My mother used to say, "You don't HATE anyone. Dislike maybe, but not hate."  I buy that to a certain extent.  I dislike the Colts' Bob Sanders because I think his playing, labeled as "intense", is very similar to our Rodney Harrison who gets labeled as "dirty".  Great player?  Sure, but many have a critical eye that is slightly askew.  I dislike the Globe's Chris Gasper because he seems to consistently concentrate on the negative and does not as of yet, have the chops to back it up.  I hate the late Saddam Hussein for very obvious reasons, but mostly because he was a tyrannical sociopath with a checkbook and a gun who had no regard for his own people, other than to extract as much as possible from them.  They were cattle.

So, I don't HATE Mercury Morris, but I do, as a Patriots fan, have an intense dislike for the man.  A constant thorn in Patriots Nation's side, he simply wouldn't shut up.  Many of his supporters defended him as a "brilliant orator", having majored in the subject at college.  There's a chasm-like difference between a brilliant orator and a dude with the gift of gab who merely shouts over people.  Have you ever listened to him on WEEI?  He doesn't let anyone get a word in edge-wise.  I guess that's today's dumbed down version of a brilliant orator.

His latest volley at the Patriots faithful is to support the Titans in their quest for perfection:

“I’ll be watching the Tennessee Titans, and I hope to see them go unbeaten,” Morris said. “We’d like a little company.”

Discussing the 2007 Patriots, he had this to say:

“I thought they were a great team,” Morris said of the ’07 Patriots. “But their goal should not have been to aspire to greatness, but simply to win. How about winning? At the end of the day, you have to win.

Mercury must know something we don't.  To definitively say they were aspiring to greatness means he knows something we don't, right?  He must have some insider information that leads him to that position.  Horse Pucky.  No member of the Patriots Organization would be so lame as to make such a statement.  Even the most outspoken of players is relatively careful about what he says.  Sure, some things slip out, but nothing so blatant.

After writing this, I've decided I don't dislike Mercury Morris, but pity him.  He's been irrelavent for a long time, other than spewing invective for most of 2007, he must feel the need to put himself out there.  Like his hair growth commercials, ya gotta do something to make a living.  At 61, he needs to save up enough to pay for all those depends he'll be needing.