Gary Seymour, sports@wolfrivermedia.com
Trash talking in athletic competition has been around so long it probably dates back to the first caveman fistfight.
It’s hard to imagine either of those early combatants getting off much in the way of an elegant zinger, what with the nonexistent language and zero vocabulary and all, but you never know. Some of those Paleolithic guttural sounds might have been clever.
Few have attained loftier heights in the realm of trash talk than former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, who raised it to an art form. Among his gems was the boast that he was going to beat an opponent so badly that he would need a shoehorn to put on his hat.
Familiarity breeds contempt, and so does athletic competition. The list of verbal jabs and haymakers among sports professionals is a long one that includes:
Former Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson, who during an off-day press conference at the 1998 NBA Finals referred to Utah Jazz center Greg Ostertag as “Osterdog;”
Montreal Canadiens’ Brandon Prust, who responded to a comment made about him by Ottawa coach Paul MacLean thusly: “I don’t really care what that bug-eyed, fat walrus has to say;”
Shaquille O’Neal, who as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers forever endeared himself to Sacramento Kings fans when he said before an upcoming series between the Kings and Shaq’s Lakers, “ … I’m not worried about the Sacramento Queens. Write it down, take a picture, send it to ‘em, I don’t care.”
Clearly, the sentiments are not always pleasant when the jaws start flapping between competitors.
But it was more a case of Trash Talk Lite last Sunday night when Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews delivered this chill shot to San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick during the Packers’ 17-3 win.
“You’re no Russell Wilson, bro.”
The “You’re no … ” put-down is not new, and not exclusive to sports. It’s been around forever, even used in political debates, like the one before the 1988 election between vice president hopefuls Dan Quayle and Lloyd Bentsen. Bentsen told Quayle that “I knew John Kennedy, senator, and you’re no John Kennedy.” Bentsen soon regretted it, as he was not ready for the quick-witted Quayle’s gutting retort, “That was uncalled for.”
Wide receiver Terrell Owens made the observation that Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb was no Brett Favre. It probably wasn’t the most inspiring message to float during that season, as Owens and McNabb were teammates.
Factored down, the heart of all trash talk is, “I’m better than you.” It is therefore a bunch of throwaway prattle whose only effect is adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
When trash talk becomes an intramural affair, though, as in the case of Owens and the Eagles and every other team he’s played for, an opponent’s strengths and weaknesses may be the least of your worries.
Speaking of Favre, his less-than-magnanimous reply to a question about him and Aaron Rodgers after the 2012 Super Bowl turned him off to some Packers fans.
When asked about Rodgers having won as many Super Bowls as Favre had, Favre said that the only surprise was how long it took Rodgers to win one.
He also said that Rodgers fell into a good situation, a better Packers team than any that Favre had ever been on, and implied that Rodgers got the best possible quarterback education by watching Favre play.
You didn’t have to read much between the lines to sense Favre’s resentment.
But his reaction wasn’t really unnatural. He had great attachment to Green Bay and all the Packers fans, and his departure was an emotional grinder. Thousand bucks says he was pulling for the Steelers in Rodgers’ Super Bowl win. In that spot, a lot of people would be.
There is no “I” in the word “team,” as we’re often reminded, but there is an “M” and an “E,” and there are more players in team sports who look out for No. 1 than you would think. Self-preservation, and all its variations, is still the strongest human instinct.
Favre eventually will come to grips with the fact that his own Hall of Fame career was followed by another. His grudging congratulations to Rodgers shouldn’t be held against him.
It’s not like he called him a bug-eyed, fat walrus.