Letters to the Editor
who wants to know
Published Letters: 56 Editor's Choice: 32
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Oh, please.
[Read the article: The rise and fall of T.O.]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I like that Paglia can dish on Madonna and the Philadelphia Eagles with equal aplomb, but this piece just left me scratching my head.
To begin with: it says a lot about race in America that overpaid athletes are upheld as the standard bearers of African-American life, rather than public figures whose work and conduct actually have substantive importance to the world. I don't care if you're talking about T.O. or McNabb or Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods--these guys are entertainers, not social activists. And the only color that matters in pro sports these days is green. It's absolutely ridiculous to imply that McNabb's recent reluctance to scramble has anything to do with race--he's just getting older and realizing that his body can't take the kind of pounding it used to. McNabb just wants to be around for a few more years and to be able to walk unaided at the end of his career. In another year or two, the same thing will happen to Michael Vick--unless he figures out how to play within a set offense and throw with better touch and accuracy, he'll end up getting knocked silly in the open field by someone like Ray Lewis, be on crutches for the rest of the season, and then fade off into obscurity with the likes of Kordell Stewart.
Ironically, the first superstar black quarterbacks--Doug Williams and Warren Moon--were traditional pocket passers. Randall Cunningham was hot for a few years, but when his body started to ail, so did his play and his reputation. The last true scrambling quarterback to have a hall-of-fame career was Fran Tarkenton (a white guy, incidentally), and Tarkenton could never have played that way against the speed and power of today's defensive backs for more than a season without ending up a cripple. And would anyone dare call Daunte Culpepper an Uncle Tom?
As for T.O., many African-American public figures and athletes have expressed embarrassment and contempt for his behavior, including the likes of Charles Barkley, who said as much to Bob Costas on HBO's Real Sports last week. The idea that T.O. is 'blacker' than McNabb for demanding more money, slagging his team to the media, and behaving like a spoiled kindergartner is nonsensical and disgraceful.
It's too bad T.O. is such a jackass, because he really is a phenomenal athlete and a consummate showman. He was tons of fun to watch in S.F., from his spectacular catches and runs to his silly touchdown celebrations. But he was never a good fit for the Eagles organization, and Owens' and the team's hunger for a quick trip to the Super Bowl blinded them to the long-term mismatch. Owens belongs on a team like the Cowboys or the Raiders, with owners and fans who embrace eccentric, flashy personalities and coaches who know how to manage their gargantuan egos.
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keith jackson and dan fouts
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]hey king:
gotta disagree with you re: keith jackson. though i'm sure his time is short (and what better game to retire after?), i enjoyed his goofy banter as much as ever. it's probably mostly nostalgia, but i can't imagine a rose bowl without him. and while jackson seemed a little lost occasionally, i thought dan fouts was great--he covered jackson well, and they seemed to be enjoying each other; it was a little like watching a game with your grandfather and an ex-jock uncle. at any rate, i always enjoy games with dan fouts in the booth, and i'm really glad jackson was on this game. it seems appropriate that the guy who has been such a fixture at the rose bowl call what may well be the best college football game ever played there, even if he's getting a little rusty in old age.
the only thing that would have made it better was if it had been played on jan. 1. i'll never forgive the BCS and the corporate sponsors for ruining the 'new year's day bowl game marathon' ritual. for us east-coasters, there's only so many weekday nights when you can get through a football game that didn't start until nearly 9pm and still make it to work on time the next morning. i live in florida, and since everyone around here was up until 1.45 am the night before watching Penn St./FSU in the orange bowl (another fantastic game, by the way), half of us were asleep on the couch by the 4th quarter of the rose bowl, and thus missed the excellent performances of leinart, bush, and white and the improbable heroics of vince young.
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ressentiment?
[Read the article: I was conned by JT Leroy]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]i'm not crazy about ayelet, but jeesh. there's a lot of sick envy and pointless resentment in these letters. i'm much more annoyed by other salon writers (rebecca traister or cintra wilson, anyone?) than by ayelet. and while it's probably true that her writing career benefits significantly from the connections of her famous spouse, chabon's work is drop-dead brilliant and he seems like a decent human from his interviews (a frighteningly rare trait among the notoriously arrogant and narcissistic ranks of literary novelists), so if chabon digs the woman enough to marry her, she can't be all bad. furthermore, the JT leroy story is fascinating--especially for bay area literary types--and i'm a sucker for gossip.
nevertheless, i must echo the sentiment of disaffection regarding salon's recent editorial direction. since talbot's official departure, salon has definitely listed hard in the direction of yuppie-mom-friendly content. it's become more and more like oprah for people with post-graduate degrees. i thought that the invention of the broadsheet might have been an effort to curb the slide by providing an alternate venue for pieces about chick-lit and 'sex & the city', but things only seem to be getting worse.
don't blame ayelet--she's not the editor. hey joan! i don't hate you, but i haven't read much lately that justifies renewing my premium membership. slate is a lot better these days, and it's free.