Dan Shaughnesy: Village Idiot

Dan Shaughnesy concluded his recent article with the line, “It’s not as stupid as it sounds.”

That line is in reference to the misguided article he penned about how the fans of the New England Patriots should have cheered for the New York Jets to beat the Pittsburg Steelers in the AFC Championship Game and for them to go on and win the SuperBowl.

It is articles like this that make it very hard to argue with many Boston locals who think Mr. Shaughnesy is a complete twit and wastes every piece of paper his words are printed on.  He is still riding a minor wave of fame that came from creating the now broken “Curse of the Bambino”, and his dwindling fame is evident in his pessimistic, depressing, over-critical coverage of Boston sports

In this case, Shaughnesy is right though.  Routing for the Jets is not as stupid as it sounds.  It’s so much worse.

Dan Shaughnesy is a BOSTON writer.  He covers BOSTON sports. He was raise in BOSTON.  What on this planet makes him think supportingthe loud-mouth, Patriot hating Jets is a good idea?! 

If I recall correctly, prior to the Jets v. Patriots match up, Jets players called Brady an A-hole and Rex Ryan bashed Brady as not working as hard as Peyton manning.  The Jets hate the Patriots and would never support them.  Why should the Pats fans rally around these guys?

Shaughnesy writes, “What’s not to love about Rex Ryan?”   Umm. Everything.    1. He’s the football leader of our most heated sports rival city. 2. He’s crass and loud despite never winning anything.  3. He never shows a single moment of class or honor.  4.  He took part in sexually harassing a female reporter DURING a practice…The list continues…  It would take a small team of M.I.T. brains to find one redeeming quality at times.

But wait! Our man Dan points out the Jets General Manager is from the Boston area. That’s why we shoud paint our faces Green and tattoo Mark Sanchez on our arms!

Whitey Bulger is from Massachusetts.  Should Boston pull for him to continue to elude the FBI?

Bill Laimbeer is from the state.  Should Celtics fans have routed for him to land a hard foul on Larry Bird?

Jeremey Roenick is a local.  That explains why Shaughnesy routed for the Flyers in early the early 2000’s

People from Massachusetts are everywhere.  Just because they drop an ‘R’ and guzzle Dunkin Donuts coffee doesn’t mean fans should start donning Jets jerseys and chanting with Fireman Ed.

Then Shaughnesy invokes Dennis Byrd.  Byrd, who is paralyzed from an on field hit, was a rallying point for the Jets prior to the Patriots game.  Byrd is inspirational to every fan and has made a great life from a tragic incident…BUT!

Just because the Jets have a crippled star doesn’t mean fans should join the rival squad.  The Cowboys have a coach who was paralyzed in the off season.  The Jaguars have a paralyzed lineman who was shot. Mike Utley for the Detroit Lions was paralyzed by an on field hit.  Should we all forget about the Patriots and wear a Jets uniform, Jaguars hat, a Lions Pennant and Cowboys underwear?  Come on Dan.  It’s a terrific comeback story, but doesn’t justify becoming a traitor.

Then finally, showing his true idiotic nature, he brings up that if the Steelers win the Superbowl Rothlethsburger will have 3 wins. The same amount Tom Brady has.  He says that Big Ben will then be in the same conversation as Brady.  Maybe for you Dan.

You see, if you decide to be a superficial, stat regurgitating hack of a writer…sure, same convo Danny.  While you are at it, put Ron Harper in the same NBA conversation as Magic Johnson (both have 5 World Championships).  Or let’s deem Bernie Williams greater than Ted Williams since he has more rings.    Take a step back Dan and realize, yes, if Big Ben wins a third Super bowl it’s great, but he’s not the same a Tom Brady.  He didn’t lead his team the same way.  The Steelers are a defensive, run-first team and doesn’t rely on a quarterback the way the Patriots do.

Basically, Mr. Shaughesy, if you were a real Boston sports fan you’d remember the game last week, remember Aaron Boone, Remember Bucky Dent, remember all the horrible history Boston has with New York sports. Then you may realize on thing, there is no good reason Patriots fans should ever rout for the Jets, and your article is as stupid as it sounds.