It all began rather innocuous enough. ESPN dropped a few little tidbits from a profile that Seth Wickersham had compiled on Tony Gonzalez after following him throughout the 2013 NFL Season.
Tony Gonzalez to @SethWickersham: "Matt's an excellent quarterback. But he's not elite. He's THIS close." #CubaIssue #Falcons
— ESPN The Magazine (@ESPNMag) February 6, 2014
Okay, this tweet was sent out, and it seemed as if briefly anyone who was remotely a fan or writer around the Atlanta Falcons had collectively lost their minds. I, like many sports fans, receive notifications from ESPN with updates about my favorite teams. When it popped up on my iPad, I kind of laugh, thinking, TG is just saying what many of us have known for a while now. Matt Ryan is an excellent quarterback, but he is not elite. Now, come on ,everybody, including Falcons fans themselves have been saying the same thing all year. So Tony Gonzalez says it to a reporter, and you guys are already rip down all references to him in Atlanta? Really?! One blog post was even entitled "Why Gonzalez has become a Locker room Cancer for the Falcons."
Matt Ryan is not an elite quarterback
Duh, we all know this, but for argument's sake, here is the quote in it's entirety,
"Now he's questioning everything. "Matt's an excellent quarterback," Gonzalez says. "But he's not elite. He's this close," placing his thumb near his index finger. "He'll get there, but he has some learning to do."
So, what's the problem? Oh, that's right Matt Ryan is now going into his seventh season, and like the aforementioned Tony Romo, he cannot lead his team through a run in the playoffs. Don't get me wrong, Ryan has great numbers, and he is a really, really good quarterback, but he's not elite. Don't believe me? See Ben Roethlisberger or for that matter Eli Manning. Both of these men have two, count them, two Super Bowl rings. Neither one is considered elite. Heck, Eli has one more ring than brother Peyton, and Peyton is considered elite, but Eli, not so much. So why did the Falcons fans get upset? Because TG said it on the way out, and some of them saw it as a slight to Ryan. Nope, guys it's a fact, besides he didn't say it on the way out the door. He said it, according the article, after the loss to the New England Patriots. So much for that.
"On a double date with Matt and Sarah Ryan, Gonzalez says, "Maybe, if the team is hot in November, 9-2 or something, I could come back for the last two months."
I don't believe this for one red hot minute as a legitimate thing. Here's how I saw this quote- A joke. Why do you say that? Well, I was one of the 12 people who watched the Pro Bowl pregame show. Marshall Faulk asked TG was he finished. He answered yes. Faulk then asked if a team were to call him up midway through the season would he come back. TG answered that he would never say never, but pretty much guaranteed that he wouldn't begin the season with anybody. Why did this anger people. They see it as being "wishy-washy" and giving too much privilege to one player (hence, the cancer article). Look guys, this doesn't just happen in football. I know, you guys are so desperate to call him Bret Favre, but let's look at the Bret Favre thing for a minute. I was like you guys with ole Bret, but really, wasn't it the media with nothing else to report on to insatiable NFL fans that made Bret news? Tony and Bret both are not unlike many other people who "retire." I know plenty of teachers who retire and are back in the classroom a few months into the next year. Why? Many reasons: boredom, money, I like it. Why do you care? Yes, they often get privileges that other teachers don't get. So, what? I feel like they've earned it. Get over it. IF you had the same opportunity, and somebody called you up, you would take it, too. By the way, the article ends with Matt Ryan,
"Hats off to you," Ryan says. "Hell of a career. We wish you the best."
As everyone starts to clap, Ryan says, "And if we're 10-0 next year, maybe we'll have you back."
Yeah, I can see how this could be cancerous to a locker room.
This quote came during Gonzalez's last address to the team the night before the last game of the season. Here's the quote in context
Sure enough, Smith asks him to talk. Gonzalez stands before the team at ease, without notes, as if he's waited all his life for this moment. "I've been through this before," he says. He tells them about how the fear of failure led to his "obsessive-compulsive" routine and how he learned the hard way how thin the line is between wins and losses. "It made me the player that I am," he says. "I wouldn't be standing here if that didn't happen."Yep, cancerous...he's that drama guy alright...yeah, right.
He looks his teammates in the eyes. "A lot of you don't know how to work," he says. "Whether you think you know it or not, it wasn't good enough. Look at the season." It's the most devastating statement he's ever delivered. There's no telling how it is going over, but he doesn't care. "Don't waste this losing," he says. "Don't waste this season. You grow the most when you face this type of stuff."
His speech lasts about 10 minutes. At the end, Gonzalez begins to choke up. He doesn't notice, but several teammates are beginning to cry too, including Ryan, from wounded pride, from guilt, from the sight of a future Hall of Famer showing his heart. Gonzalez ends by saying, "Thank you for the opportunity to play with you."
They give him a standing ovation.
Then, there are those bitter KC fans. It's been 5 seasons guys. LET IT, GO! It's been almost two years since the goal dunking incident. LET IT, GO!!! I love my Chiefs don't get me wrong, but TG had floundered there for 12 years. TWELVE YEARS!!! During those 12 years, the Chiefs had six different quarterbacks, five winning seasons, four different coaches, and zero playoff wins. I don't think he, we, or anyone else saw Tony Gonzalez playing 5 more years, yet he did. Should he have had to play out those five years waiting for this year that may or may not have happened? No, and none of us would have stayed on a job with such poor performance results. I didn't have a problem with him leaving. Still don't. LET IT, GO!!! FYI, he can't come back to the Chiefs. The Falcons own his rights for one more year.
Of all the football players that I have had the privilege of watching play over my over 30 years of football fandom, I never thought in a million years that I would have to come to my page to defend Tony Gonzalez. I mean, really, Tony G? You guys have a problem with Tony Gonzalez?
Nothing in that article made me change my mind about Tony. Those who read the entire thing should realize by now that most of it was really taken out of context. I wish Tony G's career would have ended on a better note. The Falcons season was an atrocity. He played out the entire season, started every game, and even played on a bum foot that kept him out of most of the final practices at the end of the year-a year where he finished 4th among all tight ends, second among receivers on his own team, and y'all think he phoned it in? He is not, Tiki Barber and should not be treated as such.
At this point, I don't think either the Chiefs or the Falcons deserve his services with these attitudes. So, TG...thank you for all the great things you did for my team that could never seem to get out of it's own way. Thank you for entertaining all the NFL fans with all of your spectacular plays over your 17 seasons. Play out the next five years for team Gonzalez before joining the Hall of Fame team in Canton. I look forward to seeing you on FOX, NFL Network, or CBS, but not ESPN...stay away from there if at all possible.
Until next time, "Great heroes need great sorrows and burdens, or half their greatness goes unnoticed. It is all part of the fairy tale."― Peter S. Beagle
