October 2012 Archive

Every time we get to the point in the season where the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles have to face each other I face a week of anxiety! I’ve mentioned this many times before — I’m a fan of both teams. And the past two weeks have been very nauseating since both teams had a bye the same week AND they’re playing each other right after it.

As much as people criticize liking two teams — two football teams especially — as some way of cheating sadness, it’s actually way more stressful if you care about both teams. I became a fan of the Falcons and Eagles long before I knew what a division or conference was or cared what people thought about it. I was kid who was a FANATIC about the NBA and caught the NFL when I could. And like many casual fans I stocked up on paraphernalia over the years and I’m still known to wear one red Falcons leg warmer and one green Eagles leg warmer just to bring a sense of balance to my life.

Later, I fell in love with the NFL and couldn’t choose between the two teams and resigned myself to being stuck with both of them. I thought that when I moved to Philadelphia and got sucked into Philly sports culture my love for the Falcons would have diminished. But it didn’t. I continued to “rise up” and fall with the highs and lows of both teams including having to re-learn to tolerate Michael Vick after he unexpectedly ended up with the Eagles. On the other hand, I was so happy when the Falcons picked up my favorite Eagle Asante Samuel!

But this season still presents another great example of why liking two teams is no fun.

I’d love for the Falcons to go 7-0 and show everyone they’re gonna continue to roll despite how many writers push out articles about how they’re not the real deal…but I’d also hate to see the Eagles lose cause that would trash their already embarrassing ass season even more.

As a kid, I never thought there would be a day like last week when I could call former Falcons RB Jamal Anderson  and yell “WE 6-0 HELL YEAHHHHHH” rather than stating a simple “hello.” But yes that did happen. As a kid, I never thought there would be a day when I could call former Eagles CB Troy Vincent a friend, but he absolutely is. A lot of things have changed since I first became a fan of both teams but one thing hasn’t — my refusal to watch the Falcons and Eagles play each other.

I have never done it. I don’t think I will ever do it. The  one year that I gave it serious consideration, Falcons CB Dunta Robinson nearly ended WR Desean Jackson’s life. I was so glad I missed that moment. That’s not the kind of entertainment (read: horrifying moment) I need in my life.

So this week, while millions of people tune at 1pm to enjoy what probably should be the primetime game Sunday night I will either go to the gym, take my dog to the park, paint my toenails or do something else non-football related. I was so upset when the standing weekly  Sunday brunch I have with my girlfriends (that I obviously miss almost every week during football season) was switched to Saturday just for this week. This is the ONE Sunday where I do NOT want to be near a TV early on in the day and would have appreciated something else to do.

If this post strikes you as overly emotional I would like to use the vagina card. I’M A GIRL. fuck off.

So what’s my wish for week 8? The same wish I have every week - that both of my teams remain healthy and competitive.

As I wrote this headline I realized that white people probably have ZERO clue who Boomkack is and why it’s funny. I thought about whether or not to explain cause I want my white brothers and sisters to be in on the joke. But then I was like it’s probably not that important. So I’ll just leave yall with this explanation.

The following video is Diddy’s old choreography Laurieann Gibson aka Boom Kack showing Philadelphia Eagles RB a new end zone dance. Every time he does the dance hip hop dance experience will donate money to the Lesean McCoy foundation. I don’t think that Lesean has chosen a name for the dance yet, but for now I’m calling it the Shady Swipe. I like it but I’m still partial to his normal hands up body roll. As a Philly fan, I just hope I see a lot of whatever dance he does. Almost any celebration is better than punching your coach in the stomach so he has nowhere to go but up.

Los Angeles Laker Dwight Howard (I hate the way that sounds!) swears he wasn’t drunk when he was putting us through all that trade drama last season.

I don’t know if it’s true or false that Dwight Howard had never tasted alcohol before he was traded from the Orlando Magic to the Los Angeles Lakers but I do know that’s what he claimed according to Lee Jenkins at Sports Illustrated.

Being traded to the Lakers drove Dwight Howard to drink … well, sort of.

Jenkins writes that Howard, who attended high school at a Christian Academy (Ga.), felt “sheltered” upon his arrival in the NBA and wakes up early every morning to read the Bible. Until this summer, Howard says he had never had an adult beverage.

[To finish reading whether I believe Dwight Howard or not click Read More]

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J Danielle Around the Media  

When the replacement refs were still mucking up the game I love, I released some frustration about the commissioner’s role in the whole mess. [Special to HLNTV: If Refs Keep This Up, Goodell Needs To Go]

The numbers of women playing fantasy football continues to rise. HLNTV asked me for my opinion on the trend. [Fantasy Football: Don't Hate the Player]

I contributed to the NY Times “Room for Debate” again when I pretty much angered the entire swim community. I’m not even sure I’d be allowed at a swim event at this point. [Room for Debate: What Olympic Sport Would You Eliminate]

The NY Times “Room for Debate” included me as 1 of 4 contributors to a discussion on Penn State.  [Room for Debate: Should the NCAA punish Penn State]

I was really honored to be included in the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education’s list of Sports Journalists of Color 2012. Each day in July they featured a different writer. My day was July 13th. [Jessica Danielle July 13 MIJE]

Junior Seau’s death has affected everyone who loves football including myself. On HLNTV.com I wrote about how I couldn’t help but wonder whether Seau’s depression was linked to his football career. [Seau suicide linked to post-career trauma?]

Deadspin.com highlighted my experience with Joe Cowley Chicago Sun Times columnist and sexist creep.  Readers will remember Cowley has the one who wrote a crap piece on Matt Forte and let off a series of sexist remarks when I got his name wrong. Boo hoo. Well he apparently offended a baseball writer not even a month after he let loose on me. [Joe Cowley: The Best Sexist Around, Nothing's Gonna Ever Keep Him Down]

For Ebony.com I lamented the hysterical lead up to the NFL draft, during which players are unfairly attacked and generally dragged through the mud in the interest of drawing in readers and helping teams drive down player values. [TRIAL BY FIRE: The NFL Draft's Public Assault on Potential Players [OPINION] THE MEDIA HYPE AROUND THE DRAFT PROCESS HUMILIATES NFL HOPEFULS AND PLAYS ON STEREOTYPES AROUND BLACK ATHLETES, SAYS JESSICA DANIELLE. BUT WHY?]

For The Atlantic Ta-Nehisi Coates highlighted my comments on how athletes’ finances are affected by much more than simply overspending. [The Second Lives of Pro Football Players, Cont]

On LaMar Campbell’s Life After The Game we talked about players, love and finances on an episode called “Love After The Game.” Check my segment at the 34:45 mark. [Love After the Game]

CNN.com quoted me on the BCS and the LSU/Arkansas game. [For college football, mess of a BCS in the works]

For Jezebel I stood up for women sports fans and our right to watch sports without being quizzed or judged. [Female sports fans and the men who judge them]

Quick Hits

Bitch magazine put my female sports fan piece on their radar.

CNN quoted me on Joe Paterno.

Cowley creep was covered around the web. The Daily Mail and the Huffington Post.

Cheer up Coach Smith! Within a few weeks you will be the winningest coach in Atlanta Falcons history.

My darling Atlanta Falcons went into their bye week feeling good but not as good as they did 2 or 3 games ago. I think it’s clear that despite the 6-0 record there is room for improvement and it’s great to see the Falcons talking about getting better. They’ve won a few contests that probably shouldn’t have been close toward the end. They’ve also shown that, while there’s probably no danger in them ending another game having not scored at all like they did last season, they are still prone to the kind of offensive lulls that can really bury a team.

RB Michael Turner said something to the Atlanta Journal Constitution that stuck out to me

“Yeah, a win is a win…but we’re looking at something beyond just winning right now. We’re trying to be special and special teams don’t play like that.”

[To finish this post click Read More]

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