maufman said:
Richard Sherman is a Stanford graduate who has succeeded against long odds and has a bit of a chip on his shoulder as a result. He's also a graduate of the Deion Sanders School of Self-Promotion. As part of his efforts to court superstar attention at a position that often goes unnoticed by casual fans, he has embraced the role of a villain. Calling Sherman's haters racists gives Sherman himself too little credit for creating a public persona that is designed to evoke these sorts of feelings.
As a Steelers' fan living in New England, I have come to relish rooting for the villain, so I'm loving this. The next two weeks will be more fun for me than they would be if Sherman had mouthed the usual platitudes after last night's game. Obviously, not everyone likes rooting for the villain, so some folks here who were inclined to root for the NFC champs may find themselves unexpectedly cheering for Peyton Manning. That's all part of Sherman's plan.
Edit: Should clarify that I'm sure Sherman's comments to Erin Andrews weren't planned -- but they do fit nicely with the persona Sherman has been cultivating for some time. (And that's true of the Seattle D more generally -- they have talked a ton of trash all season and have earned a fair amount of hate for it, but they seem to relish it, and of course they have backed it up on the field at every turn.)
deconstruction said:
Sherman's interview with Ed Werder is awesome, too.
"This is a joke, right?"
Yes. yes it is.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47BQkAw0SCU[/video]
DrewDawg said:
I just saw this. There's no way you think that right? Unless of course you started watching sports exactly when the game ended yesterday.
Sherman's talking is more classless than the hundreds of examples we could find with 5 minutes of google searching of cheap shots in all major sports?
Snodgrass'Muff said:
Well, he did graduate
as his high school's salutatorian with a 4.2 GPA.
CBS Sports has
a nice timeline up about him from back around the end of October.
The more I learn about him, the more I like him.
Dogman2 said:
I love him. His take down of Bayless is outstanding too.
I've never turned around so quickly on a football player, but all of a sudden, this thread has me rooting for him.
Here's the thing for me: I'm sick of people coming down on chirping more than substance. I don't follow the NFC much, so if anyone want to explain to me that he's a dirty player, then fuck him, I'm gone and done with him. But otherwise, the line quoted up-thread about wanting to watch people hurt each other, not talk smack is absolutely on point.
If you don't like it, hating on Sherman is the NFL version of feeding the troll. He's a troll, and he feeds off the energy. He understands that very clearly, that much is obvious.
WayBackVazquez said:
I think he's a great football player. I respect what he's accomplished coming from his neighborhood, and respect the fact that he graduated from Stanford. But so do 90% of the members of the football team. His high school is one of the worst in the State of California, and the country. He got a 990 on his SAT. I think it's possible for him to be a great football player and a bright guy without having to buy into the "he's a genius" narrative.
Dude.
You're gonnna point out that the guy went to a shitty score and then point to his SAT score as indicative of his intelligence?
Duuuuuuuuuude....
DeJesus Built My Hotrod said:
Where in this thread did anyone refer to Sherman as a genius? Someone accused him of saying something gang-related (later they retracted it). Others referred to his actions as the most "classless" thing they have ever seen in sports. And still others accused him of being on a drug-fueled rant. I can't find the genius comment though.
I get worried when you start playing things straight. Clearly, this thread is out of control.
Snodgrass'Muff said:
Whatever, dude. You win. Congrats.
redsahx said:
You two obviously misinterpreted my comment. I wasn't even ripping Sherman there. My point was that if you want to get noticed and enhance your "heel" status, then obviously going after a visible target like Brady then tweeting your encounter after the game will get you some attention, especially from a hyper-sensitive fan base like New England. That was really when a lot of people first started taking notice of Sherman.
Where exactly did I infer Brady was a saint who doesn't talk shit? Obviously Dogman2 was hinting to you that you were sort of bailing me out here with this straw man.
He's also kinda awesome at football, isn't he?
This gets back to my chirping v. behavior thing. I only ever started noting Sherman once I saw he was fucking awesome at football.
Ralphwiggum said:
I don't understand the pathological need to defend the guy. He's a great player who did something at the end of the game that to many people made him seem like a dick. And he has in my opinion displayed his dickish behavior on more than one occasion. Others obviously don't have an issue with him and that is fine, but why is it not OK to dislike Richard Sherman based on his ridiculous display at the end of the game? I'm not saying he should be fined or suspended or thrown in jail, he's just an athlete I don't have much interest in rooting for.
The lengths that some of you are going to to try to expose the fact that fans are not consistent in who they like and don't like is absurd. There are double standards for sure, anyone who denies that is lying. Some people are entertained by Sherman's antics, other think he's a poor sport. There is room for both opinions, and again, I don't think Richard Sherman gives two fucks either way.
I dunno that it's properly called a "patholigical need to defend the guy." I think it's more that some of us think that ripping on him as some sort of monster for crafting what is clearly a contrived personality that involves a lot of yapping is a bit, well, silly.
It's an intensely violent contact sport that damages strong men so severely that they commit suicide to avoid the consequences of their injury, and I'm supposed to care about some yapping on the sidelines?
If you can't handle Sherman's interviews you shouldn't be watching the game.
Damn, now I'm sorta pissed off... I probably shouldn't watch the games, come to think of it...