New Orleans Saints Quiz (1967 – 2000): 1) Who was the team\’s
first coach? [Hint: He lasted about three and a half seasons.13-
34-2 record.] 2) Most TD, career? 3) Passing yards, season? 4)
Retired uniform #\’s; #31 and #81? Answers below.
William Faulkner
The other day I\’m reading a column in the Washington Post by
Jim Hoagland and he was discussing Kofi Annan\’s recent
acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize. In doing so,
Hoagland compared the impact of Annan\’s words, on the
sanctity and dignity of human life, to the acceptance speech
given by William Faulkner back in 1950, when Faulkner was
receiving his 1949 Nobel Prize for literature. Hoagland writes,
"Carrying the burdens of a bad cold, his deep southern accent
and perhaps a drink or two, Faulkner stood so far away from the
microphone that no one in the immediate audience understood a
word he said – or that they had just heard what would come to be
widely considered one of the 20th century\’s greatest statements
on the durability of the human spirit."
Well, I figured upon reading Hoagland\’s commentary I better
look up Faulkner\’s speech, so here it is, Dec. 10, 1950:
—
I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my
work – a life\’s work in the agony and sweat of the human spirit,
not for glory and least of all for profit, but to create out of the
materials of the human spirit something which did not exist
before. So this award is only mine in trust. It will not be
difficult to find a dedication for the money part of it
commensurate with the purpose and significance of its origin.
But I would like to do the same with the acclaim too, by using
this moment as a pinnacle from which I might be listened to by
the young men and women already dedicated to the same
anguish and travail, among whom is already that one who will
some day stand where I am standing.
Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long
sustained by now that we can even bear it. There are no longer
problems of the spirit. There is only the question: When will I be
blown up? Because of this, the young man or woman writing
today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict
with itself which alone can make good writing because only that
is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat.
He must learn them again. He must teach himself that the basest
of all things is to be afraid; and, teaching himself that, forget it
forever, leaving no room in his workshop for anything but the
old verities and truths of the heart, the universal truths lacking
which any story is ephemeral and doomed – love and honor and
pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice. Until he does so, he
labors under a curse. He writes not of love but of lust, of defeats
in which nobody loses anything of value, of victories without
hope and, worst of all, without pity or compassion. His griefs
grieve on no universal bones, leaving no scars. He writes not of
the heart but of the glands.
Until he learns these things, he will write as though he stood
among and watched the end of man. I decline to accept the end
of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply
because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has
clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tideless
in the last red and dying evening, that even then there will still be
one more sound: that of his puny inexhaustible voice, still
talking. I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not
merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he
alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he
has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and
endurance. The poet\’s, the writer\’s, duty is to write about these
things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart,
by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride
and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory
of his past. The poet\’s voice need not merely be the record of
man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure
and prevail.
—
Johnny Mac\’s Football Tidbits.Emlen Tunnell
Emlen Tunnell\’s whole career was one of "firsts." Undrafted out
of Iowa in 1948, he paid his way to New York for a tryout with
the Giants and ended up making the squad as their first black
player. Later he would become the NFL\’s first black assistant
coach, as well as the first black in the Hall of Fame. Tunnell
was also among the first defense-only stars, excelling in pass
coverage like no other before, and few after.
An immensely popular player with his teammates, Tunnell\’s
ready smile and cheerful demeanor belied a killer instinct when
the game began. Cat quick with great reactions, he would ball
hawk in the secondary, often cutting in front of receivers for one
of his then record 79 career interceptions (still second all-time
behind Paul Krause). His freelancing style allowed the Giants to
develop their famous "umbrella defense," where the linebackers
dropped back in coverage. This set the stage for today\’s zone
coverage.
But it might be as a punt returner where Tunnell was at his
dangerous best. Labeled "offense on defense," Emlen returned
258 punts, including three for touchdowns in 1951, and for his
career he amassed over 4,700 all-purpose yards (punt / kickoff
returns, as well as interception return yardage). A nine-time Pro
Bowl selection and two-time NFL champion in his 14 seasons,
Emlen Tunnell was a deserving selection to the Hall of Fame.
The Turner Prize
The other day Madonna caused a stir by using an obscenity
during a live broadcast for the Turner Prize award show. Now
the Turner Prize is awarded to Britain\’s leading contemporary
artist under the age of 50. And this year the top prize, and
$31,500, went to Martin Creed for his creation – a bare room
with flashing lights.
Well, to give Creed his proper due, the official title for his work
was "227: The lights going on and off," which was an empty
gallery whose ceiling lights flash at five-second intervals.
Brilliant.just brilliant, I say. [cough cough…hack hack
.water!]
The lead judge, Sir Nicholas Serota, praised its "strength, rigor,
wit and sensitivity to the site."
In the past, some of the unusual entries have included a soiled
bed and a pickled cow. This year, the finalists included the
installation of a dusty corridor scattered with discarded objects,
and a video which showcases two naked cowboys dancing down
a desert highway accompanied by three carnival-float beauty
queens. Personally, I\’m quite happy I missed this show, but I am
curious about the beauty queens. As for Madonna, well, you can
imagine she was quite embarrassed that she was there.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Boy, you can count me out for this year\’s show, as Tom Petty &
The Heartbreakers, Isaac Hayes, the Ramones and the Talking
Heads will be inducted as part of the Class of 2002. Now
granted, I do a mean "Take Me To The River," but you all know
where my interests mostly lie.with the 60s and early 70s. But
at least the 60s are represented by the selection of Brenda Lee
and Gene Pitney.
Now my local music reporter said that neither Lee nor Pitney
were major figures in the development of rock, but hell, all
Brenda Lee did was accumulate 19 Top 20 songs between 1960
and 1966 (including "I\’m Sorry" and "I Want To Be Wanted"),
while Pitney had some classic hits; "(The Man Who Shot)
Liberty Valance," "Only Love Can Break A Heart," and "It
Hurts To Be In Love." All in all, though, an incredibly weak
class. And Isaac Hayes? Oh, gimme a break. [Lynyrd Skynyrd
was a finalist, though they go hungry this year.]
Stuff
–Now here\’s a disgrace. The National Post of Canada reports
that an Ottawa peewee hockey team faces disciplinary action
because the 12-year-old players are wearing small Canadian and
American flag stickers on their helmets. All the kids were doing
was emulating the professionals who have been doing the same
since the events of 9/11. But the Canadian Hockey Association
considers it a violation of equipment rules. Now I have a hard
time believing this, but supposedly the adhesives on external
stickers may affect the strength of the plastic helmet, at least
that\’s what the bureaucrats are saying.
–An Oklahoma rancher is now using camels to fight weeds on
his ranch. Goats and llamas haven\’t worked, because dogs and
coyotes make sport of them, but camels don\’t suffer a similar
fate, and they eat almost anything. You see, boys and girls,
camels swallow their food without chewing, then regurgitate the
material and chew it in cud form. But they also have a mean
personality and like to spit.
–Congratulations to Ohio\’s Mount Union for winning its sixth
NCAA Div. III football crown since 1993, as the Purple Raiders
defeated Bridgewater (Va.), 30-27. Mount Union has won 82 of
its last 83 games.
–I was reading the piece on Dabney Coleman in this week\’s
Parade magazine and it\’s just an excuse to say this guy was the
best, particularly on the short-lived "Buffalo Bill" and "The Slap
Maxwell Story." [The former was his favorite, while he hated
the latter due to the grueling production schedule.] Yup, one of
the most underrated television actors of our time.
Top 3 songs for the week of 12/14/63: #1 "Dominique" (The
Singing Nun.embarrassingly, the editor\’s first \’45…I haven\’t
been the same since) #2 "Louie Louie" (The Kingsmen) #3
"Everybody" (Tommy Roe).
New Orleans Saints Quiz Answers: 1) First coach: Tom Fears.
2) TD, career: Dalton Hilliard, 53. [1986-93.Hilliard had 4,164
yards rushing and 249 receptions.] 3) Passing, season: Jim
Everett, 3,970 yards.1995. Everett had 34,837 yards for his
career, 203 TD – 175 INT.] 4) Retired #\’s: #31 – Jim Taylor.
#81 – Doug Atkins.
Next Bar Chat, Wednesday…toy stories.
