Silver and BlueBlood

Who Dat Quarterback!

It took the New Orleans Saints organization 21 years just to post their first winning season. It was 33 years before they won a playoff game. Consequently, Super Bowl XLIV is the ultimate rags–to–riches tale in NFL lore. (Or, perhaps we should say bags–to–riches, since this is the team whose fans once wore bags over their heads and called them the ‘Aints.)

You would expect some memorable communications to come out of such a seminal moment in NFL history, and that is just what happened. Being the consummate investigative reporter, I was able to intercept some key text messages being sent before, during and after Sunday’s big game. Here are the ten best…

Number Ten

Tom Benson to San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro: “Looks like I won’t be needing that contingency plan after all. We’re staying put.”

Number Nine

Peyton Manning to his father Archie Manning, the Saints’ legendary quarterback and color analyst, after throwing the pick six to basically end the game: “You’re welcome.”

Number Eight

The wheels-off, derelict-looking Pete Townsend to the Devil: “Hey, man! We had a deal!”

Number Seven

Coordinating Producer for CBS Sports Steve Karasik to James Brown: “WTF did Sharpe just say? It’s unintelligible.”

Number Six

Shannon Sharpe to his speech therapist: “I demand a refund! I swear I am getting worse, dude. I can’t even understand me any more.”

Number Five

George W. Bush to Katie Couric: “You never looked at me the way you looked at President Obama today. Drool much? LOL.”

Number Four

Eli Manning to Peyton Manning, right after big brother threw that interception: “Hey Bro! Who has dumb face now? LOL.”

Number Three

Sean Peyton to Jim Caldwell right after the onside kick to lead off the second half: “You been punked, rookie.”

Number Two

Carrie Underwood to former boyfriend Tony Romo: “Told you I would make it to the Super Bowl before you did. LOL.”

Number One

Drew Brees to Phillip Rivers, as Drew was receiving the MVP award for Super Bowl XLIV: “Who dat quarterback?”

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Sometimes we forget. We analyze, criticize, immortalize, and demonize professional athletes every day. We worship them. We love them. We follow t

hem. We hate them. We berate them. We toss them aside.

Then tragedy strikes and we are reminded that these men and women gifted with such extraordinary skills, living their lives on such an open stage, beneath the white hot lamp of public criticism are, in fact, human. They live and breathe. They hope and dream. They laugh. They cry. They even die.

Jay Novacek was a Dallas Cowboy from 1990—1995. Before coming to the Cowboys, he was a St. Louis/Arizona Cardinal. Before turning pro, he was a standout tight end for the University of Wyoming Cowboys. During his six years with the Dallas Cowboys, he earned five Pro Bowl trips and was named All-Pro once. He was a favorite target for quarterback Troy Aikman.

He was also a fan favorite.

Jay and LeAnne Novacek

Today, he is a widower. His wife LeAnne, for reasons unknown at this point, while visiting her mother in Burleson, Texas, elected to end her own life. Details are still sketchy. The Dallas Morning News is reporting that she died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. She was only 45 years old.

By all accounts, LeAnne was a beautiful woman. She seemed happy and well-adjusted. She and Jay were involved in the community in meaningful ways. Jay and LeAnne were honorary co-chairmen of the Careity Foundation event called “Branded.” According to their website, the Careity Foundation “exists to provide personal, holistic, on-site care and counseling for economically challenged cancer patients in the Tarrant, Parker and Johnson County areas.”

A year ago, Jay was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. His honors have been many. His accomplishments even more. But his loss is beyond comprehension to those of us who have never gotten that phone call.

Today, Jay Novacek is not a College Hall of Fame Tight End. Today, he is not a highly-decorated receiver on a three-time Super Bowl Championship team. Today, he is not anyone’s spokesman or honorary chairman.

Today, Jay Novacek is a husband whose wife has tragically died way too soon. Today, he is a man dealing with a mortal loss. Today, he is a human, grieving, questioning, struggling.

Today, we are reminded that these men and women whose athletic prowess creates for us an escape from the bitter trials of everyday life, whose accomplishments on the field of athletic endeavor provide for us a sense of identity and community pride, actually live and die in the same hard world we do.

Today, we don’t cheer or boo the athlete. Today, we pray for the man and his family. Today, perhaps more than any day before this, we are the same as he: mortal, vulnerable, and in need of the support of those who love us…and sometimes even those who do not.

Tomorrow, we can choose sides and cheer for our own. We can deify some and villify others. We can argue, criticize, excoriate…tomorrow.

But not today. Let’s pray instead.

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Something smelled fishy along the NFC’s offensive line in the fourth quarter of the Pro Bowl last night. The smell was so rank it raised a troubling question: did Pro Bowl 2010 feature two offensive linemen laying down on the job, giving defenders a free pass to the quarterback?

Tony Romo haters will point out that he is the perfect Favre clone: he makes all those magical plays all season long and then the final pass he throws for the season is to a member of the opposing team. Favre did it against the Vikings in the NFC title game. Romo did it in the Pro Bowl.

How apropos that Romo replaced Favre on the Pro Bowl roster. If you cannot get Favre, then Favre Light will have to do.

Wade Phillips and Jason Garrett detractors (count me in on at least half that equation) will see Phillips and Garrett coaching the losing team while their quarterback throws the deciding pick and say, “Where have we seen this before?”

We block like girls.

More astute observers, however, might note that, after three quarters of no one really getting near an NFC quarterback, Romo suddenly found himself under siege. It was all fun and games until the final quarter, and suddenly the quarterback is running for his life…in a Pro Bowl game?!

If it was just a case of the AFC defense sniffing victory and the winner’s $45,000 check, then that’s fine. Watching professionals play pitch and catch against matador defenders gets a little ho-hum anyhow. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Pro Bowl is just days away, and for the first time since I was a starry-eyed kid, I am actually into it.

Let’s face it: while the NFL stands alone among the major American professional sports organizations in matters of marketing, branding, and quality control, it lags far behind the others when it comes to packaging and selling its annual all-star game. Read the rest of this entry »

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If you have ever watched MartyB TV on YouTube, or if you are a follower of Jupiter’s Crunch on Twitter, then you know what a Devil-may-care, fun guy Martellus Bennett is.

From his rap about having “Jerry Jone (sic) money, iPhone money” his rookie year to hosting the controversial “Black Olympics” thing with his cousin, Marty B is a prime product of the irreverent-but-always-connected Generation Y. (Or is it  Generation Z? I don’t know. I can never keep up.) Read the rest of this entry »

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Shhh. Listen. Do you hear that? It is crickets chirping all over the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and Dallas Cowboys Nation in general.

Jerry Jones announced yesterday that he is keeping Wade Phillips on as head coach, and besides the few radical fans that respond violently and vociferously to any piece of Cowboys’ news, his announcement was met by a collective yawn and a “Yeah. What else is new?” Read the rest of this entry »

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Next Year's Champs?

Before the wild card round, I wrote an article predicting Super Bowl XLIV would feature the San Diego Chargers and the Dallas Cowboys. After the wild card round, with San Diego home cooling their heels and the Cowboys summarily dismissing the Philadelphia Eagles 34-14, my prognostication skills were looking quite strong.

Then came the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.

It wasn’t really surprising that the Minnesota Vikings beat the Cowboys. They do, after all, have a very strong team featuring two of the best offensive players in the entire league and a defense that led the league in sacks. The game figured to be a great match up—perhaps the best of the entire playoffs. As the number three seed, The Cowboys’ road to the Super Bowl was sure to be fraught with difficulty…and nowhere would that be more apparent than in the Mall of America Dome, where the home team had been a perfect 8-0 during the regular season. Read the rest of this entry »

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Old School still schooling the Kid

Just when I am reluctantly purchasing my ticket for the Keep-Wade Phillips-Around-Another-Year bandwagon, he reminds me why I hate myself for even thinking such a thing.

With the game still young, the offense moving the ball rather effectively, and the scoreboard clear of points, Ol’ Wade coached scared and stupid, sending in Sean Suisham to attempt a 48 yard field goal with the ball on the Vikings’ 31 yard line and only a yard shy of a crucial first down. Remember, this same Suisham is a former Cowboys’ castoff, a 2009 Redskins’ castoff, and a late-season addition to the team. He is not Mr. Clutch. Heck, I doubt whether he could even find the clutch in a standard-shift car.

Predictably, the oft-traveled, never-money kicker sent the ball wide of the upright and, consequently, sent Minnesota onto the field with excellent field position and a little wind in their sails. Read the rest of this entry »

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