Very true. Its my opinion that the almighty 40 is the main tool used to build, and repair the brainwashing that is American football. They use that forty time anyway they need to. In all actuality what could be more useless in gauging football talent than running 40 yards in track shoes with no pads on?
Like dwid always says, many times white players simply have their times slowed down, and blacks have theirs sped up. The 40 is a huge problem, and I hate it with a vengeance. If a black guy runs a fast 40 they will bring up that fast time for a decade. Every time he drops a pass, blows a coverage, gets a stupid penalty, muffs a punt, or fumbles the commentator will remind us that he ran a 4.3 forty.
If a white guy runs a fast forty its ALWAYS discredited, or ignored. Ive never once heard mention of a white player being "blazing fast", or "the fastest guy on the field". They refer to our guys only as "sneaky fast", or "deceptive speed".
Matt Jones is a great example. The guy was the fastest guy on the field anytime he was out there, yet they tried to make him a tight end. He ran something ridiculous like a 4.38 or something in the almighty 40, but they never mentioned it. Their are dozens of other examples.