When you visit a site entitled Afronerd, it's doubtful that you will be inundated with sports stories (except perhaps vintage sports tales for historical relevance) but this next piece involving Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive MVP, James Harrison goes beyond the pale. Do you ever wonder why Mr. Starks and I continue to discuss the demise of our culture? Because just as Paul Revere warned the colonists of the real first British invasion (sorry Mr. McCartney), this blog attempts to forewarn the unthinkable-generational soulessness. I hope I'm not overstating the importance (or lack thereof) of an ignorant football player but I think this young man's attitude tells more about his generation moreso than casting aspersions about his profession. But what am I talking about? Simply put, Harrison is refusing to meet with President Obama because he won the Super Bowl. That right...because his team won. Harrison feels that Obama should have paid a visit when the team wasn't winning. Wow. Truth be told, any presidential visit is worthy of acknowledgment, but the first President of color just doesn't mean much to Mr. Harrison. Here's more on this story of questionable intelligence, courtesy of the Yahoo Sports:
Mr. Harrison isn't going to Washington; Steeler spurns Obama
By Chris Chase
On Thursday, President Obama will welcome the Pittsburgh Steelers to the White House to honor the team for its recent Super Bowl victory. But, just like in 2006 when the Steelers had a post-title meeting with George W. Bush, defensive MVP (and Super Bowl hero) James Harrison won't be in attendance. But he has a good reason:
"This is how I feel -- if you want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers, invite us when we don't win the Super Bowl. As far as I'm concerned, he [Obama] would've invited Arizona if they had won."
Usually, when a sentence begins with "as far as I'm concerned," it ends with an opinion, not an incontrovertible fact. Harrison's comment is akin to saying, "As far as I'm concerned, George Washington was the first president."
Of course the Cards would have received the White House invite if they had won. Winners get to go meet the president, losers don't. They also get the trophy, the parade and those hats that say "Super Bowl champs". I don't think James Harrison(notes) turned down any of those things, which makes his refusal to go to the White House a tad hypocritical.
When Harrison won the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year award, he didn't decline and say, "As far as he was concerned, they would've given this award to someone else if they had had a better defensive season." And when he scored that touchdown in the Super Bowl after returning an interception 100 yards, I'm pretty sure Harrison didn't tell the ref to take the points of the board because, as far as he was concerned, if Larry Fitzgerald(notes) had caught him, he wouldn't have scored.
As far as I'm concerned, James Harrison is sort of a fool. If he doesn't want to go to the White House, fine. (Although I can't imagine why anybody wouldn't want to meet the President of the United States.) But don't make a lame excuse in an attempt to justify your decision. Leave that for NFL refeeres.
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