reilly column

At this point, she's a MIAF to Rick.

 

his formulaic columns and Rushin's self-stroking prose, along with all the garbage prep stuff they started putting in the mag, were a few of the reasons I cancelled SI a few years back.

 

The Payton/Super Bowl touchdown complaint is one of the most anachronistic yet pervasive gripes in modern sports conversation.

Does anyone actively remember other such situations in Super Bowl history? If so, does anyone care AT ALL that the Broncos didn't get Shannon Sharpe a Super Bowl TD, or that any other Hall of Fame-caliber player didn't get a score in any Super Bowl?

If so, who cares and why?

If your team wins the Super Bowl, I see absolutely no reason to be angry just because some other player got the goal-line touch. Plenty of legendary players have never won a Super Bowl. Payton's legacy is one of the greatest in football history. A Super Bowl touchdown is truly meaningless when it comes to remembering or assessing a player like Payton. This relentless focus on Payton's lack of a Super Bowl touchdown is not only illogical and unusual, it takes time away from remembering his accomplishments. Whether or not his coach handed him a cheapie score means absolutely nothing on any level. I'm all for statistical fetishism -- it gives us all something to write about; home run chases, etc. -- but on an objective level, whether Payton ran in an easy TD in a blowout is irrelevant.

The entire line of argumentation draws upon such touchy-feely, emotional, maudlin logic that it flies directly in the face of all that football is "supposed" to be.

 

I don't think its so much about Payton NOT getting the TD, it's using the Fridge instead. If McMahon sneaks it over the line, there isn't much of a controversy. You can't say strategy dictated, in a blowout, giving a handoff to a defensive lineman. It was a "look at me" move by Ditka.
You don't think there would have been discussion if Emmit Smith didn't get a chance at six in favor of Leon Lett? People saw the Payton/Fridge decision as a snub. Payton was grinding it out for Chicago when they were terrible. Fridge was a freak show, a team mascot, a johnny-come-lately.
To put it in more political terms, Payton worked hard for his success, stuck to it even through tough times, and Ditka "gave" a touchdown to someone who hadn't "earned" it.

 

DanOregon's spot on. I remember watching the game as a kid and the broadcasters making a comment about, 'well, Walter Payton ... I guess they figure they got a quarter left" or something to that effect. Payton was bitter about it for a looong time, too.

 

I understand it was a showboat move and that Perry was nothing special in the big picture. But I just don't think fans should dwell on that moment when there are so many things to feel positive about. There is no Fridge TD or title season without Payton and everyone knows it, so why sweat it so much? It should be easy to be content with Payton's Hall of Fame career, Super Bowl ring and status as the star of the most beloved Chicago sports team and one of the greatest teams of all time.

 

Out of respect. You give the ball to Walter Payton out of respect.

He earned to get the ball at that moment in time, and William Perry didn't.

The other arguments here are fine and good, really.

But in my mind, they're not good enough to trump the truth of the matter: Walter Payton deserved the ball, meaningless touchdown or not.

 

so you're the one.

 

Once upon a time, the effort was much more evident.

The guy's an awesome talent.

Simply would like to see more of the kind of material upon which
RR legitimately based his reputation.

 

I don't think anyone would bitch about Payton not getting the TD is anyone other than Fridge had gotten it instead.

I love Ditka, but that was a colossal fuck-up.

 

I think the thing everyone is forgetting is that Payton had long said his dream was to score a TD in the Super Bowl. Yeah, that is every kid's dream even the Fridge's, but I remember reading a lot of stories about Payton from when the Bears were bad about that fact.

 

Whatever happened to Rushin? Is he still writing for Time?