Letters to the Editor
kevred
Published Letters: 92 Editor's Choice: 8
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What this weekend's matchups sound like to me:
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]AFC: Bitter, angry overachievers motivated by lack of universal adoration and respect for everything they do vs. bitter, angry mess of a team mad at other team for ruining their coast to the Super Bowl last year. Both have given us some of the least entertaining football of the year, the Pats via their mechanical, charm-free playing style and the Chargers with some of the ugliest slog-games of the season.
NFC: Two teams that no one thought would be here, full of charming guys who've played hard all season and not whined about how they're not getting proper respect--who've been motivated by challenges instead of bitterness and resentfulness, and who've given us some of the most fun and surprising football of the year along the way (apart from that London game--ouch!).
For those of us who are fans of good old fashioned football that's fun and that you can feel good about, the Super Bowl will be played this weekend--at Lambeau Field. Go Packers & Giants!
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Pretty darn interesting way to close a season
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]What a great, interesting playoff series it's been. Lots of exciting moments, lots of gutsy play, and yes, lots of examples of "who wants it more". Loved the Redskins getting in. Loved how unexpectdly hard Seattle played against them. I loved Jack del Rio going for it on the Jags' first drive against NE and pounding in a touchdown instead of taking the easy field goal. I hated that San Diego took the FG route repeatedly this week, but loved the gutsy play of the players, especially Rivers, who's not impressed me all year, but I'm really impressed with how never-say-die he's been lately. That's football.
And I'm glad that the Giants are in. I'm a long-time Cowboys fan, and after they lost really wanted to see the Packers make it, but I found myself transformed into a Giants fan in both games, because I couldn't help but respect how hard they're playing. They're just plain tougher than the Cowboys (which, along with a vulnerable deep secondary, is their last weakness) and the Pack seemed so oddly flat. I think the Giants have earned everyone's respect, mine included.
We can say whatever we like about the Super Bowl, but the playoffs have shown us that predictions are pretty much useless. (Alright, "Pats win" has been pretty reliable, but still...) Of course the Giants have a chance--they only lost by 3 last time, with injuries, and with the Pats playing for a perfect season. This time, they're healthier, their confidence and sharpness has grown, and they've seen the Pats first-hand, recently, and have a better idea of what they're dealing with. All the pressure is on the Pats.
Super Bowls tend to be such glitzy, calculated affairs that they can never have the same kind of spontaneous surprise of a regular-season or playoff game. I don't think anything can top the game these two teams played a few weeks ago. Playing in Arizona in front of a neutral crowd with a 30-minute halftime after two weeks off with each team's (in some ways) most critical tests behind them is not a formula for a fiery, intense game.
But I've rarely seen two teams that have fought so hard for so long to get to this moment. If they play up to their own standards, it could be a terrific game.
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You have to be very careful with writing like this
[Read the article: Hey, wait -- that's my abortion!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I was a bit troubled by the way in which this piece was written, because it makes heavy use of (at least) two techniques commonly used by the radical right/male power structure to undermine the credibility of views it disagrees with.
First is the tone, which, intended or not, came across as somewhat smug and dismissive. Second is the approach of responding to one issue by bringing in numerous other, more extreme examples. Both of these have been used time and again by those in a position of power to dismiss the ideas of those out of power and to cloud the issue--to take the focus off of the specific item in question and to frame it in another way. (Bill O'Reilly demonstrates both techniques every day.)
To use a dismissive tone is to bully the reader--'you don't take this seriously, do you?' And to bring up other, loonier examples is an easy way of avoiding focusing the specific points you're trying to refute. It doesn't really prove the other side's wrong, or that you're right. It's just noise.
I don't believe the writer is wrong in the main points she's making, in fact I agree with her to an extent. But when dealing with an issue of this seriousness, any techniques that are used to invalidate out of hand are a double-edged sword that any social progressive has felt the sting of time and again.
And in case anyone's wondering where my sympathies lie: I believe in a woman's right to choose, that no man can understand or experience the choice or the context of the choice as a woman does. I also believe that, like any choice of its magnitude, abortion can be traumatic to everyone involved. To claim otherwise, or seek to invalidate the emotions of those involved, is absurd. But for the radical right to decide what the experience will inherently be for everyone else is even more absurd.
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The comments section for this column is becoming so self-referential...
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...it's increasingly despair-inducing watching this space descend into the same few losers attacking each other and piling up in-jokes, rather than actually commenting on the substance of the column or, really, taking a level-headed look at anything at all. It's like you same few chuckleheads wait for a new column to be posted and then just carry on with your private conversation.
No one cares what you same few people think of one another, or who you think is a nerd (hint: it's the non-football-player spending hours posting comments on web sites), or which of you gets whatever imaginary bragging rights you're after.
Talk about something besides yourselves for a while--please.