Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Stay Classy, San Francisco

On the other hand, you can't spell SUFFERING without SF

Look, I know that losing a conference championship game, at home, to the upstart New York Giants, when you were favored to win, is not an easy pill to swallow. That said, are death threats really the right vehicle for your frustrations?

Chicago White Sox general manager Kenny Williams questioned the "culture of sports" after his son Kyle received death threats on social media outlets following Sunday's NFC Championship Game.

Williams' son is the San Francisco 49ers wide receiver and kick returner who made two glaring miscues late in Sunday's game that helped the New York Giants advance to the Super Bowl.

Kenny Williams also said that his son was playing with an injured left shoulder Sunday, an injury that happened in the third quarter. Kenny Williams added that his family does not make excuses and did not blame his son's miscues on the injury.

Injury or not, some people were apparently outraged enough to wish harm to Kyle Williams after his two turnovers, the second of which led directly to the Giants' game-winning field goal.

One early threat, via Twitter, wished harm on Kyle Williams' wife and child. He is single with no children.

"I'm used to the years of criticism and threats on my life from time to time, but I have to hear about threats on your son's life while you're watching TV and it certainly makes you question our culture of sports as it stands," Kenny Williams said.

For his part, Kyle Williams said Monday he takes full responsibility for the fumble, calling the moment "painful." And Williams' teammates are on his side, too, along with others from around the NFL who have called in support after San Francisco's season ended.

He insisted it's part of his job to face the criticism in the aftermath of his mistakes and not hide out in a difficult time. Perhaps that will go a little way in calming down the angry fans, some of whom wished harm on Williams and his family after the gaffes.

"It's one of those things you have to take accountability for," Williams said. "Everybody is responsible for what they do on the field. It's something that I was responsible for and I made a mistake and it's time to own up to it and move forward."

Perhaps converting a third down here or there might have contributed to the loss? I'm just saying.

(Oh, and SF had 110 fans ejected from Candlestick Park.. That was twice as many as the prior game against the Saints, and this time, included a man with a two-year-old in tow, threatening an officer.)

photo: Michael Macor / The Comical

6 comments:

Franklin Stubbs said...

The bay area sports fan does have a special place in my black, villainous heart, but let's be clear. I don't care which fans are doing it (and we in LA have at least our fair share of assholes), don't threaten people over sports. This is supposed to be fun, remember?

Jason said...

Nor can you spell insufferable with out SF.

Of course, SAN FRANCISCO is also the symbol for CRASS FAN ICON.

Anonymous said...

Man did the Niners suck on third down?

https://twitter.com/#!/JesRey7/status/161282596888780800

DanGarion said...

I know we talk the talk of the Dodgers here and everything, but this pretty much is the pot calling the kettle black.

Look there are idiots in all walks of life and all fanbases. Some of those idiots kill people because they are fans of enemy, others sometimes give death threats to players because their team lose.

LA/SF, regardless it's wrong.

Don't be a douche.

Voicedude said...

San Francisco fans should maybe blame THEMSELVES more than their team: After all, what kind of karma do you expect after BOOING your way through our National Anthem! And people complained about Steven Tyler...

Hideo Nomo said...

For the record, you can't spell "FUMBLES" or "MUFFED PUNTS" without SF.