Sunday, January 17, 2010
Sports, "Hunt's Grunts"

The YouTube world is watching

 

By Hunt Archbold

Just for the record, there were plenty of unsold seats for Widespread Panic’s pair of New Year’s Eve concerts, so there was no reason to raise another banner recognizing the band’s string of sold-out shows at Philips Arena. For now, the Hawks and Thrashers are still in the running to beat John Bell and his Athens jam-band mates in hoisting the next banner at the Blue Factory—er, Highlight Land—that is, whatever they’re calling the Omni reincarnate these days.

Still, there was a moment to remember and share (thanks to the wonder that is YouTube), as a current local pro sports team owner walked onstage to hug a startled J.B. as the band was in the midst of ushering in the new decade with Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin.’”

Maybe that midnight appearance with Widespread was a botched first attempt to announce his candidacy, because it appears said owner wants to be starting something outside of sports. A few hours after being peacefully removed by security, I understand, he was talking with former Georgia lieutenant governor Mark Taylor about a possible future in politics. Of course, he wouldn’t be the first. Or the last.

And no, the individual in question is not Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, whose oft-stated chief professional desire is to bring this city a consistently winning professional football team. And with general manager Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Mike Smith ruling the roost, the Birds appear to be on the right flight path.

And yet, of all the stories that surfaced since Lane Kiffin abandoned Tennessee last week to take over the Southern California head job that Pete Carroll vacated to seize control of the Seattle Seahawks, the one that hit home here was a report that two years ago, Carroll had actually accepted Blank’s offer to take over the Falcons’ football trust, only to back out at the eleventh hour. That reversal no doubt saved Blank a lot of money, if not many more seasons of mediocrity.

The other thing that stood out was how dumb Kiffin must think people are. It was widely reported in the wake of his departure that his friend Ed Orgeron, who also left Tennessee to serve in a similar capacity as USC associate head coach/recruiting coordinator/defensive line coach, had been texting Tennessee recruits about changing their minds and following the devious duo to La-La Land. As Kiffin was being introduced to the local media as the Trojans’ next coach, he indicated reports that Orgeron was contacting Tennessee recruits were “inaccurate,” but also said he hadn’t had an exact conversation about it with Orgeron, who was standing in the back of the room at the time. (Seems like that would have been a good time to have that “exact” conversation.)

Kiffin reminds me of many a politician who’s been rightly backed into a corner and will say (or not say) whatever it takes to avoid taking responsibility for his actions. And based on his track record as a head coach (see the Buzz at right), maybe he’ll end up excelling at politics much better than he does at athletics.

From Dwight D. Eisenhower to Mike Kenn, athletes have a long history of both successful and unsuccessful careers in politics. And now, potentially, come two more.

The first is Craig James, the former running back and current ESPN commentator who’s been making the rounds, meeting prominent Texas Republicans and donors, raising his profile in preparation for a possible U.S. Senate run. As anyone who pays attention to college football knows, just last month James played a large role in effectively pushing the winningest football coach at Texas Tech out the door under dubious circumstances. His timing couldn’t have been worse; he surely won’t garner many votes from Red Raider fans.

And then there’s a former Falcon, a consensus 2001 NFL all-rookie performer for the Birds, who last summer publicly made known that the No. 1 item on his bucket list is to be elected president of the United States. Before that, though, Jay Feely will be handling the placekicking duties this afternoon, Jan. 17, in the New York Jets’ divisional playoff game at San Diego.

Feely’s political aspirations are no secret. Nor are his conservative views. The junior-sized football player made waves last summer when he made remarks critical of President Barack Obama on Fox News. He took some heat then, and took a little more last month when a fellow NFL player, the often-troubled Chris Henry, fell out of a pickup truck and died as a result of severe head trauma. This prompted Feely to quickly tweet, “Chris Henry seemed to have turned his life around. But you can’t live on the brink of destruction without inevitably falling off the ledge.”

Feely has the freedom to say what he feels, but there’s a fine difference between having the right to say something and having the class not to say it. Feely wasn’t using that situation to teach a life lesson; rather, he was exploiting the death of a young father to draw attention to himself and his political aspirations. Give him credit for recognizing that, and immediately apologizing.

In sports, as Kiffin knows, you can stick a clown foot down your throat time after time, and there will always be another big top to yuck it up beneath. But in the political world, as Feely and James are learning, public officials rely on voters and party backing. And both can be gone in a snap, with a slip of the tongue or a misstep in judgment.

As opposed to a misstep onto a crowded concert stage while Jimmy Herring is wailing away nearby. That shouldn’t be viewed in a negative fashion at all.

Happy times …and just YouTube it if you want to know who it was. SP