Smarten Up, Boys
Randy Leonard
I am forever surprised at the number of comments I get from different people who read my various ramblings on BlueOregon.
This piece, however, is for a select group of readers.
Boys, there’s a new Sheriff in town and she doesn’t need a couple of six-shooters to keep you in line. She’s packing something more powerful… on one hip, words, and on the other, wit.
Read this piece in yesterday’s Oregonian from reporter Rachel Bachman in which she surgically dismembers Steve Duin for his use of the term “Cowgirls” in describing the Dallas Cowboys. Ms. Bachman decries the creative void of Duin’s contempt, his run-of-the-mill ridicule, his garden-variety disparagement.
If you still have page 2 of the Sunday Oregonian Sports section, the opinion piece is titled “Keep insults coming, but smarten them up” (unfortunately, the online piece drops the title).
That title is just a little tease to get all you "craven, clay-brained canker-blossoms" to read the figurative ass whooping meted out to Mr. Duin….a guy who is not used to finding himself pinned against the wall by the pointy end of a pen.
My prayers at night now include not getting on Ms. Bachman’s bad side (Which would be all too easy for me to do, considering Steve Duin and I are of the same generation!). I would suggest my fellow “Boys” follow suit.
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9:32 p.m.
Sep 18, '06
Damn straight. One helluva piece for the sports section. Keep 'em coming, Rachel!
9:41 p.m.
Sep 18, '06
Her piece cracked me up. I do hope she does indeed keep them coming.
Sep 18, '06
A few years back I ended up in Cleveland, Mississippi to see Son Volt while on my way to Jazz Fest in New Orleans. The show was on the campus of Delta State. The women's basketball program their is evidently one of the best in the country. The Delta State men's teams are called The Statesmen. So of course the women's teams are called The Lady Statesmen. Incredible.
Sep 18, '06
Well played, Rachel; Well played.
It's true; the elegantly crafted insult is frequently the most remembered utterance of all. I, for one adore Dorothy Parker, for instance.
Just one thing: Jim Rome called that fellow "Chris Evert", not "Chris Everett".
B-)
Sep 19, '06
Ahhh, to always be so politically correct. Remember: Rachel Bachman still must squat.
Sep 19, '06
Good work here. I was surprised that you haven't gotten more comments because you were featured in the Oregonian. I commend you on your efforts to keep politics sane, and I realize that's very hard to do in these dark days. <embed src="http://www.backwardsbush.com/images/BackwardsBush_Flash.swf" quality="high" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#000000" width="300" height="255" name="BackwardsBush" align="middle" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"/>
Sep 19, '06
Truth is, if an NFL franchise was to field a team of the best women athletes (or girls)in the world, they would get crushed every week.
So calling a football tema bunch of "girls" is an appropriate insult.
Reality bites!
Sep 19, '06
KISS-
There is a certain mean streak that accompanies some of your commments...including this one.
To quote one of my favorite characters on MAD TV (Sat. Night, 11PM on Ch 12), you need to smarten up "To a Ho Nuva Lebel".
Sep 19, '06
Rachel Bachman decries the lack of originality in Steve Duin's insults but rather than write some original material herself, she searches the Internet and uses other people's work to show how it should be done. As someone who sells comedy, including sports insults, and sees the lines bounce around the national media, I always wonder why these columnists like Rachel don't do their own work? Why not show you can write, rather than just copy and paste to make a point, especially if you're putting down someone else's lack of creativity?
Sep 19, '06
I'm in love!
Sep 19, '06
So...Steve Duin took a break from being a sanctimonious twit in order to blather about "Cowgirls"? Was this to prove his versatility to his masters at the Oregonian?
Sep 19, '06
lin qiao...so glad to see you're posting again. I may be the wrong guy to ask, but I think of Steve Duin's writing as both cynical and progressive at the same time.
I guess that doesn't preclude the occassional sexist turn of a phrase. But is calling a bunch of athletes "panty-waists" or "ladies" intended to demean women? I think not.
It's simply a sarcastic way of goading your team into pushing themselves to their physical limits. It may be old school, but it is intended to make the team members try harder, not diminish the capacity of women to be athletic or endure the pain.
Sep 19, '06
Why not just call them wimps? But then, women do have their own jokes about men...I can't repeat them here, though. They're not for mixed company.
Sep 20, '06
Hmmm. Nicely written piece, but really, is Duin's putdown so heinous? Ya, it's not creative, but it is on target. Women are wonderful, but a team of the world's best female footballers would have a tough time against the average junior college men's team, no?
Sep 20, '06
Is that really a picture of Rachel Bachman? If so, she's a hottie!!!
Sep 20, '06
Whatever happened to professional courtesy? One Big O journalist denigrating another Big O journalist? Isn't that what Staff Retreats are for, or watercoolers?
Sep 21, '06
Steve who ...?
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