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 Sports Chick
September 20, 2004 CUT THE THEATRICS!!!!!! By: Marty Coultas Welcome back Milwaukeeworlders. WHAT A WEEK IN WISCONSIN! Yet again, I have proven myself right with the return of the arrogant as hell, but OH-SO-NEEDED cornerback for our Pack, Mike McKenizie. Finally, Sherman has realized that with out Mack on our squad he has no pot to piss in. I do not know and frankly DO NOT CARE what was said, what was promised, and what (IF ANYTHING) was guaranteed to MM, but whatever it was, it worked and we are now a team ready to compete with the big boys. Except of course, you are talking about Sunday afternoon’s debacle in Green Bay. With opening day at Lambeau and one victory under their belts, it looked as if the Pack was in line for a For-Sure Victory against our foes from Chi-Town. BOY WERE WE WRONG. Lovie Smith did seem to have a game plan that frustrated the Packers. At least offensively. Our new and vaunted defense with the blitzing and power rushes was ineffectual at best and sometimes it seemed as if “Da Bears” were just waiting for us knowing what was coming next. With the exception of Truluck (the free agent pickup) and Mike McKenzie there was never a really outstanding defensive play all day. Nick could have run the fumble back for a touchdown but he tripped, so what good was that? Brett and the offense never got into sync and even though Ahman Green is a serious hoss and a half, there is always the fumble bugaboo. Driver dropped passes and so did Walker and Bubba gets an offensive interference penalty. I am telling you, the offense was not ready to play the Chicago Bears this week. And it was the home opener, what more incentive do you need? The apologists among us will point to the “what ifs” and the statistical dominance we had over the Bears but we got our butts whipped by a team that was better prepared and came to play. We had better get a smarter game plan on both sides of the ball if we intend to make a game of it at Indy. This crap of getting off to a slow start and then coming on strong at the end of the season is tiring. Either Mike Sherman has a plan and the players to accomplish it or we need to get someone who does. As of today, with that shallow victory over a mediocre Charlotte team and this whuppin from the Bears, we need to see a lot more from Sherman’s team than has been exhibited so far. Which, my fellow Milwaukeeworlders reminds me again, why it is I get so GD annoyed by the players in the NFL....... Man, does the NFL ever have an impact on everyday life. The other day my garbage man successfully loaded my garbage can into the truck and then he flexed his arms and did a dance. Just like the one that some NFL receivers do after catching a pass. Then I went to the car wash and the guy who dries the windows was high fiving the guy that cleaned the tires. I guess they were proud of their work and I appreciate that pride but I wonder if it is really necessary to demonstrate so vociferously when all you have done is " YOUR FREAKIN JOB." What the hell is going on with these morons who run together and high five and do dances in the field after every reception or tackle and act like they have just saved the world? All they are doing is what they get paid to do and if they can't do it right then they ought to go out and get a real job. I mean it used to be a little inspirational when Gilbert stopped someone on a big play and then did the gravedigger thing. And the Lambeau leap (and the permutations in other venues) is OK after a touchdown but his stupid nonsense that takes place after mediocre plays has got to stop. Taunting is being dealt with but the players need to accept some responsibility and recognize that breaking up a pass play is not a reason to celebrate; it is an act that justifies the enormous amount being paid someone to play a silly game. I am sick of it. And in other melodramatic news............... I thought we might have heard the end of the story about USA basketball and their loss of the Gold Medal in Athens but no, no, no. This week the situation was addressed with the same arrogant lack of understanding that permeates the culture of this country. Bob Knight weighed in on the subject with his observation that the reason we lost had to do with the players being molly-coddled. They were allowed to stay on the Queen Mary rather than reside in the Olympic Village with all the rest of the athletes. Never mind the fact that they would have been inundated with attention from the other thousands of hero-worshipping athletes within the village, the Athen's Olympic committee would have had to hire another hundred security people just to follow the players around the grounds. It is another example of the short sighted and arrogant attitude that exists in this country about our "natural superiority." Forget the fact that the Europeans and Argentines and others have already given us a spankin and that they have also given us a game plan. We simply choose to ignore it because we know better and there is nothing wrong here in the USA other than our poor execution of a failed strategy and having the wrong personnel. Nonsense. We need a national strategy. We need to form a national team well in advance of these world tournaments, as much as two years. We need to get a commitment from the players and the coaches and we need it from the NBA as well. There needs to be practice time, there needs to be an opportunity for our players to play in international competitions together prior to going onto the big stages at the world tournaments and there needs to be a recognition by people in this country that our game here has become too physical on the offensive side and ridiculously thuggish on the defensive side. Basketball was and is a team game and we need to get over the idea that one guy can make a team great. While one go-to guy can be a difference for the NBA, in the international game that plan is sorely lacking in credibility. We will continue to be eaten alive internationally until we get over ourselves and take some lessons from the experience of these last three years. But, alas, we are the USA and as long as we continue to preen in front of the mirror of self-indulgence and listen to people like Knight, I fear we will continue to be doomed by our inability to learn the lessons history is now teaching us. With that said Milwaukeeworlders, I will sign off for the time being. No ass-slaps, high-fives or back-flips from Marty this week. Just the reminder to always keep your ears open and your noses clean. Marty the Sports Chick
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