Ray Lewis is God's linebacker

Full confession: I hadn't read the Ryan Sonner thread until now. I haven't laughed that hard on this board in months. Well done, all.

 

Ray Lewis is a babbling fucktard. The dipshits at ESPN and ESPNSnooze who keep running the same interview clip every 1.2 seconds are running a close second.

They redeem themselves with the clip of Mr. Lewis colliding with Ed Reed. Too bad, Ray.

 

If you're one of the hundreds of professionals harangued by Brian Billick ("I have the podium and you don't") and Shannon Sharpe while Ray Lewis sits there like Little Lord Fauntleroy (in a purple bonnet), then, why yes, you have good cause to hate Ray Lewis.

 

Just standard-issue NFL Coach Hypocrisy regarding players who made them . . . just like
Tuna and that thug, LT.

 

I've always wondered why a Rich, successful Blackman conjures up so much hate from inadequate men?

 

I just read the story. It's a fair representation. For a while I felt like, "OK, where's the really chunky meat and potatoes of the story?" They don't come until a few pages into it. The first time the story gripped me is when Price painted the portrait of a guy who never had a father/father figure. Yes it's cliché, but a few of Lewis's quotes on the subject are poignant, and this is where I related. I have a dad. My parents have been married 40 years. But I have zero bond with my dad, the same way Lewis's dad was never around. When he was a kid his dad promised to pick him up for weekend visits and whatnot, and time and again Lewis would sit in his front yard filled with excitement, bags packed, all day long into the night, until his mom had to bring him back inside, his spirits crushed. He wanted a father. I wanted a father, too.

It's the part of the story that humanizes Ray Lewis. Does that condone his babymaking, club-carousing, alleged stabbing lifestyle? I can't answer that, and neither can Price. He presents facts of Lewis' life and lets the reader decide. I think the whole born-again church thing serves as a veil of sorts. I think there is a life of anger and hurt inside Ray Lewis' heart, which so many people in the story seem to call pure, including Mike Singletary. Lewis has gone a lifetime seeking a father or a best friend (Marlon Barnes was the closest thing to a best friend he had) and every time he thinks he has found one, it is taken away by death or deadbeatery (his dad Ray Jackson has let him down over and over and over).

Sounds like I'm defending the guy, but I'm not. I'm indifferent, but I'm glad I read about his life. I think Price wanted to feel a certain way about Lewis, too, but couldn't and just let the story speak for itself.

 

I don't hate Rolando Blackman.

 

That's a good post, Xan. I think sometimes one of the hardest things to do as a writer, but one of the most effective, is to paint a portrait of someone that takes no sides, conjures up no sympathy (intentionally), but simply lets the reader decide for his or herself what to think. It's one of the reasons my favorite profile ever might be the one Scott Raab wrote about Pete Rose for GQ in 1997.

I really liked the detail of Lewis driving home from Florida after his father had conned him once again, crying behind the wheel. I also liked the fact that Price pointed out to Lewis that he still had limitations as a father, simply because he didn't put his kids to bed every night.

As I said, it wasn't my favorite story ever, but it's definitely worth reading. Anything by Price is, frankly.

 

Thanks, nicely put. The media and most sports fans don't care about this. They CAN'T RELATE. All they care about is 'you are making millions - act like an alterboy' divorce your family and associates and say pleasant things.

Glad Ray is keeping it real.

 

Bought the issue tonight and read it at dinner (alone!). It was incredibly well-written and well-sourced.

But two segments were worth the price of admission alone: Lewis patting himself on the back for being the father his dad never was and Price noting that none of his six kids live with daddy. And Lewis asking his kids to recite his birthday and the kids needing more than one guess to get it right.

My dad's dad died when he was a kid and the closest thing he had to a father figure was a divisive uncle who died estranged from his sons. Somehow, despite his lack of a father figure, my dad managed to pull it together, managed to figure out the nuances of birth control and managed to raise two kids who not only view him as a hero but also never forget his birthday (May 24, 1948). So forgive me if my sympathy for Ray is limited.

 

So nice he's belatedly considering regular condom use. A little late, but, hey . . .

Most of the rest of this brouhaha is about "face" and "manhood" . . . important factors in life,
but qualities like "class" and "honesty" come before.

Over/under on Ray's bastard kids: 8 1/2

 

Amazing.. condom use now.. it's like trying to unpee in a pool