Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Kotz / Sports Chris Chelios: Nashville Fans "Hillybillyish"
Posted by Pete Kotz on Tue, Dec 9, 2008 at 5:27 AM
If you've ever seen hockey players interviewed, you know they follow country music's PR ethic: Speak softly, humbly, and never put on airs.
Unlike some football or basketball stars, who preen for attention like two-year-olds on the summit of potty training, hockey is the one sport where you'll never hear anyone speak of himself in the third person. This is in part due to the sport's roots in the rural north, where modesty is a virtue. And in part because hockey self-polices its ego.
That's why you'll never see a Terrell Owens on a hockey rink. If he were to whine like he does in the NFL, he would soon find a very large man named Boogaard punching him repeatedly in the face. And that's just the penalty from his own teammates. It is a crude but effective way in ensuring that everyone shows manners.
The downside is that hockey isn't a haven for intellects. We turn your attention now to one Chris Chelios, defenseman for the vaunted Detroit Red Wings. On a Detroit radio show, he had this to say about Nashville Predator fans:
"Yeah, they're hillbillyish.. I don't know what to say, hillbilly or country. They are a very emotional crowd, exciting crowd, loud, so it's actually a fun place to play on the road."
In Mr. Chelios' defense, he seems to be rendering a compliment, however inelegant. And under the Dayton Accords on Originality, you can't get too excited about a hillbilly insult. (The man does have a sense of humor, however. See above video with Samuel Jackson.) But the weird thing about this is Chelios lives in Detroit. Chamber of Commerce slogan: America's Biggest Shithole (Except for Maybe East St. Louis).
This is just a guess, but when you live in a city where the mayor's in jail, Halloween fun constitutes burning down the city's abundant supply of abandoned houses, and your principal form of subsistence (autos) is the most ineptly managed industry in the world, you probably shouldn't be casting stones elsewhere.
Comments (6)
Showing 1-6 of 6
I live in Nashville, I grew up in Detroit. I wouldn't cast stones because Nashville is a profoundly ugly city.
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Posted by
Ian M.
on December 9, 2008 at 11:03 AM
Did I just time travel back to April 2008 and the Preds are about to play the Wings in the playoffs. Must be a slow day in blog land.
Oh and Chelios is a sissy
Posted by
bob
on December 9, 2008 at 11:16 AM
Thanks for the video--brings back memories of youth hockey and some of the wacko coaches my son had. Jules had nothing on them.
Isn't Chelios doing Sonic commericals now? Could have sworn that was him.
Posted by
Maggie
on December 9, 2008 at 6:33 PM
"I live in Nashville, I grew up in Detroit. I wouldn't cast stones because Nashville is a profoundly ugly city."
So go back to Detroit, ya mook. We'll send ya a pack of weenies for Devil Night.
Posted by
Stan
on December 9, 2008 at 9:48 PM
