Addicts call it a moment of clarity.
I just finished commenting on Texan Youngster's FanPost when it occurred to me how insecure we are as a fanbase. Mario was drafted four years ago and yet we still feel the need to justify his selection. We picked up Matt Schaub three years ago and yet we still get totally out of joint when someone suggests that Vince Young would have been a better pick.
When are we, as a fanbase, going to stop caring about what the blowhards in the sports media think? I decided long ago that I wasn't going to click on virtually any article over at the Chronicle website's sports section with the exception of Steph and Lance Z. I wish I could say that I had been able to keep my promise to myself, but I haven't. However, I'm going to keep trying.
Why? Because it truly doesn't matter what Little Dickie Justice, Age 12, thinks. Nor does it matter what Pancakes thinks. And it sure as hell doesn't matter what Peter King thinks. Sure, these guys are fun to make fun of. But really, we shouldn't be so sensitive.
Let's take stock of where we are as a franchise: We haven't had a losing season in three years. I'm not going to spend too much time looking it up, but I would guess that there are significant number of franchises that cannot make that statement. Also: We have five players going to the Pro Bowl. We have a bona-fide franchise QB, the best wide receiver in the game, two All-World linebackers and a defensive end that inspires more fear than Tim after an all-night Zima and Hello Kitty bender. In short: We have a lot going for us.
Now, I'm not saying that we should be complacent or necessarily happy with this. Quite frankly, I was disappointed that we didn't win more this year. However, this also means that perhaps we should not be so overly sensitive at the love poems Little Dickie Justice, Age 12, writes for the one who completes him. Peter King doesn't mention the Texans because he has to help Brett Favre change his colostomy bag? Boo-hoo.
At some point, we have to get beyond being so damn sensitive about this stuff. We can't change the fact that people are morons or have agendas. In the end, it doesn't matter. Vince Young is the seventh choice for the Pro Bowl. The seventh. Seven. As in, one higher than his Wonderlic score. A bunch of other QBs back out, as happens every year, and eventually they come calling for him. Why on earth should we give a rat's arse about this? Good for him. Good for his hype machine. Maybe it will light a fire under our D and they will use it as incentive to crush his lifeforce the next time they play.
Now I love a good take down of some moronic author as much as the next guy. They have their uses. When done right, they are entertaining. They shine a bright spotlight on stupidity and intellectual laziness. Hopefully you'll see me produce one or two.
But I think it's high time that we as a fanbase started thinking about identifying ourselves with our own team's successes and not spending so much time obsessing about the opinions of people that we have already concluded aren't worth our time. If Little Dickie Justice, Age 12, writes something stupid, why should we be surprised? Why do we go out of our way to point out how stupid he was?
In the final accounting, we have a team that is very easy to root for. And that should be enough. Maybe my writing this will break the internets. Snarky commentary is basically what blogs are about, after all. But I personally don't feel the need to continue with this inferiority complex. We don't have anything to feel inferior about, regardless of what the supposed opinion-makers in the media say.
So, something to think about. Do we really need to get all bent out of shape about what these guys write? If I want good analysis about my team, there's only a few sources I need to hit up. Many of them write for this blog. The others are pretty easy to find: Diehard Chris, Steph, Lance Z. Football Outsiders. They're smart, insightful and not afraid to criticize. I'll take their commentary much more seriously than most others.
Hopefully this time next year we'll still be talking about actual football. I know the offseason is tough and way too long. Either way, though, maybe we should stop caring what one group of overpaid idiots thinks about another group of overpaid idiots.
Who's with me?