Arenaball and Iraq Won`t Mix Here
Dan Ryan
Tuesday March 4, 2003
Here`s another thought: Does it matter what our favorite arenaballers think about world events? Of course. Does it merit the additional space demand on Kevmo`s state-of-the-art server? Not really.
Chance are, dear readers, (I am so blatantly brown-nosing at this given moment) you have logged on to peruse Wagner`s view on the SaberCats` repeat chances, or Kubiak dealing with an intense coach, Kelly on holding every AFL passing record imaginable. You don`t want George Will. You want the cool Rev. Pickut, who disdains restaurants serving chicken wings but drops Eminem samples like they come straight from Proverbs. Or my eternal quest for an arenafan.com golf shirt from these cheap-a....er, wonderful folks of this site who already have enough to deal with thanks to their hometown team`s slow start.
This is where you come to escape the upcoming wars, the space shuttle disasters, nightclub fires or the simple fact that the world is getting worse and worse, to find out the dealings of your favorite niche of the sporting world, the one that now has a national TV contract and a pre-game show featuring a former Dallas Cowboy wearing gaudy clothes.
Perfect.
If you don`t wanna’ read about Iraq, then we shouldn`t be writing about it either.
Do I have an opinion? Of course. Is this the right venue? Nope.
All this diatribe stems from the actions of one Toni Smith, a Division III women`s point guard at a tiny New York liberal arts college who turns her back on the national anthem to protest. Let me repeat for dramatic effect, and Mary-Ann, please boldface the following a Division III women`s point guard at a tiny New York liberal arts college.
You can see all sides: 1) It`s her right to protest; 2) it`s disruptive and her wuss coach should show her the door; 3) if this was Iraq, she`d have had electrical equipment strapped to her for opening her mouth and shooting 27 percent from the field her first three seasons.
Since when does the opinion of a Division III point guard whose career scoring average is lower than her GPA merit national attention? Everyone`s opinion matters, but it doesn`t justify a national publication running a picture of her backside that takes up more space than the roundup of a professional football league`s weekend results. Even if were an AFL player, it`s a waste of space ... Mary-Ann, let`s do some more boldfacing ....in the sports section
Sports and entertainment provide one heck of a national platform, but there`s a thin line of relevance that is constantly crossed. Hey, Martin Sheen may play the only President I`d vote for on television, but should I follow what he says in the East or South wing? And if he keeps it up, then my vote goes to David Palmer from "24" or Michael Douglas` Andrew Sheppard from the American President, which will be aired for the 5,000 time this weekend on TNT.
And as for us media types showing that we can in fact delve into the fray with the news side, don`t bother. I can live with a human-interest piece or the media writer explaining the upcoming nosedive in ratings due to war coverage and/or the NCAA`s new drama "Bracketville," but remember the audience and the storyline.
If Rev. Pickut can take on a national restaurant chain or if I can skewer the cesspool that is our national media and keep it within the context of the Predators thumping the Firebirds Monday night to remain unbeaten, so be it. Besides, it`s all Al Gore`s fault for blowing the election. (See? One sentence is all I need.)
So, Barry, can the SaberCats do it again?
[Editor’s note: Please recognize that this is not DivisionIIIwomensbasketballpoliticalforumfan.com. While the editor appreciates Dan’s comments, they don’t really have a whole lot to do with football, but we posted it anyway. And Dan, you’re not getting a shirt. Get over it.]
Dan Ryan has been involved with all forms of arena football since 1988, including writing for ArenaFan when Joe Kauffman and Tim Capper aren’t killing his columns because they don’t get his jokes or perspective. His day job is at Bethune-Cookman University, which has produced both an NFL Hall of Famer (Larry Little) and an Arena Football Hall of Famer (Stevie Thomas) and his hobby is tracking how many f-bombs Adam Markowitz drops in the chat room on game nights.
