An angry Texans fan decided to take matters into his own hands late Tuesday night when he parked in quarterback Matt Schaub’s driveway and yelled obscenities.
Kelley: Honestly, how much worse can this week get for Matt Schaub? It was his fourth straight week throwing an interception returned for a touchdown. His Texans lost… again. Super Bowl aspirations continue to sink and thus, frustration grows.
That flight home from San Francisco must have been bad enough. His teammates would not tell him out of courtesy and loyalty, but deep down, Schaub knew it – this loss was on him and his three interceptions.
Back in the comfort of his own home, away from the media, the locker room and stadiums, Schaub could not even sit back and relax. A fan decided it was appropriate to track down the Schaub residence and tell him exactly what Texans fans are thinking – you are ruining this season.
This is wrong and for so many reasons. The NFL described it as “unusual” and indeed it is. Schaub understands, or at least hopefully so, that his mistakes are preventing a team built for a championship from making it far in January, perhaps even not at all.
Fans, especially NFL fans, are passionate. But to go to a man’s home and harass him and his family? Way too far. This will damage the image of Texans fans nationwide –thought of as calm but loyal fans.
With my Steelers all but done this season, I would love to see a revival from Schaub. He has my support, that’s for sure.
Kowaleski: How much sympathy do I have for Schaub? Zero. Absolutely zero. Come on, Mike. The man broke a record for longest streak of games with pick-sixes. He has to be held accountable for record-breaking horribleness!
We don’t feel bad for Sanchez, why should Schaub be any different? Besides, his horribleness has real-world consequences. Fantasy football consequences. I don’t know if Schaub realized that his atrocity of a performance this week led to the San Francisco 49ers Defense racking up 21 points and almost single-handedly beating me in my league last week. But I wanted him to pay, and I hope that this fan let him have it not only for me but for all fantasy owners that he screwed over last week.
Because, look, he’s not Mark Sanchez. He’s generally regarded as an OK quarterback. People trusted him. And he betrayed that trust.
This fan is a TAH—a True American Hero (trademark pending). We can’t let this betrayal of trust go unpunished.
NFL legend Mike Ditka recently said that his biggest mistake was “letting Obama become President.”
Kelley: It was 2004 and the Illinois senate seat was vacant. Republicans, knowing that Obama was the favorite at the time, needed someone to run. So who better than Ditka, who has described himself as an “ultra-ultra-ultra conservative”?
Ditka eventually bowed out of the race and decided not to run. So, at the opening of a North Dakota oil facility last week (yes, I am wondering why he was there, too), Ditka thought it was appropriate to exude his displeasure with a decision made nine years ago.
“Not that I would have won, but I probably would have and [Obama] wouldn’t be in the White House.”
There it is. This is ridiculous. Just absurd. A loyal Pittsburgher, I have great respect for Ditka and his football expertise. But pick and choose your battles old man. Announcing to a group of 100 people celebrating the launch of a new oil facility that you regret not running for Senate is silly. It does make for a good headline and an especially great Mike’d UP topic. Us Mike’d UP guys love the ridiculous stories and this one fits the bill.
Kowaleski: Wait, do you actually doubt this? Do you know Ditka?
Say there’s a Chicagoan version of Mount Rushmore, the sport edition. Every sport gets a face on the mountain. There’s very little debate about what that mountain would look like: my choices would be Michael Jordan/Mike Ditka/Ernie Banks/Bobby Hull. You could make a case for Dick Butkus or Walter Payton instead of Ditka, but I’ll give it to the coach who led the Monsters of the Midway to their only Super Bowl title any day of the week.
The point is, any one of those guys has a shot to win office in Illinois, so I definitely would think twice before writing this guy off. The only Super Bowl title in Chicago history!
And check out the confidence on Ditka. I love it. This guy has no reservations. “I’m not saying I would have won, but yeah, I would have won. No doubt about it.” Just straight-up man. Iron Mike at his finest.
Honestly, Obama’s lucky that Ditka let him off easy. If you doubt that Ditka could have beaten Obama in a Senate race back in 2004, you don’t know Mike.