The sky is falling, the sky is falling!!!
I don't mean to start off with a question, but what exactly is going on with the Bay Area sports writers? I have never seen such a conglomeration of Raider haters as you see when you read the sports pages from most Bay Area newspapers. For each Nancy Gay (good writer at the SF Chronicle) there are 2 or 3 Ray Ratto / Monte Poole type writers. These "Chicken Little" disciples bring a whole new meaning to "yellow journalism". (Ok that might be an exaggeration; but hey, what's good for the goose...)
I often wonder how these writers would feel if every day they were treated to newpapers full of people criticizing them on how well (or poorly in most cases) they do their job. How would their confidence fair if every day they were told how horrible they are, and how lacking in talent? You'd think that by the number of emails they get from rabid Raider fans, they'd calm down a little with the sensationalism that they use to describe what they apparently feel is the fall of the Raider Empire. They report daily on the issues the Raiders have as if no other rebuilding organization is having them. How many offensive coordinators have been let go this year? Yet though the Raiders have issues common to other teams in the league, Monte Poole decided to treat us to this lovely article http://www.insidebayarea.com/sports/ci_4753692, which is the reason for the title of my blog post today.
There is an awful lot in this article that I object to, but rather than rip apart the whole thing, I'm going to just grab a few of my favorites. So starting with his first paragraph:
"THE OBSOLESCENCE of Al Davis has not been graceful. A man who wielded power like a wrecking ball has become bitter and ineffectual, unable to stop his beloved Raiders from plunging into an unprecedented irrelevance."
I laughed pretty heartily at the obsolescence of Al Davis remark, because we all know that Al is damned by the media when he's too hands on, and he's damned by the media when he lets the reigns go. Either way he can't win, which is the tactic of a hater. Find a way to make him the bad guy no matter what the circumstances. By the way, when was the last time Monte had a conversation with Al Davis? I would venture that it hasn't happened. According to the NFL, Al was KEY in getting the players union agreement resolved. That doesn't sound obsolete to me. As for the phrase "unprecedented irrelevance", I find this curious. Is he saying that the Raiders are the worst team in the history of football and thereby irrelevant to the NFL? Or is he saying that they are the most irrelevant Raiders team in history? Either way, it's a ludicrous statement. You can ask the 2 teams the Raiders beat if THEY think the Raiders are irrelevant. For that matter ask the last 3 teams that the Raiders played if they think the Raiders are irrelevant. All three divisional foes would probably tell you the Raiders are pretty tough.
The problem with this type of journalist is that they're more about the dramatic effect of saying "Raiders implode as Shell explodes" than the facts. They're not really interested in the fact that the Raiders (although not a very good team) are improving. I thought journalism was about fact over effect, but apparently I am mistaken. There are issues in a number of football team's locker rooms. It's not just the Raiders. I for one watch every game, and I see something most "professional sports writers" don't. That is growth. There is a very big difference between the Raider team that played San Diego and got shut out in week one, versus the team that was a bad call and a bad pass from beating them in week 12. I'd love to slice and dice the article more, but this has gotten really long. Raider take over at http://raidertake.blogspot.com uses the phrase "Defending the Nation!" on his blog. I think it's great. Don't believe half the garbage you read from the "professional journalists", and defend the Raider Nation.
For now, and ever, I'm in THE RAIDER'S CORNER!!
3 comments:
Sweet take! Defending the nation, indeed.
It's the dynamic duo with you being "in the Raiders Corner" and Raider Take "Defending the Nation"!
Unfortunately there are many hack scribes who use their subjective views merely for shock value. Often there seems to be a lack of perspective. Sometimes the writer's bias seems more important to him than the actual story.
Are the editors and fact checkers of the blatant Raider-Haters asleep at the wheel or do the Raider articles get a free pass on accountability?
who freakin cares??????? who cares what some hack is writing???? focus on what is important and that is what is going on in the organization and the team..... the writers are a joke and putting so much emphasis on them is just validating it... are you afraid to write about the team and what ails it??? the truth.... Al is a problem,that is obvious,the personel decisions are a problem,the coaching is a problem.....why can't you write about what is happening with the team??? it's almost as if you try a deflect attention away from the problems by attacking tthe hacks... just another sign of denial and that is another problem within this organization..... some advice.... start becoming part of the solution instead of continuing with the denial and the socalled DEFENDING THE NATION.... the nation is fine,it's the team that needs to be addressed.
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