Your favorite BLACK football players

[White Shogun]

I wanted to start this thread as a way of illustrating that I (and many
others here on castefootball) do not hate black football players and
think that they all blow compared to any given white football
player. I wrote a post along these lines in the thread comparing
Riggins and Bettis. I like Bettis, think he is a good running back, and
seems to be of good character. Other black players I like:



1) Daunte Culpepper. He had a remarkable season (39 TDs) that was
eclipsed by Manning's record setting year and the fact he plays for a
mediocre Vikings team.



2) The aforementioned Jerome Bettis.



3) Curtis Martin. Solid workhorse RB for years, class act.



4) Eddie George in his tenure with the Titans when they were still a winning team.



There are others but these four came to mind first.



There are a few players that I admit are good football players but whom
I cannot stand based on their character, Randy Moss and Terrell Owens
being the best examples.



Then there are players who might be admirable based on character but
IMO are overhyped, such as Donovan McNabb, who's chief criticism is
folding under pressure, the same criticism that might be said of Peyton
Manning.



And just so its not a black / white issue only, I like Dat Nguyen of
the Dallas Cowboys. Lets hear it for small undersized players with big
heart! I also like that Samoan guy who plays defense for the
Steelers, not even going to try and spell his name!

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Good thread White Shogun! My favorite black players in the NFL were
1. Thurmon Thomas-great guy who was a team player and cool to look up to. My favorite player period beginning in 1990.
2. Dennis Harrison-Very good lineman for the eagles in the late 70's-mid 80's. Never was a huge star, but a man I knew personally as a kid. He was a great Christian man who played his heart out. It was so cool to watch him on tv.
3. Lynn Swann-How can you not like this guy? He has a great personality and was unreal as a receiver.
4. Mean Joe Green-just an unreal player, period.
I could go on but we're having a bad storm and I think I'm gonna log off for a while.

 

[Bear-Arms]

I like who is ever on my team

 

[Guest]

i don,t like culpepper. didn,t he talk like a big shot and then be an indian giver to a young kid a couple of months ago? he has not class at all. he,s a loser in my book and should have had his face slapped. how about that guy that plays defense for green bay. kabeer gbjama bamalia or somthing. lol lol mark my words that he will end up in trouble sometime for domestic violence or something. remember isaid it ok? so far i think curtis martin is ok. alright?


t13 is out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Good point, Bear Arms! Me too.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Nice avatar Travis13!

 

[Don Wassall]

Col. Reb, looks like we have another son of the South on the board!


The Steelers of the 1970s were great to follow. Four championships in six years. When they were on they were the closest thing the NFL has ever had to an unbeatable team. What a thrillit was to have themasthe hometown team.


Emmitt Smith has always been a class act. Barry Sanders always acted like he'd been there before when he scored. Jerome Bettis is one of the good guys.


I've been playing fantasy football for a number of years and there are certain players that have helped me win championships that I always think fondly of. Knowing what we do about the Caste System doesn't mean we dislike blacks as individuals or as individual athletes.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Your right Don. We don't dislike anyone as a group. I hate the system that consistently discriminates against whites. That's all I hate. Now that the worst of the storm has passed, I guess I'll resume my list.
5. Walter Payton-A real old school player, to me anyways. He wore a Wilson helmet until he retired, years after the company quit making them. He was definitely a team player and was always a threat. It's a shame they gave the ball to "Oven" Perry instead of him in his last game though.
6. Barry Sanders- I admired him as being an unsung warrior. He did his job and let that speak for him.
7. Emmitt Smith- Even though I disliked all of the Johnson era Boys except Moose, I must admit I was a big fan of Emmitt, except for when he started wearing that stupid ear ring.
8. Roger Craig- Always liked him, maybe because he played with Joe, but he was good.
9. Tiki Barber- Seems like a class act from what I know about him. Kind of a new Sanders in his demeanor, and can run well too.
As you can see, I don't just look at on the field performance when I list some of my favorites. Personal attributes play a big part to me. I think they say more than their play does most of the time.

 

[bigunreal]

I love Curtis Martin. He is the most underrated black athlete of all
time, IMHO, considering where he stands in the record books, and the
fact that he has managed to go so unnoticed while playing most of his
career in New York. Johnnie Morton is a good guy; he is very articulate
and voluntarily had a bunch of tatoos removed a few years back because
he was concerned that they were sending the wrong message to kids.
Marvin Harrison- although I am troubled by the allegation that he
recently tried to choke a fan. That's very out of character for this
soft-spoken, extremely underrated WR. He's put up more consistent
numbers than any WR in modern times (and is on a pace to break Jerry
Rice's records), yet is still not considered in the same league with
obnoxious superstar peers like Randy Moss and Terrell Owens.



I especially admire those players who came from the worst backgrounds
imaginable and yet didn't turn to crime or even the clownish behavior
so prevalent in today's NFL. For instance, Curtis Martin was raised by
his grandmother, and came home from school while in high school and
found her dead from a drive-by shooting. Terrell Davis had a psycho
father. He described being told to sit down on the sofa, along with his
brothers, as his father told them not to flinch as he fired a gun just
over their heads. Daunte Culpepper may not be brilliant, but we have to
consider that he was born in prison. None of these guys have ever been
charged with a crime and they don't even engage in spoiled or
outlandish antics. It's hard to overcome the kind of childhoods they
experienced, and I certainly admire them.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Those are some very worthwhile thoughts bigunreal.

 

[kevin]

I like byron leftwich i think he is a very underated QB who knows how to win games.

 

[whiteCB]

Ozzie Newsome TE, Eric Turner SS, Frank Minnifield CB, Hanford Dixon CB, and Webster Slaughter WR. Man those mid-late 80s Cleveland Browns had some good teams 3 ACF Championship games 86', 87', 89'.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Yep, those Browns were Jerry Lawlers favorite team.

 

[SteveB]

My all time favorites:
Emmitt Smith - The guy was a work horse that would play hurt to help the team.
Barry Sanders - A great back and a great guy. I played against him in college and he was always a class act.
Thurman Thomas - A guy that could run and catch. I played against him in high school and always thought that he was a great back.
Eric Metcalf - Another guy I played against in college. Had great speed and moves until he got screwed by the system. He was 5'9" 175lb in college but was told he needed to bulk up to play in the pros. He put on 20 lbs after a couple of years in the league and never was the same player.
Darrell Green - Played forever in the pros and always had great speed.
Earl Campbell - Watched him growing up. A Texas legend.
Eric Dickerson - Another Texas legend.

 

[Guest]

WHITE SHOTGUN you said Culpepper threw for 39 touchdowns and was great but then you say Mcnabb chokes under pressure. First of all if Mcnabb actuall played the whole 16 games instead of 14 he would have probally thrrough for somewhere around 39 and i never seen Culpeper come through in the clutch. Mcnabb doesntchoke, ok he got tired in the super bowl but remember the play vs greenbay what was it 4th and 26 and he delivered. C'mon if ur going to praise Culpeper dont put down Mcnabb. Those 2 names shouldnt even be mentioned in the same sentence

 

[White Shogun]

Some good posts on here, guys.



I had never thought of Marvin Harrrison as underrated, but you're
right he doesn't get much pub compared to Moss and Owens. I
haven't heard any more about the choking incident, IMO "the jury" is
still out on that way, figuratively speaking.



Earl Campbell! How could I forget the sausage king! Great player, class act.



I didn't know that about Curtis Martin or about Culpepper being born in prison. Thanks for the info.



And of course Walter Payton and Barry Sanders. I'm not sure of
Robert Smith's race, either, but he was a helluva back once he was
through being injured

and a class act as well.



How' bout Art Monk? I have never heard anything derogatory about him either. Anyone?

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I remember Art. He was good, but I don't remember anything specific about his personality.

 

[white lightning]

Lynnn Swann,Herschel Walker,Eric Dickerson,Barry Sanders
and Jerome Bettis.That's a good start for now.

 

[bigunreal]

I forgot about Robert Smith. He was a very intelligent guy who stopped
playing at the peak of his game, foregoing more riches to become a
doctor. How many NFL players have done this?

 

[jaxvid]

How about Bo Jackson? He seemed like a nice guy and despite all the hype didn't appear to become as ass. I read an SI article recently with him and he seems to be living a nice quiet decent life.

 

[speedster]

Growing up as CFL fan as well the Hamilton Tiger-Cats had a RB by the name of Jimmy Edwards who was all-everything from '76 to '78.Long time Viking fans may remember him as he played there in '79 and led the NFL in kick-return average that year.In the NFL,I like the opposite of Don's team and that would be the Dallas Cowboys of the 70's.The Steelers were tough but in Super Bowl XIII they had the benefit of the officials which made them that much tougher to beat.My favourite black Cowboy player from that era is Drew Pearson.Mr.Clutch.True blue Drewski.When you needed a big play,he was the man.He once said that he could have a game where he might not have a catch,but if he threw a block that sprung a teammate for a big gainer,that was just as important.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I forgot about Bo Jackson. He was cool acting and an unbelievable talent. I will never forget wtaching him when I was a kid.

 

[Don Wassall]

Bo Jackson was so ridiculously overhyped by the media. He was the Michael Vick/LeBron James/Kordell Stewart of his time. That run where he knocks over Brian Bosworth is shown over and over and over again, as is a 95 yard TD run he had. Also, his long homerun to lead off the All Star game. He was not much as a baseball player and had a short NFL career due to injury.


It's nothing personal against him just as it's nothing personal against Tiger Woods and some of the other black athletes who are showered with corporate endorsements and endless puff pieces in the media to an absurd extent. I just can't root for them under those circumstances.

 

[Gary]

I wonder if this was a black site would the blacks even consider who there favorite white players were?Ever see a black kid walking the streets in a jersey with a white player on the back?I am not anti-black just very PRO WHITE!!!!

 

[White Shogun]

I wonder if this was a black site would the blacks even
consider who there favorite white players were?Ever see a black kid
walking the streets in a jersey with a white player on the back?I am
not anti-black just very PRO WHITE!!!!

Good point, Gary. Its a shame that we even have to break it down into
white / black players instead of simiply discussing the best players in
the game, period. But until the caste system comes down that isn't
possible.