Pro Bowl Whining

PRO BOWL VOTING HIGHLIGHTS MEDIA BIAS, 49ER PROBLEM

Charity votes still can't stop Bandwagon whining

The media doesn't get to vote in the Pro Bowl, but its effect on the fans, players and coaches that do vote leaves an unsavory taste to the entire affair.

First, the good news. It seems people are starting to wake up to the overrated nature of the 49ers defense. Striking a blow for decency and good sense everywhere, not one member of the 49ers defense was elected to the Pro Bowl. Not even "best ever" Bryant Young, who was basically written off due to his injury as is customary (see: Eric Allen). Oh, to have been a fly on the wall when smug, arrogant players like Ken Norton, Jr., Merton Hanks, and Tim McDonald heard the news and got slapped down a peg closer to earth.

Unfortunately, as with everything 49er, there always has to be some bad news, such as Jerry Rice and Garrison Hearst receiving controversial passes to Hawaii, reminding us that the 49er Problem is alive and well.

While Rice's election is dubious at best and annoying in that is another tool for the ignorant to use to assert his "best ever" status, it is more amusing that anything else. Why? Because his election means over-hyped teammate Terrell Owens, the heir-apparent "most overrated wide receiver in football", will be a spectator come February.

Clearly, Owens deserves to go instead of Rice, but even he -- a fellow 49er -- is victimized by the "best ever" syndrome. Rice has the lowest average yards per catch and least touchdowns of all the elected NFC receivers. All Rice has going for him is the sheer bulk of attempts; because he is thrown to more than any other receiver in football, he has among the most receptions. Receptions alone don't amount to squat -- just ask Miami's O.J. McDuffie, the NFL's current leader in catches who did not make the Pro Bowl. Even 49er fans admit Owens has had a better year in terms of play-making, since despite getting approximately half the attempts of Rice, Owens has scored more touchdowns.

So why Rice instead of Owens? "Well, he's Jerry, and stars always win popularity contests like the Pro Bowl" is the only possible reasoning.

If that's true, how do we explain the election of Garrison Hearst over Emmitt Smith? Like Owens, Hearst had the better numbers, but if we are to use the logic applied to Rice's election, the future-Hall-Of-Famer, the star (Emmitt) should have made the squad.

Why the diverging logic and differing results? Simple. For years, the 49ers and Jerry Rice have been loved and adored by the media. Despite sniveling about wanting the ball more and being found by police in a suspected whorehouse, Rice's image is still gold. Meanwhile, Emmitt Smith goes quietly about his business with class -- for example, going back to school to get his diploma -- but because the media loathes and villainizes the Cowboys beyond compare, Smith is tainted.

You can characterize the Pro Bowl results one of two ways: (1) Emmitt was unfairly screwed, or (2) Jerry was unjustly rewarded. Either way, the reason comes back to the 49er Problem: the biased media results in tangible effects. If the Pro Bowl's a popularity contest, as some would say, it certainly bears the fruits of the media's efforts in favor of the 49ers.

Hilariously, leave it to ESPN.com to exaggerate the point. Not only did they refuse to question Smith's absence, but Mark Malone had the gall to argue "Garrison Hearst should be starting."

Yes, step aside, Barry Sanders and Jamal Anderson, you're not as good as Mr. Hearst, who is obviously the best running back in the NFC in the minds of the "experts" at ESPN.

Young, Gogan, more Problem

Also receiving little to no controversy is the election of Steve Young as the starting quarterback over Minnesota's Randall Cunningham. Over the years, Young's stats have frequently been outclassed by guys like Brett Favre, but Young supporters (a.k.a., the media) have always fallen back on two arguments: team record and passer rating. And where are those stats this year?

Randall Cunningham has stepped out of retirement to lead his team to a league-best 13-1 record and has compiled the top passer rating in the NFC. What more does someone need to start? Apparently the qualification Cunningham is missing is a 49er uniform. Young will start despite being inconsistent at times, such as throwing two interceptions-ruled-not-interceptions that should have lost the game against the Colts, if not for referee "error".

The election of Kevin Gogan is another sad reminder of the 49er Problem. Here we have a guy who obviously was better back in his days with the Cowboys and Raiders, yet in those ten years, he was only selected to one Pro Bowl. But once he donned the magic 49er jersey two years ago, he's gone to the Pro Bowl twice -- this time even after a Sports Illustrated article all but defined the 49ers offensive line, led by "dirtiest player" Gogan, as a bunch of leg-whipping cheaters.

Final Insult

As usual, the biggest insult stemming from the Pro Bowl voting is the Bandwagon reaction. Admit that Rice doesn't deserve to be there? Admit Young doesn't deserve to start? Hell, no! Instead of being grateful for the spots they received, the San Jose Mercury ran a headline, "49ers aren't happy with a chosen few", with an article devoted to the sentiments of 49ers complaining that worthless people such as Ray Brown should have also gone. They even whined that members of their exposed defense, like Chris Doleman, the injured Bryant Young, Norton and McDonald, should have likewise made it.

The Mercury article further stated, "Owens was overlooked despite 13 touchdowns, two fewer than Minnesota's Randy Moss and the second-highest total of any wide receiver. Green Bay's Antonio Freeman and Minnesota's Cris Carter -- each of whom has 10 touchdowns -- were chosen ahead of him."

If your mouth is agape in amazement at the gall, close it now, because the implication you just read is true: the Bandwagon sincerely believes that Owens should have made the Pro Bowl -- not in place of Rice -- but in place of Freeman or Carter.

If we piece together all the above comments from ESPN and the local media, we come up with this Bandwagon dream-team:

QB: Steve Young
RB: Garrison Hearst
FB: some other guy
WR: Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens
OL: Kevin Gogan, Ray Brown, some other fat guys
DL: Bryant Young, Chris Doleman, others
LB: Ken Norton, a couple other guys
DB: Tim McDonald, other guys, preferably ex-49ers.

According to the media, ten 49ers should have made it (more than the Broncos or Vikings, naturally). And this isn't even counting Merton Hanks, who was included in Sports Illustrated's midseason all-pro team. After all these years, should we really be surprised at the Bandwagon's ignorance?

All that's left to say is thank goodness the media doesn't get an actual vote, because at least now they are constrained to simply influencing the votes, not deciding them. Now if only we could get them out of the Hall of Fame voting we could see some real progress...

Return to Table of Contents

We welcome all comments.

Want to become a member? Go to membership.