“So that was Mrs. Lundegaard on the floor in there. And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of money. There’s more to life than a little money, you know. Don’tcha know that? And here ya are, and it’s a beautiful day. Well. I just don’t understand it.”
-Frances McDormand as Marge Gunderson in Fargo
That line comes at the end of Fargo, the 1996 Coen Brothers classic. McDormand, who won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Marge Gunderson, is driving Peter Stormare in the back of her police car, having just arrested him for the gruesome murder of several different people in the snow white town of Fargo, North Dakota. McDormand’s role as the pregnant, idealistic yet no nonsense police chief is the perfect contrast to basically every other character in the film. About to bring a new life into the world, she is confounded by how others could be so evil.
I’m not pregnant, nor do I own an Academy Award, but I feel the same way Marge did every time I hear a star athlete, with so much to lose, gets mixed up in the circumstances that Aaron Hernandez now finds himself. Who knows why the former Pro Bowler did what he did but right now, he resides uncomfortably in a Massachusetts jail cell, charged with murder in the first degree of Odin Lloyd, with mounds of evidence stacked against him. Hernandez is also allegedly linked to other crimes. He won’t be seeing the sun set any time soon.
We were all witness to a remorseless Hernandez as he was escorted into custody this week, hands cuffed behind his back, with so many questions unanswered and most of us leery to hear the details when they finally are.
Once news of the arrest broke, Hernandez was immediately released by the team he played for, the New England Patriots, with his jerseys removed from their gift shops, as well as the NFL’s website.
There was a time when I rooted for Hernandez. I watched and cheered as he won a national championship with the Florida Gators. He ran Urban Meyer’s triple option to a tee. From afar, none of us knew know anything about him, just that he was a damn good football player.
It makes one question who and what we’re rooting for, doesn’t it?
We don’t really know professional athletes, what drives them or what disturbs them. We watch them on their field of play and form opinions based on their actions, their efforts or their interviews. We follow players blindly, cheering for them because of the jerseys they wear, the touchdowns they score or the home runs they hit. We’re sports fans. That’s what we do. And that’s why so many of us are turned off by sports and the athletes who play them as more and more think the rules don’t apply.
Remember when people liked Michael Vick? Exactly.
I don’t mean to group all athletes in with the obviously troubled and now incarcerated Hernandez but tragedies like these remind us to keep things in their proper perspective. There are troubled souls in all walks of life. They just don’t receive the fanfare. Hernandez is not the first athlete to lose it all for his alleged actions and he won’t be the last. But somewhere along the line, we need to start learning right from wrong. Like Sheriff Gunderson and the Coen brothers told us, there is more to life.
While most of us anxiously await the start of the upcoming football season, I’m pretty sure the family and friends of Odin Lloyd, and whoever else fell at the hands of Aaron Hernandez, could give a flying leap what the Patriots are going to do at tight end this year. Their losses are far more significant.
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When it comes right down to it Jerry Seinfeld was right. We basically are cheering for laundry.
Good stuff.
Quite often dirty laundry, Aer.
The dude is pretty low rent…some of this stuff you read is amazing.
What worries me most as a Gator fan is some stuff is likely to come out at his trial which will not paint UF in a very nice picture…hopefully no NCAA violations come flying out of the courtroom.
His character will be called into question and investigators are going to turn over every stone, including in Gainesville.
As a life long gator fan I have seen my fair share of quick justice by Alachua County popo and DA’s.
Who can forget Tony Joiner breaking into a car compound and stealing his car back then playing at LSU in the biggest game of the year 3 days later?
I have no doubt that in most cases UF football players get preferential treatment compared to the rest of us…if it can be swept under the rug it usually is swept away.
AH was questioned about a shooting in Gainesville years ago…I am guessing that case will be looked at again as it is unsolved. Bad stuff may be coming out in the near future. The guy is a total scumbag.
What`s so sad about this all ? Another homicide ? Hernandez is just one of just twenty-eight NFL players arrested in 2013, since the Superbowl ended . Crimes in question , cover rape , murder , drug possession , spousal abuse , illegal firearms` possession , non-payment of child support amongst other things . It all boils down in some instances apathy .
What we are seeing is a reflection of society and lack of human decency . Immature ill-educated athletes , who think themselves above the law who are placed on a pedestal to be admired as heroes and role models , when in fact they are neither .
Look at te idiocy of te NFL and ow it behaves as well . Specifically the ever so inconsistent rulings of Goodell . Never mind that union Executive Director DeMaurice Smith and the Players` Union , stands aside and simply lets its members wreak havoc on society . This is representative in each of the four major team sports .
Simply put , the press will only look for the real salacious stories , rather than do an in-depth study of what has become a pandemic with athletes not just at te professional level but also at the collegiate level as well .
Apathy does make the heart grow fonder amongst the fans and te press in general . Remember that . I mean were as te reporting in terms te steroid era in baseball ? And te same can be applied to te NBA , wen Stern tougt it best to use the race card and ow he marketed the NBA en masse to not just minorities but the fans in general ? All tis wile players within tat league also were committing felonies . Now there is outrage ? What a joke !
http://tophatal.wordpress.com/2013/06/26/too-big-to-fail-and-too-dumb-to-clean-up-its-own-frigging-house/
Too big to fail and too dumb to clean up its own frigging house </a
In 2011 * 163 NFL players were arrested for one reason or another, again for a number of wide ranging legal issues .
tophatal ………………….
Thanks, Li.
I write almost as poorly as I sing, huh?
D…
I don’t remember hearing much about him being such a bad guy while playing at the Swamp.
Perhaps I was blinded by what was going on with the team those years but you’re right, none of this is good.
I haven’t heard. Have either Meyer or Tebow said anything about the case?
I knew he was in and out of trouble at UF though most of it was shielded from us peasants. This is from another article in which i was referring to the shooting in gainesville. Sounds similar to the double homicide in Boston that they are now looking at him as a suspect. Just drive up, unload inot a car and pull off. Another thing I have heard as he failed 6 drug tests at UF but only 1 was made official.
“As Aaron Hernandez finds himself a suspect in the homicide of a Boston man and the subject of ridiculous media coverage, Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel has released details of another shooting investigation that occurred while the tight end attended the University of Florida in 2007.
When Hernandez was at UF, he was once questioned, along with three other Gator football players, about a shooting in Gainesvile. None of the players were arrested, but detectives questioned Hernandez in the shootings of Corey Smith and Justin Glass about 2:30 a.m. after Florida lost to Auburn in 2007. According to a Sentinel report at the time, police said Smith, 28, and Glass, 19, were driving around in traffic about 2:30 a.m. Sunday when a man began shooting into their car. Smith was critically wounded in the head while Glass was shot in the arm.Hernandez declined to discuss the case with reporters back then and was never charged with any crime”
I have not heard anything from Tebow or Meyer. Pure speculation on my partbut I am guessing tebow has been told to not say anything and just steer clear. Meyer on the other hand is being quiet because he is about to be exposed as running a loose ship. He is Ohio States problem now and he will probably bring them down at some point.
He recruits people of questionable character which sadly, you kind of need, to win championships. We had routine physical violence charges against women, countless marijuana suspensions, weapons charges and one guy who used the credit card of a dead girl…some shady people were at UF under his watch…but we won…which was all Gator fans cared about ( myself included )at the time anyways.
I really don’t care much about people using the Devil’s Lettuce as I too have been known to try a sample from time to time. I don’t agree with the law but it is a known rule and they were not following it…sadly i think UF may have covered up some transgressions but that is just my opinion. We shall see what unfolds.
Goodell’s mandate? Clean up the sport… Is it doable? Maybe not… How many arrests since the end of last season? 33 according to this source: http://www.wcvb.com/news/sports/-/9848968/20726910/-/inxno5/-/index.html
Five of those arrests were for felonies with one being dropped… and it’s only been 5 months…
For all of the crap Roger’s waded through what does the NFL have to show for it? Not much. And I’m sure the hand wringers out there will be more than happy to accuse the NFL of breeding violence and just maybe they’re right in the current culture we live in…
I think Hernandez was born the way he is. I don’t think a coach, father, or whomever could have saved him. This is the path he chose for himself.
The reason for crime is hard enough to comprehend, but cold blooded Murder is an action on a whole other level. I hope I never understand it.
D…
UF definitely got off lightly, considering. Funny how recruiting violations are considered far more offensive by the NCAA than anything else.
Oh well.
Dwin…
I’m just not sure how much responsibility the NFL has in all this. I’m sure they coach their incoming draftees the difference between right and wrong, what they should and shouldn’t be doing, just like every other professional sports league does. It’s not the NFL’s fault that Hernandez is who he is. He was probably like that (allegedly) before he ever put on a Pats uniform. It’s just that the means to do whatever it is that he was doing was considerably aided by the salary he was making and the status he had achieved.
I guess we have to ask ourselves what percentage of professional athletes are felons as opposed to society in general.
Is it considerably greater?
And if so, what are professional sports leagues going to do about it?
Well said, Mo, and welcome to the fracas.
Sorry it had to be under these particular circumstances.
I promise to cheer it up soon.
Drinks, anyone?
Though I’m always hoping for the best from professional athletes I’m never too surprised when one commits a crime. There are people of all walks in this world and some have a disregard for the law and in this case life.
My question is when will the media start to reexamine the God Like stature they given Belichick?
Not that he nor any other coach can control the actions of a grown man (or growing man), but Belichick has been no wizard when it comes personnel decisions recently, especially in the draft (over 66% of his picks over since 2005 have failed for the team…yes I did that math).
In a sport where the line between winning and losing is a fine one, are Vinatieri and Brady the only reasons Belichick is a God and not a Goat?
Jed…
Much of our perception of athletes, coaches, teams comes from how they’re portrayed in the media or more accurately, how the media portrays them.
All we hear, not only from the four letter but from every other network that broadcasts NFL games, is how Belichick is the best coach in the league.
While there’s no denying his success, one could easily argue that he coaches in probably the worst, or at least the most top-heavy division in football and hasn’t won a Super Bowl in 2005.
Before I responded earlier on here I tried to find statistics on arrests/convictions on a nationwide basis for comparison but ran into a wall… The best I could find concerned felonies in the year 2000 when 1 person in every 287 were convicted of a felony. If you take the 4 felony arrests so far in 5 months and just double it for the year and then figure there are like 65 players on 32 teams the ratio would be 1 person in every 104… Think some work needs to be done with these boys based on a 13 year old study…
Dwin…
27 arrests so far this off-season.
When Goodell puts down his concussion crusade to take a look at what’s going on with the character of the players in his league, maybe he’ll invoke a “Playing in the League is a Privilege, not a Right” policy.
But of course, he won’t. The Players Union won’t allow it.
Neither Goodell or the union are actually concerned over the behavior of the players , as had that been the case , then there would be a concerted and joint effort by both to clean up the image of the league . Roger Goodell and union executive DeMaurice Smith are a complete joke .
Both executives` only concern , are to see growing revenues , with each side reaping the benefits arising from that scenario .
tophatal ………….
Like it or not, Al, I am a representative of the company I work for and I understand that any actions I take represent my company as a whole, whether I’m on duty or off.
Of course, that may or may not be a fair comparison but these players are all representatives of the colleges, universities and pro teams they play for.
Ultimately, you’d think someone would step up and say we’re not going to be represented in that light.
First of all, the movie Fargo does not take place in Fargo.
Second of all, I love how the Patriots are having a jersey swap on July 6th at their pro shops. Bring in a Hernandez jersey and you can trade it for any other jersey in the store. Of course, the price of Hernandez jerseys on Ebay has sky-rocketed.
Leave it to my North Dakota guy to correct me on the state’s geography. I got two words for ya, sir. Mike Miller. Oh yaa yaa.
Just out of curiosity, Dub, which jerseys, if any, have you purchased over the years and who’s were they?
Other than the Sox, it’s rough times in Beantown sports these days. First the marathon bombing. Bruins lose to the Blackhawks. Celtics cleaning house and a promising young player chooses thug life over an NFL career. All I hear in my head when I think of this clown is Genesis’ Throwing It All Away.
Cris
Let me pose this question if the NFL cares as much as they intimate . Then how is it that they have done so little with regard to their veteran retired veterans ? It is almost as embarrassing as with the VA and the fact on average it takes 230 days for military veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan to even get their benefits without their being any bureaucratic slowdown . Veterans retired for over two decades are still having problems gaining their rightful benefits.
Another disturbing story coming out of Florida concerning Hernandez and the fact tat there was a double shooting involving the player (2007) . At the time he invoked his rights against self-incrimination . Te case was still ongoing and was never declared a cold-case. Now it appears tat the state attorney`s office will be working in conjunction with the Massachusetts` authorities as they seek to build their respective cases .
So Urban Meyer is now outing a former assistant of is who remains on Muschamp`s staff concerning the violation of recruiting rules . Meyer denies the allegations . . The player in question h ad made the decision to attend Florida but now has changed his mind and will be joining the Buckeyes . Are you angered by that, at all ?
Courtesy of USA Today
Since his departure from Florida , Urban Meyer as become a real sleazy and despicable individual .
tophatal ……..
Great, Bleed, now I’m gonna have that damn Genesis song stuck in my head the entire day.
Listen, the Celtics can hang their hat on the fact that they got a good young coach who will be able to lead whatever new young talent they have in there.
Considering KG is OLDER than Brad Stevens, I’m pretty sure getting through to him and Paul Pierce would have been a little trying.
Urban Meyer, Al?
What is this name of which you speak?
Vaguely rings a bell.
Chris
Urban Meyer has become a damn despicable sleaze ball . Buckeye fans had better be worried once the wheels on the bus stop spinning as the coach careens that vehicle downhill . Other than Braxton Miller there isn`t really much to hang one`s hat on, as far as the program is concerned .
So still no decision from Dwight ? LOL,LOL ,LOL !!! No truth that he as recorded a rap CD entitled `Ten things I hate about not being loved and admired ……….. my story ` .
Brad Stevens should be a good fit with the Celtics but I don`t know tat some of the older players on te roster will actually buy into his philosophy right away , due to is lack of NBA experience .
John Calipari is said to be miffed , that he didnt` get a bite at the apple with the Nets ? What gives ?
May you and your patrons have a great and safe 4th July !
Meyer’s OSU’s problem now but you know how it is in major college football? Win and your sins are forgiven.
Dwight wants to have a decision made my Friday. How much do you want to bet this thing is drawn out a lot longer than that.
If the old Celtics don’t buy into Stevens, they’ll be gone. It sounds like they’re moving in an entirely different direction. There’s a new sheriff in town, even if he isn’t old enough to shave yet.