The anti-Harrison barrage begins

by tommasse on Sep 1, 2007 11:19 PM EDT in News Comment 15 comments

It's now obvious that Patriots fans will be catching hell from the less-educated fans across the country. BigBlueEgo, proprietor of SB Nation's answer to Nancy Grace, has already cast the first stone and put his ignorance on public display.

He singles me out specifically (as usual) and links to my earlier commentary. He calls Patriots fans hypocrites and idiots and links to another commentary of mine where I ripped Shawne Merriman for steroid use and and other San Diego Chargers for well-documented unsportsmanlike conduct.

Pretty strong words so weak an intellect.

BBE blatantly ignores the blaring, blue headline that says "Harrison Deserves Suspension," the following red subhead that says "Fans Should Not Rationalize Player's Poor Decision," and the commentary that fans must resist the urge to accept Harrison's reasons for breaking the rules and that it's a major black spot on the Patriots organization.

BBE also claims, without evidence, that Harrison tries to injure players (as Merriman does, evidenced by that stupid dance he does over motionless bodies). He alleges, again without a shred of evidence, that "it stands to reason [Harrison] was cheating in 2003 and 2004" and that it taints the Patriots championships. This is one of the most inane statements ever made by a Colts fan -- and that's really saying something.

Never would a Colts fan let the facts adversely influence a stupid opinion.

Harrison's first major injury was in 2005, after the Patriots won all three Super Bowls. Harrison says he took HGH to recover from injuries, and if you really want to talk about "reason," it stands to reason that Harrison began taking HGH when he was recovering from shredding the ligaments in this right knee. Anything else is uninformed, reckless speculation and sour grapes -- so much jealousy, bitterness and bile as you're prone to get from such people.

Colts fans define ignorance, possibly illiteracy.

BBE laughably suggests that he'd want any Colts player, including Peyton Manning, cut from the Indianapolis Colts if he is implicated in a banned substance scandal. You can fill those burlap sacks to the brim and label it sugar, but that doesn't mean anyone will buy it.

Funny, he never once said Merriman should be cut. Oh, right. Merriman doesn't wear a New England uniform. And he's never said a word about the Charger fans who have supported Merriman even after his steroid suspension. Only Patriots fans are guilty of these sins, and that just 14 hours after ESPN broke the story.

Burlap sacks, indeed.

But, hey, if the BigBlueEgo fits, wear it.

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LOL

I'm not a Patriots fan or a Colts fan but good points especially on the Pats superbowls being tainted.

by rimrock101 on Sep 2, 2007 12:21 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I have to agree

Harrison screwed up in a monumentally stupid way and he deserves to pay the penalty for it. And you did call him out for it here.

But there is no evidence that Harrison tries to hurt opposing players, and if he was cheating in 2003 and 2004, either the evidence proving he used HGH would show it or it's the sort of baseless accusation that could just as easily be leveled against any member of the Colts. And while the dolt claims he'd want any member of the Colts cut if he got caught using performance enhancing drugs, including Peyton Manning, if he really thinks anybody who hasn't drunk deep of the poison Kool Aid will believe that, he's using some drugs of his own.

by RSNexile on Sep 2, 2007 12:32 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Lets be real

I think anyone who has weight trained and attempted to put on size (naturally) can relate to this comment. Does anyone wonder how ANY of these guys in the NFL put the size and muscle mass on that many have? Please,lets not be naive....

by smteri42 on Sep 2, 2007 5:47 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

So your suggesting...

that everyone in the NFL, or a majority of players, are using this banned substance.

Really?

by Marked Hoosier on Sep 2, 2007 8:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The comical note here is ...

smteri42 said "Let's not be naive" to which Marked Hoosier responded with utter naivete. (Although I'd say that players may not be using this banned substance, but many are likely using a banned substance.)

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by tommasse on Sep 2, 2007 2:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes really

The human body does not naturally sustain a frame of sculpted 300 pounds of muscle that guys like Urlacher make their livings off of. It also doesn't sustain being 350 pounds of pure muscle and being a 6'6 offensive linemen who runs a 4.7 40.

Science is involved here, folks. The only way to test for HGH is blood testing, which would never, EVER, pass Upshaw and NFLPA. The players aren't policing themselves, and as the scrutiny continues to magnify the problem, so will the numbers of players caught grow.

Your naive attitude toward the problem of steroids in football is reminiscent to the state of baseball 2 years ago before they lost their innocence.

Nothing is sacred in sports these days- Stop turning a blind eye to it.

by mkizner on Sep 2, 2007 2:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Stampded Blue...

Does not speak for all Colts fans, so don't lump us with him.

I think Harrison handled this as well as he could have given that he did what he did. Four games is what the league prescribes and I'm fine with it.

Patriots fans should take it easy on blasting others though, and easily excusing (Just as Colts fans should...).

Let me ask you - if you truly believe that the majority of the NFL is using banned enhancers, and that it's not possible to participate at a championship level without it, then WHY DO YOU THINK HARRISON SHOULD BE SUSPENDED?

That makes no sense. You think he should be suspended for being carelessly caught? If you truly think he should be suspended, then we should all agree that players who use should be punished, and the goal should be to have a use-free league. Otherwise, stick to your guns and advocate that he should not even be suspended, and that the league should dump these silly rules.

by SteveW on Sep 2, 2007 7:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Good point

This is actually a good point (several really). As Steve W states, never confuse me with someone who "represents" Colts fans. Stampede Blue is my blog and I often just spew my opinion, right or wrong. So, it's important always to get a sampling of what people comment when I do wite something. Often, their points are more valid than my own.

Steve W's other point get to the heart of my argument when it comes to most Pats fans. Most Pats fans I've heard are mad he got CAUGHT using HGH, not that he is actually using a banned substance. They are actually arguing that the rule is silly, not that the player is a cheating piece of garbage. I think, in this regard, I can state confidently that most Colts fans (and fans of other teams) would not feel that way if one of their own were caught.

That's the difference.

Pats fans: Anything to win, even tainting the sport itself. This is why incidents like Rodney Harrison, the Ted Johnson-concussion probe, and various other allegations taint the legacy of the Patriots.

Colts fans: We'll win within the rules, which are fair. cheating players should be suspended, and taking HGH is indeed cheating; no debate, no argument, not a leg to stand on if you think otherwise. That way, no one will question our legacy when they write the history books.

Indianapolis Colts Blogger on SB Nation: Stampede Blue

by BigBlueShoe on Sep 2, 2007 8:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I haven't heard any Patriots fans say

they not mad that Harrison was using, only that he got caught. The vast majority of Patriots fans are very disappointed in Harrison but understand it is a league-wide problem and we have to realize and possibly accept that many players on all teams are using some type of performance enhancing products. Until owners, players, coaches, and society in general agree to strict testing for all enhancers some people are always going to cheat.

by scsatr on Sep 2, 2007 10:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Have you recently entered a contest...

...where the winner is the person who makes the most ridiculous unsubstantiated statement? Because if you really believe that, you're an idiot. It's like taking this statement of yours:

If someone is caught using HGH, I'd want them CUT. Yes, this includes Peyton Manning. If someone like Manning is caught injecting anything illegal into his body to potentialy increase his on the field performance, I'd want him suspended and then CUT FROM THE TEAM.

...and concluding that you think it's perfectly all right for Peyton Manning to cheat by using whatever drug he wants as long as he doesn't get caught.

by RSNexile on Sep 3, 2007 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

re: "within the rules"

I'm not going to defend Harrison in any way, shape or form. I love him as a player, admire him as a leader, and am disapointed in the decision he made. However, if the colts fans want to get into it about rules, then let's play. Do you see Bill Belichick and Robert Craft crying about changing the rules to allow hgh? I don't know about you, but last time I checked Polian and Dungy put the squeeze on the competition committee because their roster was too soft to beat the patriots. Football is a rough sport. It's not a contact sport, it's a collison sport. Changing the rules of the game so that your team has a competitive advantage is a bit sheisty in my opinion. Especially when it takes away from the essence of a violent game. Take a look at who has leverage in the competion committee and look at the recent rule changes before you chastise an organization.

by jays52 on Sep 4, 2007 7:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Besides the point

While I generally agree with the point you're making, it's immaterial to the current situation.

That said, anyone who says this is a Patriots team problem is either delusional or (and I'm being nice here) merely taking cheap shots. You don't hold an entire team that otherwise has an impeccable reputation* responsible for the actions of one player.

Harrison did the crime. Harrison does the time. I am beyond disappointed in him. What he did is inexcusable, and I can no longer admire him as a leader. Harrison is/was a team captain, and that privilege and honor should be stripped from him if it hasn't been already.

* This reputation disregards ludicrous accusations by players like LaDanian Tomlinson who later retracted his comments, and Keith Bulluck who levies unwarranted threats.

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by tommasse on Sep 4, 2007 7:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed...

I don't understand what we're disagreeing on, because I agree with everything you said here. All I know is, if Freeney (just an example - not picking on anyone) were doing some kind of drug, I would first agree that he deserved whatever was the listed punishment (like you did with Harrison), but second I would lay low. I certainly wouldn't make vicious attacks on Patriots fans when THEIR players weren't caught with something. I might highlight specific fans that were going over the top about the actions of ONE PLAYER.

No one should make more of this than of the Merriman situation, but they seem to be. It's roughly the same, in my book Merriman might even be a little worse, but it's not good for either player.

by SteveW on Sep 5, 2007 12:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That makes sense .. in a fantasy world

Now, back to reality.

There should be a use-free league. But there are these things to which mkizner alluded, euphemistically called "players associations," which are really organizations that make the Teamsters look like cub scouts. Then there are the owners, who are far from choir boys themselves. As fans who can barely afford tickets, we have little power to influence their day-to-day business and thus the "rules" and enforcement methods they negotiate.

You may have noticed from time to time that others try to start new pro football leagues. None (well, arena, if you want to call that football) have succeeded. So unless you have several billion dollars you're willing to front so we can start a use-free league, this is what we have.

If you're saying that a use-free league is an impossibility and you advocate allowing players, teams, whomever to ignore federal laws regarding steroids and other banned substances because you think the league rules are "silly," I can't help you any further.

And if you think this is limited to pro sports, you're more naive than we previously believed.

It is possible to participate at a championship level without the substances, but it will take the entire league to be clean. If 70 percent (a round figure, one supported regarding baseball by Jose Canseco -- remember everyone laughed at that?) of the players are using, it makes it that much tougher on players who do not. If we were able to ensure a clean league, you can bet the level of play would go down and the time players require to return from injury would go up.

And that leaves us back at square one, at the mercy of the owners' groups and the players' unions, unable to effect the changes we desire. So our real choice is to swear off our passions or accept them as they are with all their flaws and hope change comes eventually.

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by tommasse on Sep 2, 2007 9:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well put

Tom really restated and added to my points. I was trying to say that I am in favor of a clean league, the problem is it's not going to happen. Do I think that's wrong- Yes. Do I think you need steroids and PEDs to compete at a championship level- No. Do players agree with me- no.

The reality is, Gene Upshaw and the boys in suits will block drug testing for a long time to come, and the only people you will see suspended are the ones who got caught. I'm mad as a fan he got caught because he's an asset to my team, but please don't confuse my passion with wanting to see the best team on the field with my passion for football. I am a football fan first, and believe that playing hard and clean is what sports should be about. It's how we all started as kids, and it's why we love these games so fervently enough to have debates like this. Please don't think because some Pats fan challenge the rules because it hurt us this one time, we all do. Some of us, believe fair is fair, and that whatever the league and team say as punishment, should go.

But really, while we are on the subject of getting rules changed in your favor, would you care to address the No contact after 5 Ty Law beat the crap out of my receivers so now I, Tony Dungy, will force this rule change through? Sneeze Sorry, I just sneezed, what, ref, you're throwing a flag? Def Pass INT against me covering Harrison? But I don't even play footbal? Can't breathe near him you say? I guess some rules only change when someone wants them too, and as Tommasse said, the players, the owners, and the unions don't want them to.

As long as we the fans shell out a lot of money to see the games, and make them a lot of money by watching, and ask for no accountability in situations like this (Merriman almost won defensive MVP last year ffs) it won't change, and that, is a sin we are all, Pats and Colts fan alike, guilty of.

by mkizner on Sep 2, 2007 10:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs