by Joe Gandolfo- jgand@pcfootball.net
12-12-02

I heard from an old foe this past week.

Now before anybody jumps to any conclusions that I am talking about David Branda, no, I am talking about someone who is far more insidious.

This is an individual who I had the displeasure of having to hear about back in my days on PTCsucks.org.

This is a man who thinks that his view of morality is the only right view, and that anyone who disagrees with him is an idiot, or worse.

This is a man who is the poster child for hypocrisy.

This is the man who wrote this in this weeks TV Guide:

The author of this tirade: none other than my "old friend" Phil Mushnick.

Now Phil’s slant of the world is a unique one. He is the champion of right, and if you are not with him, you are against him. He is the saintly scribe who champions the causes of truth and justice in that well-respected media outlet, The New York Post.

Memo to Phillip: don’t kid yourself pal. You are the farthest thing from being a saint no matter how much you may think you are. So get over yourself already!

As I read his article over and over again I am trying to figure out just exactly what Phillip’s problem really is. He makes mentions of Ray Lewis’ legal woes of a couple of years ago, but he fails to go into detail on why he seemingly objects to his appearance in the commercial.

Could he have a problem with the commercial itself and the language that is used? If that’s the case then don’t let him into the vault at NFL Films. He’ll insist they burn 75% of their stock. Of course Steve Sabol would then throw him out on his ear, but that’s another story.

Could he have a problem with the video game itself, and thinks that it promotes the kind of behavior witnessed during the Skins-Giants game and the language in the commercial?

It wouldn’t be the first time that Phillip has tried to blame some form of entertainment for the ills of society.

After all, this is the same man who has railed against the content of the World Wrestling Entertainment for years, insisting that they were to blame for everything that is wrong in society today. Why wouldn’t he try to blame a video game now?

It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Phillip were to come out in the New York Post and claim that playing Madden was to blame for all of the trash talking, cheap hits and excessive violence that is being seen more and more on Sundays nowadays.

After all, this is the same man who has:

• Conducted a personal vendetta against one Vincent K. McMahon Jr. for years, both professionally and personally.
• Publicly called retired Cowboy All-Pro Drew Pearson a sellout and a mercenary for taking a position in the front offices of the XFL on the Jim Rome’s "The Last Word".
• Called the Honda Corporation hypocrites for advertising with the XFL in the first place shortly after that company dropped sponsorship of the league for being "too lowbrow".
• Criticized FOX for switching to a rerun of M*A*S*H after the conclusion of the Daytona 500 the year that Dale Earnhardt was killed during the last lap of the race. This was after he had criticized Vince McMahon for staying with the Over the Edge PPV the night Owen Hart fell to his death in Kansas City.
• Attempted to blame Vince McMahon and the programming content of the WWF(E) for the tragic school shooting at Santana High School in early March 2001.
• Allied himself with ultra right-wing religious fundamentalist L. Brent Bozell III in an attempt to slander McMahon and the WWF(E) by claiming they were responsible for the deaths of at least four children because they were allegedly killed by having pro wrestling moves performed on them.

Now as you can see by the background I have given you that Phillip has a long history of skewing morality to his own special little plane of existence. In fact, his view on morality is to bassackwards that he can’t even see the immoral goings-on in his own house.

After all, the man writes for the New York Post for crissakes! We are talking about a rag that allows 2/3 of its advertising to consist of ads for adult bookstores, escort services, and strip clubs. Does our good friend Phillip, the champion of all that is good and decent tend to his own house? Of course not! He is much to busy worrying about what is going on in other peoples’ houses!

Now he has decided to put Madden 2003 in his gunsights for what has been happening on the field of play. This is just another example of Phillip putting finger to keyboard without using his brain and thinking first. If there is any game out there on the market right now that is a bad influence or a reflection of what is going down on the field right now, it is not Madden 2003.

NFL Blitz 2003 would be closer to what Phillip is talking about. After all, what other sports video game, outside of hockey, actually has a "punch" button that you can press after the play is over? NFL Blitz 2003 features late hits, body slams, kicking when a player is down and retaliation for same actions. The game is made by the same company that came out with MLB Slugfest 2003 where players can hit, kick and stomp on each other on the basepaths, on the mound and just about everywhere you can think of.

So why isn’t Phillip talking about those games? Because they don’t have Ray Lewis as a spokesman, that’s why.

So because Ray Lewis is in a commercial Phillip has to automatically assume that the game itself is bad, and he must speak out about it.

Phillip, if I were you I would tread lightly here. You remember the furor raised by wrestling fans when you decided to give us your uneducated drivel about wrestling, don’t you? What do you think gamers will do with you? If you thought you were savaged by wrestling fans pal that was an afternoon tea compared to what gamers will do with you. And before you come back at me with how uneducated, brainless and worthless gamers are, I would think again. Gamers come from all walks of life, all educational experience and all income branches. We are not "lowbrow", and there are more of us than you think. Do yourself a favor and back off of Madden before you get humiliated.

Madden 2003 is not an influence on what happens every Sunday and Monday. I think that this point is something that all of us here at PCFootball.net can agree on. I believe that we would also be in agreement with everyone at maddenmania.com, maddenplanet.com, all-madden.org, football-gaming.com and on the boards at EASports.com. If anything, Madden 2003 is a reflection of what the game should be. A sport free of the off field tribulations that we have heard so often in the past. A game with no arrest records, steroids, contract disputes, or quotes that can haunt for a lifetime.

This is a game that many of us love to play, and we will defend its reputation from someone who is only interested in his own self-glorification. Everyone is only interested in playing a good game of football, and being able to relax and forget our daily troubles for awhile.

Everyone except, maybe, Phil Mushnick.

Until next time…