I swear I'm not trying to stir up another blog war or anything here, but this has been bothering me all afternoon ever since I saw it and I thought I'd post about it. Sporson did a post over at the Sporting News about the special place in hell reserved for Alabama fan Joey Barrett, Jr., the guy that got all stabby at an Auburn frat house before last year's Iron Bowl. Seems that Barrett talked a friend who had been declared "mentally retarded" into taking the blame for the stabbings in exchange for a car. His ire towards Barrett isn't what bothers me; Barrett is clearly a stain on humanity and, worse, the Alabama fan base and deserves any and all scorn, ridicule, and prison "cuddlings" that result from his action. I'm not even upset at the ridicule by association we'll receive since every one of us is always quick to take the worst things we hear about a rival fan and apply it to our perception of their entire fan base. It's just the way being a fan of college football works, though if the boogs really want to run their mouthes too much maybe they should stop and remember that stabbings and despicable actions occurring at Auburn frat houses are old hat for them by now. Y'all wrote the book, Barrett, unfortunately, just read it. No, what does bother me is this picture and caption:
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Everyone knows tattoo guy and depending on who you ask he's either an awesome fan or kind of an embarassment, but I think we can all agree that this is a guy who has never done anything to hurt anyone (and by all accounts is a very nice, friendly person) and doesn't deserve to a) have himself associated with Barrett for no other reason than he is a visible, recognizable Alabama fan or b) be labeled an "idiot" for no other reason than....well, unless there is something horribly wrong about people who get tattoos and love college football then for no reason whatsoever. I sent Sporson a text about it and he said he didn't have anything to do with it, an editor put it in, so at least I can feel a little better that he isn't taking cheap, unwarranted shots at an innocent bystander in all of this, but it's still a cheap, unwarranted shot. Boo on the Sporting News.
UPDATE - Chris Mottram, the editor who posted the offending picture and caption, was kind enough to replace it with a generic Alabama logo, so a sincere thank you to him. Hooray for the Sporting News.