BernieM on Rams Fans

**evil disco man** · #1 (**permalink**) -09-09-2006

Kudos to Sacram of The OH for collecting these gems from Bernie:

Quote:

Rams fans irritate me more than any other fan base in town... they seem to think that they know more than anyone in the media about the inner workings of the team and the stuff that really goes on at Rams Park.... they are especially hateful and personal in their criticisms.... they love to discredit media more than any fan base in town ... they are also very demanding about what should be written and when .... they also seem perfectly comfortable in dictating to Jim Thomas and Howard Balzer and others about how the team should be covered, and how, for example, the media should roll over and play dead and be bootlickers when Linehan tries to curtail access... all of that is fine, I suppose ... so I propose that these many experts among the Rams fan base quit their jobs and try to get a job writing a sports column or being a beatwriter, and they can show me and others how it's supposed to be done.... it's a shame because I love football and have been covering the NFL for 25 years. But these yahoos lessen my enthusiasm for writing about the sport.

--B

I suppose this is also more of an NFL / football thing than a St. Louis thing.... football fans are just plain nasty and insane compared to others. And they don't seem to be real discerning. Or smart. Example: I just received a batch of the most hateful e-mails you can imagine from Redskins fans, attacking me because Art Monk isn't in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. What these yahoos don't know is that I made an impassioned and thorough presentation on Monk's behalf in the last selection meeting. But these idiots want to attack everyone and be as hateful as possible -- even to their allies. All they are doing is hurting Monk's cause. I wish someone could get that message out to them.

For some reason, football taps into our worst instincts. I realize ALL St. Louis sports fans get p'oed at me on occasion, which is fine. But baseball fans generally will give you grief without getting personal -- and they are clearly the best as far as having a spirited but clean debate. Hockey fans are very passionate and I also admire their loyalty to the sport, which has brought few rewards. But Rams fans -- if I write something they don't like, they go immediately below the belt with cheap shots. They immediately get dirty. It's almost as if they're not intellectually capable of having a debate; it's much easier for these fools to talk about me being overweight or draw some little insulting cartoon about me.

Again, this is not true of all Rams fans. But the yahoo element among Rams fans are the worst around compared to baseball and hockey fans. Arrogance, hatefulness and stupidity make for a terrible combo.

And in all candor, I am much more enthusiastic about providing scoops and info for Cardinals fans as opposed to Rams fans. Because Cardinals fans at least seem to have a general level of respect for someone who is trying to let them know about what's going on. Not that they have to agree with what I am telling them -- but generally, they realize I'm on the inside and am in a position to know what's happening and at least take that into consideration.

Rams fans? They think they know more than I do. So when I've provided any mumber of great pieces of inside info -- from Martz and Warner having a fall out, to the political fights at Rams Park, to Warner losing some respect in the locker room, or Faulk not playing in 2006 but going into TV work instead (just four quick examples) -- I'm instantly savaged and attacked by people who tell me I'm wrong, making it up, lying, etc. And, of course, when they are proven 100 percent wrong, there's never an acnowledgement of that.

I'd much rather deal with the adults, so baseball fans get my extra effort.

--B

I like football and baseball the same.
I just don't enjoy writing football as much as I used to -- in part because of the audience I'm writing for.

--B

*UtterBlitz* · #2 (**permalink**) -09-09-2006

I think Bernie should write for a soap opera. That fits his style.

*r8rh8rmike* · #3 (**permalink**) -09-09-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by UtterBlitz

I think Bernie should write for a soap opera. That fits his style.

Very melodramatic indeed. For a guy who's been covering the NFL for over 25 years, you would think he'd be way past letting any fan criticism get to him. I don't hear Jim Thomas or Howard Balzer calling fans yahoos, idiots and fools or describing them with words like arrogance, hatefulness and stupidity. If writing about football causes him so much grief, maybe he should take a break from it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bernie

It's almost as if they're not intellectually capable of having a debate; it's much easier for these fools to talk about me being overweight or draw some little insulting cartoon about me.

If I'm not mistaken, he just insulted Av.

**laram0** · #4 (**permalink**) -09-09-2006

Hey this guy chose his career. If he can't take the heat get out of the kitchen. Maybe some one should send him a crying towel.

If he thinks the Rams fans are tough he should try writing for New York or Boston maybe that would open his tear filled eyes a little bit.

*Fat Pang* · #5 (**permalink**) -09-09-2006

(Now I would never expect Bernard to respond to this, or acknowledge that he even visits this site, but some of these comments have made me mighty suspicious that he's a visitor)

And so...............

Bernard,

The whole point was that you've tried to create controversy where none exists. You may well have drawn attention to the media access issue in a manner which got to the heart of the problem without involving excess collateral damage as it were.

The fact that you chose not to take this path, and on the eve of coach Linehan's inaugural season, and instead set the issue of media access within a soap opera of your own making is the reason why many have taken umbrage with you.

This is also a method that you've used in the past and so I for one have never been particularly appreciative of your journalism, which to me often contains a little too much "I" in it.

The story is not you Bernard, so please desist from these attempts to make it so. You may well find that if you did that people wouldn't have quite as much ammuntion with which to take aim at you. Swords, live by them and die by them, pick your poison.

Yee ha! (Is that what yahoo's say? I'm sure I have no idea)

Oh incidentally, I'd be quite happy to have a debate with you on any subject you might choose.

Regards,

Fat Pang (And I assure you Bernard there is no criticism intended in that signature)

*coy bacon* · #6 (**permalink**) -09-09-2006

Can anyone post a link to where the original story appeared?

**AvengerRam** · #7 (**permalink**) -09-09-2006

Funny thing is, there was a time I tried to debate him on a purely intellectual level. It went sort of like this:

Me: "I disagree with you and here's why [reasons provided]

Bernie: "Oh, you just want to hear that everything's perfect with the Rams."

Me: "That's not what I said at all. My problem with your analysis is [examples provided]"

Bernie: "You're banned from my forum."

*r8rh8rmike* · #8 (**permalink**) -09-09-2006

Av, I'm getting the impression he had a bigger problem with your "getting the scoop" cartoon than he did with your intellectual capabilities.

**AvengerRam** · #9 (**permalink**) -09-09-2006

He who laughs last...

*r8rh8rmike* · #10 (**permalink**) -09-09-2006

Look out Av, Bernie sounds like he's ready to go postal and if he knows about the "getting the scoop" cartoon, he knows where your going to be on Saturday and Sunday. Good thing you'll have an entourage!

**AvengerRam** · #11 (**permalink**) -09-09-2006

Well, I may not be in his weight class, but I suspect I could outrun him if need be.

*r8rh8rmike* · #12 (**permalink**) -09-09-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by AvengerRam

Well, I may not be in his weight class, but I suspect I could outrun him if need be.

Just stay close to Dez and make sure to get pictures if there are any confrontations.

**AvengerRam** · #13 (**permalink**) -09-09-2006

My camera doesn't have a wide-angle lens.

Oh! Low blow, Av. Bad Av! Bad bad bad Av!

Seriously, though... if Bernie hates Rams fans so much, maybe he should sell insurance instead. Heck, I could replace him. All I'd need is a computer and 15 spare minutes each week.

*r8rh8rmike* · #14 (**permalink**) -09-09-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by AvengerRam

My camera doesn't have a wide-angle lens.

That is funny! Probably won't amuse Bernie, but hey, when you lurk on a message board of hateful Rams fans, what do you expect??

*BobCarl* · #15 (**permalink**) -09-09-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by AvengerRam

your analysis ....

Bernie: "You're banned from my forum."

typical Boiney

he claims that he doesn't ban people that dissagree with him, but in reality he doesn't ban people that have a lower IQ than he has.

Boiney has been called out and proven wrong so many times and now it is fummy that he tries to blame Rams Fans for his lack of intelligence.