Given something to cheer about, St. Louis fans can rock a stadium with the best of ‘em.
But evidently, folks like Richie Incognito seem to think it’s fans’ job to cheer blindly – even for a mediocre team.
Incognito, a burly offensive lineman for the Rams came out recently with some harsh criticism for Rams fans. He said he welcomed a stadium half-full of Bears fans this Sunday because at least there would be SOME noise.
Now, I’m not one to pick a fight with somebody capable of making minced meat of me, but we do have to say this to Mr. Incognito:
Oh, shut up.
I can’t speak for Rams fans, but from here, it looks as if Richie Rich is misplacing blame.
But that’s becoming par for the course for some members of this team, most of whom can’t remember the Greatest Show on Turf days when the Trans World Dome – a.k.a. The Ed – was the noisiest place in the NFL. Of course, there were reasons to cheer back then.
All those victories from Warner, Faulk and Co. were admittedly the main reason for much of the noise, but the fans also saw that the team gave a damn and showed it on the field.
Of course, nobody’s around from the pre-glory days, when the on-field antics were nearly as frustrating as they are now.
Tony Banks? Lawrence Phillips? Wow, just think back to those gory days.
The early years didn’t produce many victories, but fans packed Busch Stadium and later the new dome. The return of the NFL to St. Louis was part of the reason for the early excitement, but the fans remained and supported the team – win or lose. They saw something in those teams that seems to be missing from this group of male horned sheep – intestinal fortitude.
Oh, some of them get all cranked up after they make a downfield tackle following a 20-yard gain by the opposition. They might be trailing by 20 points, but they thump their chests like Tarzan and wave for the fans to cheer.
But that’s high-school stuff – we’re not interested.
So please, Richie and Steven, et al:
St. Louis fans know when you’re trying and when you’re not. Quit the jaw jacking and play.

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month – Veterans Day. It used to be Armistice Day back when my parents were kids. It marked the end of the war to end all wars, World War I. We’ve had a few more wars that didn’t end any wars since that time, thus the name change.
For people like me, lucky enough to be born in between those various and sundry conflicts, Veterans Day is a good day to look back.
Call it an early Thanksgiving Day.
If it weren’t for people – ordinary people – like my dad for instance, I probably wouldn’t have had the chance to become what I am today. And what I am, besides extremely fortunate, is someone who gets paid for watching sports and writing about them. There’s a little more to it than that, of course, but when push comes to shove, sportswriting is a pretty good gig.
Ernest Hayes was my dad. My dad was just a kid when he went off to war in 1942. He went to exotic places like India and Burma and saw things he never wanted to talk about when it was all over.
He was an ordinary kid who came back an extraordinary man. And all he wanted to do when he returned was get back to a normal life. He and my mom were separated nearly three years. While he was away, mom grew too. Like thousands of couples in that era, they lived with less, were happy with what they had and when they raised their kids, they made sure we understood what had happened before us, all the time making sure we had more.
Indeed the greatest generation.
I recently saw a sobering statistic. There are just about as many veterans of World War II still alive as there are from the Korean Conflict and Desert Storm. There are more than three times as many Vietnam vets alive today. World War II veterans are our elderly now and it won’t be long until they are no more.
As a kid, I remember seeing World War I veterans and thinking how ancient they were. Our own dads who had fought in WWII were young, vibrant and on top of the world then.
I consider being born in 1955 to be a great stroke of luck as well. That same year, such great innovations as Crest toothpaste, Captain Kangaroo and Disneyland were born. We were the first generation of kids with a TV set in nearly every home. And back when Illinois raised the drinking age to 19, it happened to be the year I turned 19. By the time it was raised again, I was 21.
And then there was the draft.
The timing was so that when the military draft rolled around for me in 1973, it had been donwngraded to standby status. I had a card and a number, but the draft was inactive as President Nixon phased out our commitment in Vietnam.
But as lucky as I felt as an 18-year-old, I have since realized my greatest stroke of luck was to be an offspring of that great generation – the one that transformed our nation. They defeated fascism and then returned to their ordinary, everyday lives.
Because of them, some of us can earn a living telling people about people playing games.
Thanks dad – and all the other veterans.
I only wish I’d said it more when you were with us.

With this week’s elections, and what with President-elect Obama putting his team together, I started thinking what how some of the area high school coaches I’ve known through the years would do as government officials. Let’s start with …

PRESIDENT: Wouldn’t the late-great Charlie Raich have been a good choice for commander-in-chief? His aw-shucks demeanor would put any enemy at ease, but his steel-eyed fortitude would do us well, in peace or otherwise, don’t ya think?

VICE PRESIDENT: Another late, great one, former Granite City South assistant soccer coach Mel Bunting. Mel was the quintessential backup guy, always there for his boss and willing to take the heat. And you couldn’t find a more loyal friend.

SECRETARY OF STATE: This one’s easy – Edwardsville soccer coach Mark Heiderscheid. His way with words and his way of dissecting every situation to the inth degree would serve us well.

SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Another soccer guy – former Granite City South great Gene Baker. He could rally the troops; prepare his teams for any task at hand. And boy, could he bait refs. I can hear him now, “C’mon Mr. President – pretend it’s a REAL conflict!”

HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Greg Moats, the former boss of the EA-WR boys basketball team, is now the superintendent of the Belleville Township High School District 201. He knows a thing or two about mapping out a strategy and sticking to it. And patience? Hoo doggies – he’s loaded with it. Just keep the loaded Pepsi cans out of his reach if there’s a nasty House floor battle going on.

SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Lori Blade, the Edwardsville girls basketball and softball coach, can perform her duties like no other. She’s a hands-on leader and keeps a close eye on her players. She can also look at the big picture and anticipate what must be done now, next week or two months from now.

SENATE MINORITY LEADER: Mr. Gregory Nasello, soccer coach at Alton High. If the minority needs firing up – this guy can do it. He can adjust to the situation as needed as evidenced by his ability to coach both boys and girls teams at AHS, as well as teach Biology at Lewis and Clark Community College. His diversity would be a strong suit. But remember to keep some sedatives handy in the Senate cloak room.

SPECIAL ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT: Mount Olive’s venerable football coach Don Dobrino is a clear choice for this one. It would be like President Obama getting President Truman to sit in on Cabinet meetings.
Do you have some ideas for our imaginary government? Send them in – and have fun with it. Just no lame ducks please.