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SHOOTIN' 12/10/07
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SHOOTIN'
Another mess of opinions from the man who still asks: “And just where are YOUR gold medals, the scariest thing on the web since 2 Girls, One Cup, the original nightmare from Elm Street, it’s me, it’s me, its the D.O.C...
I'm Doc Holliday and welcome to another chapter in the hell that is my life.
Be careful with whom you hold in high esteem, for you never truly know that person and what secrets they hide.
Prophetic words, perhaps? I was never one for being “deep”, but that came to me today as I read over the report from Fox Sports about the sentencing of Michael Vick. It reminded me of how angry and how disappointed I was when I first learned of his transgressions (read about ithere ).
It wasn’t the first and it certainly won’t be the last, but here are 2 big ones from the year that was...
Michael Vick
This guy came on my tv screen around 2000, I think. I’m too lazy too look it up. I don’t think I was ever the same. I watched this fleet footed rookie qb dodge the assault of two Viking defensive backs as he cut in between the two running at full speed and they collided into each other and Vick scored a TD. It was jaw-dropping. His ability to make something out of nothing was breathtaking and I hadn’t seen it since Randall Cunningham in his prime. He had everything, except, apparently, brains.
Now, I am not going to rehash the particulars, but long story short, he ran a dog fighting ring and in this country, you have a better chance or murdering your wife than getting away with killing dogs. In India, no one bats an eye, but dogs in America are like children. As unbelievable stupid as this man was, he was an attraction the NFL had that I just could not pass up. I watched every nationally televised game the man was ever involved in, most notably being the main reason that Green Bay’s home playoff undefeated streak was broken. My wife and children knew of my fondness and we all had Vick memorabilia to go around. We do not anymore.
How could I wear my jersey, which is the only non-Bears football jersey I own, with any sort of pride. I could wear it around the house, sure, but you don’t spend 150 bucks on a “house shirt” I have a Green Lantern or a Sopranos shirt reserved for that. Can you wear it proudly? Do you wish to have discussions with every jerkoff that points at you in a bar or a convenience store and have to hear the taunts and/or scorn? Fuck that.
I was let down and deeply disappointed in a man I truly thought was Hall of Fame bound. He was handed the keys to the league as one of their most beloved athletes. He was a model for black QB’s saying “you CAN be a black QB in the NFL and be successful!” he sold merch, he was profitable, and he had more endorsements than Peyton Mannig, but he blew it all because unlike Manning, he just wasn’t smart.
Young athletes coming from nothing that are suddenly handed everything don’t seem to adjust very well; do they? Buuuuuuut, that's another column.
Chris Benoit
Ho boy, this one hurt. I am NOT a Hogan fan, but I respect his legacy. That is a sentiment that is said by at least ½ the wrestling fans world over. There IS a very good reason for it because the man was never a good wrestler, but he had unmatched charisma and in the early stages of his career, his physique was second to none. Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan were wrestling’s greatest tag team by making it lucrative beyond Vince Sr. and Bruno Sammartino’s wildest dreams. If you tally all the wrestling fans up, I believe its split down the middle on if they actually LIKE the guy though. Chris Benoit however, every single fan of this industry LOVED. He was respected in ring so much; I can’t imagine anyone, ever, of any worth disputing that.
Now, what do we have in the end? We have a man who not only killed his wife, but he killed a defenseless child; his own son. An unforgivable travesty and the act of a monster beyond words. There will be no inclusion of the famous ladder match with Jericho on Chris’s DVD. There will be no more Angle/Benoit classics to add to the WWF DVD library. Instead, we will never hear his name on WWF programming again. It’s a damn shame, but necessary.
I taught MY son that this man was the greatest technical wrestler (Chris’s words, but accurate) in the world today and I believed it myself. When he would create a stable in his video games, I always told him “You NEED to have Benoit in there!” I taught him that a GREAT tag team needs a bruiser/brawler and either a high-flyer or a technician to be able to match up well with any other team. I taught him that this man had no equal in the ring and I told him that even in real life, this was a man worthy of respect.
Now, I look like a fool.
I miss Chris Benoit. I miss all that he gave me, but no longer is there a Benoit flying headbut poster hanging in my garage and I discouraged my son from playing with his action figures which I slowly weeded out from his collection. However, he does use him in his games now and then and when I ask him why, he says:
“because he’s great.”
Only in that game he is kiddo. You can’t be GREAT only half the time. I cannot bestow “Greatness” on the name of a murderer and like it or not, he was.
The Man In Black
Doc Holliday
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