By Julie Buehler
You might have an opinion. Might be pretty passionate. Could be fairly well-substantiated.
Still doesn’t matter.
I likely have an opinion. Guaranteed to be passionate. Offered with ornate oration and profound points of evidence.
Still irrelevant.
The funny thing about “controversy:” most of it’s fake.
“Should Cam Newton dance in the endzone?”
“Is Russell Wilson ‘black’ enough?”
“Is JJ Watt likeable or fake?”
“Deflategate.” (ugh, I’m sorry, had to)
“Does Brady make Belichick great or does Belichick make Brady great?”
“Should Marshawn Lynch talk to the media?”
“Richard Sherman.” (just his name gets people going)
None of these wildly dissected storylines or topics of conversation actually have any “real” answer.
But they all offer sports fans and sports media a carousel to hop on and go round and round, all the while, the games being played on the field sometimes take the back seat to everyone BUT the players.
Because make no mistake, that’s ALL they care about.
Sure they might tweet something that offers a snippet of snark, or, in the case of Sherman, a lot of snark, but once they’re between those white lines, NONE of that matters.
The so-called controversies of today’s sports scene are woefully contrived and have absolutely no impact on the product on the field.
Cam’s dancing is based on weeks, and years of film study, dissecting a defense, reducing it to a blow-up doll and in an instant, Cam’s in the end zone. It’s an impulse wrought from hard work and domination, not opining from locals for or against it.
Wilson became only the 4th quarterback to go 4 straight games with at least 3 TDs and 0 INTs, matching Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers on that list.
And you expect anyone to believe the color of his skin is a factor?
Deflategate opened the eyes of die-hard NFL and casual fans alike to the fact footballs have an inflation standard. It also put a giant target on Brady’s back. One he’s carrying through a banner season.
Whether it’s Lynch not talking, Sherman talking too much or any other so-called controversy, I hope every sports fan realizes those opinions are meaningless.
There is SO MUCH work and effort and diligence and countless hours dedicated to each NFL game, to assume the meaningless meanderings of sports media (many of whom have never competed for anything more than a rec league title) contribute any veracity in the outcome of a game is ludicrous.
Football players are wired through years of rigorous training, indoctrination and mind-numbing repetition. They’re taught to set aside distractions and inconveniences for the purpose of victory.
Those who are good at that become NFL players. Those who aren’t become insurance sales guys.
But these “controversies” are easy to opine on and so they gain steam in sports media because you don’t actually have to know anything about or watch football to have an opinion.
And that’s the saddest part.
Not only does it distract from the amazing strategy employed by a coaching staff of 15+, or the perfect orchestration of an offense of 11 individual minds or the choreography of 11 different defensive players, it offers the reigns to someone who knows little of what happens between the white lines and diminishes the game because of that.
So next time you hear one of these half-brained controversies, think to yourself, “Are they discussing this because they didn’t have to watch the game to have an opinion?” And if so, feel free to call them out.
And then feel good, because YOU are a real sports fan.
Julie Buehler hosted the Coachella Valley’s most popular sports talk radio show, “Buehler’s Day Off” every day for 3 years, but now she can be exclusively seen on KMIR sharing the coolest stories in sports and heard on 103.9 FM ESPN from 6-7 pm nightly.She’s an avid gym rat, slightly sarcastic and more likely to recite Steve Young’s career passing stats than American Idol winners. Tune in to KMIR’s nightly news or KMIR.com for her sports reports.
