Jake Delhomme couldn't contain himself as he broke down during his press conference today. The most accomplished quarterback in Carolina Panthers history found himself in tears and didn't bother fighting back. That's the way he's always been, and the reason he has earned such a passionate fan base in the Carolinas.
It's easy to assume Carolina fans are happy about the decision if you aren't a Carolina fan. All you'll see is Jake's horrible 2009 and his dreadful game against Arizona the season before. What you didn't see was the barely televised game against Jacksonville to start his first season as a Panther. With Carolina down 14-0 at half time John Fox made the call to pull veteran Rodney Peete and replace him with the unheralded Delhomme who lead the team to a 24-23 victory and capped off the season with an NFC Championship.
In the following years Jake would have his ups and downs. He would lead the team to another NFC Championship game against Seattle with a depleted running back corp only to fall short. He would also throw an obscene amount of interceptions and bad passes, and again he would lead the team on seemingly impossible last minute comebacks, like against San Diego where he managed to find Dante Rosario in the back of the end zone while falling down. Had Brett Favre made that same play various ESPN talking heads would've masturbated themselves into comas. But as it stood, Jake made it, so nobody west of Hothouse, south of Hardeeville, or north of Big Creek heard about it.
Off the field he was, and is a gentleman and a role model for young children, especially young athletes. Jake never, ever gave up on his dreams despite some harsh setbacks. He was determined to achieve his goal, and he did. Talent-wise Jake probably has no business in the NFL, especially not playing for championships, but he was there. He often found a hidden gear, a way to out play every other player in the league, and made a career for himself out of emotional, intense play. You never got cocky bravado from Jake, you got results. Sometimes not the way you expected, but he usually found a way to deliver.
He bowed out the same way he played, with intense emotion. Some will be critical of Jake for crying, and tell him to "man up". It's easy to tell a champion quarterback to man up when you're sitting at home. This is a man who played injured countless times and repeatedly dragged himself back to the line in intense pain to manage enough yardage for the Panthers to at least attempt a field goal, a man who was vastly respected by his teammates and loved by his fans. I feel he's entitled to a few tears.
In my eyes he's on the same level as Mike Minter, Muggsy Bogues, and Dell Curry, a Charlotte sports legend, and a world-class gentleman to boot. There will always be a place for him in this town.
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Friday, March 5, 2010
Thursday, November 5, 2009
When a giant falls - Curtains for FC Nippon?
Chances are, you don't know much about Tokyo Verdy FC, if you know anything about them.
Verdy was once Japan's foremost soccer club, a giant in a sea of minnows. Originally known as Yomiuri FC -- owned by the same company that owns baseball's wildly successful Yomiuri Giants, thirty-times Champions of the Central League -- Verdy was founded in 1969 -- thus it's old name: Tokyo Verdy 1969 -- and eventually ascending to the top of Japanese soccer, the Japan Soccer League First Division, in 1977 before winning their first trophy, the JSL Cup, in 1979. This success was the first of many for Yomiuri FC and inevitably spurred comparison's to the Giants causing Yomuiri to envision a soccer version of their famed baseball team, complete with top stars and massive crowds. Yomuiri took to boastfully calling the club "FC Nippon", Japan's team, in an effort to attract fans from every corner of the Land of the Rising Sun.
To a degree, it worked, eventually Yomuiri would claim continental glory in the form of the Asian Club Championship in 1987/88. Yomuiri's success would continue on into the '90's when the JFA decided to move away from corporate club and onto clubs with a more civic or provincial styling with the foundation of the J. League in 1992. Yomuiri became founder members of the new league under the name Verdy Kawasaki, a homage to their green uniforms and Kanagawa hometown. The first three editions of the J. League were extremely successful for Verdy as they claimed two championships and played before crowds of well over 20,000 each season. But that success would come to an abrupt end in 1996 as Verdy finished 7th of 16. The 1996 Emperor's Cup would prove to be Verdy's final triumph of the decade, and final trophy in Kawasaki.
In 2001, following a succession of poor seasons both on and off the pitch Verdy decided to decamp for Tokyo in an effort to tap into what they saw as an under-served market and to get farther away from the cluster of successful clubs, such as Yokohama Marinos and upstarts Kawasaki Frontale, which called Kanagawa home. The move backfired, spectacularly. By the time Verdy moved in Tokyo was already home to a J. League club, the beloved FC Tokyo, and FCT's fans wanted no part of Verdy and began to taunt the former giants with banners proclaiming their club as the "Real Tokyo FC". Verdy's crowds did improve from Kawasaki, but were still short of FC Tokyo's numbers. A continued lack of success on the field eventually drove fans away from Verdy, and to the Gas Men, who despite not being terribly successful had always been Tokyo's club.
In 2005, despite the best efforts of their lionhearted Brazilian Washington, Verdy were relegated. FC Nippon was facing away trips to the likes of Mito Hollyhock and Avispa Fukuoka. It was embarrassing for what was once considered footballing royalty in Japan, and even more embarrassing were the crowds that turned up at the Ajinomoto Stadium: 5,700. Following a mid-table finish, Verdy were able to claw their way back into the top flight as runners-up, back where they belonged, or so they hoped. 2008 saw an impotent Verdy relegated once again, and could have proved the final blow to an aging giant.
It has been reported that Verdy must come up with $6,000,000 by November 16th or the club will hit the wall as Nippon TV, who purchased the club from Yomiuri in the late 90's have attempted to rid themselves of the club.
It's not right to gloat at other's misery, but it's difficult to feel bad for Verdy as a club, though it's easy to feel sympathy for it's supporters. They didn't move the club, after all. With that said, there would be some poetic justice if Frontale, the pride and joy of Kawasaki, were to win their first title in Verdy's final season.
Verdy was once Japan's foremost soccer club, a giant in a sea of minnows. Originally known as Yomiuri FC -- owned by the same company that owns baseball's wildly successful Yomiuri Giants, thirty-times Champions of the Central League -- Verdy was founded in 1969 -- thus it's old name: Tokyo Verdy 1969 -- and eventually ascending to the top of Japanese soccer, the Japan Soccer League First Division, in 1977 before winning their first trophy, the JSL Cup, in 1979. This success was the first of many for Yomiuri FC and inevitably spurred comparison's to the Giants causing Yomuiri to envision a soccer version of their famed baseball team, complete with top stars and massive crowds. Yomuiri took to boastfully calling the club "FC Nippon", Japan's team, in an effort to attract fans from every corner of the Land of the Rising Sun.
To a degree, it worked, eventually Yomuiri would claim continental glory in the form of the Asian Club Championship in 1987/88. Yomuiri's success would continue on into the '90's when the JFA decided to move away from corporate club and onto clubs with a more civic or provincial styling with the foundation of the J. League in 1992. Yomuiri became founder members of the new league under the name Verdy Kawasaki, a homage to their green uniforms and Kanagawa hometown. The first three editions of the J. League were extremely successful for Verdy as they claimed two championships and played before crowds of well over 20,000 each season. But that success would come to an abrupt end in 1996 as Verdy finished 7th of 16. The 1996 Emperor's Cup would prove to be Verdy's final triumph of the decade, and final trophy in Kawasaki.
In 2001, following a succession of poor seasons both on and off the pitch Verdy decided to decamp for Tokyo in an effort to tap into what they saw as an under-served market and to get farther away from the cluster of successful clubs, such as Yokohama Marinos and upstarts Kawasaki Frontale, which called Kanagawa home. The move backfired, spectacularly. By the time Verdy moved in Tokyo was already home to a J. League club, the beloved FC Tokyo, and FCT's fans wanted no part of Verdy and began to taunt the former giants with banners proclaiming their club as the "Real Tokyo FC". Verdy's crowds did improve from Kawasaki, but were still short of FC Tokyo's numbers. A continued lack of success on the field eventually drove fans away from Verdy, and to the Gas Men, who despite not being terribly successful had always been Tokyo's club.
In 2005, despite the best efforts of their lionhearted Brazilian Washington, Verdy were relegated. FC Nippon was facing away trips to the likes of Mito Hollyhock and Avispa Fukuoka. It was embarrassing for what was once considered footballing royalty in Japan, and even more embarrassing were the crowds that turned up at the Ajinomoto Stadium: 5,700. Following a mid-table finish, Verdy were able to claw their way back into the top flight as runners-up, back where they belonged, or so they hoped. 2008 saw an impotent Verdy relegated once again, and could have proved the final blow to an aging giant.
It has been reported that Verdy must come up with $6,000,000 by November 16th or the club will hit the wall as Nippon TV, who purchased the club from Yomiuri in the late 90's have attempted to rid themselves of the club.
It's not right to gloat at other's misery, but it's difficult to feel bad for Verdy as a club, though it's easy to feel sympathy for it's supporters. They didn't move the club, after all. With that said, there would be some poetic justice if Frontale, the pride and joy of Kawasaki, were to win their first title in Verdy's final season.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Big White Elephant
Big, really big.
Beijing's famous "Bird's Nest" has one event on it's schedule for 2009, one. On August 8th, the stadium will host Puccini’s opera “Turandot".
The $450 million, 91,000-seat stadium doesn't have a tenant. Plans called for the local Chinese Super League club, Beijing Guoan, to move into the stadium following the Olympics. Guoan balked at these plans after seeing the rental fee. A somewhat strange part of this story is that the Bird's Nest is run by CITIC group, the company also owns most of Guoan through a subsidiary called CITIC Guoan. That tells you that the rent must be somewhat exorbitant.
Somewhat stranger is that China's national soccer team doesn't have any matches scheduled at the supposed National Stadium, instead choosing random venues throughout the country.
Beijing does have three other clubs who could potentially (though the changes are about as thin as my arms) call the stadium home. Hongdeng, and BIT both play in the second-tier Jia League, while minnows Baxy play in the third level Yi League.
A stadium which has a horrible reputation as a white elephant is Montreal's Stade Olympique, a major difference between "the Big O" and the Bird's Nest is that the Montreal venue has actually had regular tenants, the Bird's Nest has lost it's best bet to the aging (albeit recently refurbished) Workers Stadium.
Of the other recent Olympic Stadiums, only Seoul's (1998) Jamsil could be lumped into this category though it does see use as a concert venue, and occasionally by tiny Seoul United. That said, Espanyol will soon decamp Barcelona's 1992 stadium for greener pastures in Cornellà de Llobregat leaving the future of that stadium up in the air. With that, the stadium has been in use since 1927.
The Bird's Nest, however iconic it may be, will surely serve as a very large warning sign for the future to not bite off more than you can chew.
Beijing's famous "Bird's Nest" has one event on it's schedule for 2009, one. On August 8th, the stadium will host Puccini’s opera “Turandot".
The $450 million, 91,000-seat stadium doesn't have a tenant. Plans called for the local Chinese Super League club, Beijing Guoan, to move into the stadium following the Olympics. Guoan balked at these plans after seeing the rental fee. A somewhat strange part of this story is that the Bird's Nest is run by CITIC group, the company also owns most of Guoan through a subsidiary called CITIC Guoan. That tells you that the rent must be somewhat exorbitant.
Somewhat stranger is that China's national soccer team doesn't have any matches scheduled at the supposed National Stadium, instead choosing random venues throughout the country.
Beijing does have three other clubs who could potentially (though the changes are about as thin as my arms) call the stadium home. Hongdeng, and BIT both play in the second-tier Jia League, while minnows Baxy play in the third level Yi League.
A stadium which has a horrible reputation as a white elephant is Montreal's Stade Olympique, a major difference between "the Big O" and the Bird's Nest is that the Montreal venue has actually had regular tenants, the Bird's Nest has lost it's best bet to the aging (albeit recently refurbished) Workers Stadium.
Of the other recent Olympic Stadiums, only Seoul's (1998) Jamsil could be lumped into this category though it does see use as a concert venue, and occasionally by tiny Seoul United. That said, Espanyol will soon decamp Barcelona's 1992 stadium for greener pastures in Cornellà de Llobregat leaving the future of that stadium up in the air. With that, the stadium has been in use since 1927.
The Bird's Nest, however iconic it may be, will surely serve as a very large warning sign for the future to not bite off more than you can chew.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Saturday, February 2, 2008
I forgot about the Super Bowl
This is actually the first year I've done so, maybe because I don't have cable anymore (colossal waste of money these days) and don't have ESPN bombarding me with "OH EM GEE IT'S ALMOST HERE [frenzy]!!!". Basically I guess it's much more a social event than a sporting event (though don't get me wrong, I appreciate the athletic endeavor of the game itself). I'm teetotal (My reasons for being teetotal are personal.) and more or less an extreme introvert so I have no interest in alcohol or partying. I have nothing against people drinking (Until someone makes a fool of themselves, like a cousin of mine does and we always have to get him out of trouble. To me a drunk person isn't funny, it's sad.) or people going to parties, I just don't like them forced upon me. Also being a Southerner I have no real interest in either team. I'll watch the game but I probably won't do anything else.
Yes, it does get quite lonely in my ivory tower. It actually seems like more of a burning tree house sometimes.
On a less self-absorbed note I hope Jane gets better. I'm sad when she's not well.
Yes, it does get quite lonely in my ivory tower. It actually seems like more of a burning tree house sometimes.
On a less self-absorbed note I hope Jane gets better. I'm sad when she's not well.
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