I have begun to notice as of late, that media outlets such as ESPN, or any newspaper, have a habit of renewing their passion for a player after he does something spectacular. And I say renew because they pretend like they always new he was great. As well, there are cases of people actually having always been good, and in that case, dick-riding is acceptable. However, I refuse to even open my ears when I begin to hear "This is a guy that has been overlooked during his career, but I always saw his true potential", or some bullshit along those lines. After all, what really gives anyone beside Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay, who actually spend their entire lives analyzing NFL Draft prospects, the ability to judge anyone? But my hatred for ESPN analysts whose credentials include a six-year career with eight teams will have to be saved for another day.
For now, we examine the phenomena of players that tend to suddenly rise to power. Very regularly, this trend occurs in college sports, and for that reason, we will stay in the realm of professional sports. As well, it is important to note that these aren't just cases of an athlete "busting", but rather being unnecessarily praised.
The first time I noticed this happen was in 2005. After a riveting season of NFL football, the season culminated in a Super Bowl between the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Seattle Seahawks. Among the stars headlining the game was Seahawk running back Shaun Alexander. And although Shaun had been a premier running back for the previous two years in the league, he received praise after praise from analysts across the league. He would go on to be on the cover of Madden the following year, and after that........exactly. Alexander was released in the '07 season, and never really regained his footing in the league. At this point in time I began to realize that there was a trend in professional sports of dick-riding, although I didn't give it that label at the time.
In the MLB, this trend most commonly manifests in the form of a no-hitter. It happened with Dallas Braden, it happened with Matt Garza, it happened with Edwin Jackson. All three threw no-hitters last year, and Dallas Braden threw a perfect game. And immediately after the game, analysts jumped on their dicks, literally. I can't remember how many times I heard an analyst say that they've been following the pitcher since he began his career, and always knew that he could do something like this. BUT WAIT!!! What about the 10 or so defensive 'web jems' that were most likely committed in favor of these pitching "prodigies". Or the fact that teams, especially the bad ones who usually were responsible for the zero hits in these games, can have bad days, and often do. Thus, maybe there's just a little bit of luck here, and not a pitcher no one ever knew making it big. And although many no-hitters are pitched by star pitchers, I think three examples of duds, outweigh the pitching studs.
And finally, the reason this post even matters. Last night, Dirk Nowitzki scored 48 points, on 12-15 from the field, and 24-24 from the line. Possibly one of the best playoff performances of all time. There's no arguing there. The conundrum occurred about 30 seconds after the game, when people across the country watching ESPN would have seen a whole infographic, with interviews and analysis, take place, praising the big German. There's no arguing that Nowitzki has always been good, but ESPN immediately began riding his dick, as if they had discovered him hiding in a cave or something. I've got news, you didn't. Anyone with a brain knows Nowitzki is a good player, and anyone could see how well he played last night.
So no, we don't need you to help us see that he played well. And don't lie and pretend like you were the only person who saw him play.
Hopefully, this all makes sense, as sometimes posts written in rage do not. But trust me, I am doing my best to bring this trend to an end, and next time, I'll tell you about how this happens on a larger scale.
For now, we examine the phenomena of players that tend to suddenly rise to power. Very regularly, this trend occurs in college sports, and for that reason, we will stay in the realm of professional sports. As well, it is important to note that these aren't just cases of an athlete "busting", but rather being unnecessarily praised.
In the MLB, this trend most commonly manifests in the form of a no-hitter. It happened with Dallas Braden, it happened with Matt Garza, it happened with Edwin Jackson. All three threw no-hitters last year, and Dallas Braden threw a perfect game. And immediately after the game, analysts jumped on their dicks, literally. I can't remember how many times I heard an analyst say that they've been following the pitcher since he began his career, and always knew that he could do something like this. BUT WAIT!!! What about the 10 or so defensive 'web jems' that were most likely committed in favor of these pitching "prodigies". Or the fact that teams, especially the bad ones who usually were responsible for the zero hits in these games, can have bad days, and often do. Thus, maybe there's just a little bit of luck here, and not a pitcher no one ever knew making it big. And although many no-hitters are pitched by star pitchers, I think three examples of duds, outweigh the pitching studs. |
| This Big Fuck |
So no, we don't need you to help us see that he played well. And don't lie and pretend like you were the only person who saw him play.
Hopefully, this all makes sense, as sometimes posts written in rage do not. But trust me, I am doing my best to bring this trend to an end, and next time, I'll tell you about how this happens on a larger scale.
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