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February 6, 2006

Does 5 Get A Pass?

In which Donovan McNabb dares to talk about race and enters the hallowed pantheon of all-time Philly sports quotables

The real shame of Donovan McNabb's interview on ESPN this past Wednesday, in which he (finally) abandoned his erstwhile silence on matters of T.O. and the ruinous 2005 Philadelphia Eagles season, is that its core soundbite might eclipse, if not certainly shadow, the entirety of his career. That is, despite the five Pro Bowl appearances, the years when he single-handedly led the Eagles offense into the NFC Championship game, the Super Bowl berth, and his overall class-actness/ model citizenship, fifteen years from now, we might only remember him for "black-on-black crime."

That is, "black-on-black crime" has an excellent chance of joining "For who? For what?" and "Talkin' 'bout practice" in the Hall Of Fame of Philly sports quotes -- sayings so memorable and inconic that they transcend many of the more pertinent details of their speakers' careers. My fingers are crossed that this isn't going to happen here, but from the tenor of the conversation on WIP this week, I have a bad, bad feeling that it might.

I was a little surprised, actually, by the reaction on WIP. I watched the interview (twice, actually on the DVR, he admits, looking awkwardly at the ground) and even I -- a devout supporter of 5 -- was a little taken aback. That he brought up race at all was a warning sign. That he categorized elements of T.O.'s lunacy as "black-on-black crime" tripped the alarm. This was not going to sit well in Philadelphia. That he, the mild-mannered and polite quarterback beloved by corporate sponsors and the national press, should dare bring up race was upsetting enough; to use such an aggressive label was downright incendiary.

Much like the rest of America, folks in Philly -- black and white -- get a little nervous when someone starts to talk about race. Much less someone who'd previously done us all the favor of not making a big deal out of the fact that people's (very public) opinions of him seemed to bring up race more often than not. Given Philadelphia's general obsession with the Eagles (and the legacy of previous quarterbacks -- this was where Randall Cunningham made his name, after all) and complicated ethnic and racial history, it's tough for the black quarterback to bring up issues around being a black quarterback for the first time without people noticing.

If anything, it's a little shocking that it's taken him this long to say something. From the "A-J! A-J!" chants that rained down from the upper decks at the beginning of the 2003 season (Philly fans always seemed a little too eager to crown white career backup A.J. Feely a worthy successor to McNabb) to the Rush Limbaugh thing to the more recent nonsense involving Philadelphia NAACP President J. Walter Mondeshire, 5 the football player hasn't been able to escape the color of his skin.

Let us all now pause for a moment and marvel at how culturally loaded "black quarterback" is. It's 2006, and there still exists a perception amongst a segment of the football-watching poplulation (and an acknowledgment of that perception amongst the rest of us) that white dudes are better suited to play quarterback than black dudes because (and this is the best part) they "are better at reading defenses" and "have a better feel for the game" even if they aren't "natural athletes." Books and books (if not just undergrad theses!) should be written on this topic! How does one even begin to explain the cultural complexity/ vulgarity of the black quarterback stereotype to a non-American? There's almost too much there.

Prior to this week, I tended to believe McNabb when he brushed off the racial comments and insisted that they were silly and unworthy of a response. I didn't think that those comments got to him. I certainly didn't buy the whispers about 5 having something to prove by hanging out in the pocket and not running -- I couldn't believe he would do anything but whatever was required to win the game in any given situation. I even chalked up his reluctance to run the ball over the past two seasons as driven by an instinct for self-preservation and longevity (avoiding the potentially damaging hits that you enoucnter when you scamper into the defensive secondary). But this week has led me to believe that that might not be the case!

That is, it's clear that all this black-quarterback talk has gotten to 5. It's in his head. I've often said that one of 5's biggest problems is that he thinks too much -- that, if anything, he's a little too celebral and self-aware. The guy has always been such a model citizen (two-sport college star turned university trustee, family man, squeaky clean product endorser) that you almost have to wonder if there isn't still an element of parent-pleaser in him (even as he approaches 30). Gotta make sure we do the right thing, or Mom and Dad will be disappointed!

5 has abosrbed all of the Philly frustration and hatred with a smile for years and years (he never even complained about getting booed on draft day!). It turns out that it doesn't all just roll off him. Turns out the guy has internalized a lot of that criticism, and that it actually pisses him off. And you know what? It would piss me off too. I can't believe how much crap this guy has taken with a smile. Yikes. I would have lost it years and years ago. Does Peyton Manning take grief like this? Daunte Culpepper? Tom Brady? Michael Vick (maybe)? This past Wednesday was the first time we saw him get upset about it. Really, it was the first time we'd seen him admit that this all hurts. And it's obvious that it's been hurting him for a while.

If anything, I had no idea just how sensitive he was about it all. Hearing his comments on Wednesday, you could just hear the echoes of hundreds of conversations that he's likely had with his close friends and family over the past few years. It isn't that it hasn't been bothering him all along -- he just hasn't let his guard down publicly, hasn't let the world (and specifically Philly) see him sweat.

(It's worth noting that "letting Philly see you sweat" isn't always a reliable strategy. They like people to sweat on the field/ court/ ice, but they don't like people to talk about their feelings. And now that 5's shown weakness, I fear the peoples will smell the blood in the water and attack. I'm actually somewhat worried that the 5 thing is a Mike Schmidt situation in the making -- a situation where the fans are just so hateful that they completely mentally crush a guy who should have been revered his entire career.)

Given all that, did 5 earn the right to call T.O.'s comments black-on-black crime? Err, probably not. He certainly has the right to bring it up, and the right to be pissed off about T.O., and to be frustrated by the having to deal with other people's prejudices -- I just think he screwed up with the word choice. The bigger point got lost behind the sound bite. And we're not going to forget that sound bite any time soon. But good for him for bringing it up.

Speculating on the fortunes of next year's Eagles team isn't for today. We have seven long months for that. But, if I might offer a theory in re: 5 and the best-case scenario given last week's little spat: after years of being the model citizen and smiling for everyone, 5 comes into camp a vicious, mean, vengeful dude with a gigantic chip on his shoulder. The entire theme of his season becomes "proving the haters wrong" and he leads the Eagles to a glorious/ revenge-laden Super Bowl win over T.O.'s Denver Broncos.

(Also, he could just play better; people would shut up then as well.)

Additional Note: ThatKid felt a certain degree of justice in Michael Irvin's Hall Of Fame snub this past weekend. His comments in re: the McNabb interview were horrible and petty, and I'm glad he didn't get into the Hall Of Fame. He is the Dark Side.

Posted by thatkid at February 6, 2006 10:47 PM under Philly , Sports

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Posted by: Brad Glory at February 7, 2006 9:42 PM

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