BUT HE'S GRITTY AND HARD-WORKING, WITH NO NATURAL ABILITIES! Can anything other than race-based thinking explain why less-than-completely-awesome white Browns running back Peyton Hillis has made it to the finals of the public voting for the Madden '12 cover?
In completely unrelated sports blogging (because I don't feel like opening up a second thread), All 30 NHL Goal Horns, Ranked.
anyone is entitled to vote for peyton hillis, regardless of reasoning, provided they also draft him in fantasy leagues ahead of the other finalists. i'm ok with expressions of subtle racism, as long as repercussions are experienced.
ReplyDeletehe beat two black running backs and two white quarterbacks who are also better than he is. i don't know it's racist to vote for hlliis over aaron freaking rodgers, but it suggests hillis's support comes from dang fools. Hillis and Danny Woodhead got farther than they should have been (i.e., being included in the tournament at all) but Charles beat Saint Timothy of Gainesville in the first round, so there's that.
Whatever got Peyton Hillis into the finals, it wasn't racism that caused voters to select him over Aaron Rodgers and Matty Ice.
ReplyDeleteThat, I agree with; it does complicate things. That's where the "but being a white RB, as opposed to other positions, makes you an underdog" point is what's salient. I think the same kind of fandom happens from time to time with white PGs in the NBA -- look at Jason Williams.
ReplyDeleteWashington should have been disqualified for the fire engine siren mixed in with the goal horn. But I do love the wonderful simplicity of the Edmonton and Boston horns, and I'll admit there's something about them that is just slightly better than the equally classic Chicago horn.<span> </span>
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, Adrian Peterson soundly whupped Drew Brees to get to the Final Four. I suspect it's just a Cleveland radio station encouraging ballot-stuffing. If being white in a stereotypically black position really that made much of a difference, Wes Welker would be a much much huger star, as opposed to someone who had to beg for casino appearances: http://www.athletepromotions.com/athletes/Wes-Welker-appearance-booking-agent.php
ReplyDeleteBut he's on a team with two other white stars -- Brady and Woodhead, and Bruschi beforehand.
ReplyDeleteWes Welker isn't the most famous slot receiver on the planet?
ReplyDeleteHillis is not without talent, but he obviously doesn't make it there by talent alone. But I don't think it's about race. It's about him being a lunch-pail blue-collar kind of guy -- not the greatest or most graceful athlete in the world, but someone who plays hard and grinds it out. Fans like that kind of guy because they can (or think they can) relate to him. I can't jump like Michael Jordan, but I can certainly throw elbows and dive for loose balls like Charles Oakley. And with athletes making so much money, and it costing so much money to see a game, fans value a player with an obvious work ethic.
ReplyDeleteYou all are reading too much into this regarding race.
ReplyDeleteI belive what we are seeing here is strategic voting being applied to Madden Curse avoidance and in the case of some votes for Vick, Madden Curse appliance. In Detroit, one of the radio stations specifically asked for everyone to vote for Aaron Rodgers in round one so that Suh would not get cursed this year. I also believe that this is why Tebow only got 36% in round one. It lokes like Rodgers's supporters caught on in time during the semifinal.
Hillis isn't winning. He's just not strategically losing.
Vote for Vick. Give him the Curse.
--bd
It could be division opponents of the Browns attempting to invoke the Madden Cover Curse.<span> </span>
ReplyDeleteI don't know much about Hillis, so I'm not disputing what you're saying about him, but I did want to point out that African American athletes are almost never described as "lunch-pail blue-collar kind of guys" with "an obvious work ethic." The stereotype of the black athlete coasting on his natural talent while the white athlete has to get by on scrappiness, hustle, and guts definitely persists, although it may be less pervasive than it once was.
ReplyDeleteAs a Pats fan, I was distinctly uncomfortable with how popular Woodhead got so quickly. Some of it was due to his small stature, but the truth is there are other good players of similar size who haven't become cult heroes (for example, Darren Sproles is 5'6"). As most of you probably know, Boston has a pretty troubled history when it comes to race and sports, the most notable examples being the terrible racism Bill Russell endured while he won championships for the Celtics, and the Red Sox being the last MLB team to integrate and having racist management for decades. Even today, while there have certainly been beloved black and Hispanic athletes in Boston, none of them has cracked the city's all-white pantheon -- Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams, Bobby Orr, Larry Bird, and Tom Brady. I'm off on a bit of a tangent, but I guess I felt like Woodhead was a reminder of some uncomfortable truths about Boston.
Chicago basically invented the goal horn, didn't they? How are they #9?
Thank you, Ted. Give that -- what -- 70% of NFL players aren't white, are there really a lot of honest-to-god racists that still watch NFL football?
ReplyDeleteBut we aren't talking about honest-to-God racists, we're talking about fans that feel just a little bit more affinity for white players at "black" positions, just enough to get them to root more for a Peyton Hillis than for a Jamaal Charles. There's no resentment, just an extra bit of fandom.
ReplyDeleteWhat Jake said. It's the ascribing of such attributes exclusively to white players which is the problem.
ReplyDeleteThe "David Eckstein Syndrome," as I think of it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/v/_OjF_At3BKQ&feature" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="170" height="140
ReplyDeleteYou have to remember the impact of fantasy football in the voting here. Both Hillis and Vick were among the top fantasy players last year while being either late-round draft picks or waiver wire pickups. This led to a belief that they were the best players, at least for fantasy. The guy who won my league picked up Hillis and won our championship, and then attributed it all to Hillis, despite also having Arian Foster, who was technically the most valuable fantasy player. Fantasy has really made fans appreciate sleepers. While I can't rule out any casual racism having an impact here, fantasy football has become a major way that people enjoy the NFL, especially among the demographic that would be voting for a video game cover.
ReplyDeleteHow many endorsement deals does Woodhead have? Besides, you're moving the goalposts: your argument was that Hillis is popular not just because he's white, but because he's white and in a "skill" position that is overwhelmingly African-American. Not only is the same true for Welker, but he's witty, a legitimate star, and on one of the more successful teams. Yet I could walk by him in the street without even noticing.
ReplyDeleteI have voted for Hillis in every round because he's white
ReplyDeleteNever would have known there was a vote on this without the post here on the blog. Just voted. Hillis.
ReplyDeleteI've been wondering if I should try The League since it's on Netflix Watch Instant now. I think that's sold me on at least giving it a shot (the guy on the left, Paul Scheer, also does a podcast I've been enjoying recently, How Did This Get Made?)
ReplyDeleteI think there's no doubt that attributes like "gritty" (and "intelligent," for that matter) are more often ascribed to white players than black players, and I have no doubt that racism is a big part of the reason for that. But I would argue that it's not exclusive. As I mentioned initially, Charles Oakley is an example of a black player who fits the gritty, blue-collar designation. Muggsy Bogues was the NBA equivalent of David Eckstein. In football, there are numerous black fullbacks with a running style similar to Hillis who also are lauded for their grit and workmanlike skills. And a few halfbacks, too (Thomas Jones, Brandon Jacobs).
ReplyDeleteNow, let's be honest. No one makes the NFL or the NBA or the major leagues without being a great athlete, no matter how gritty they are or how hard they work. But some skills are more visible than others. And I think fans have a tendency to fall in love with athletes who APPEAR to have no natural abilities but succeed through sheer determination, because that's the kind of athlete that fans imagine themselves to be.
If you have ever looked at hillis and didn't think "that guy did a great job with the steroids," you are fooling yourself.
ReplyDelete