Homer: A message for the crybabies in the media who Chris Cooley offended

[themurf]

(photo by Brian Murphy)

It’s been about a week now, so clearly it’s time for another so-called controversy involving a Washington Redskins player and overly sensitive media members.

First, it was cornerback DeAngelo Hall who came under fire because he had the audacity to suggest that, if given the opportunity, a football player might not exactly take it easy on an opponent who is recovering from an injury.

Hall said he’d love to put his helmet on Dallas quarterback Tony Romo sits to pee’s ribs, and suddenly heads began to explode. It didn’t matter that Hall said what 99 percent of football players feel in that situation.

The sheer fact that he was willing to say it out loud and on the record was enough for some people to get their panties in a bunch.

Well, one week later the tide has turned on Pro Bowl tight end Chris Cooley, who became the second Washington player in as many weeks to have a public opinion on Romo sits to pee.

During his weekly radio appearance with LaVar Arrington and Chad Dukes, Cooley admitted to enjoying the fact that the Dallas quarterback was a part of the biggest collapse in franchise history against Detroit.

“It’s so good,” said Cooley. “I was watching the scoreboard in St. Louis, and I didn’t see that they’d lost really until the end. I thought they blew them out, so I kind of stopped paying attention. It’s amazing, Amazing to watch him choke like that.

“I’m just saying, I’m up 24 points in the third quarter, if I’m the head coach, I feel like I could probably just take a knee for the rest of the game, punt it away and there’s no way that Detroit’s gonna drive on you that many times,” he continued. “The only way you’re gonna give up that many points is turnovers, right? It’s hilarious to watch him throw pick sixes, too, back-to-back. I loved it.”

Never mind that far worse is said around the water cooler each and every Monday morning or that those comments would seem completely warranted on Pardon The Interruption, Around the Horn or a dozen other shows involving talking heads. Cooley is a current NFL player; therefore he’s apparently expected to only speak in boring clichés and forgettable sound bites.

“Cooley likes to talk a lot, and say and write outrageous things,” wrote Dan Graziano, on ESPN.com. “And someday that’s liable to land him a spot on one of those studio shows like Deion [sanders]. But for now, while he’s still playing in the same league as Romo sits to pee, it’s flat-out wrong for him to have said what he said. When someone like me criticizes an NFL player, other NFL players will often chide me for not knowing how hard it is to do what the player was trying to do. Cooley should know better, and he really should apologize.”

Graziano wasn’t alone though. Even formerly-relevant NFL players couldn’t resist coming after Cooley.

“The guy (Romo sits to pee) now has played in three games in which he’s had to take, I think, either six or seven numbing shots to go out there on the field and play,” said Boomer Esiason during a radio interview. “Now, whether or not I think that’s the correct thing to do, or whatever, notwithstanding. When you think about that for one moment, what he’s done for his football team – for a guy like Chris Cooley to mouth off like that, he’s an idiot.”

On a certain level, I understood when criticism began to mount against Hall. I didn’t agree with it, but I at least understood why people were willing to speak up against him.

Hall is someone who has been involved with controversy before during his time in Atlanta and Oakland. He’s a guy who I’m pretty sure wanted to fight the Falcons head coach when the Redskins played there a couple years ago, and he’s been known to say things that rub folks the wrong way from time to time.

But when people are going after Cooley for having a personality and not being afraid to have a little fun every once in a while, well, that just strikes me as people being too damned sensitive.

“I try to have fun, I try to goof around a little bit, and I think when things get printed, the hint of sarcasm goes away,” Cooley said to Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated following the backlash. “The hint of joking around goes away. It becomes a serious challenge, and you think, ‘Oh my gosh. Just chill out for just two seconds.’ I work in the entertainment business. I’m joking around on the radio. I’m not honestly talking trash to Tony Romo sits to pee or the Cowboys.

“People really are surprised when I talk like a regular person I guess,” he continued. “I’m a fan of the game and I cheer for the Redskins. Now, if you wanted me to go on your show or if you wanted me to go on a radio show and say everything politically correct and be boring, I have no problem doing that. I obviously have the ability to do that.”

Here the thing, Cooley has been the same goofy and fun loving guy since he came into the league eight seasons ago.

He’s the guy who wears hot pants to practice, introduced himself to opposing players as Captain Chaos and loves to clown around to keep things loose when the locker room is a little too tightly wound.

If any of these “mediots” would have listened to the entire hour-long interview, they would have heard Cooley also poke fun at himself and his current role in the offense.

Click here for the full article.

[CrypticVillain]

I like this article. especially the part everybody seems to overlook about Cooley bagging on himself. I still think it is a double standard about what Hall said and what Cooley said, but you broke it down for a way for people to understand why people ragged on Hall more than Cooley.

[authentic]

There have been far worse said in print by coaches and players, yet i can't tell you the last time i've heard public petitions for an apology. I wonder had this been said about a player of any other team, if it would fall under such reproach. :doh:

[tr1]

The problem is that Cooley is right about Romo sits to pee...but these media lackies can't deal with it.

http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?355789-Bill-Barnwell-Before-you-call-for-Tony-Romo sits to pee-s-head-you-should-look-a-little-closer

[Burgold]

Sports loves to create diemigods and they've been trying to shoehorn Romo sits to pee into the role of Odyseus or Perseus or Jason for a while now. It blows their narrative. That upsets them. After all, it's their job to create these myths and then tear them down... not have others poke holes in their story lines. Romo sits to pee failing was supposed to be an epic tragedy after the hero persevered and fought against incredible odds just to make it on the field. Romo sits to pee was the man with broken lungs and a collapsed lung superhumanly leading his team to victory and then miraculoulsy staggering onto the field to make a miracle throw the following week. It's abhorant to laugh at a demi-god.

Until, it's time to. Until, one of their demi-god reaches the point where it's their turn to become the villain as with Lebron or Michael or even that selfish meanie Brett Farve.

[corsair_joe]

He's said mean things about Romo sits to pee before, there was something a few years ago where Cooley said that nobody likes Romo sits to pee except his teammates and that's because they have to and that Romo sits to pee is always trying to tell jokes but the only one who thinks they are funny is himself. The ESPN crew needs to get over themselves.

[Hazel-Ra]

Jeff Spicoli on Tony's fan club:

[DC9]

Nice job Murph. I noticed there has been ZERO coverage on the Cowboys saying we cheated (calling out snaps) on a silent snap count, when Phil Costa was miked up by NFL films and the audio didn't pick anything up. Wow.

HAIL!

[Califan007 The Constipated]

What makes Cooley such a fan favorite in Washington is the fact that he’s willing to admit he’s having a blast doing a job most people can only dream of. He’s not blessed with blazing speed or amazing athleticism, he’s a man of the people who works hard and actually cares about the team he plays for.

In a day and age when players are happy to sign on the dotted line with whichever team offers the biggest pay day, Cooley is a rarity who says he’s rather retire than play for anyone other team than the Redskins.

Amen :applause:

[LD0506]

murf, the title alone deserved 5 stars, the article was icing on the cake. It is beyond me how so many that decry football for having lost its passion to become just another business refuse to see that Cooley is that kind of old-school, half-joking/half-serious kind of interview that we used to love so much. I want my team to hate Dallas, to take it seriously, to hate losing to them and give 'em a dig whenever possible.

CooooOOOOOooooley!

[NoLeafClover]

Football is a brutal game where two teams try to hit each other in the mouth and beat each other down in order to win. It's an odd trend to try to take the aggression out of the game. As you said, Hall and Cooley are just sharing how football players actually think. The media wants to pretend that it's all civil - a gentleman's game - but it's not. That's not how players think ... well, at least the passionate ones that want to win.

I'd rather have guys like Cooley and Hall say things like this because they are fired up than have a guy like Haynesworth who only cares about a paycheck.

I think the most telling quote is this one:

"When someone like me criticizes an NFL player, other NFL players will often chide me for not knowing how hard it is to do what the player was trying to do. Cooley should know better, and he really should apologize.”

Cooley does know how hard it is to do what Romo sits to pee did. He is a player, he knows better than these media guys what it's like out there. Cooley isn't out of line, they are out of touch.

[Henry]

I'm not sure I'd have said what Cooley did, but anyone who actually listened to him could tell he was just messing around. The guy never takes himself seriously in interviews, which is one reason why he's so popular here. The important thing, though, is that Cooley gave certain people a chance to talk about Romo sits to pee as a victim rather than a choker.

[MattFancy]

Wait, so Cooley can't say this, but Rex Ryan can say whatever he wants and no one cares?

[Warhead36]

I love that our guys are talking. For years we've been the soft, cowardly team that others could bully. Now we are the bullies. I love it.

[Khun Kao]

[themurf]

Cooley does know how hard it is to do what Romo sits to pee did. He is a player, he knows better than these media guys what it's like out there. Cooley isn't out of line, they are out of touch.

Anyone who actually listened to the entire hour-long segment heard that he was clowning around about everything. He made fun of himself. He made fun of people crying to him about fantasy football. He made fun of Dallas losing. It was nothing out of the ordinary for a fun-loving player who enjoys what he does. Why this is unacceptable to drama queens in places far, far away from here, makes no sense.

[mr_neon]

You gotta love the media. Always waiting to see who they can demonize next.

[NoLeafClover]

Anyone who actually listened to the entire hour-long segment heard that he was clowning around about everything. He made fun of himself. He made fun of people crying to him about fantasy football. He made fun of Dallas losing. It was nothing out of the ordinary for a fun-loving player who enjoys what he does. Why this is unacceptable to drama queens in places far, far away from here, makes no sense.

You expect the media to listen to the entire segment so they can get the proper context? What fun is that? It's much easier to just isolate a small snippet and run with it.

[Boss_Hogg]

I love Boomer Esiason's quote:

“The guy (Romo sits to pee) now has played in three games in which he’s had to take, I think, either six or seven numbing shots to go out there on the field and play...When you think about that for one moment, what he’s done for his football team...

:rotflmao:

[kleese]

I'm in the middle on this one. On one hand, I don't think it's a big deal an of course is getting overblown like things always do...on the other hand I do think Cooley crossed a bit of a line....I know in my line of work I probably wouldn't come out and completely dog one of my competitors publicly. While there is something to be said for "speaking the truth" or just clowning around, there is also a certain class from one contemporary to another.....

Also, the fact that Cooley isn't really contributing to his team right now AND the fact that his team just got beat by Romo sits to pee (who made a big play late to beat us) also seems like odd timing to me.

I'm not going to rip Cooley, but I do see where the criticism is coming from and I don't have a problem with that either.

As for Romo sits to pee.... You can say the media has tried to build him up for years now, but there also isn't another Qb in the league more scrutinized , criticized, or joked about. All in all, I'd say he's underappreciatex more than overappreciated.

Kinda funny that when Favre made a career out of late game blunders he was just a "gunslinger" but Romo sits to pee is a choke artist.

[SKIN4WAHOOZ]

When someone like me criticizes an NFL player, other NFL players will often chide me for not knowing how hard it is to do what the player was trying to do. Cooley should know better, and he really should apologize.”

So, when he critizies an NFL player, other players explain to him that he is an idiot and doesnt know what he is talking about. Did I read that right?

Ok, nuff said!!

[Hiro]

Kinda funny that when Favre made a career out of late game blunders he was just a "gunslinger" but Romo sits to pee is a choke artist.

The thing is though, there are plenty of people who actually feel that Favre was a chokeartist. ESPN kisses up to Romo sits to pee the exact same way they did with Favre. ESPN calls Romo sits to pee a gutsy player. The only thing he doesn't have is the cannon that made people call Favre a gunslinger.

Trust me though. There are plenty who look at Favre the exact same way they look Romo sits to pee. Minus the Super Bowl win, MVP awards, etc.

[NoLeafClover]

As for Romo sits to pee.... You can say the media has tried to build him up for years now, but there also isn't another Qb in the league more scrutinized , criticized, or joked about. All in all, I'd say he's underappreciatex more than overappreciated.

Romo sits to pee is a media created story. The media loves to talk about him because he's the QB for the Dallas Cowboys, but his numbers and his post-season performance don't back up the storyline. Yes, he's heroic for playing against the Redskins with broken ribs. But he didn't score a single touchdown against the 'Skins - they had to keep settling for field goals. And his numbers weren't anything special that day.

He is overrated and overhyped. And apparently over-sensitive, since no one is allowed to take great joy in him collapsing and losing games. If the media wants to put him in the spotlight, there is going to be a backlash from football fans when this false golden boy doesn't live up to the hype.

[Rocky21]

Thanks for putting things in perspective Murph.

I hope this one gets linked and passed around to the national media a bit. You're opinion deserves to be heard.

[SoCalSkinsFan1975]

Great take on this story. I believe he was doing a bit more than joking around, but that is more than okay with me. I love the good ol' days when Skin's and Dallass really hated each other and it fueled the best rivalry in the NFL. It seems like a little of this genuine hate is coming back and I believe it is great for our team and the game as a whole. I agree that the media is always ready and willing to defend all things Dallas and tear down anything from the Skin's side of the isle. I mean, just watch any of the major sports networks and you would swear the pentagram on the helmet enables them to walk on water. Cooley is fine in my book... HAIL!