Houston Texans: "Red Rider BB Gun" and other thoughts

Since the game was so boring it seems the national media is trying to gin up controversy from JJ Watt's post game comments.

JJ Watt to Critics: "How you doin?" Mike Florio, NBC Sports

“Just talkin’ to my teammates about how everybody told us we couldn’t do this,” Watt told ESPN’s Lisa Salters after the game. “Everybody said there ain’t no — you’re 3-5, there’s no way you’re gonna go in their building and win. Well, how you all doin’?”

Watt then trotted out some rehearsed material that possibly went over better when he practiced it in the mirror.

“Our goal was to come out here and make the Red Rifle look like a Red Ryder BB Gun,” Watt said, in reference to Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton.

Watt needs to perhaps tread lightly, given that the Texans very well could face the Bengals again, in the postseason.

I heard what Watt said in the post-game interview with Lisa Salters, cringed a little at the canned delivery, and then turned off the TV and went to bed.  I knew however that, when I woke up this morning, the media was going to be all over this for a variety of reasons:

1. The game itself was boring and ugly football. There's really not much to say about it. You could talk about TJ Yates coming in and throwing a touchdown pass to D'Andre Hopkins (who made a spectacular catch) or you could talk about neither team running the ball, or the fact that most of the receivers on the field had the dropsies, or you can talk about JJ Watt saying words.

2. There's nothing America likes more, than tearing down a good guy. Yes, it's easy to have Watt fatigue, especially in Houston where he's on seemingly every commercial.  But that's not what this is about. In America the only thing we love more than our heroes is to try and tear them down. It's because we're jealous of their success and have become very British in our class envy.  As Jeremy Clarkson once said "In America when they see someone in a Lamborghini they say "Someday I'll have one of those" while in Britain they say "Someday I'll see him out of that."  That sentiment is no longer the case. In America now when someone does good we say "Some day they're going to mess up, and I'm going to mock them for it."

3. The devaluation of winning and losing. "It's not whether your win or lose, but how you play the game"  - Grantland Rice - It should not surprise you that a sportswriter came up with a quote that we now consider sacrosanct in sports.  Nevermind that it's bull. It does matter if you win or lose. Just as it matters whether you win or lose within the rules. Acting like our sports stars need to be statesmen after pulling off a large win is ridiculous on it's face. On the one hand we want JJ Watt to play hard on the field, on the other hand we want him to sing Kum-bai-ya with the opposition after sacking them.  Bull.  They made Andy Dalton look like a Red Rider BB Gun.  Suck it up and play better Andy, and quit griping about your feels.