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ESPN: Welcome to Overreaction Nation

Commander Adama

By Commander Adama
in The Stadium

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Commander Adama

Commander Adama

Posted
Posted

Did a search and did not see it posted. In my opinion, this applies to this board. Thoughts?

The article can be found here.

Welcome to Overreaction Nation

By Kevin Jackson

Page 2

(Archive)

There are 15 weeks left in the 2007 NFL season.

For a bunch of teams, however, it's pointless to keep playing. Their seasons are over. Done almost before they even got started. More cooked than Britney Spears and Larry Craig, combined.

In other words, it's time to focus on the draft, think about free agency and maybe get the youngsters in there for a few series as you play out the string.

Think mid-September is a bit early to throw in the towel? Then you're not listening to the guy screaming into his car phone on sports-talk radio, pleading for a quarterback change. You're not comprehending the words of the TV talking head who says it "always comes back to haunt you" when you lose a game in the National Football League. (Note: TV talking heads never, ever call it the "NFL"; that's disrespectful.) And you're definitely not spending any time on Internet message boards, where guys like "ltfan4life" will explain why the reigning league MVP is already washed up.

Welcome to NFL Overreaction Nation, a land where no sample size is too small for drawing conclusions, where the most common movement is the knee jerk, and where the distance between "Super Bowl-bound" and "headed for a top-10 pick" can be traveled in one NFL Sunday.

Take the Seattle Seahawks, for example.

This team was in the Super Bowl two seasons ago. A play away from the NFC championship game last season. Picked, in this same space on Page 2, by Bill Simmons to make Super Bowl XLII. Lauded by Sports Illustrated's Peter King as "better on paper" than the franchise's only Super Bowl entry.

But none of that mattered this past Sunday afternoon. Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander collide in the backfield on a simple handoff, the ball squirts loose and a near-certain victory turns into a miserable defeat. And less than two minutes after Neil Rackers' field goal drops Seattle to 1-1, the Pacific Northwest Chapter of NFL Overreaction Nation holds its weekly meeting on the Tacoma News Tribune's Seahawk Insider message board.

A guy with the handle "fadasan" makes the first post, seconds after the loss, setting the proper tone for doomsday: "That is the type of loss that really puts a cloud on the season."

Not to be outdone, "cpblessing" follows with a post seconds later that ups the ante -- not just writing off 2007, but deriding the overall direction of the franchise: "Hawks are old and showing it. The window closing quickly."

There's blood in the water now, and a fan with the appropriate moniker "SharkHawk" quickly swoops in: "We are closer to a basement dweller than a Superbowl team right now, and that's pretty scary."

It's war now. The doomsday crew is soon met by the optimistic crowd, eager to point out that if Seattle hadn't fumbled away a 2-0 start, this board would be all milk, cookies and dreams of a trip to Glendale, Ariz., in early February. "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!" writes "FB," mocking those writing off the season over one failed play.

"HawksKD" comes a little more direct and with a lot more vitriol: "seriously people…you guys are freakin jokes…you disgust me and i hate being a fan of any seattle team because i get tied in with all you oppurtunistic losers, who ride on anything hot and fall off at the smallest cool down…

"Look it was a game…it was a play…it is not the end of the season…"

Back and forth they go for about 100 posts, until a new bucket of chum is thrown to the sharks. Seems the NFL Network just aired the postgame news conference, and apparently the fumble was all Alexander's fault.

Seconds later, the board is debating Alexander's body language on TV … the way his broad smile doesn't reflect the same heartbreak those on the board are feeling. Then comes speculation about whether the three-time Pro Bowler apologized to the team in the locker room and took full responsibility for the gaffe.

And, finally, it wouldn't be NFL Overreaction Nation without a debate over whether Alexander, the 2005 NFL MVP, has any future worth.

Comment from "pdway" just one hour after the fumble: "I think we're a year late in realizing that SA is probably not a full-time feature back anymore."

A feature back? Hell, some are wondering if Alexander should even be on the roster. From "ochawk" 17 minutes later: "Forgetting the last play, Shaun is costing the team. I completely agree with Nighthawk above, no joke we should have kept Marquis Weeks and cut Alexander."

Cutting a 30-year-old running back with 109 career touchdowns and four 1,300-yard seasons? In this world, you're literally only as good as your last play.

Before Alexander packs his bags, he should remember there's a quick route back into the Nation's good graces: Just run for 100 yards and a TD (like he did in the opener against Tampa Bay) next Sunday against Cincinnati. Quicker than you can say T.J. Houshmandzadeh, all will be forgiven.

The Nation might be a brutal place, but it's nothing if not fickle.

ESPN.com NFL writer Mike Sando started the Seahawk Insider blog for the News Tribune in April 2005. After spending more than two years manning the message boards, he understands the emotion.

"Fans are passionate but also powerless," Sando says. "It's a terrible feeling investing every ounce of emotion into something that suddenly goes awry. That's why coaches and players sometimes go off during postgame news conferences. But hey, at least they're getting paid six- or seven-figure salaries for their troubles. Fans are often paying good money, and sometimes talking up their teams during the week, only to see things go terribly wrong.

"More than anything, I think it's that sense of powerlessness that can send even rational people searching for a place to vent. The Web also gives them a sense of anonymity. Put those things together, and the world can temporarily end after something as simple as a botched handoff."

No wonder most NFL players don't listen to the radio or read anything Monday morning.

So if you're a member of the Saints, the Rams, the Chiefs, the Bengals' defensive unit or the Chargers' offensive unit, you might want to avoid the Nation for a while. If you play quarterback in Minnesota, Miami or New York state (for any of its three teams), you might want to skip AM radio for a while. If you're a Raider, you might want to avoid all media at all times.

If you're a Browns or a Buccaneers or a Bears fan, it's safe to come back out now.

And, yes, if you frequent this special place on Sundays … well, yes, it's OK to hop on Orbitz and book a flight to Phoenix.

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Califan007 The Constipated

Califan007 The Constipated

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Welcome to NFL Overreaction Nation, a land where no sample size is too small for drawing conclusions, where the most common movement is the knee jerk, and where the distance between "Super Bowl-bound" and "headed for a top-10 pick" can be traveled in one NFL Sunday.

Make that "can be traveled in one NFL quarter" and you'd have our game day threads to a "T"...

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portisizzle

portisizzle

Posted
Posted

"Fans are passionate but also powerless," Sando says. "It's a terrible feeling investing every ounce of emotion into something that suddenly goes awry. That's why coaches and players sometimes go off during postgame news conferences. But hey, at least they're getting paid six- or seven-figure salaries for their troubles. Fans are often paying good money, and sometimes talking up their teams during the week, only to see things go terribly wrong.

"More than anything, I think it's that sense of powerlessness that can send even rational people searching for a place to vent. The Web also gives them a sense of anonymity. Put those things together, and the world can temporarily end after something as simple as a botched handoff."

_______________

No comment. :laugh:

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CliffBattles

CliffBattles

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it's so true....not just by internet posters, but people everywhere...especially those in the media.

Take the Eagles/Redskins game....a couple of odd plays here and there, and the result could have been different....they would have been the same teams, but all the talk would have been about the Skins constant failures, and the Eagles still being one of the best teams in the conference.

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BigMike619

BigMike619

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i live and die by my team but i dont let it effect how i live my life. i dont kick the dog or yell at people when we lose. it takes me about an hour to "get over" it but then i am fine with it.

i think it is healthy to be passionate about something and to get into something so much that you are effected by it. like valvano said,

"To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number 1 is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number 2 is think. You should spend some time in thought. And Number 3 is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special."

i do that every day with the redskins. sometimes more tears then laughter, sometimes vice versa. that is the beauty of sports..

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Bang

Bang

Posted
Posted

Now, let me get this straight.

This is the SAME ESPN that practically incited Philadelphia to run Donovan McNabb out of town Monday night, right?

McNabb has a rough game, and ESPN thinks it is time to show the split screen with him and the ROOKIE, they go on and on and on about how he must win NOW or he's gone,, etc etc etc. and then ***** because people overreact?

Seems ESPN fuels a lot of this, and then points it's fingers when folks take their bait.

Honestly, that network is practically unwatchable anymore. Their credibility is waning hard.

~Bang

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Forehead

Forehead

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Very accurate. As stated above, the gameday threads I read travel to both ends of the spectrum, sometimes over the course of one series of downs. Which is why I never post in them. Reading them is a chore enough. Portis goes four three yards up the middle, and all of sudden, there are 150 identical posts all saying "Good run Clinton."

We do need to calm down a little, one interception doesn't kill a season. You wouldn't know it on here sometimes.

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SkinsFanAnt

SkinsFanAnt

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Now, let me get this straight.

This is the SAME ESPN that practically incited Philadelphia to run Donovan McNabb out of town Monday night, right?

McNabb has a rough game, and ESPN thinks it is time to show the split screen with him and the ROOKIE, they go on and on and on about how he must win NOW or he's gone,, etc etc etc. and then ***** because people overreact?

Seems ESPN fuels a lot of this, and then points it's fingers when folks take their bait.

Honestly, that network is practically unwatchable anymore. Their credibility is waning hard.

~Bang

I agree man...that is ass media work at its worst. They do whatever to create buzz, animosity, whatever...they are the leeches of society

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onnie007

onnie007

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Posted
Now, let me get this straight.

This is the SAME ESPN that practically incited Philadelphia to run Donovan McNabb out of town Monday night, right?

McNabb has a rough game, and ESPN thinks it is time to show the split screen with him and the ROOKIE, they go on and on and on about how he must win NOW or he's gone,, etc etc etc. and then ***** because people overreact?

Seems ESPN fuels a lot of this, and then points it's fingers when folks take their bait.

Honestly, that network is practically unwatchable anymore. Their credibility is waning hard.

~Bang

So true. ESPN has everything to do with it. Talk about overreacting. I think ESPN should critique itself just once and measure its own contribution to all the Michael Vick drama, the Pacman drama, the Patriot Cheating drama. They are the one who are guilty of overreacting and fueling it in others.

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Aston

Aston

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HAHAHA I love the graphic they have for this article, you can actually see a Philadelphia Bird that has been plucked of it's feathers and is wearing the Eagles helmet!!! lol :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Our guy is popping a champagne bottle, hahaha! That's so true.
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Darth Tater

Darth Tater

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Posted
Now, let me get this straight.

This is the SAME ESPN that practically incited Philadelphia to run Donovan McNabb out of town Monday night, right?

McNabb has a rough game, and ESPN thinks it is time to show the split screen with him and the ROOKIE, they go on and on and on about how he must win NOW or he's gone,, etc etc etc. and then ***** because people overreact?

Seems ESPN fuels a lot of this, and then points it's fingers when folks take their bait.

Honestly, that network is practically unwatchable anymore. Their credibility is waning hard.

~Bang

ESPN incites it because it makes them money. Monday night on the Eagles second play they talked about the vastly improved defense of the Redskins. At that point, there was no evidence we were 'vastly' improved (better, yes. Maybe seems to be vastly improved would work). I don't even think that's a conclusion you can reach until week 4 or 5!

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