Joe Montana Under Siege: Day 5
You would think that in a city that has raised flakiness to an art form, the act of flaking on something even if it is the Super Bowl would be no big deal, but you would be wrong. Instead, Joe's No-Show at the Super Bowl has become wrapped up with the lousy officiating, lousy play, the censoring of the Stones, and that yummy but deadly chili-cheese dip to be part of the huge post-Super Bowl hangover that the nation seems to be suffering through.
To recap, the NFL did this thingy before the game where they brought out all the MVPs from all the previous thirty-nine Super Bowls. Noticeably absent were two-time Super Bowl MVP Terry Bradshaw and three-time Super Bowl MVP Joe Montana. What happened to Joe became a big-ish story when the Chron ran a story in Monday saying that league sources told the Chron that Joe begged out of the thing over money, mainly not getting enough of it. Since there's nothing that puts a rich, legendary athlete into a bad light like coming off as a money-grubbing money grubber, Joe quickly went into spin mode, calling up Steven A. Smith on his show "Nobody Watches" to say that he did it for his family and that he wanted to attend his son's basketball games. And on Tuesday, Mrs. Joe called KNBR to say the same thing.
Which is fine, because, well, who is heartless enough to attack somebody for being too family oriented? Except using the Family Excuse is the sports equivalent of the 9/11 Excuse: over-used and over-done and the occasional cover for dodginess. On ESPN, local columnist Tim Keown defended Joe, saying that his sons play in the same league as Joe's sons and that Joe is really serious about his kids games. A commenter on Deadspin, however, went into Woodward/Bernstein mode and checked out the league schedule to discover that Joe's kids didn't actually play that weekend.
Then there was Joe's other comment, about him being SO over the NFL and has moved on. While good for Joe, it's kind of a dis to everyone else and to his fans. It's like the popular lead actress of a beloved cult-show telling the show's fans that she doesn't care anymore, wants to do movies, and can't wait for the show to end. It's like telling them to get a life. And what does that mean to all the other players who did show up? Did he just call Bart Starr a loser for showing up? Is that even allowed?
The line didn't quite ring true either when juxtaposed with some of Joe's other endeavors. Like being in commercials dressed in his Niner finery. Or attending NFL events where he does get cash money.
So where does this leave us? Some columnists are demanding some sort of explanation. The Betting Fool on SFGate is beginning to wonder if the Quarterback Has No Clothes and whether our beloved ness of Joe being a winner overlooks the fact he was a bit of a douche. Which is what Tim Kawakami espouses when he writes that Joe wanted more money not because he's greedy but because he was being a diva and just wanted more money than Steve Young.
Also, one has to wonder why Terry Bradshaw isn't getting it as much as Joe is because he skipped out too, also for "family reasons" with whispers of it being about money. Is it because as a commentator on the Fox pre-game show he's already so associated with the NFL he can get away with it? Is it because it just goes with his dumb-as nails persona? Or is it because he had to film a sex scene with Kathy Bates and everyone figures that's just enough punishment as it is?
And finally, does it even matter? The Dude won four Super Bowls. What else do you people want?