Up My Flagpole

by Frank Stephen

As much as I would like to sit back and savor Sunday’s Buffalo Bills victory over the St. Louis Rams it is apparent that the sporting world would rather shove Ron Artest down my throat (more on that later). However, until I am ready to discuss it, I will not give them the satisfaction. On to celebrating a Bills victory!!

This win by the Buffalo Bills on Sunday had a very special feeling. It really was the first win by the boys in red, white and blue this season that actually saw all three facets of the game come together and play well.

The defense was monster against the run. Marshall Faulk? Six whole yards? Say what you will about the kid defensive backs, this team can stop the run.

The offense did what it was suppose to do. They scored when needed and make few mistakes. Willis McGahee hit the 100-yard plateau yet again!

The special teams were more than monster. In a span of less than 3 minutes Jonathon “Fast Freddy” Smith returns a punt to the Rams 5 yard line, Nate Clements returns another punt for a TD and the Jason Peters recovers a fumble to set up field goal. Bobby April got his revenge. So sweet.

Oh, by the way. Personal thanks go out this week to Erik Flowers. Five years after being drafted by John Butler in the 2000 draft debacle, as a member of the Rams, Erik finally wins a game for the Bills. Thanks for fumbling that kick!!

Now, tell me after that win that you, a fan of the Buffalo Bills, would rather see them lose with JP Losman and give Dallas a better draft pick than see the team win. A football tam, more than any other sport, is more important than one man. Mike Mularkey, Tom Dohahoe and their staff of assistant coaches have a responsibility to teach 53 players and eight practice squad players how to play together and win. Is it better to lift the boat and get all of the players playing well and then bring in JP to make the transition easier or is it better to throw JP into a potentially no win situation and watch him and the team flounder for a couple of years? The future of the Bills is dependent on just more than JP’s arms and legs. Sorry, for me, I’d rather watch the ship get righted with Drew Bledsoe and see a couple of wins then see on the job training.

So? Bill Parcells was a genius and knew the Buffalo Bills would suck? He knew that the trade for the draft choice that netted the Bills JP Losman would be a top 5? Right now, the pick would be the 17th in the draft. A couple of more Bills wins and that could be a pick in the 20s. The Bills paid a lot for Losman and he needs to meet those expectations but the voices of the fans slapping Parcells on the back was a little premature.

Now, on to Artest. Can we just make this go away? A 37-17 Bills victory and you would think they had a bye week. Living in Buffalo, where we no longer have an NBA team, I could care less about Thug-ball. Why is everybody so focused on a loud mouth who, right or wrong, when into the stands after a fan? There is so much blame here that I don’t see anybody who escapes criticism. Ron Artest-Mr “I am too tired from promoting a rap album to play basketball, can I have two months off?” Hey Ron. If somebody comes into my workplace and throws something at me and I go off on them I get fired. So should you. Go promote rap or go pump gas. I really don’t care. And if I had been the scorer and you lay down on my table I would have flipped the sucker over on you. It wasn’t all right for somebody to invade your workplace but you could do it to somebody else? Good-bye.

Detroit Security-Where was the rent-a-cops? How long did it take for somebody to show up and do something? You owe a lot of folks some money.

NBA-Ya know. If you would have kicked LaTrell Spreewell out of the game for good when he choked PJ Carlisimo maybe things might be different now.

The fan that threw the cup-“I didn’t think it would escalate like that”. Your village is missing its idiot.

All fans-You are buying a ticket to see an event. Take that as a license to enjoy other people’s work. Would you go to the philharmonic and lunch your program at the oboe player because they blew a couple of notes? Grow the hell up. If you don’t like the entertainment then don’t go back. If you need to be a thug then you need to get a life. When am I going to be able to take my kid to a regular season football game and not have to be constantly worried about what he might see or hear? By the way, that goes for TV also. I raise my kid and I try as hard as I can without having to worry about things that are not appropriate for sports.

Officials at South Carolina and Clemson-So big of you to give up potential Bowl money after the on-the-field embarrassment that occurred on Saturday. Bet that will hit the coffers for a grand total of maybe, maybe $500,000. Now. How about growing a real pair and expelling some players? At Clemson, you can start with Yusef Kelly, the young punk on the cover of the USA Today who was kicking a South Carolina player who was already face down on the field. If I were an alumni I would either being calling for Kelly’s head…or yours.

The media (including this article)-Get over it and move on. Why is still the hot topic of conversation after almost a week? Could it be controversy and ratings?

Finally, society. Yes. All of us. We had a choice between Cosby and Roseanne and we picked Roseanne. Have you noticed what is going on around us? TV, music, news? People selling their souls and psyches for a little attention? Shows where people have to change what they look like to feel good about themselves? Emulating a bunch of uneducated thugs because they can slam or hit a ball or crush a QB? Buying records that advocate what rap artists feel what will sell? It is suppose to be entertainment folks, not life. My advice is to get a life.