Antiweis Superstar: How Todd Haley is becoming the new Marilyn Manson

Note: this article is lengthy and requires the reader to learn a little bit about a non-sports subject to get the overall point. If you'd like to skip straight to the sports stuff, just scroll down past the dotted lines and you'll see it. But I highly suggest you read the entire thing.

I have been a Chiefs fan since the day I was born. Every year, I follow the team like a hawk, spending so much time dissecting every little aspect of the game that I question my sanity. But this year is different. The Todd Haley Era is confusing me. It wasn't until I pulled myself away from football and delved into some of my other interests that I encountered a possible explanation.

That other interest was Marilyn Manson.

I am a huge Manson fan. Put aside for a second what you think you know about the man or the band. I'm sure images of Satanism and kids in makeup come to mind, but understand that Marilyn Manson - or Brian Warner, as his mother named him - is what I consider a musical genius.

The Reflecting God

His finest album, Antichrist Superstar, is a misunderstood masterpiece. I have always felt that ACS was a concept album chronicling the life of a weak, timid person who becomes a famous rock star who believes in too much of his power. This also happens to be the exact same concept of Pink Floyd's The Wall. That, by itself, is probably more thought than most people put into Manson's records. But then I came across an article that took it further.*

*For in-depth look into Antichrist Superstar, read this essay by Paula O'Keefe.

On Manson's official message board, someone had posted an essay by Jeff Cohn, which is a kind of conspiracy theory behind the singer's motives.

In short, (but I'd ask you to read the whole thing), Cohn suggests that the band Marilyn Manson has been, well, made up. The claim is, that from its inception, that every album, song and lyric Manson has written has been just a clue pointing to some greater point.

Marilyn has woven a complicated web of clues to catch him...we must all be forensic psychologist’s now. This is our “Seven” our “Silence of the Lambs” (One of Marilyn’s all time fav. movies) . We as fans must all continue to question everything and think deeper than the obvious surface level.

At first glance, this seems nearly impossible. It reminds me of claims that Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon was written to coincide with The Wizard Of Oz.* To achieve something so great - in this case, starting a band and writing songs to become one puzzle piece at a time that would take the highest amount of fame to work - just sounds crazy to imagine. But perhaps many artists have tried this very thing, but only Manson has been able to reach the highest point of popularity necessary to make it work. Maybe, instead being the only one to try this and it working at first strike, he is just one out of a thousand, and was the only one to be successful.

*Don't think I haven't noticed the parallels between Manson and Floyd. The same themes seem to occur in both bands, which may point to Cohn being closer to the truth than one might be comfortable with.

Mister Superstar

The idea that an art form, or an entire life, might be one that was preconceived and then actually achieved isn't an idea that a person can just accept. This makes the listener accept two things. One, that somebody can actually morph the perceptions of others to what that artist wants you to think is real, and two, that you are one of those people.

This takes a level of belief in one's self and belief that others will allow you to go on long enough to make the dream happen that is unrealistic to most. When it comes to Manson, he needed to make non-music that posed as actual rock and roll to start his puzzle, if Cohn's theory is correct. But that also had to be good enough to get him to where he needed to be, which is rock stardom. It's extremely hard to make good music, but to make good music that actually isn't music at all? Manson would have to be in the top 1% of musical minds to achieve this.

Then he would need to catch all the breaks (grab an AR man's attention, get airplay, etc.), or else this is just crap music that nobody ever hears. Again, it is entirely possible that Manson is just one out of many who has tried this, but only he has achieved it. But the master planning involved is mind-blowing. It takes a great leap of faith to acknowledge.

But it is fun to imagine that somebody out there had what it takes to create this. It's what has always drawn me to Marilyn Manson's music. So what does this have to do with sports, and specifically, the Chiefs? Please allow me to explain.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Beautiful People

All was going right in Kansas City. The Chiefs were winning. The running game was on fire, the defense was playing well, special teams was flourishing. In the back of everybody's mind was the thought, "Why isn't Jamaal Charles getting the ball?" But we suppressed that thought. After all, you don't change a winning formula.

Even with losses to the Colts and Texans, and a near disaster to the Bills, the 5-2 Chiefs couldn't be questioned. This was a team that was expected to do nothing and be nothing, and yet here they were, controlling their division and their own destiny.

But then Sunday happened. The Raiders happened. A 15 penalty, 3 turnover debacle that most NFL teams would've put away at halftime. The Chiefs, however couldn't put it away. They gave the ball to their average-at-best quarterback rather than their 5.3 yards-per-carry superstar. It didn't make any sense.

So the question is: why? Why try to feature your limited quarterback and not the one guy who has proved to be the best player on the team?

Perhaps Todd Haley is putting together the pieces of a puzzle that we don't quite yet understand.

Man That You Fear

The theory, as far as I know, was first proposed by sports radio host Nick Wright here in Kansas City; that Haley and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis are consciously trying to convince people that quarterback Matt Cassel is better than everybody thinks he his. The idea is that Haley and Weis are purposely "highlighting" Cassel during regular season games. This basically means that the coaching staff is going away from the best game plan possible. The reasons for this can be only one of two things:

1. Haley and Weis are so stubborn, that they rather die with swordplay rather than bust out their guns.

2. They are giving Cassel meaningful reps to help build his talent and confidence, even if that means losing meaningful games.

Now think: there are only 32 human beings on the entire planet who are NFL head coaches. Would one of them risk losing his job just out of pure pride and stubbornness? Insane as it sounds, it actually makes more sense that one of them has devised such a complex plan that he truly believes in - a plan that includes wasting a possible playoff season to build towards a grander goal.

It's the same creation of illusion that, theoretically, Manson has built. The idea here is that the team is not ready for Super Bowl contention just yet, so it's better to let Cassel have real-game experience of shouldering the load, while at the same time limiting Jamaal Charles' touches to save him from injury. The crazy thing about it is that in these times coaches are expendable and you must have total faith that this plan will work, and work quickly.

So the question becomes. do you have the patience and faith that Haley, Weis and general manager Scott Pioli can pull this thing off?

Irresponsible Hate Anthem

Of course, there is the argument that everyone on Twitter has been sending my way: it is what it is. Thomas Jones is just more dependable, audibles are being called for passes because of defensive looks, etc. And that is entirely possible. But Charles has been limited the entire season, and when he does get the ball, he explodes. The only way that in-game strategy could be at fault would be that if Haley and Weis knew the exact times when the defense wasn't expecting Charles, which is completely false. There is obviously a premeditated strategy here, right?

That kind of out-of-the-box thinking is rare and dangerous in today's NFL. It also points to a thousand-point-plan that can't be trusted with today's media scrutiny. To take it back to Manson, would his low quality "Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids", and it's lack of popularity, give him the chance he needed in today's iTunes-heavy, single-oriented music landscape?

Of course not. But this is the same kind of deceit and faith that Haley and Company seem to be operating on. But you have to believe that these kind of men exist; men that are so self-confident that they dare to change the way the game is played solely because they have a vision.

I'm willing to accept that Marilyn Manson was this kind of person, and so too is Todd Haley. I can let go of what I think I know about the entertainers that are in front of me. After all, isn't the belief that great, visionary men are amongst us that keeps life interesting?

If this is just imaginary, and Haley really is just stubborn, then so be it. But I will now watch the Chiefs as I listen to Manson's music; an experience that I can draw my own interpretations to, letting me better understand the world I'm living in. After all, that is basically the point of entertainment, and sports is entertainment.

The Chiefs are my new Marilyn Manson, And just like the singer, I'm sure everybody will hate me and ridicule me for being a fan. So be it.

Rock on, Todd Haley.

read more...

The Illusion of Caring

Every Christmas, there is a unique sociology experiment that I think everybody should partake in. Go to a Wal-Mart, stand outside, and watch the creative ways in which people try to ignore the Salvation Army workers. Some will pull out their cell phones, acting like they are checking a message. Some will spark up a conversation with whoever is accompanying them. We all have our strategies.

Yet, if confronted individually, every one of them would say that they cared about charities, and the Salvation Army specifically. And in their heart of hearts, they would truly believe that. Even if shown a video of them blowing off a SA volunteer, most people would make up some kind of excuse, and go on believing they are a caring person.

This is pretty much the behavior of the average NFL fan.

Joe Sports Fan would lead you to believe that he cares about football players. He'll tell you that he's against helmet-to-helmet contact and "illegal hits". He'll tell you that the players need more protection. And in his heart of hearts, he believes this. But Joe Sports Fan has been blowing off the brutality of the NFL for years.

Every football fan knows, and had always known, that the game ruins its players. We've heard story after story about Player X being diagnosed with dementia at age 45, or how the every day blows an offensive linemen endures takes twenty years off his life. This is not news. Anyone who watched just one football game in their life could understand the severity of the violence taking place.

Yet, we all watched. And we paid. And we cheered. While news leaked out about how the NFL basically discards its former players and their health, we screamed about how something should be done, and then continued to tune in to watch current players getting their brains mashed in. When a player went down with his third concussion in six weeks, knowing that those injuries will haunt him for the rest of his life, we responded with concern and teary eyes - that is, until the medical staff scraped him off the field and the next play began.

Fact is, football fans rank entertainment over the well-being of the players. 99% of fans kept paying the NFL and supporting the game even as guys got bigger, stronger and faster. The violence was never bloody enough for us to put down our foam fingers or sell off our fantasy teams.

But now Roger Goodell and the NFL say that the game needs to be safer; that it's worth taking away some of the most exciting plays of the game to help the players. Just about everybody is in agreement with this. They care about safety too, they say. They care about the players.

Because if they really did care, what they are admitting is that their own trivial entertainment is more important then something they feel deeply and emotionally about. And this might be true for some. Some people might actually wince and get a sick feeling in their stomach when there's a brutal hit. At best, these people just have extremely screwed up priorities. The kind that put their car or boat ahead of their own children, which we usually agree is a type of horrible human being.

I feel that most fans fall into a different group. Most people never think about injuries or overall health of athletes until it is presented to them. They are the Salvation Army ignorers. They watch with tunnel-vision; never able to see past what is on their screen or what they are already looking for. Football is always about the game, nothing more. Injuries are a part of that game.

To sit there watching and holding the knowledge that what it is you are seeing will eventually end the lives of the athletes, is in and of itself an unmoral, primitive thing. To enjoy something that is so violent is nearly evil. And to say afterwards that you care about the lives being ruined on the field is wholly dishonest, and in a way more unmoral and evil than admitting that you are unmoved at all.

If video of me at Wal-Mart ever surfaces, you'll see this: someone who just walks past the volunteer like he doesn't exist. If presented with a documentary or still photos of those in need, the human emotion in me would probably break down and give a little something. But that isn't the real me. That is a version of me reacting to guilt.

I don't feel guilty about liking big hits, because I don't pretend to care about those who suffer the blows. And for three hours (or six, or nine) on Sundays, I walk right pass the sad reality to enjoy some cheap entertainment. I'm okay with this, because I never concern myself with issues like morality, or more accurately, what definition of morality society has designed for me.

But you do. So you care. At least, you care when someone is watching. I say let us that truly enjoy the game for what it is have the game that we grew up watching. If you want safety, you need to move on to a safer form of entertainment. Don't let your guilt drag the rest of us down with you.

read more...

NCAA, Inc.

"Reality doesn't bite, rather our perception of reality bites" - Anthony J. D'Angelo

I've never been comfortable when people talk of concussions in the NFL. I'm alright when they wheel out ex-players or show a crime scene when some athlete with brain damage murders his entire family. But I squirm when some fan or writer stands on his soapbox and declares how the violence of football must stop.

After all, we knew that football is violent and destroys the bodies and minds of its players. But we set that reality aside because, well, it's not something we like to think about, just like we don't think of African miners whenever we buy a diamond at Zales. We lie to ourselves so we can enjoy our simple pleasures.

I am always conscious of these things. When I see a big hit, part of the satisfaction is knowing the guy might be carted off. This might make me sick and depraved to most, but it also makes me honest. Football players are our gladiators, and all I want is blood.

So earlier this week when Sports Illustrated came out with an article revealing the secrets of sports agents, it didn't surprise me when everybody in the sports world acted shocked. Former agent Josh Luchs spilled the beans about agents routinely paying NCAA athletes. As if that's something we all didn't figure was happening anyways.

We just didn't talk about it, because well, it got in the way of us enjoying our perceived reality of collegiate sports. Football can't mean as much is it's rigged and dirty. The dirt is what killed boxing in this country.

But now it's out in the open, so we put up a front of ignorance. We all know this is the way the world works. Those with the money wheel and deal behind the scenes to get what they want. It's politics. It's business. It's the reason why the BCS still exists even though nobody likes it.

The innocence and charm of amateur sports is gone. ESPN shows high school football and little league baseball and break them down like they're pro athletes. Sports at all levels are big business. We either accept this as fact and move on or keep pretending it's not happening and meet boxing's fate.

I know this is the last thing we want to face. The fear of violence is hurting the NFL right now, but there is no turning back. The cat is out of the bag. Personally, I care about the sport and the players can be getting under the table deals or Nike endorsements, doesn't really matter. But you do, or at least you say you do. Just pick one, and stop acting like a child who just learned that Santa isn't real.

read more...

Review: One Night in Vegas

I've been constantly impressed by ESPN's "30 for 30" documentary series, even if it was conceived by someone who I think is flailing artistically.* But it has been mostly entertaining and thought-provoking. When I heard there was going to be an episode about the night Tupac was shot, and the parallels between the rapper and Mike Tyson, my DVR couldn't be set fast enough.

*Two things here. First, Bill Simmons has been an idol of mine and is the reason I got into sports writing, along with Hunter S. Thompson. I still read him and enjoy his columns. But my second thought is that he has given up and been generally lazy since becoming semi-famous. He has replaced columns with podcasts, and lost a ton of respect from me since I learned that he blocks anyone on Twitter that says anything remotely bad about him. I'm not bitter, I just disagree with the thought process there. The only other person I know that does this is Jason Whitlock. I fear for Simmons' career.

I was very excited for "One Night In Vegas". Gauging from the other docs, I was ready for some inside info and details I never knew about concerning Tupac's death.

None of that was there.

Basically, "One Night In Vegas" was nothing more than stylistic masturbation, trying hard as hell to force the white audience to accept as many urban stereotypes as possible. Testimonials from leaders in the black community such as Maya Angelou and Michael Eric Dyson served little purpose other than to shout "THIS IS ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE". Same was the reasoning for interrupting the story with less-than-impressive "poets", who evoked images of auction blocks during Def Poetry-esque rants that brought nothing to the narrative at all.

I know a lot of these "30 for 30" episodes are about posturing and embellishment (such as last week's "Little Big Men", who tried to persuade us that Little League baseball saved America in the 80s), but damn. Anyone who has ever been remotely interested in Tupac* knows all of the facts presented here. What was the point?

*As someone who doesn't listen to a lot of rap, Tupac has always been my favorite artist. I completely buy into the fact that he was a misguided and misunderstood philosopher of sorts. I also believe he was an extremely important figure in black culture at the time. But not everything written or filmed about him is as deep as the man himself.

There is no point, as I can see. The film spent most of its allotted hour explaining to us who Tupac and Tyson were (again, proving that this was directed towards a white audience). The night of importance was merely a fact getting in the way of the director's intention: shoving Tupac and Tyson's culture in the face of ESPN viewers.

This was a disservice. I would love to know more about what happened that night, more about the feuds between Death Row Records and gangs, and how it all came crashing down on that fateful night. But this film wasn't about that. This film wasn't about anything.

read more...

You Don't Know What You Think You Know

When I graduated high school, I made it a point to become as politically involved as possible. I joined a political message board (dude, I was 18, give me a break) and talked about campaigns, war and everything under Washington's sun all day long. Eventually, I became a moderator on the site and spent every waking minute discussing and researching what I believed to be important issues.

Except I wasn't. As I delved deeper into the political arena, I realized that everything important happens behind closed doors. Everything. And they stay behind those doors forever.

Of course, there are those Watergate moments that make the common person believe that injustices within politics eventually see the light of day, but those are rare occurrences. In fact, conspiracy theorists might say that scandals are leaked on purpose to give citizens that exact feeling of security. Believe what you will.

I'm no conspiracy theorist, but I do know one thing for sure: wherever there is money and power, there is a whole lot of dirty shit going on that you will likely never know about. And here's another thing I know: there is a lot of money and power in collegiate sports.

I am never surprised when I hear of some behind-the-scenes scandal regarding the NCAA. Reggie Bush receiving gifts is about as shocking as hearing another Senator got caught with his pants down. It happens, it's a part of the game. What does surprise me (but probably shouldn't, when you look at people's political knowledge), is the reactions from the fans.

When the Lew Perkins scandal broke out, you would think that the guy was apart of an assassination cover up based off the general amazement of commentators. It was simply inconceivable to Joe Sports Fan that a school's AD had overseen ticket fraud and accepted free exercise equipment. People who react this way are surely not into politics.

I, for one, would be shocked if this was the worst thing Perkins has over done. I am quite certain that the athletic departments at USC and Memphis are dirtier than we imagine, and the same goes for any school who has had big-money success in recent years. You simply do not gain that much money and power without leaving a trail of dead in your wake.

But so it goes, as we see nearly every month with Senator X or Governor Y who gets caught with illegal funds from lobbyists or whatever other scandal that finds its ways to newspapers. With the millions upon millions that get shoveled around in NCAA sports, you would be very naive to believe that the movers and shakers are nothing more than savvy businessmen with nothing to hide.

This is why I haven't paid much attention to the Lew Perkins or Reggie Bush story, because it's the same story the has been and will be told. I know these things go on every day, I just don't know the specifics. There is no knowledge to be gained from the details, only reputations and programs to destroy. If that's your idea of justice, go for it, lynch 'em. Just don't act like Perkins is a scumbag and not the norm, because you're wrong about that.

If you're reading this, more than likely you are a sports fan. You're not a political junkie with inside information. If this scandal surprised you at all, then you know less about the going-ons in the world than 18 year olds who frequent message boards.

Stick to Saturdays, stick to what you know.

read more...

Repeating History

If there is one thing left that baseball has going for it, then that one thing would surely be history. The NBA's past is violent and archaic compared to today's game. The NFL barely resembles the league it used to be, even as late as the 1980s. But baseball, by and large, is the same game now as it was in 1997 or 1897. Except, you know, that it isn't.

For some reason, Major League Baseball, its fans and sports writers as a whole, like to pretend that the Steroid Era didn't change anything; that with "The Year of the Pitcher" and the decline of Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire, the whole black period is behind us. As if somehow we can just slice that piece of baseball's history off like a tumor, and hope that it didn't spread to the rest of the body.

Which is why, I presume, there is outrage when you entertain the idea that Jose Bautista could be on steroids. It's unfair, they say. Just because he is having a career year doesn't mean he should be lumped into a group of cheaters in the 1990s.

But career years aren't usually defined by hitting 250% more home runs than your previous season high, which was 4 years ago, and it's only August. This stands out like a sore thumb. As did McGwire, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa stood out when they started murdering baseballs and breaking decade old records like it was old hat. Nobody stood up then to ask any questions. It's unfair, they said.

I'm not even suggesting that Bautista is using. But shouldn't we at least be asking the question? The reason the Steroid Era was allowed to thrive was because nobody would point out the obvious. I thought the lesson learned was to point out statistical anomalies so that this would never happen again.

Of course, you can't just flat out test the guy because he's smashing the ball. But we should look to next year. If he trends back towards his career average, then chalk it up to a fluke. But if he approaches 40 home runs again, and then again? Time to investigate.

Yes, it is unfair, but the Steroid Era is to blame. The game simply is not the same. Not yet, anyway. And until every sign and stench from that period is washed away, current players will have to suffer the consequences of their predecessors. Either that, or we turn a blind eye and repeat the tainted history that led us here.

Knowing baseball people, pretending like the game is fine is the likeliest of scenarios. They just better pray, and pray hard, that Jose Bautista is clean.

read more...

Contract Killers

I am pro-celebrity. While others stand around the water cooler making fun of Tom Cruise and Lindsey Lohan, I understand how they and other crazy famous people got that way. When gossipers proclaim their disgust when the rich and famous complain about, well, being rich and famous, I side with the faces I see on the magazines. I rarely ever bitch about those who have it all.

So when I cringe upon hearing guys like Darrelle Revis say they aren't making enough millions, it's not because I can't relate to disputing over two or four million dollars. It's because the simple fact that millions are on the table is what makes every decision in sports life or death. Getting rid of Revis would cripple the Jets, and he knows that. He holds all the leverage. Well, he would if there wasn't a lockout looming anyways.

Nothing makes this more clear than what's happening in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Last week I attended my first Chiefs training camp. I was pumped. If I was still sixteen, I might have even been stoked. There was little that could have happened that would drain my excitement. Except, of course, seeing Matt Cassel.

In a word, the Chiefs' #1 quarterback has been awful. He just doesn't look like a starting NFL quarterback. Since he was eighteen years old, the only time Cassel has looked good as a starter was when he was paired with the likes of Randy Moss and Wes Welker. Last year's struggles were mainly blamed on the team as a whole being bad. But with nobody near him, simply running drills, he looked like he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. If nobody knew who he was, not one person attending would've figured he was the de facto starter.

But we do know who he is, and most importantly, what he makes. He is the $63 million dollar man, and you don't let that much money rot on the bench, even if it helps your team.

The Oakland Raiders know this. They continually trotted out JaMarcus Russell, though it was obvious to everyone that he didn't belong on the field. But Russell was the Raiders' #1 pick, and they couldn't justify letting his contract sit. The result was an okay Raiders team being sent to the slaughter every week because the most important position was being occupied by a purple drank drinking bust. If everyone on the team made equal pay, or drastically less, then the decision to say "we screwed that pick up" could have been made.

And I fear Matt Cassel will be the Chiefs' JaMarcus Russell. At this point, Brodie Croyle is the far superior quarterback, but will play second fiddle because of all the money tied up in Cassel. The same goes with defensive lineman Tyson Jackson, who, excluding this year's rookies, is the 13th highest paid player in the league. If anyone has looked worse than Cassel, it's Jackson. But you don't sit the 13th highest paid player. Not even if he's horrible.

I could care less about holdouts and gold digging rookies. The players can get paid, so they do everything in their power to get paid more. I get it. What kills me is how much power that money gives players, and how it strips decisions from coaches. The 2010 Chiefs will be worse because of those two contracts, and there is nothing coach Todd Haley or anyone else can do about it. If he sits Cassel and Jackson, he may get fired. If he plays them and the team tanks, he could get fired as well, and we'll all think of him as a bad coach, when in reality he was doing all he could to win.

This is not sports, it's economics, and bad economics at that. It's also the way it will always be from here on out. I just hope Haley has the balls to play the best players, not the highest paid. But I'm not holding my breath.

read more...