Dennis Green is NOT Who We Think He is
In October 2006, I remember watching my Chicago Bears play the Arizona Cardinals in a Chicago dive bar. It was a close affair to put it mildly. Despite turning the ball over 6 times, the Bears surmounted a 20 point lead in the last 20 minutes to eek out a 24-23 win; something about a winning 83 yard punt return from then rookie Devin Hester. Nuff said.
Yet those were the ashes; the lava soon followed. The normally cherubic coach of the Cardinals, Dennis Green, blew his top in the post game interview. Refer to the video below:
This was part of an 8 game losing streak for Green, once an accomplished, long-tenured coach of the Minnesota Vikings. The sound was turned off on the television in the bar, but just observing the violence of Green’s gesticulations, I knew this would be a classic rant. Two years later, it has…more than anyone could’ve imagined. In fact, Green has trademarked what seem to be the only clean phrases from his spew and gone on to commercial success. He was featured in a Coors Light commercial earlier this year spoofing the moment. His website (dennisgreen.com) now sells hats for $19.95 with “they are who we thought they were” and “we let them off the hook” respectively. He’s showing up on CNN and CNBC and is a key talking point on ESPN.
At first glance this seems like a “roll your eyes” moment. Some lamentations about the current state of our society, the media, and American Capitalism should soon follow. Personally, this story first reminded me of that episode of The Simpsons from the 90s where Bart became a celebrity simply by uttering the phrase “I didn’t do it” to packed halls. The senselessness–even depravity–of this kind of opportunism in our times of Credit Crunch, Culture Wars and political logjam should be thoughtfully considered. As a sportsman I also find it a bit affronting that someone could market a loss for financial gain. Shouldn’t the victors reap the rewards? Yet, before passing judgement, I believe one should take into account the character and intent of the profiteer.
If you recall from my ’Lil Wayne post a few days ago, I was not wholly opposed to the crass sensationalism of the rapper’s booming sports blog. Indeed, I ended the article by stating that in the blogosphere it’s often necessary to hoot and holla to build an audience. In this medium, getting attention is 90% of the battle, and it just so happens that appealing to base popular tastes is the most expedient path. I qualified this by saying that exposing readers to what I call “valued content”–real, meaningful material–should be the ultimate goal. In sum, if you want to influence an ignoramus you must begin so on his terms. I see Dennis Green’s reductionist enterprise in this light.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure that Green wants to cash in; but I can glean from his website and his well-documented personal history that he’s also a man of substance. He was born and raised in segregation era Harrisburg Pensylvannia. He lost his father at 11, his mother at 13. As a star running back for Iowa, he was also prominent in anti-segregation activities. He then went on to coach at Northwestern University in 1981, where he was the second African-American coach in division 1-A history. His trailblazing path took him to his pinnacle in 1992 as the second African-American head coach of the modern NFL as coach of the Vikings. In 1998, his Vikings achieved a 15-1 record, one of only 4 teams in NFL history to win that many regular season games.
If Dennis Green is a winner, he’s also much more. His website, dennisgreen.com, reveals a man of simple tastes and solid principles. Of course, the background is green, first off; and his personal statement starts off by imparting his “5 F’s”: Faith, Family, Friends, Football, and Fishing. It is also revealing of his folksy business ethos: he’s sells personal products, such as a fishing instruction DVD (featuring himself) and the aformentioned caps; but he also sells “consulting services” through his umbrella company, Greenlight Sports Marketing. And of course, it’s fused nicely with a committment to community work in the inner cities.
A sign that Dennis Green’s strategy of putting the donkey before the carriage is working came just a few days ago. On October 20th a group of San Diego State college students named Green a teacher at their university. He will teach BA 703 – Strategic Management in SDSU’s Sports Business Management Program. There is no doubt in my mind that his name came up because of his recent pop appeal. Once again, more evidence that in this media driven world–if you want to say a lot–say a few iconic words first.
Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Dennis Green, Football Rant, NFL
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