Super Bowl week is here and with it comes all of the hoopla and, in most cases, garbage stories from the Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington area. Hey, did you guys know that the Steelers are trying for a seventh Super Bowl title? Hey, Ben Roethlisberger is trying for his third title, which would tie him with Brady! Oh, Aaron Rodgers is so hot right now! Green Bay and Pittsburgh are two traditional football cities with loyal fanbases! Guys, we get the generic storylines. Is it too much for us to ask the reporters to dig a little deeper out there? I realize something like 5000 media credentials have been handed out, so you’d think that there could be something like 5000 angles out there, but sadly we’ll get mostly the stories I just typed up above. Instead of the same inane drivel that ESPN, CNNSI and FOX will shove down our throats, how about we hear something new and/or real coming from Super Bowl coverage? Please?
Speaking over Super Bowl coverage, I thought John Kincade from 680 The Fan’s Buck & Kincade had a fine point on Roethlisberger’s refusal to address his suspension from earlier this season. (I refuse to call him “Big Ben” or just “Ben” like lazy play-by-play announcers will do. He isn’t a clock.) Kincade suggested that he have started out the week with a prepared statement to satisfy the folks looking for the real story, apologizing to the Steelers owners while also acknowledging the suspension and how bad he feels before then saying that he won’t take questions. You don’t want to take questions, enh fine. But you have to at least acknowledge that the suspension happened. Talk about how proud you were of the team and your backup quarterbacks or the offensive coordinator or even the defense for covering for you. Show some humility. Show some remorse. Show something other than, “Nah, I’m not going to talk about that. I don’t feel like it. I’m Big Ben!”
While we are on the topic of Roethlisberger and how much I liked Kincade’s approach for the Steelers signal-caller, I will just shake my head at 680’s Perry Laurentino. I realize that the Rude Awakening co-host was strictly taking his stance on Roethlisberger to draw a reaction, but I think his attempt flat-lined. Under the guise of “I’m a fan,” Laurentino was going over the top in the “he was never charged with anything!” routine, realizing that we the listeners would be “FURIOUS!” with him over it. Here’s the thing though: the bit didn’t play out for me. I realized he was faking it. No one would be willing to put their head in the sand in a situation like that, even if he is trying to make a point to the listeners about how ridiculous they sound when they do something similar (cough-Michael Vick-cough). The thing is though, we as listeners remember two months ago when you were ripping Auburn quarterback Cam Newton despite the lack of proof and were mocking the Auburn supporters that would call up and say, “yeah his dad is doing it, but he isn’t.” That is why I just don’t buy his, “Roethlisberger was never charged so the suspension was preposterous,” talk. Sorry man. Wait a bit longer for the memory of your past rants to fade away before you take the opposite stance.
On Score Atlanta Sports Sunday last week we had a listener call up and boldly proclaim that he was rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers because he couldn’t wait for history to be made. I asked him what history and he admitted that he was looking forward to Mike Tomlin, the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, becoming the first black head coach to win two Super Bowl titles. I thanked the caller, Mel from Southwest Atlanta by the way, and then asked my co-host and fellow Score Atlanta writer Brian Jones how big of a deal this was for him. By no means was I trying to take away from Tomlin’s accomplishments as a black coach, but it was my opinion that if we simply celebrate what Tomlin is accomplishing as a “black coach,” we are selling him short. I asked Brian, shouldn’t we instead celebrate that he’d be the first coach with two before the age of 40? Why should we have to look at Tomlin’s success as the success of a black coach? I choose to look at Tomlin’s accomplishments as the success of a darn fine coach. If he claims a second title, he is suddenly in the elite range and skin color shouldn’t matter; just the number of titles. I don’t think I am out of line on this one. I wish we could look at Tomlin should he win the Super Bowl and just see a coach. Even if he loses, PS, he is still a coach with a Lombardi Trophy, which is more than most of the league’s coaches can say.
I was riding in my car the other day, listening to 680 The Fan’s Rude Awakening and during an interview it finally hit me: co-host Leo Mazzone is a human See-n-Say. While Rude and Laurentino were peppering the guest with questions, every now and then you’d hear a “Mmmmmmmmmm,” or an “Nnnnnnnnnnnnn,” or an “Ahhhhh,” or “Ooooooooooooooooh,” from Leo. In other segments, Leo will repeat what Rude says, kind of like how a toddler does after the See-n-Say squawks, “the cow says, ‘moooo.’” Both major Atlanta sports radio stations dipped into the amateur ranks several years back, acquiring a big name with minimal on-air experience but only one situation has really worked out. While Mazzone pulls the See-n-Say routine during interviews on 680, 790 The Zone’s David Pollack has grown from timid speaker to opinionated and competent personality. Pollack certainly knows his football but he can also go on about tennis, basketball and some baseball. His time with ESPN has seemed to help his confidence, and he is now more than just a serviceable sidekick for co-host Mike Bell. Mazzone meanwhile still has miles to go before he can be more than just a local name drawing listeners during baseball season.
Can You Believe He Said That
As he showed during BCS coverage, his ability to communicate the strategic aspects of the game and his incredible track record for success will serve college football fans everywhere.”
That was ESPN executive Norby Williamson when announcing that Urban Meyer will be joining ESPN as an analyst for the upcoming football season. I watched Meyer during the BCS coverage. A bit dry. But perhaps he’ll loosen up a bit as he gets more comfortable on camera. It took Lou Holtz a while. And just maybe we’ll get to see Meyer hand out “Oscars” for his player of the day or something. What am I saying? Urban will never let ESPN get that cheesy with him.
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