These are truly heady times in this great country of ours. As we watched the television proclaim “Barack Obama has been elected the 44th President Of The United States”, I hugged my daughter Kimberly and told her that she was lucky to be in an era of time when dreams can be realized, and, in the words of that great orator, Kevin Garnett, “Anything is possible!”
Onto the Views…
Some time ago I found myself listening to “The Sportslodge” and Roger Lodge, when talking about Phillies’ shortstop Jimmy Rollins, referred to him by his nickname” J Roll”. I could just imagine Dave Smith cringing through the radio as I heard him chide Lodge for using the nickname, and wow, I agreed with Dave. When a member of the “media”, which sportscasters are loosely a member of, use nicknames of people, they lose all credibility.
As a matter of fact, I find myself slowly tuning out sports radio as I realize just how phony these talking heads are. I don’t mind when they cast their opinions on a sports performer’s talents or lack thereof, but when they opine about the way a man or woman acts, these guys are out of their realm. And what really irks me is that the majority of these guys are white guys talking about the behavior of minorities, when they have not walked a mile in their shoes or even begin to know what life is like to be a minority.
I watch programs like “The Sports Reporters” or “Pardon The Interruption” and while they can be entertaining and everyone has a right to an opinion, old codgers like Woody Paige, Mike Lupica, Jay Marriotti, and others just love to tell others how to live their lives. They are outraged when a kid from the ghettos of America or a slum from Latin America has the nerve to walk out on a contract for greener pastures. They love to criticize or, in the case of someone like Jim Rome, poke fun at sports figures like Shawn Kemp, Evander Holyfield or Travis Henry for having multiple kids out of wedlock and blowing their vast fortunes. They all must really like to have watched “DiffrentStrokes” when the kindly old Caucasian raised the balck kids “the right way”. They love to lecture the minority athletes, tell them how to be a father. I notice that a lot of sports talk hosts love to put on Jason Whitlock, a black man and great writer. Whitlock is not afraid to spout opinions condemning the actions of African American sports figures, which makes him real popular on the sports talk circuit. I notice Spike Lee doesn’t get a lot of air time because his views make people squirm and feel uncomfortable.
Well, let me tell you the ways these talking heads are the real phonies, but that doesn’t stop them from wanting to lecture.
Let’s start with Rome. I honestly have grown to respect his show, and a lot of his interviews are good, informative, and he does ask tough questions. But his whole hip schtick is downright embarrassing. He loves to act black, use the ‘urban language”, but the truth is, like a lot of his compatriots in his field, I doubt he spends much time breaking bread in his home with minorities. The other day he talked about growing up in a neighborhood where people rode horses. Don’t think there was much graffiti or hardships there, nobody to “make it real”. I laughed the other day when he had Dolphins’ linebacker Joey Porter and was calling him by his full name, and Porter told him playfully to “stop calling me by my government” , government being an urban slang for using your full legal name. Rome, of course, then went on to use the “government” term multiple times the next couple of days like a kid uses a new toy. Wow, he’s a real original that Romey, and really ghetto. I’m sure when he parks his late model sports car and sees a couple of minorities, he’s sure to make sure that “rig” is locked. He’s not that real…
We all know Scott Van Pelt, the lanky, geeky anchor on ESPN who started out on that most hip and urban of sports fields, golf. He has his own afternoon gig on ESPN, and I was shaking my head as he referred to himself as, okay seriously folks—“Van Peezy.” He was extolling his program’s producer with his stories of how his I pod is filled with the likes of rappers Young Jeezy, Lil Wayne, Common, and Kanye West. Somehow, I think his taste runs more to Daughtry, Carrie Underwood, or Bon Jovi, but that wouldn’t be hip enough. At least our boy Dave sticks with his 1970’s classic rock theme “Focus” as his theme song and instructs Corn Dogg to fill with Hendrix and other classic rock songs. Dave may be a goofy white guy, but he’s no phony.
Unfortunately, I can’t say the same thing about his morning partner Roger “Don’t You Dare Call Me Chavez” Lodge. It’s well known he was born Roger Chavez and he was adopted and changed his name. And I understand that his step father did a great job of raising him and the name change honored him and it may have easier to get ahead in the entertainment business with a non Latin surname. I was listening to him and Dave one morning and one of my employees asked me why I bother “supporting that Uncle Tom.” And wow, after listening to Roger for a while, it seems quite apparent to my Mexican American friends and me that Roger not only runs away from his heritage, he’s embarrassed by it. I was pretty appalled on Election Day by Roger’s prediction that Barack Obama would “smooth talk his way to a win”. like he was lying about everything. Maybe Roger is the expert on “smooth talking his way” ahead.
After listening to his show and the way he butchers his attempts in Spanish, I’m pretty sure his attempts to master use the language are when he goes by Taco Bell and orders burritos and tacos. Tiger Woods may not go out of his way to promote his African American side as some black leaders would prefer, but compared to Roger, he’s downright radical. Geraldo Rivera once went by the name “Jerry Rivers” to advance his career, but returned to his roots to show a Puerto Rican Jewish man could achieve something. At what point does Roger actually go out and promote his Latin side to inspire others? Hey Roger, the Mexican blood doesn’t go away! Call me harsh, but yup, I live in a nice affluent side of town, but it doesn’t stop me from opening a business in a “bad part of town”, try to help others less fortunate or support businesses in East Los Angeles and other Latin neighborhoods to show that having a Latin surname should not deter you from your dreams. Hey Roger, join the party, you might find that it’s not a bad club to be in…
That’s my rant, back to sports nest time. I think….
