early July, so try there first as you have a decent chance at getting them at face value.

If you don't get them then, try one of the ticket tout websites a month or two out from the game, but expect to pay at least double face for them.

Stub etc is good, they wouldn't be double the price unless it is a game that has huge demand.

My brother got into the Bears/packers game last year and while it was more expensive than face value it wasn't double the price.

Expect to pay around $150 for the cheapest seats.

adrian522

Rochey18 wrote: »

Here you go

Ticketmaster tickets for Pats game

That's for the game in Miami, the OP is looking for the game in foxboro.

Justin10

adrian522 wrote: »

That's for the game in Miami, the OP is looking for the game in foxboro.

Sorry my bad

johnmcdnl

HigginsJ wrote: »

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1632572-titus-young-arrested-twice-in-15-hours-on-sunday

Oh dear, Titus :rolleyes:

Dude, Where's My Car :pac:

Hazys

adrian522 wrote: »

Stub etc is good, they wouldn't be double the price unless it is a game that has huge demand.

My brother got into the Bears/packers game last year and while it was more expensive than face value it wasn't double the price.

Expect to pay around $150 for the cheapest seats.

Different teams, different demand. $150 is the minimum for Pats tickets on the secondary market and that is double the price.

etloveslsd

Hazys wrote: »

Different teams, different demand. $150 is the minimum for Pats tickets on the secondary market and that is double the price.

I got tickets to The Dolphins @ The Bills for around $130. which wasn't much over face value. we were row 9 between the 10 and 15 yard line, so good seats.

A friend of mine got 50 yard line tickets for The Raiders for around $50 for the season opener a few years ago (Megatrons debut)

Depend on how the team is dong.

Paully D

Ronde Barber has retired, meaning that now the only active player from the 1997 draft is Tony Gonzalez.

TO.

HigginsJ wrote: »

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1632572-titus-young-arrested-twice-in-15-hours-on-sunday

Oh dear, Titus