Sterling Sharpe HoF

[rmontro]

This was on Primetime around '96 on ESPN...they did a hit piece on the fans, where Sharpe and the rest of the people involved made fans look and sound like a bunch of racists.

I could see his brother doing something along those lines.

 

[El Guapo]

This was on Primetime around '96 on ESPN...they did a hit piece on the fans, where Sharpe and the rest of the people involved made fans look and sound like a bunch of racists.

I don't remember seeing this Primetime piece, but would like to see it if it's out there on youtube somewhere.

However, there's probably some truth to what Sterling was pointing out whether overblown or not.

 

[RicFlairoftheNFL]

I could see his brother doing something along those lines.

It was him, they also had Mark Ingram (Sr.) as part of this piece. For a teenager (Yes white male) this pissed me off cause I didn't understand how the world was, and it's always been filed under "Why the hell you kickin' everybody for a few chuckleheads?"

 

[weeds]

It was him, they also had Mark Ingram (Sr.) as part of this piece. For a teenager (Yes white male) this pissed me off cause I didn't understand how the world was, and it's always been filed under "Why the hell you kickin' everybody for a few chuckleheads?"

I wasn't a teenager then, I was a full-blown adult and I do remember the ESPN piece and yes, it was during the mid-90's Super Bowl run although I don't recall exactly who was in it or what they said for that matter. As I said, I was already an educated adult, lifetime Northeastern Wisconsin boy who recognized it for what it was. It seemed that the producers had their presupposition before starting the story and built it backwards.

Now that's not to say that racism didn't exist, here...there...and everywhere, but they did like zero'ing in on Wisconsin during this time - and guess what ... it's still around around today ... here, there..and everywhere.

They made a big deal out of the fact that Ron Wolf made a point of bringing barbers who knew how to cut Afro-American hair and had what was called "soul food" chefs brought in to Green Bay from Milwaukee and Chicago ... and then, continually beat that drum to the crescendo. This wasn't a new theme to me. I had two black roommates in college (late 70's and early to mid-80's) who complained about those things and used to haul me to their family gatherings in Milwaukee and Kenosha - so that stuff wasn't new to me.

What WAS new to me was the reaction these two guys received when I'd bring them to my dinky little hometown which WAS lily-white. Nothing blatantly racist but I did have to tell an old friend of mine to shut the hell up because he wasn't hearing what was coming from his mouth after half a night of drinking and he was embarrassed but Mickey and Mark never said a word about it. Conversely, I felt the same quizzical looks and backhanded comments from their families as well, it IS a two-way street, but took in stride and kept eating.

Still ... I didn't grow up feeling the sting of racism personally - I just couldn't understand it because my father didn't allow such thinking in his house. That's just me.

 

[Thirteen Below]

I think he deserves to be in the HOF. His off-field antics in Wisconsin weren't the best press in the world but that's not what happened inside the game. Congrats to him. He's added to the long list of retired Packers who have been so honored.

That makes 29 Packers in Canton, second only to the Bears who have 32. Plus 7 more who played for Green Bay at some point in their careers, but did not go in as Packers. We'll probably catch up to Chicago and pass them in a few years, because they've sucked so bad for so long.

That makes for an interesting thought experiment.... who does everyone here think will be the next Packer alumni who gets chosen? Who's not in there yet who should be? Cecil Isbell deserves it, probably Holmgren... I'd like to see Clay Matthews make it, but I don't think he's going to.

Any others, besides Rodgers in a few years? Aaron Jones maybe? Maybe if McKinney hangs in there for a few more years... Bakhtiari would be a good choice, but the injuries may have made that less likely... I think Donald Driver would be a reasonable choice, and if Davante Adams has a couple more decent seasons and pads the stats a bit, I think he's got a good shot.

What do you guys think about Ahman Green? If i recall correctly, he's still the only RB in NFL history with 1850 rushing yards, 20 TDs, 50 receptions, and +5 yards per carry. I think that record is going to stand for a long time, and in fact, we may never see that happen again.

I only care about what he did with his legs and hands - flapping his lips auditioning for a permanent gig doesn't bother me - except when Greg Jennings had his sister talking for him.. now that was something.

I think the worst was when James Jones' dad was raising hell during Jones' first contract dispute - insisting that he was the best receiver in the NFL, etc.

If you remember, Jones got off to a really slow start his first few years. He had a very respectable rookie season, quickly earning Favre's trust, but years 2 and 3 he really struggled. Rodgers was now the quarterback, and Jones was behind Driver and Jennings on the depth chart, so he was often the 3rd or even 4th read, and he frankly didn't make much of his chances. He short-armed a lot of balls.

And you know Rodgers - you drop a ball, and you may not see another one all day. In fact, those 2 seasons, on a lot of fan boards I was on, if someone referred to someone called "Alligator Arms", you knew he was talking about Jones. Unless the tip of the ball hit right between the "8" and the "9" on his chest, the odds of him hauling it in were not good.

He had a better 4th year in 2010 (his contract year), but TT was not inclined to sign him for any major bucks, and his dad went on the warpath. I was actually embarrassed for the poor kid, but his dad was a pretty bullheaded guy. There was no holding him back, and he said some unfortunate things.

On a similar note - I love Christian Watson. I think the world of the kid. I know he has some improvements to make, but he's a terrific teammate, very unselfish kid, and just a good guy all around. And I love his dad, too - another great guy, and I have a lot of respect for him.

But I do wish the old man would refrain from public pissing matches with the press and especially the fans when Christian has a poor game. It doesn't reflect well on the son, and really doesn't do anyone any good. Kind of self-defeating, in fact.

You know, I agree with the concept but it seems to me that Robert Brooks stepped right in and became a Prime #1 until injury blew him up early during the '96 Super Bowl run. Brooks had a BIG 1995, got his money and went down in early '96 ... never to be heard from again.

You ever stop and think about what could have been if Sharpe and Brooks had both stayed healthy through the mid-90s and into the late 90s? Favre and Brooks just coming into their primes, Sharpe still playing at a high level? Edgar Bennet and Dorsey Levens still in their primes?

The 90s could have been very different.

 

[RicFlairoftheNFL]

I wasn't a teenager then, I was a full-blown adult and I do remember the ESPN piece and yes, it was during the mid-90's Super Bowl run although I don't recall exactly who was in it or what they said for that matter. As I said, I was already an educated adult, lifetime Northeastern Wisconsin boy who recognized it for what it was. It seemed that the producers had their presupposition before starting the story and built it backwards.

Now that's not to say that racism didn't exist, here...there...and everywhere, but they did like zero'ing in on Wisconsin during this time - and guess what ... it's still around around today ... here, there..and everywhere.

They made a big deal out of the fact that Ron Wolf made a point of bringing barbers who knew how to cut Afro-American hair and had what was called "soul food" chefs brought in to Green Bay from Milwaukee and Chicago ... and then, continually beat that drum to the crescendo. This wasn't a new theme to me. I had two black roommates in college (late 70's and early to mid-80's) who complained about those things and used to haul me to their family gatherings in Milwaukee and Kenosha - so that stuff wasn't new to me.

What WAS new to me was the reaction these two guys received when I'd bring them to my dinky little hometown which WAS lily-white. Nothing blatantly racist but I did have to tell an old friend of mine to shut the hell up because he wasn't hearing what was coming from his mouth after half a night of drinking and he was embarrassed but Mickey and Mark never said a word about it. Conversely, I felt the same quizzical looks and backhanded comments from their families as well, it IS a two-way street, but took in stride and kept eating.

Still ... I didn't grow up feeling the sting of racism personally - I just couldn't understand it because my father didn't allow such thinking in his house. That's just me.

I specifically remember Sharpe being on camera saying 'I was a ni**** because...' and the reasoning sounding like the fans had decided it was so. Yet I...a fan of about 15 years at that point (Now 40+ years) and I never thought that about him, and didn't enjoy being lumped in.

 

[rmontro]

I specifically remember Sharpe being on camera saying 'I was a ni**** because...' and the reasoning sounding like the fans had decided it was so. Yet I...a fan of about 15 years at that point (Now 40+ years) and I never thought that about him, and didn't enjoy being lumped in.

This is the problem with people foisting a victimhood mentality on certain groups.

 

[SudsMcBucky]

That makes 29 Packers in Canton, second only to the Bears who have 32. Plus 7 more who played for Green Bay at some point in their careers, but did not go in as Packers. We'll probably catch up to Chicago and pass them in a few years, because they've sucked so bad for so long.

Just to be clear, players do not go into the HOF for a specific team. It's just referenced which teams that particular player all played for during their career.

 

[rmontro]

Just to be clear, players do not go into the HOF for a specific team. It's just referenced which teams that particular player all played for during their career.

That makes sense, since these days it is much more common for players to play for different teams. It almost makes the practice of counting HOFers by team seem a little silly.