Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 10:23 PM ...like a guy losing a bar of soap in the shower. (Browns)
I don't often write about football. I just don't tend to speak with much authority on the subject. That seems okay when I'm at the bar, ordering another soda and striking up a conversation with someone catching up on highlights through a silenced edition of Sportscenter. That doesn't seem okay when I'm putting something down on virtual paper hoping someone will read it and maybe think a little about what I've taken the time and effort to say.
The current trainwreck that is Cleveland Browns football, actually begs for some sort of commentary from a life-long fan such as myself, but I just don't have it in me.
Instead, I thought I'd take a look backwards -- to a time when there was hope on the lakefront. And, really, I don't have that much to say. A couple of Cleveland blogs have posted a terrific NFL FIlms/Steve Sabol/Bernie Kosar interview. I wish I could remember which blogs they were; I like to link to those who turn me onto something worthwhile.
I do find it interesting that Kosar keeps coming up in the conversation about how to change the current trend. Is he GM material? I doubt it, though I understand he had a fine one-year stint in arena football. Is he a consultant. Sure. But maybe more? Bernie was one of my Orange and Brown heroes when I was busy growing up in northeast Ohio. I still say he is one of the most underrated quarterbacks the game has known.
What I remember -- and what stands out when you hear him recount those games, or comment on the game today -- is that no one knows Xs and Os quite like Kosar. If I have a rant, it is just that. Doesn't he sound like a coach? Maybe on offensive coach? Maybe a quarterbacks coach or an offensive coordinator? Like I said. I don't know enough about football to say much. So I'm just sayin'.
Anyhow, the interview is a beauty, and it's full of highlights from his days in Cleveland and beyond. The opening line is one of the most amusing truths I've ever heard in sports: "Bernie Kosar came out of the University of Miami with a sidearm motion, feet of stone, and a body that looked like it was drawn by Dr. Seuss. But Kosar knew how to win, and he did so everywhere he played." Priceless.
A few other gems from the piece:
"Athleticism was not his [pause] long suit." -Marty Schottenheimer
"He was like 6'6", 225 lbs. He looked like a praying mantis out there -- I mean he was like all over the place." -Boomer Esiason
"I always thought the guy was gonna fall down, in his back-pedal, as he came away from center. He always looked like he was one step away from losing it and falling on his [pause] tush, basically." -Don Banks (SI.com)
"If the NFL awarded style points, Bernie Kosar wouldn't have gotten any." -Steve Sabol
"Kosar doesn't throw the ball, he just lets go of it like a guy losing a bar of soap in the shower." -Jim Murray (LA Times)
And those are all inside of the first two minutes of the piece.
Shortly after, Sabol points out that Kosar once threw 308 consecutive passes without an interception. Quite a feat.
I'll let you enjoy the rest for yourself.
I think I'll watch this over and over again tonight. While crying into my soda. Feel free to join me.
-Red Dog
