I've received a lot of books in the mail over the past few months. I guess people like me are part of the reason Borders is folding. This is too bad.
But what are you going to do when you jump on-line and find a book for $4.17 that was written by the namesake of your blog? Don't answer that...
Yeah, I need to tell you that it's also autographed.
Yes, for $4.17 I received an autographed hard cover copy of Jack Murphy's Abe and Me. It is a collection of Murphy's columns referencing his dog, Abe of Spoon River, written during his time at the San Diego Union. If you've paid attention to Jack Murphy's statue at The Q then you've noticed a bronzed dog by his side. That's Abe.
When the statue was dedicated back in 2003 the San Diego Union-Tribune ran an Old Murphy article from February 20th, 1977 that commemorated the passing of his trusty Black Lab, Abe of Spoon River. I'm pretty sure that article is a part of Abe and Me. But I just got it today so I can't tell you much. I imagine I'll talk about some of the books I have read this year including Abe and Me. I'll let you know.
I'm disappointed about the fate of Borders but one can hardly argue with a $4 buck hard cover carrying the inscription of a legend. I won't argue.
Disclaimer #1: I paid $4.00 for shipping so, to be precise, the book cost me $8.17. Still...
Disclaimer #2: Joe Posnanski made a similar comment on the fate of book stores... except what he said was epic and really long... and fantastic because what he wrote had a point. The Posnanski post, in a long ramble about the various oddities found on a store bookshelf, circuitously found its way back to Negro Leaguer Buck O'Neil. Buck O'Neil was the subject of Joe Posnanski's fantastic book titled, The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America. Definitely a book I'd like to talk about this year. (H/T to Ducksnorts for leading me to that link)
Showing posts with label Jack Murphy's Avengers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jack Murphy's Avengers. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Thursday, January 14, 2010
A Day That Will Live In Infamy: January 14th, 2007
Three years ago today, I went a little crazy.As a regular, day-to-day human, I stayed relatively "normal" but as a fan of football......I went certifiably, bat shit crazy.
You Charger fans remember the day: a brisk Sunday afternoon that found the 14-2 AFC West Champion Chargers defeated by a multitude of flukes.......and the New England Patriots . Idiot corner backs guilty of penalty flag inducing flying head butts and safeties who couldn't protect their well earned interceptions. Muffed punts and goofy head coaching calls. I suppose it's a wonder that the game was even close for the Chargers considering the aforementioned display.
The conclusion was painful for all. With our Super Bowl dreams newly shattered we were subjected to mid field dancing Patriots and a pissed off Ladainian Tomlinson. The Patriot douchebaggery led to emails, then blogs and ultimately a shadowy organization known as the Anti-Patriot League which deified asterisks and spycams in the name of the New England Patriots and their idiot fans (I've been to Foxborough.......and I know idiots when I see them). Agents of this organization can be recognized by their T-shirts emblazoned with the logo below......
A glorious memorial to the incident known as Spygate, to be sure.
Anyways, this was the email that beget the blog that you see today. Kept for posterity and as a not so subtle reminder that you, good reader, can retain your sanity as it is I who acts as a maniacal proxy on your behalf.
Anyways, this was the email that beget the blog that you see today. Kept for posterity and as a not so subtle reminder that you, good reader, can retain your sanity as it is I who acts as a maniacal proxy on your behalf.
To whom it may concern:
For the past five years I have fully supported the New England Patriots and
the success they have earned during that course of time. When the ignorant
masses spoke ill of the Patriots, I was quick to remind them that the
Patriots were everything that was good about professional football: the rare
case where individual achievement was subjugated for the advancement of the
"TEAM". This ideal of "team" has yielded three Superbowl championships and I
have enjoyed supporting the high ideal that the Patriots stood for.
After watching the Chargers/Patriots playoff game on Sunday I must say
that I am withdrawing my west-coast support and marking that franchise for
death!
Indeed, death is a strong statement so I would be remiss if I did not make
a few clarifications:
1. The Chargers were the more talented team.
2. The Patriots were the more level headed team.
3. The Patriots deserved to win--undoubtedly!
4. The biggest "hand" in the Patriot Victory was Troy Brown (literally and
figuratively) and I can at least take solace in knowing that the ultimate
"team" guy made such a critical play to win the game.
5. The Patriots acted like it was their first time ever winning a big game
and acted like clowns in our back yard.
The Chargers are currently in possession of the classiest player in the
NFL--LaDainian Tomlinson. Not only is he the classiest---he's the best! I
support L.T. and his disapproval of the Patriot Franchise. I can clearly
see that the very ethos that propelled the Patriots to 3 championships is
DEAD. This was more than evident when they chose to dance like clowns in the
center of Jack Murphy Field and stomp on our lightning bolt and then proceed
to disrespect our players. Until that moment the Patriots had always "acted
like they had been there before."
Next week, join me in cheering FOR the Patriots so they can ultimately be
stomped by the Bears (like Superbowl XX) or the Saints (Yea Brees!). West
coast support has officially been withdrawn for your elitist franchise and
you now draw the full wrath of my being (For those who know me---think New
York Yankees).
In addition to stating my position on that deplorable franchise I would
like to rally the faithful to Join me in Foxborough, Massachusetts next season
so that we can bear witness to the San Diego Chargers avenging this---this
winter of our discontent. As of right now, a date has not been set, but we
are definitely playing in Mass. next season. Join me, where we will drink
far too much, yet maintain our dignity and represent San Diego well.
In addition to renouncing my support for the Patriots I am also terminating
my membership in Red Sox Nation. I now hate the Red Sox on par with the New
York Yankees (let's be honest and call a spade a spade...If the Yankees are
the "Evil Empire" the Red Sox are really only a couple of steps behind....
the Red Sox are "Mini-Me" to the Yanks "Dr. Evil".
I hope my position has been clarified on the things I hate most in the
WORLD:
1. New England Patriots
2. New York Yankees
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Terrorism
5. People who don't return their grocery shopping carts to their proper
areas
Numbers four and five are a little off topic but I feel it necessary to
finish lists in a top five format.
Please respond and join my cause. Direct the negative energy in your lives
to the classless organization in the New England region of our fine country.
Join me there next fall and don your powder blue!!!!!
Sincerely
Enormously disgruntled Charger and Padre fan---cultivator of Patriot hatred.
For more of the ensuing email banter [Click here]
Dear Chargers
Please beat Jets. I'm in need of sanity restoration.
Monday, October 12, 2009
October 12th: An Existential Post
One year ago tonight---October 12th, 2008---we were at The Murph/The Q wildly celebrating a pronounced drubbing of the New England Patriots.It's worth noting because this website only really exists because of that game as well as the one pictured above in the site banner---occurring on January 14th, 2007.
It seems like only yesterday that LT was the most dominating running back in the game, scrambling for 31 TDs, and now he's nearly an after thought. With only 20 rushes to his credit in 2009 and an offensive line that is quite useless have we witnessed the last great game from LT? Probably not......he looked great in the season finale against Denver in '08 until he tore his groin from his pelvic bone. I was there and up until that injury I thought the old LT had returned.
I hope next Monday I get to see "the Old LT" and not "Old LT" against Denver. If we don't the season could be cooked.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Cliffs Notes: Avenging Jack Murphy
This blog began as a series of emails sent in January of 2007. The emails were in regards to the Divisional playoff game played by the San Diego Chargers and the New England Patriots, more specifically the celebrating that took place in the center of the field as players mingled and congratulated each other. LaDainian Tomlinson had a meltdown and then went off on Bill Belichick in the post-game press conference.
In true fanatic fashion we tried to block out the devastating loss by directing our frustrations at EVERYTHING New England....hence the emails which can be read under the post entitled Genesis 1:1.
The emails inspired a group dubbing itself Jack Murphy's Avengers (from the email closing signature) to travel cross-country to watch the Chargers play the Patriots in Foxborough on September 16th, 2007. In the wake of Spygate, the Chargers were destroyed and it turned into a long night. The one positive was that we picked up a few more reasons for hating the Patriots: their fans. We met some real miserable S.O.B.s. The AFCCG loss a few months later would also serve to drive our disdain for New England.
Six months after the AFCCG I started a blog called The "We Hate the New England Patriots" San Diego Sports Fan Collective which had as its purpose the following goals:
- Promote the 2008 regular season game against NE which we would have a large group attending.
- Serve as a forum for Charger Fans to meet and discuss Charger football.
- A gathering place for anyone who hated the New England Patriots.
So as we come up on a year of doing this we have decided to reconnect with our roots by renaming the blog Avenging Jack Murphy. The name is both a tribute to the sports writer who brought professional sports to San Diego and a nod to the emails that followed the disastrous playoff loss to the Patriots on January 14th, 2007.
I am not a journalist nor am I trying to become one. I'm just a fan of the Chargers and Padres who likes to write. Some of the posts here are serious but most are not......my goal along with anyone else who chooses to write here is to create a place for fans to talk, laugh and view appealing images of this blog's Spiritual Sage.
Thanks for stopping by.....and you are a total pussy for opting out of the long introduction and reading the Cliffs Notes.........although we would have done the same.
Spread the Gospel, Ye Faithful Eleven
Avenging Jack Murphy
Disclaimer: This post is extraordinarily long.......informative.......but long. Allow us to recommend the Cliffs Notes if you haven't the time.
It was a Sunday in January. One of those winter days with the blinding sunshine minus the warmth. The kind of day that left eyes at half-mast in each photograph. Air just crisp enough for a jacket. We were in the Mission Valley corridor an area known for its relentless on-shore flow rolling in from the Pacific. My tie danced from left to right.
It was a special Sunday. No fewer than six weeks ago our family had expanded and today was the day we would have our newborn daughter baptized. A memorable day for all of our attending family and friends who would each bear witness and then gather for brunch to discuss the rest of the day. The topic of discussion would no doubt turn to our 14-2 San Diego Chargers and how they would fare against the visiting New England Patriots after coming off the first round bye. On January 14th, 2007 there would have been consensus that the Patriots were the team of the decade...but during the 2006 season they didn't look to be anything special. We felt great about our Bolts.
From where we stood looking northeast, it was a hop across Interstate 8, a skip over the San Diego River and a jump over OMBAC's rugby pitch to get to Qualcomm Stadium---that old dilapidated multi-purpose monstrosity--an ode to concrete. Today it is dispassionately called the "Q" but growing up we referenced it otherwise: The Murph.
As kids we went to what was then called Jack Murphy Stadium to see the Padres and the Chargers play. To the stadium that bore the name of what sounded like a tough Irish Boxer we would visit to see season after season of mediocre Friar teams......not so much the Chargers though.....it would take me a while, as a transplant, to warm to them. To be expected, I came from Chicago Bear country. While I suffered through mediocrity in the mid-west the last season I lived there they won the final game of the season. It was a pretty big game...... played in New Orleans...... against the same New England Patriots franchise the Chargers would face today.
As a kid the mantra of every high school was "To The Murph" or some derivative there of because it was the location of the CIF High School football championships each year. It was our collective dream to play in The Murph to be on His field to win glory. Who was Jack Murphy? I would discover that he was a writer. A columnist and the sports editor for the San Diego Union newspaper. It is said that there was no bigger influence on bringing both the Chargers and the Padres to San Diego than the touch of this man. He got in the ear of Barron Hilton and convinced him that San Diego was ready for professional football and away they moved from LA after that one season in 1960. This new AFL team would quickly establish itself as an exciting franchise and would bring the "little suburb of Los Angeles" an AFL Championship in 1963 against who else but-----the Boston Patriots.
As the '60s passed Jack Murphy would later convince the powers that be that San Diego was ready for MLB and in 1968 an expansion franchise would be awarded to San Diego. We are celebrating the Padres 4oth season as we speak.....40 years of brutal futility.
In summation: when you transform a town into a city by bringing two professional franchises to San Diego and you are considered one of the greats at your craft you get a stadium named after you.
However, as that city approaches the new millennium and your stadium needs a face lift so that it can be granted future Super Bowls you turn to corporations for that money....and when this is done, you OWE the corporation.......so the new stadium with the face lift is now called Qualcomm Stadium. What about our beloved Jack Murphy? Well he's been supplanted by big corporate communications but not forgotten. We know that games are held at Qualcomm Stadium but they are played on Jack Murphy Field ....and as further evidence of Murphy's influence there was a bronze statue dedicated in 2003. All those who flood from the MTS Trolley can view Jack Murphy and his dog Abe of Spoon River before entering the Q on game day.
I'll not bore you with all of the details of a family get together other than saying that it was quaint and for the most part memorable. I don't recall the sermon that followed the baptism but I do recall the Minister asking the The Father for a little help on behalf of the Chargers that afternoon. How inappropriate during a church service! The Chargers were 14-2 and needed no otherworldly intervention......it was the Ministers of the east that should have been lobbying The Almighty.
We hit the brunch said our goodbyes and left to watch football. In 2006 we had the NFL's MVP, a 1st year starting QB who was playing mistake free football, and a defense that wrought havoc in the form of constant pressure and many turnovers. This particular Sunday however, would not be ours. We lost for a multitude of reasons but no error was more egregious than Marlon McCree's interception as 4th quarter minutes ticked away only to have Troy Brown's hand of God punch the ball loose giving Tom Brady another chance; Brady then did what Brady does; Nate Kaeding's FG attempt would ultimately fall short and our winter commenced.
But here's what I remember most........The New England Patriots had acquitted themselves well over the previous years as three time Super Bowl Champions always showing that they were above the fray, expressing themselves as a team rather than a collection of individuals. On January 14th, 2007 some of New England's players gathered at the center of Jack Murphy Field where the vanquished and victorious always meet to congratulate and wish each other well. In this precise spot where post game prayers and slaps on the rear take place, Patriot players began to dance and mock the dance of Shawne Merriman**. If this was done on the sideline to taunt Charger Fans I probably would have laughed but because it was at the center of the field, the gauntlet was thrown down. It was the last thing I would have ever expected from a Patriot franchise that had so famously shunned individual introductions during the 2001 Super Bowl and opted to walk out as a team instead. That 2001 team was a team I respected.
This was not 2001. LT blew a head gasket as did I and most other Charger Fans (See above picture). The 2006 league MVP famously uttered this quote during postgame interviews:
"I would never react in that way. I was very upset," Tomlinson said. "When you go to the middle of our field and start doing the dance Shawne Merriman is known for, that is disrespectful. They showed no class and maybe that comes from the head coach."
Maybe LT's tirade was a good thing....it got our minds off of that crushing defeat and our collective ire was then directed at the New England Patriots. It's funny how the actions of one or two players can create an entirely new portrait of a team.....it's not really rational but neither is being a sports fan.
I went to the movies after the game. I can't recall what I saw but I do know that my mind was preoccupied by the playoff loss. It was the combination of the loss and my new view of the Patriots that ate away at me. The only way I could reconcile these feelings was to write about it and with any luck the action would provide a catharsis for me. So on that day the seeds of this blog were sewn. I wrote an email and sent it out to all of my friends including one of my closest friends who happened to be from Boston---I do not hold this against him.
Emails flew back and forth with witty banter promoting one flurry after another. In the first email I mentioned the disgrace at the center of Jack Murphy Field and called on fellow Charger Fans to join me in Foxborough, Massachusetts the next season to avenge the playoff loss. By the time I wrote my second email (rant) in response to Mr. Lewis I was signing the emails as Jack Murphy's Avengers not really knowing how many would join me at Gilette Stadium.....I was prepared to go alone. When it was all said and done many expressed interest but it was a group of six who rallied together for the trip......they would tour under the nom de guerre of Jack Murphy's Avengers.
We made the trip to Foxborough and watched the Bolts get throttled on September 16th, 2007. The story for that trip is far too extensive to get into right now but let's just say that the experience served to galvanize our hatred further.
We gathered together in January of 2008 for the AFC Championship game and watched yet again as the Patriots put an end to our season. Hatred galvanized further as we were forced to endure an influx of Massholes in one of our own local Gaslamp bars. This same bar even had the nerve to claim it was a Charger bar yet flew a Patriot flag from the wall. I tried to buy it down but to no avail. In just over a calendar year year we had suffered our third loss to the New England Patriots.
About 6 months after that playoff loss the Avengers, undeterred, began preparations for the 2008 regular season showdown with the Patriots scheduled for October 12th. It was in July of 2008 that I abandoned the email format amongst friends and began a blog. Inexperienced, I looked to create a blog URL that would seek to bludgeon the Patriots and their fans in a public fashion.....but the titles were so long that we settled on something simple: Hate The Patriots. It was a crappy URL address but I didn't really begin the whole thing with the end in mind. Just thought I'd be doing it as a tool to hype the October 12th game against the Patriots...to get that group of 20 odd fans excited about the experience.
As the game passed with a victory I found that I quite enjoyed blogging but was dismayed that the fundamentals of the blog gave far too much attention to the New England Patriots. The Padres and Chargers are my teams and as a loyal fan through thick and thin (man it sure has been thin), it made more sense for the URL to reflect that allegiance.
So, while this is a San Diego based blog, I along with a few others will provide commentary on a good many things so we invite you to stay and check it out.....you could even tell a person or two. But in keeping with the original theme of this blog we will always give special attention to the Chargers and relish the opportunity to give anything Patriot related a very hard time .
What I have come to find though, is that the passage of time can change the meaning and intent of our ideas. While we originally labeled ourselves Jack Murphy's Avengers because of an ill-fated game of football my eyes have been opened to a new perspective. Sports exist in this town for a reason and that reason is Jack Murphy. We would do well to know our history and acknowledge it....but it becomes difficult when corporations enter the picture and begin to minimize those who layed the groundwork for Mission Valley. And what of the new ball park in Downtown San Diego where the Padres play their games? It too has been besieged by the Corporations. The team that Jack Murphy brought to San Diego plays in a park named after a pet supply store. Absolutely no nod to the past but instead naming rights sold to the highest bidder: Petco. The Padres of Petco Park......alliteration be damned!!!
But what is it that is done here at this site? Writing....and some stupid jokes as well as one too many Joe Randa references.....but at the end of the day it is writing. So in an attempt to touch on our teams here in San Diego we also look to acknowledge the past by recognizing a sports writer who passed away a few years before we had even set foot in San Diego. Our history must be held sacred....preserved....shared. Out of fear that this is not happening we stand before you to say that it is we.....who are Avenging Jack Murphy.
Editor's Note:
You're crazy if you just read all of that but we appreciate your commitment. We would have opted for the Cliff Notes version . We'll keep the posts much shorter in the future ;-|
**Personally I think Merriman's dance is hilarious. I don't like dances nor do I like things that are planned and have choreography so if I was a fan of the opposition I'd probably hate Merriman. People (Patriot Fans) will say that SM is mocking players every time he does his "Lights Out" dance over a player he has crushed....ehhh, I kind of agree/disagree....none the less I can see the view of others but that's not really the point.
It was a Sunday in January. One of those winter days with the blinding sunshine minus the warmth. The kind of day that left eyes at half-mast in each photograph. Air just crisp enough for a jacket. We were in the Mission Valley corridor an area known for its relentless on-shore flow rolling in from the Pacific. My tie danced from left to right.
It was a special Sunday. No fewer than six weeks ago our family had expanded and today was the day we would have our newborn daughter baptized. A memorable day for all of our attending family and friends who would each bear witness and then gather for brunch to discuss the rest of the day. The topic of discussion would no doubt turn to our 14-2 San Diego Chargers and how they would fare against the visiting New England Patriots after coming off the first round bye. On January 14th, 2007 there would have been consensus that the Patriots were the team of the decade...but during the 2006 season they didn't look to be anything special. We felt great about our Bolts.
From where we stood looking northeast, it was a hop across Interstate 8, a skip over the San Diego River and a jump over OMBAC's rugby pitch to get to Qualcomm Stadium---that old dilapidated multi-purpose monstrosity--an ode to concrete. Today it is dispassionately called the "Q" but growing up we referenced it otherwise: The Murph.
As kids we went to what was then called Jack Murphy Stadium to see the Padres and the Chargers play. To the stadium that bore the name of what sounded like a tough Irish Boxer we would visit to see season after season of mediocre Friar teams......not so much the Chargers though.....it would take me a while, as a transplant, to warm to them. To be expected, I came from Chicago Bear country. While I suffered through mediocrity in the mid-west the last season I lived there they won the final game of the season. It was a pretty big game...... played in New Orleans...... against the same New England Patriots franchise the Chargers would face today.
As a kid the mantra of every high school was "To The Murph" or some derivative there of because it was the location of the CIF High School football championships each year. It was our collective dream to play in The Murph to be on His field to win glory. Who was Jack Murphy? I would discover that he was a writer. A columnist and the sports editor for the San Diego Union newspaper. It is said that there was no bigger influence on bringing both the Chargers and the Padres to San Diego than the touch of this man. He got in the ear of Barron Hilton and convinced him that San Diego was ready for professional football and away they moved from LA after that one season in 1960. This new AFL team would quickly establish itself as an exciting franchise and would bring the "little suburb of Los Angeles" an AFL Championship in 1963 against who else but-----the Boston Patriots.
As the '60s passed Jack Murphy would later convince the powers that be that San Diego was ready for MLB and in 1968 an expansion franchise would be awarded to San Diego. We are celebrating the Padres 4oth season as we speak.....40 years of brutal futility.
In summation: when you transform a town into a city by bringing two professional franchises to San Diego and you are considered one of the greats at your craft you get a stadium named after you.
However, as that city approaches the new millennium and your stadium needs a face lift so that it can be granted future Super Bowls you turn to corporations for that money....and when this is done, you OWE the corporation.......so the new stadium with the face lift is now called Qualcomm Stadium. What about our beloved Jack Murphy? Well he's been supplanted by big corporate communications but not forgotten. We know that games are held at Qualcomm Stadium but they are played on Jack Murphy Field ....and as further evidence of Murphy's influence there was a bronze statue dedicated in 2003. All those who flood from the MTS Trolley can view Jack Murphy and his dog Abe of Spoon River before entering the Q on game day.
I'll not bore you with all of the details of a family get together other than saying that it was quaint and for the most part memorable. I don't recall the sermon that followed the baptism but I do recall the Minister asking the The Father for a little help on behalf of the Chargers that afternoon. How inappropriate during a church service! The Chargers were 14-2 and needed no otherworldly intervention......it was the Ministers of the east that should have been lobbying The Almighty.
We hit the brunch said our goodbyes and left to watch football. In 2006 we had the NFL's MVP, a 1st year starting QB who was playing mistake free football, and a defense that wrought havoc in the form of constant pressure and many turnovers. This particular Sunday however, would not be ours. We lost for a multitude of reasons but no error was more egregious than Marlon McCree's interception as 4th quarter minutes ticked away only to have Troy Brown's hand of God punch the ball loose giving Tom Brady another chance; Brady then did what Brady does; Nate Kaeding's FG attempt would ultimately fall short and our winter commenced.
But here's what I remember most........The New England Patriots had acquitted themselves well over the previous years as three time Super Bowl Champions always showing that they were above the fray, expressing themselves as a team rather than a collection of individuals. On January 14th, 2007 some of New England's players gathered at the center of Jack Murphy Field where the vanquished and victorious always meet to congratulate and wish each other well. In this precise spot where post game prayers and slaps on the rear take place, Patriot players began to dance and mock the dance of Shawne Merriman**. If this was done on the sideline to taunt Charger Fans I probably would have laughed but because it was at the center of the field, the gauntlet was thrown down. It was the last thing I would have ever expected from a Patriot franchise that had so famously shunned individual introductions during the 2001 Super Bowl and opted to walk out as a team instead. That 2001 team was a team I respected.
This was not 2001. LT blew a head gasket as did I and most other Charger Fans (See above picture). The 2006 league MVP famously uttered this quote during postgame interviews:
"I would never react in that way. I was very upset," Tomlinson said. "When you go to the middle of our field and start doing the dance Shawne Merriman is known for, that is disrespectful. They showed no class and maybe that comes from the head coach."
Maybe LT's tirade was a good thing....it got our minds off of that crushing defeat and our collective ire was then directed at the New England Patriots. It's funny how the actions of one or two players can create an entirely new portrait of a team.....it's not really rational but neither is being a sports fan.
I went to the movies after the game. I can't recall what I saw but I do know that my mind was preoccupied by the playoff loss. It was the combination of the loss and my new view of the Patriots that ate away at me. The only way I could reconcile these feelings was to write about it and with any luck the action would provide a catharsis for me. So on that day the seeds of this blog were sewn. I wrote an email and sent it out to all of my friends including one of my closest friends who happened to be from Boston---I do not hold this against him.
Emails flew back and forth with witty banter promoting one flurry after another. In the first email I mentioned the disgrace at the center of Jack Murphy Field and called on fellow Charger Fans to join me in Foxborough, Massachusetts the next season to avenge the playoff loss. By the time I wrote my second email (rant) in response to Mr. Lewis I was signing the emails as Jack Murphy's Avengers not really knowing how many would join me at Gilette Stadium.....I was prepared to go alone. When it was all said and done many expressed interest but it was a group of six who rallied together for the trip......they would tour under the nom de guerre of Jack Murphy's Avengers.
We made the trip to Foxborough and watched the Bolts get throttled on September 16th, 2007. The story for that trip is far too extensive to get into right now but let's just say that the experience served to galvanize our hatred further.
We gathered together in January of 2008 for the AFC Championship game and watched yet again as the Patriots put an end to our season. Hatred galvanized further as we were forced to endure an influx of Massholes in one of our own local Gaslamp bars. This same bar even had the nerve to claim it was a Charger bar yet flew a Patriot flag from the wall. I tried to buy it down but to no avail. In just over a calendar year year we had suffered our third loss to the New England Patriots.
About 6 months after that playoff loss the Avengers, undeterred, began preparations for the 2008 regular season showdown with the Patriots scheduled for October 12th. It was in July of 2008 that I abandoned the email format amongst friends and began a blog. Inexperienced, I looked to create a blog URL that would seek to bludgeon the Patriots and their fans in a public fashion.....but the titles were so long that we settled on something simple: Hate The Patriots. It was a crappy URL address but I didn't really begin the whole thing with the end in mind. Just thought I'd be doing it as a tool to hype the October 12th game against the Patriots...to get that group of 20 odd fans excited about the experience.
As the game passed with a victory I found that I quite enjoyed blogging but was dismayed that the fundamentals of the blog gave far too much attention to the New England Patriots. The Padres and Chargers are my teams and as a loyal fan through thick and thin (man it sure has been thin), it made more sense for the URL to reflect that allegiance.
So, while this is a San Diego based blog, I along with a few others will provide commentary on a good many things so we invite you to stay and check it out.....you could even tell a person or two. But in keeping with the original theme of this blog we will always give special attention to the Chargers and relish the opportunity to give anything Patriot related a very hard time .
What I have come to find though, is that the passage of time can change the meaning and intent of our ideas. While we originally labeled ourselves Jack Murphy's Avengers because of an ill-fated game of football my eyes have been opened to a new perspective. Sports exist in this town for a reason and that reason is Jack Murphy. We would do well to know our history and acknowledge it....but it becomes difficult when corporations enter the picture and begin to minimize those who layed the groundwork for Mission Valley. And what of the new ball park in Downtown San Diego where the Padres play their games? It too has been besieged by the Corporations. The team that Jack Murphy brought to San Diego plays in a park named after a pet supply store. Absolutely no nod to the past but instead naming rights sold to the highest bidder: Petco. The Padres of Petco Park......alliteration be damned!!!
But what is it that is done here at this site? Writing....and some stupid jokes as well as one too many Joe Randa references.....but at the end of the day it is writing. So in an attempt to touch on our teams here in San Diego we also look to acknowledge the past by recognizing a sports writer who passed away a few years before we had even set foot in San Diego. Our history must be held sacred....preserved....shared. Out of fear that this is not happening we stand before you to say that it is we.....who are Avenging Jack Murphy.
Editor's Note:
You're crazy if you just read all of that but we appreciate your commitment. We would have opted for the Cliff Notes version . We'll keep the posts much shorter in the future ;-|
**Personally I think Merriman's dance is hilarious. I don't like dances nor do I like things that are planned and have choreography so if I was a fan of the opposition I'd probably hate Merriman. People (Patriot Fans) will say that SM is mocking players every time he does his "Lights Out" dance over a player he has crushed....ehhh, I kind of agree/disagree....none the less I can see the view of others but that's not really the point.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Genesis 1:1
There is a starting point for any fan's hatred towards another sports team. It
could be a traditional team rivalry, an unlikeable player, hate passed on from
father to son or for the simple reason that you're just tired of seeing that
"no good" team win. Pure hatred, however,is best cultivated under the following
condition: a high degree of respect for a team followed by a monumental "let
down"....a team losing the moral fiber you thought it formerly possessed.
After the Chargers were knocked out of the playoffs in January 2007 I
e-mailed the following rant to as many people as I could. This is GENESIS 1:1
1/15/07
To whom it may concern:
For the past five years I have fully supported the New England Patriots and
the success they have earned during that course of time. When the ignorant
masses spoke ill of the Patriots, I was quick to remind them that the
Patriots were everything that was good about professional football: the rare
case where individual achievement was subjugated for the advancement of the
"TEAM". This ideal of "team" has yielded three Superbowl championships and I
have enjoyed supporting the high ideal that the Patriots stood for.
After watching the Chargers/Patriots playoff game on Sunday I must say
that I am withdrawing my west-coast support and marking that franchise for
death!
Indeed, death is a strong statement so I would be remiss if I did not make
a few clarifications:
1. The Chargers were the more talented team.
2. The Patriots were the more level headed team.
3. The Patriots deserved to win--undoubtedly!
4. The biggest "hand" in the Patriot Victory was Troy Brown (literally and
figuratively) and I can at least take solace in knowing that the ultimate
"team" guy made such a critical play to win the game.
5. The Patriots acted like it was their first time ever winning a big game
and acted like clowns in our back yard.
The Chargers are currently in possession of the classiest player in the
NFL--LaDainian Tomlinson. Not only is he the classiest---he's the best! I
support L.T. and his disapproval of the Patriot Franchise. I can clearly
see that the very ethos that propelled the Patriots to 3 championships is
DEAD. This was more than evident when they chose to dance like clowns in the
center of Jack Murphy Field and stomp on our lightning bolt and then proceed
to disrespect our players. Until that moment the Patriots had always "acted
like they had been there before."
Next week, join me in cheering FOR the Patriots so they can ultimately be
stomped by the Bears (like Superbowl XX) or the Saints (Yea Brees!). West
coast support has officially been withdrawn for your elitist franchise and
you now draw the full wrath of my being (For those who know me---think New
York Yankees).
In addition to stating my position on that deplorable franchise I would
like to rally the faithful to Join me in Foxborough, Massachusetts next season
so that we can bear witness to the San Diego Chargers avenging this---this
winter of our discontent. As of right now, a date has not been set, but we
are definitely playing in Mass. next season. Join me, where we will drink
far too much, yet maintain our dignity and represent San Diego well.
In addition to renouncing my support for the Patriots I am also terminating
my membership in Red Sox Nation. I now hate the Red Sox on par with the New
York Yankees (let's be honest and call a spade a spade...If the Yankees are
the "Evil Empire" the Red Sox are really only a couple of steps behind....
the Red Sox are "Mini-Me" to the Yanks "Dr. Evil".
I hope my position has been clarified on the things I hate most in the
WORLD:
1. New England Patriots
2. New York Yankees
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Terrorism
5. People who don't return their grocery shopping carts to their proper
areas
Numbers four and five are a little off topic but I feel it necessary to
finish lists in a top five format.
Please respond and join my cause. Direct the negative energy in your lives
to the classless organization in the New England region of our fine country.
Join me there next fall and don your powder blue!!!!!
Sincerely
Enormously disgruntled Charger and Padre fan---cultivator of Patriot hatred.
1/16/07
Dear Mr.(redacted),
I can appreciate how upset and sick to your stomach you must be, I have
been in your shoes on many occasion given my loyalty to Boston Sports. I
will agree with you on several of your points and at the same time
admire your disdain for an entire city based on the events that transpired in San Diego.
Yes, the Chargers have more talented players. The Patriots are a better TEAM.
Yes, the Chargers should have won. The Patriots did win.
1.) As far as the Patriots acting like clowns...give me a break. Go tell
Merriman that going on National TV the week before and basically saying
the "Jets" were the better team does not help. Be prepared to get your
faced rubbed in the dirt then when you lose and don't DO ANYTHING...
2.) Not to mention the same dirt bag who was talking smack all week
DIDN'T DO ANYTHING during the game. Way to go. How many Pats talked
trash...none.
3.) Lastly, this cheating dirt bag should not even have been playing
given the FACT that he was suspended for steroid used during the season.
4.) Apparently its "wrong" to celebrate when winning against the best
team in the league on the road being heavy underdogs.
5.) LT Classy????? Calling out Belichick?? Lt was a like the spoiled
little rich kid that didn't get his way and went home to cry and tell
his parents. "It was wrong for them do the dance that Merriman is known
for..." Are you kidding me...is this football or American Idol...how
about not dancing...GO HOME SHUT UP...STOP CRYING...Take your MVP and
watch the game with Marty you LOSER.
6.) Oh yah...Merriman getting "lights out" carved in his hair...What
year is this?? 88..89?..Is Kid N'Play the Half time show??
7.) Phillips....Your ALL-PRO DE..."last year when we stomped them 47-17
we didn't celebrate and gave them compliments etc..." BLAH BLAH
BLAH....Maybe you didn't celebrate because it was the regular season you
loser..a regular season that saw your JOKE of an organization go nowhere once again...Deja Vu...
Did the game not work out your way San Diego....TOO BAD....that's
life..Get another coach and get some "Football Players," not circus
clowns. FYI...Don't ever talk about plans for a parade before the
Superbowl win, that's both stupid and classless. You can make your trip
to Foxborough next year....and watch the game but the last time I checked it
wasn't for a trip to the AFC Championship game or even to the
playoffs...but do what you must. And yes...Root for the Bears..They will
be an easier game than New Orleans anyway for whatever team comes out of
the AFC...not to mention that is where your loyalty should be anyway.
As far as the Red Sox being the MINI-ME or the Dr.Evil to the
Yankees...Simple as this...We are not San Diego, a joke organization, we
want to compete. Competing in the AL East means being 30 plus games over
.500..not winning the division being 88-74...To win in the AL East you
must Spend $$$..
(redacted), I admire your hatred...trust me if anyone can its me. I have
rooted for the death of many players over the years and have carried
meaningless grudges for decades. The bottom line is that the Chargers
and their fans should take a page out of the Patriots playbook.... Don't
talk trash, don't plan parades, don't get stupid hair cuts, and Don't
CRY LIKE LITTLE GIRLS when the better TEAM wins. Once San Diego and for
that matter the rest of the league gets what the Patriots do, WIN LIKE A
TEAM...not play like individuals then you will be better off.
Todd
(Boston)
P.S. - Can you really root for Peyton Manning??
1/16/07
Mr. Lewis,
I have disintegrated a chair and now feel up to the challenge of debating
you point by point. The open letter was cathartic for me but in my haste I
failed to mention another motivation, which set me over the edge. The
Union Tribune had a guest columnist in our Monday newspaper, a gentlemen
who's name eludes me right now, but he was with the Boston Herald
(For those who want to conjure hatred of the purest form locate said article
and read....you will proceed to form a militia so that you can burn Boston to
the ground). This gentleman disparaged our team and city
and then used direct quotes from "that idiot" Rosy Colvin to bolster
his arguments (The same Rosy Colvin who was a part of
the 2001 Bears team that choked to death in the playoffs then gravy
trained a Patriots Championship in 2003, finally earning one in 2004).
Colvin's main point of contention was how our city had a rally for the
Chargers during the previous week's build-up. God Forbid!! The city had
a rally to support its team; a team that they thought had the moxy to go
the distance. God forbid! The last I checked, there were no SD players sending
out chain-mails so that people would attend "A High School pep rally", as
that idiot Colvin referred to it. The city of San Diego had a genuine excitement
for its team much like the Boston supporters always do. The major difference
between the two cities is that when two servings of utter devastation is heaped
on to our plate we can rebound by going surfing the next day. New Englanders
are confined to winters of "What could have been?"
Allow me to retort to myself.... I’m going Surfing and I will also think about
"what could have been”. I am a fan, die-hard, much like the New Englanders!
The inferiority complex that they carried for close to a century has become my
burden but make no mistake.... while I may pray for the Patriot Charter to
plummet furiously into Lake Michigan next weekend I would never, in good
conscience, behave the way they did during the 1999 playoff loss to the Yankees,
when seeing their season come to an abrupt end, they chose to litter their
own field in protest. No! I have class! On to my rebuttal, Mr. Lewis.
1. I think Merriman misspoke. The Pats were winning against the Jets
at half so why would he declare how the Jets would win easily? I find
it comical that a three time Superbowl Champ would need bulletin
board material for motivation...then again the 2006 Pats are a shell
of the former championship era so maybe Ellis Hobbs needs the added
inspiration (Yea that's the guy who was called out by Phillip Rivers as the
weakest corner in the NFL during the little three ring circus at the end of
the game). I think that Merriman was discombobulated and misspoke
during the halftime show or it was the Maryland state education...your choice.
2. ALL PLAYERS TALK TRASH!! Larry Bird!!! C'mon, you
can do better than that!
3. On point three you clearly take umbrage with the
NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement. He served his four game
sentence it's the beauty of the NFL's legal system. You don't see me
complaining about Irving Fryar and how he was allowed to play again
after his problems with coke!
4. It's RIGHT to celebrate! It's not right to taunt when you can empathize
with what a losing team is going through. It has become tradition to cross
the field and shake hands with those who have vanquished your team so
we can logically deduce that if you are taunting in the middle of the field
it will ultimately be in the face of the M.V.P..:LaDainian Tomlinson.
Poor etiquette...I seem to recall buttoning my lip when Desmond Howard
torched the Pats back in 1996 so as not to incite the ginger fury coursing
through your veins.
5. LT is classy and if you observed the feud between Belichick and Manghini
this season you would agree that Belichick lacks class. Or how he absolutely
forearm shivered that photographer as he ran to the center of the field last
week after the Jets game. Not to mention when he signed a contract with
the Jets only to bail on them the next day and join the Pats. I guess the west
coast definition of class is not the same.
6. Carving something in your hair is very 88-89 and it is all the more embarrassing
when it is a self-imposed nickname. I concede...
7. Clearly your point here is that you shouldn't taunt during the regular
season but once the "one and done" format arrives it's o.k. Very flimsy counselor.
8. As for this parade non-sense, I really don't know where you are getting
your information (idiot from the Herald) No parade was planned because we
had not won a Superbowl. That's called"Yellow-Journalism"...Herald idiot is
distorting the real story to cast a better light on the Patriots.
I can and will get over this loss. My point was never sour grapes it was merely
the disappointment in seeing a rare ideal shattered at the end of the game that
upset me and required me to withdraw my west coast support for your organizations.
Do you even need my support? Perhaps not. You have won three of the last five
Superbowls. You completed the greatest comeback in sports history and destroyed the
psyche of your archenemy. Do you need good karma sent from me across the
country? If you say no....then let me say this:
I curse your teams! I curse them in the name of Jack Murphy that our
discontent will be avenged and that a stepping-stone will be in Foxboro next
fall (we must come during the regular season because the risk would be too
great that we will have home-field advantage next season).
San Diego teams will begin their dominion of man during the year of our lord-2007!
Sincerely
Jack Murphy's Avengers
These emails made the rounds and went back and forth for some time. From this point
out they were signed...Jack Murphy's Avengers.These emails were the seeds.
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