I wrote about the Harrington vs. Siragusa dustup.

Nice column, Jim. Here in Motown a lot of us Lions faithful were kinda livid about Mr. Sirigusa's comments. I guess he has nothing better to do on the sidelines than talk about people who don't fit his "preconcieved notion" of a football player. That's fine with me; I'd much rather have a team of great guys like Harrington on my squad than some dope like Sirigusa.

We look forward to the day when Tony brings his sideline show back to Detroit. I'm sure he'll receive a most cordial welcome.

At least he didn't call Joey a "finesse" player! Then again... a word like "finesse" is probably outside his vocabulary, isn't it?

I look forward to reading all of the posts from the Joey Harringtion fan club.

I have to admit that when I clicked on the link to the article and the picture of Siragusa (sp) came up I said out loud in the office Oh My God that dude has a mullet. My admin heard me and started laughing.

Mike

Siragusa does come across as a dolt. Good riddance.

I can't believe Fox put this moron back on the air after seeing how awful he was last year. And putting him with Dick Stockton, who hasn't been competent in a decade or more, doubles the horror.

And they've done both Eagles games that weren't on Monday night! Oh, the agony! The only one suffering worse has to be Moose Johnston.

And they'll do this week's Bears-Eagles game!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Oh wait, I'll be at the Phillies game in row 1 behind the visitors' dugout on Sunday. I'll tape the game, watch it later without the sound and with lots of fast-forwarding. Woo-hoo!

I sorta like the goose.

I dunno, i think you guys are making a little bit too much out of this. Madden says things like that all the time in a way...

I've heard Madden say things that make him a big dumb white guy who doesnt understand. I think the goose is doing the same thing.

You gotta admit that playing the piano and all that jazz is quite out of the norm.

I didn't follow the Detroit game at all this weekend, but I guess Harrington fumbled or something. I heard some analyst say something like, "Hey Joey, stop playing piano and focusing on blah, blah, blah..." I was so irritated I just turned the channel.

So he plays the piano. I can't believe these guys make such a big deal out it.

I'm glad Joey shot back at Goose.

Siragusa is another idiot, unqualified for his job. The networks have been hiring these guys for many years because they have big mouths. But if that's all they bring to the table, you end up with stupid incidents like this and Rush Limbaugh and Dennis Miller and...

Who'd have thought that Michael Irvin would be the least offensive of this group of recently hired personalities!

I tend to think we're all taking this a bit too much to heart. I think Siragusa's a typically oafish ex-jock, but I honestly don't feel his views were a cloaked homosexual slur. They were verbalized stupidity - nothing more, nothing less.

That's how I took it too (the comments imply stereotypes of what's appropriate behavior for men, or at least for "real" i.e. hetero men, but never state those stereotypes, so it's all subtext). I wasn't offended, just put off by the stupidity.

It reinforces the tiresome "just a dumb jock" stereotype -- which is bad enough that someone at the network probably should be having second thoughts about using doofuses like this as commentators (unless, of course, the back-office guys are doofuses like this themselves).

I would tend to agree that we might be taking this a bit too seriously except for this line:

I mean, c'mon. He may as well be saying "Joey Harrington is a big old dick sucking faggot".

I thought the "Strawberries and Chocolate" remark sounded awfully suggestive as well. Champagne & caviar is just high-falutin, but...

I wrote that "Harrington is gay" is one interpretation, but not the only one. Regardless, Siragusa showed what a buffoon he is.

I'm glad Joey fired back but I'm sure he just chalked it up to Siragusa being a big bafoon. Joey has always been different than your average football jock (he calls himself a dork) and I don't think a remark like this will change him at all. That's why I love him so.

I am a big Harrington fan, and think Siragusa's remarks were stupid and ridiculous, but...

You know - oddly enough - I didn't nesc. take his remarks that way...

Admittedly they could obviously be construed that way - but... not every message has to have a hidden meaning.

And frankly I don't credit Siragusa with the smarts or sophistication to be playing word games like that... I think it takes every bit of smarts he has to say anything in an on air conversation.

There was a reason he was a defensive lineman after all. Take it from me that these guys are not usually the towering intellectuals on a team that the Offensive line usually is... and frankly, nothing in his commentary has given me any cause to change that assesment.

At the risk of outraging the rest of the board - on this one I will give him the benefit of the doubt that that wasn't what he meant.

At worst he is just the poster boy for 'dumb jock' who made some assenine and clueless remarks about a good - maybe great - guy who is multi talented, humanitarian, down to earth, and also happens to be a great athlete.

Though I do so desprately wish it were true... I would be all over Harrington like white on rice.

You know there are a lot of guys who associate Roughness (and here is where Harringtons 'cultural' sophistication gets inn the way for some) with Toughness - and maybe can't see someone like Harrington being Mentally Tough enough to be one of the greats - Fox has a great article on toughness...

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3042254?GT1=5377

As a Former D1 player I can certainly relate to that mindset; There is a certain mental toughness needed in order to play well. You need to be able to go out there and be willing to put everything on the line without reserve every single time you step on the field. You are certainly far more willing to follow a guy out onto the field that you know will put forth everything he has got - than the guy who will occasionally for whatever reason hold back. Some guys have that - some don't. In the words of the above article...

"Sometimes it's more difficult to see the toughness in a young player such as Joey Harrington of the Lions, who gets rid of the ball so quickly, ... Players can develop toughness as they are tested."

I personally think Harrington has it, it is just tougher for some guys to see.

Rob

[ October 01, 2004, 09:05 AM: Message edited by: ITJock ]

I tend to see this as not so insulting, rather its just unfortunate.

In one respect its kind of insightful, even if its all about stereotypes . . . he is articulating a seldom acknowledged (though fictitious) class distinction . . . . Linemen are big burly and most likely to go hunting, they are about big pick-up trucks.
Quarterbacks (so the myth goes) are intelligent, scharlarship awarded academic whizes that come from the upper-middle suburbs
(all lies of-course, but it is still just beneath the surface)

He seemed to be pointing that out by outlining symbols that are emblematic of the different class . . . he also assumed that his audience understood what he meant

I think Siragusa was clearly saying that Joey Harrington was "gay," but not necessarily in the homosexual sense--more in the way that kids will say that something is "gay," meaning not macho and "manly."

SIRAGUSA ALERT!!!

Big Tony is doing sideline for the Lions/Giants this weekend at Giants Stadium... eek!

Can't wait to see what his tent-maker has made to adorn his adonis-like physique...

Would love to be in the network production meeting Saturday night at the Meadowlands Sheraton when Joey walks in to meet with the broadcast crew.

Well, Tony actually behaved, and he apparently spent some more time with J. I couldn't quite follow the whole thing, but it sounded like Joey bought him a beer last night... maybe Tony received word from the Fox brass to "play nice" and he kind of apologized about his comments about Joey.

Sounded like an apology, anyway... it must have worked, as our boy Joey had a career day against the G-Men!

Let's hope BIG Tony has the same effect on Joey Boi this weekend in Dallas...The Kenny Albert,Moose, and Goose combo have been assigned to the Lions/Cowboys game this weekend in Dallas...Joey and Tony are gonna be drinking buddies before the season ends! wink
Hopefully Dallas will wait until NEXT weekend to learn to play football....