D. Armenta
PlagmanSenator Brownback Met with Boos After Dissing Brett Favre
Senator and presidential hopeful Sam Brownback, who earlier this year drew fire from the National Association for the Constitutional Rights of Illegal Aliens (NACRIA) for having his last name, has found himself on the defensive yet again after committing another unforgiveable act earlier this week.
At the Wisconsin Republican Party convention, Brownback chose to use a football analogy to discuss the need to focus on families. "This is fundamental blocking and tackling," he said. "This is your line in football. If you don't have a line, how many passes can Peyton Manning complete? Greatest quarterback, maybe, in NFL history."
The statement was met immediately with boos, groans, and a few confused looks from people expecting Brownback to continue his discussion on zone-blocking schemes. As Brownback's campaign manager informed him of the Wisconsin state law that prohibits positive comments from being made about any non-Green Bay Packer player, the Kansas Senator attempted to salvage any support he could from both of the people who hadn't stormed out in disgust. Slumping over at the podium, and with his head buried in his hands, Brownback said, "That's really bad. That will go down in history. I apologize."
The heartfelt apology drew a little laughter and even less applause, after which Brownback continued his recovery attempt by saying that former Packers' quarterback Bart Starr may be the greatest of all time. But unfortunately for Brownback, the damage had already been done.
"He was in trouble as soon as he opened his mouth," said a Wisconsin native in attendance. "I probably would've voted for him, but not anymore; we don't take kindly to candidates who don't acknowledge the omnipotence of the Packers."
"I can't believe I took my child to that speech," said another observer, "I had no idea he was going to say such filth; I just hope my son isn't too traumatized."
But even the Bart Starr comment wasn't enough to win back the crowd. "Let's take Favre then," Brownback continued, "The Packers are great. I'm sorry. How many passes does he complete without a line?"
In defense of the quarterback who in his career has completed 61% of his passes, several voices in the crowd responded by yelling, "all of them!" To which Brownback replied, "I'm sorry, that's incorrect; it was a trick question. Favre has never attempted to throw a pass without his offensive line. I thought that was pretty obvious. Come on, people, seriously."
In acceptance of the situation, Brownback finally gave up, saying, "I'm not sure how I recover from this. My point is we've got to rebuild the family. I'll get off this."
Also in attendance was ex-NFL coach and current television analyst John Madden, who's man-crush on Brett Favre has been well-documented over the past two decades. "I couldn't believe my ears." Said Madden, "It was like he had gone insane. Brett Favre is Brett Favre, and that's all there is to it. You look at what makes a quarterback great, stuff like passing and throwing, and that's exactly what Brett Favre does that makes him so great. Because quarterbacks pass to receivers, and Brett Favre does that. Brownback was being as foolish as someone who doesn't use boom! tough-actin' Tinactin to treat athlete's foot."
What Brownback and his campaign team failed to recognize was that the Brett Favre situation throughout Wisconsin has been a very sensitive one, to say the least. Prior to last season, Favre had kept the sports world in suspense as he decided whether he would return to football or retire.
"We owe Favre our lives," said a lifetime Packer fan, "he's our everything. Brett, if you're reading this, I want you to know: I can't quit you!"
Still, some fans were ready to call it a day regarding Favre's future at the helm. "I don't think the state of Wisconsin, or for that matter, the state of America, has ever had such a polarizing issue." Said Wisconsin's Governor last year as Favre considered retirement. "When people think of Wisconsin, they think of our annual cheese festival, Milwaukee's Best, which is undoubtedly the best beer in the world with a Wisconsin city in the title, and Brett Favre. But then there are those out there who think we should move on just because he sucks now. I don't care how many interceptions he throws, we owe him."
Brownback's ill-advised analogy came just two weeks after the NFL draft, a time in which speculation of team's futures and quarterback controversies dominate Sportscenter and AM sports radio stations across the country. "Everyone's still pretty tense from the draft; that time of year is always like that since it's the first time we can start talking about football again without looking like morons," said Cliff, one of the janitors at the Republican convention.
But in the end, Brownback's error may not have been as unrecoverable as he thinks. "Right now, the potential Democratic candidates, like Obama, Clinton, Sharpton, and so on, are dominating the airwaves," said Lou Dobbs, host of a show on CNN, "this incident brought Brownback into the spotlight, and although it was done so from the perspective that he screwed up, no one else in America is going to be upset that Brownback likes Manning; Muslims can't even find a way to be offended by that statement. They might think he's a baby for apologizing, but now people will know who he is, and that's what is important."
At the Wisconsin Republican Party convention, Brownback chose to use a football analogy to discuss the need to focus on families. "This is fundamental blocking and tackling," he said. "This is your line in football. If you don't have a line, how many passes can Peyton Manning complete? Greatest quarterback, maybe, in NFL history."
The statement was met immediately with boos, groans, and a few confused looks from people expecting Brownback to continue his discussion on zone-blocking schemes. As Brownback's campaign manager informed him of the Wisconsin state law that prohibits positive comments from being made about any non-Green Bay Packer player, the Kansas Senator attempted to salvage any support he could from both of the people who hadn't stormed out in disgust. Slumping over at the podium, and with his head buried in his hands, Brownback said, "That's really bad. That will go down in history. I apologize."
The heartfelt apology drew a little laughter and even less applause, after which Brownback continued his recovery attempt by saying that former Packers' quarterback Bart Starr may be the greatest of all time. But unfortunately for Brownback, the damage had already been done.
"He was in trouble as soon as he opened his mouth," said a Wisconsin native in attendance. "I probably would've voted for him, but not anymore; we don't take kindly to candidates who don't acknowledge the omnipotence of the Packers."
But even the Bart Starr comment wasn't enough to win back the crowd. "Let's take Favre then," Brownback continued, "The Packers are great. I'm sorry. How many passes does he complete without a line?"
In defense of the quarterback who in his career has completed 61% of his passes, several voices in the crowd responded by yelling, "all of them!" To which Brownback replied, "I'm sorry, that's incorrect; it was a trick question. Favre has never attempted to throw a pass without his offensive line. I thought that was pretty obvious. Come on, people, seriously."
In acceptance of the situation, Brownback finally gave up, saying, "I'm not sure how I recover from this. My point is we've got to rebuild the family. I'll get off this."
Also in attendance was ex-NFL coach and current television analyst John Madden, who's man-crush on Brett Favre has been well-documented over the past two decades. "I couldn't believe my ears." Said Madden, "It was like he had gone insane. Brett Favre is Brett Favre, and that's all there is to it. You look at what makes a quarterback great, stuff like passing and throwing, and that's exactly what Brett Favre does that makes him so great. Because quarterbacks pass to receivers, and Brett Favre does that. Brownback was being as foolish as someone who doesn't use boom! tough-actin' Tinactin to treat athlete's foot."
What Brownback and his campaign team failed to recognize was that the Brett Favre situation throughout Wisconsin has been a very sensitive one, to say the least. Prior to last season, Favre had kept the sports world in suspense as he decided whether he would return to football or retire.
"We owe Favre our lives," said a lifetime Packer fan, "he's our everything. Brett, if you're reading this, I want you to know: I can't quit you!"
Still, some fans were ready to call it a day regarding Favre's future at the helm. "I don't think the state of Wisconsin, or for that matter, the state of America, has ever had such a polarizing issue." Said Wisconsin's Governor last year as Favre considered retirement. "When people think of Wisconsin, they think of our annual cheese festival, Milwaukee's Best, which is undoubtedly the best beer in the world with a Wisconsin city in the title, and Brett Favre. But then there are those out there who think we should move on just because he sucks now. I don't care how many interceptions he throws, we owe him."
Brownback's ill-advised analogy came just two weeks after the NFL draft, a time in which speculation of team's futures and quarterback controversies dominate Sportscenter and AM sports radio stations across the country. "Everyone's still pretty tense from the draft; that time of year is always like that since it's the first time we can start talking about football again without looking like morons," said Cliff, one of the janitors at the Republican convention.
But in the end, Brownback's error may not have been as unrecoverable as he thinks. "Right now, the potential Democratic candidates, like Obama, Clinton, Sharpton, and so on, are dominating the airwaves," said Lou Dobbs, host of a show on CNN, "this incident brought Brownback into the spotlight, and although it was done so from the perspective that he screwed up, no one else in America is going to be upset that Brownback likes Manning; Muslims can't even find a way to be offended by that statement. They might think he's a baby for apologizing, but now people will know who he is, and that's what is important."
The Florida Keys and Everglades
The Black Sheep Chronicles
What constitutes bad manners?
The male mystique
Debate Fan