04/19/24
September 07, 2004
Wah wah wah!:
Brett Hull acts like a spoiled brat after being taken out of the lineup for the game against Slovakia on Friday, and has some choice words about hockey and the fans.
Brett Hull acting like a spolied knob? What next -- Sergei Federov liking underaged Russian chicks? Seriously, scratching Hull sent the right message to the rest of Team USA, even if Brett chose to be a little weiner. I have a great idea -- send his ass home. He doesn't want to play anyway, right?
posted by wfrazerjr at 10:13 AM on September 07, 2004
Don't worry, Canadian hockey fans have long been used to Brett Hull being a little weiner.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:35 AM on September 07, 2004
I got nothing against Hull. This was taken as an interview quote when in reality a reporter (Neil Stevens - Canadian Press, I believe) asked him if he would give an interview as he was coming off the ice after practice. So he was a little flippant - I believe that a guy who does as much charity work as he does actually does give a fuck about the fans. Maybe not right then, but usually. However, he played like shit in the opening games and deserved to be scratched.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 12:25 PM on September 07, 2004
If I ran the circus, both Brett Hull and Jeremy Roenick would be shoved into a rocketship and shot into space.
posted by Samsonov14 at 01:36 PM on September 07, 2004
I've never said anything stupid in the heat of the moment before, so I think Hull should get kicked off the team.
posted by garfield at 01:54 PM on September 07, 2004
I've been thinking recently that we, as fans, are probably naive in believing that our sporting heroes give a toss about us or the game. I don't know this guy and I'm thinking in particular of the EPL but most of the stars on the pitch probably just see the fans as a faceless horde who are an inconvenience at best of times and the game as something that just takes up time between shopping for new Porsches. Most of them have never been fans themselves. They've gone straight from childhood to the various academies and specialist schools and have never sat on our side of the fence watching the game. They don't understand us, all they know is that we're the suckers who pay their wages and shout their names.
posted by Pete at 03:07 PM on September 07, 2004
I don't know, Pete. I think I'd appreciate the people that make a stadium rock after I make a tremendous play. They'd make all the tortuous hours of training worth it. The money helps with that too, but I believe most people aren't solely out for the money. At the world class level in most major sports, players care about winning more than money.
posted by garfield at 03:35 PM on September 07, 2004
I've never said anything stupid in the heat of the moment before, so I think Hull should get kicked off the team. Heat of the moment? He was in approached by a reporter and asked about a previous statement, and how the fans might want an explanation/reasoning for what he said (since it was an unusual statement to make). If he said "I don't give a **** about what you [the reporter] think." or "**** off, get out of my face.", I'd think those would be understandable (but rude) responses. He'd be mad at the reporter (being the one posing the question and physically there) and lash out that way. But the line "I don't give a **** about the fans anymore." is going out of your way to insult someone who isn't even there. It's not like the fans were yelling at him during the question. And the "anymore" is quite telling as it implies that he once did care about the fans, but (for whatever reason) feels it's important to let them know he doesn't care now.
posted by grum@work at 04:32 PM on September 07, 2004
Dude - he didn't say "I don't give a fuck about the fans" as a response to the reporter saying "how do you feel about the fans?" - The reporter asked him if he'd like to do an interview, he replied "what do I have to say?". The reporter replied that 'the fans would probably like to know how you feel about (the scratch)' - then Hull dropped the 'fuck the fans' deal. So, if you want to get all terrible contexual about the whole thing before you tear down all your Hull posters and lament his fallen soul, then let's play fair. (Aside: Fox Sports is horrible. They get as close to accurate as a blind guy with a slingshot.) If you've interviewed hockey players before you know that getting them just off the ice after practice is both a good time to get at them when they're a little worn down, and a time when they tend not to want to stop and chat - because they're hot, tired and covered in sweat. Typically, many reporters will respect this and if requested, strike something from the record. Hull didn't, hence the story got out. So in closing - he ain't the first athlete to say that, he won't be the last, no one should be shocked considering the source, people should take it with a grain of salt and try to find something else to be pissed off about today.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 06:11 PM on September 07, 2004
Blind guy with a slingshot. That's awesome. Weedy, if you weren't all Canadian and stuff, I think we'd be friends. Anyway, Hull is a dick. Yeah, he might have been caught at a bad time, and I'm sure he's bothered by being scratched, but there's a difference between "no comment" and "fuck you guys". He should have stuck with "no comment". Shot into space. With no freeze dried ice cream, either.
posted by Samsonov14 at 11:25 AM on September 08, 2004
Non-issue. Guy is pissed off, says something stupid and meaningless. End.
posted by Succa at 11:46 AM on September 08, 2004
It's refreshing to hear a player speak the truth for once. --- Sarcastic, increasingly jaded, life-long fan of hockey. One wonders if tickets are selling like hot-cakes in Phoenix right about now.