Mac Taylor for Callahan
Evan Padget
ticket to his dominance. Mac is the rare combination of size, speed,
and throws. While his dominance on the field is astounding, it is his
work ethic and leadership that make him the Callahan winner. Mac’s
commitment to his fitness, and his athleticism is unparalleled. Unlike
many ultimate players, it is his relentless dedication to the weight
room that makes Mac such an amazing athlete, not natural athleticism.
In addition, Mac has been a standout player on a Johnny Bravo team
that reached the finals, and semifinals over the past two seasons. Mac
was also one of only two current college players to be invited to try
out for Team USA.
The past two seasons Mamabird has had to cope with the loss of key
players such as Beau, Jolian, Martin, and Rabbit. We lost 8 players
from last years team, including 4 offensive starters. On top of that
our coach of the past 10+ seasons Catt Wilson, who literally built our
program, decided to retire. With a new coach, a new offensive system,
and a very young team, 2009 was a transitional year for Mamabird.
However, it was Mac’s leadership and determination that steered us
through the storm. Our 35-9 record, Centex championship, regional
championship, and likely top 4 seed at Nationals is a testament to the
exceptional leadership of Mac Taylor.
In my opinion the Callahan race is essentially a three-man race
between Stephen Presley, Will Neff, and Mac. (Based on the players
nominated currently) Presley seems to be the sexy pick right now after
gracing the cover of the UPA magazine, and earning Match Diesels
endorsement. While Presley is a great player, his talent has not
translated into wins for Texas. Texas actually had a losing record
(9-10) before sectionals and regionals. Against the UPA top 25 Texas
is 3-8, including a 13-8 loss to Colorado. Mac has lead Colorado to a
12-8 record against the UPA Top 25 including a win over #1 Carleton.
Neff is also a great player, and Michigan has had a strong season. In
our one game against Michigan, a 13-8 win, Mac was absolutely
brilliant. Neff simply was not fast enough to keep up with Mac, and
Mac was able to cut wherever he wanted on the field. In two head to
head match ups against Neff, and Presley the result was the same, a
13-8 to Colorado win. Neither team had an answer for Mac, and we were
able to cruise to easy victories.
As an outsider it may seem like just a normal season for Mamabird, a
successful season culminating with a trip to nationals. As a player on
the team, this season has been anything but normal. The departure of
Jolian and Martin is enough to make any team struggle. Couple that
with the departure of coach Catt Wilson and there were many questions
about the future of Mamabird. While it took a greater sense of
responsibility from every player involved, to ensure another
successful season, it was the leadership of Mac that really made the
transition smooth.
Finally, what is so exciting about Mac’s Callahan nomination is that
he is a candidate that the entire ultimate community can truly
embrace. He is the most dominant player in the country, playing for a
top team. More importantly, the sportsmanship and class that Mac
displays on the field makes him the clear choice for Callahan. Unlike,
several Callahan candidates in years past there is no controversy
surrounding his spirit or sportsmanship. There is not a player in the
country who does more for his team then Mac, and he does it all with
the class and sportsmanship of a true professional.
Evan
Colorado
MH
guy off it. He'd have my vote if I had one.
-Mike Houston
South RC '06-'08
MLC TD
Matt Gesner
We want a video!
Chicken
Work ethic. Unparalleled. Very few people can go to the gym with Mac,
do what he does, and walk the next day. At the west coast team USA
tryouts, he finished second in the 70 by .03 seconds. The only person
that beat him was Beau.
Mac is the best player in the college game. Period. Neff may equal his
throws, but he can't cover him. Pressley may equal his speed, but he
can't throw or jump like Mac. Foster may equal his athleticism, but he
isn't the field general or thrower that Mac is. He is the prototype of
the new player. His game is utterly complete. Dangerous everywhere,
staggeringly athletic, great throws, uncoverable speed. In ALL
categories relevant to winning (Speed, Cutting, Throws, Decisions,
Leadership, Defense), Mac is top 5. Easily.
To the spiritheads: you can't go wrong with any of Neff, Pressley,
Foster or Mac. They are all complete class acts. Competitors in pure
form. So you might as well vote for the best player. Which is Mac.
There is something to be said for the power of understatement. I've
never seen a player so good call so little attention to himself. Mac
leads by example as well or better than anyone that came before him on
Mamabird...which is saying something. Mamabird is finally a deep team
again. Their success this season is no accident. Everyone on the team
is shooting for the standard set by Mac.
I have never seen a young player so unaffected by the situation. Most
players (even experienced ones) get intimidated when playing a strong
opponent or being in front of a crowd. Mac's game DOES NOT CHANGE, no
matter the setting. Ubiquitously, the human momument is a cool hand
luke. He is just as much of a baller and just as confident when he is
covered by Nord in the club final as he is when he's covered by a plug
from metro state at sectionals.
Mac has everything you want in a callahan candidate, equal or superior
to any of his opponents. I have tremendous respect for the other
frontrunners as opponents and as competitors. I have played against
all of them extensively. They are ballers. No doubt.
On the playground, I would pick Mac first. Easily and without a second
thought.
Mac for Callahan,
-Chicken
Women's side: G-Bosch for callahan.
rp3
Foster is a great player, no question.
Steve is a great player, no question.
Will Neff is a great player, no question.
There are a bunch of qualified candidates out there this year, and
it's a tough choice between them.
Some information that might be helpful to you as you make your
decision: http://www.magnumultimate.com/willneff
-Ryan Purcell
magnUM Alum and current Asst. Coach
Pron
Strengths and weaknesses, Chicken. You're highlighting one aspect of
each player that compares unfavorably to Mac, but that's a two-way
street. I doubt Mac could cover Stevie. I doubt Mac could sky Will.
That's okay, he's better than them at other aspects. Which aspects are
more important? I don't know, it depends on the situation. If I'm
playing a team with strong downfield defense, give me Stevie's
breakmarks. If I'm playing a huck-and-hope team, give me Will's deep
D. If I'm playing a team with great handler d and marks, give me Mac.
These players are all different enough is style, but close enough in
talent, that such direct comparisons are somewhat unhelpful and prone
to incomplete reasoning.
Not that you shouldn't support your boy. I don't have a problem with
your conclusion that you'd pick Mac first. You just end up in the
woods a little when talking about the other dudes. I've covered Mac a
lot on Bravo, and he's one of the toughest covers in the game at any
level.
trtr...@gmail.com
I'm not sure who you are, or where your getting your absurd bias's
from, but you obviously have no idea what you’re talking about. I'd
put Mac against anyone in the game.
Mac can cover anyone in the game (aside from me, ha!). But saying you
wouldn't put someone as a deep defender who's probably the fastest
person in the college game right now and has one of the better reading
and jumping abilities in the game, is ridiculous. I've seen Mac sky
the best deep (beau, not Neff) and shut down the best under. I'm not
saying Neff isn't good, cause he is ridiculously good, but I'd put Mac
back there first. Especially if we’re talking he’s got to play O
after he gets the D.
As far as throws, Mac is a great thrower. Bravo relied heavily on his
ability to both break the mark and throw a consistent deep throw for
our O line. I can't comment a whole lot of either Neff or Stevie
beyond that, but I'm confidence in Mac's abilities is unparalleled
compared to any other player in college ultimate.
Chicken
to Mac in various aspects of the sport. Mac is equal or superior in
all categories to all the other frontrunners. Hence the prior phrase:
"Pressley may equal his speed, but he can't throw or jump like Mac."
Meaning that difficulty to cover being equal, speed being equal (which
I don't actually believe), Mac is much better at throwing and
jumping. The point is to say that while the other candidates may
equal Mac in some categories, they never best him. He ABSOLUTELY bests
them. In multiple categories. Out of the woods?
Mac can cover Stevie. I've seen it. Advantage Mac.
I don't know that I've ever seen Mac sky Will, but I have seen him sky
Nord. Again, I would bet on Mac. Have you seen him jump? Will's video
is good, but having seen both of them play and having covered both,
Mac floats more.
"Strong Downfield Defense"--like whom? NO ONE in the top teams that
have qualified for nationals has had an answer for Mac. Given the
records mentioned above, teams must have found a way to contain Will.
Mac ruins "strong" downfield defense. He appears to be unstoppable.
For defending the huck and hope, I take Mac b/c he can cover much more
ground than Will.
Mac's game has no weaknesses.
Thanks for supporting me in my support of Mac.
Mac for Callahan.
xc4...@hotmail.com
defensive end. In years past he often resorted to excessive poaching
and lackluster focus while playing D, relying on his athleticism to
make up for his poor positioning. This year he has been far more
committed to playing rock solid defense, always matching up against
the opposing team's best player, and applying the his athletic gifts
to dominate when the other team has the disc. It's difficult for many
offensive oriented players to recover from a disappointing turnover
and immediately bring fire and focus to getting the disc back for
their team, but Mac has done an exemplary job of working his ass off
after turnovers and making huge defensive plays when his team needs
them the most. I believe this is what separates him from the other
top nominees, and is an area of his game that is often overlooked.
dikin...@yahoo.com
and lay down some propaganda for your candidate. I'm looking at you
Ryan Purcell, coach of Michigan. It happens, but that doesn't make it
ok.
No one came on Neff's thread spoutin off about Mac.
Just sayin'
-dikear
btw Mac is the best player in college ultimate
Pron
to Mac in various aspects of the sport. Mac is equal or superior in
all categories to all the other frontrunners."
Chicken, just to be clear, you're saying that there are no -- as in
zero -- aspects of of Mac's game that another candidate can do better?
If your answer is yes, then I salute your optimism. Equal or superior
in ALL categories? Come on. Sorry, it doesn't kill your Callahan
chances not to be the best at every. single. thing. That kind of
hyperbole is what's wrong with this whole process. Can we just conduct
these threads without asking people to believe our favorite candidate
is cross-training to ascend into heaven?
There was never a reason to bring the other guys into this. It just
makes people have to speak up to avoid the appearance of tacit
agreement.
Ted, since you point out that you don't even know who I am, how would
you know what my biases are? Do you think I'm biased in favor of a
particular candidate, or just against Colorado in general?
Casey
> Can we just conduct these threads without asking
> people to believe our favorite candidate is cross-training
> to ascend into heaven?
Well done, Porn.. you clever bastard. You must work for the computer
hardware industry.
Evan Padget
was honored as the club sport athlete of the year. Mac was one of 10
finalists and beat out over 1500 athletes to win the award. This award
is the highest award that a club athlete can receive at CU, and Mac is
the first Ultimate player to ever win it.
Evan
Adam Tarr
> Chicken, just to be clear, you're saying that there are no -- as in
> zero -- aspects of of Mac's game that another candidate can do better?
> If your answer is yes, then I salute your optimism. Equal or superior
> in ALL categories? Come on. Sorry, it doesn't kill your Callahan
> chances not to be the best at every. single. thing. That kind of
> hyperbole is what's wrong with this whole process. Can we just conduct
> these threads without asking people to believe our favorite candidate
> is cross-training to ascend into heaven?
Although Chicken did go a hair over the top in his last post, I think
his earlier one struck a good balance, when he said:
"In ALL categories relevant to winning (Speed, Cutting, Throws,
Decisions,
Leadership, Defense), Mac is top 5. Easily."
I tend to agree that the "better in all ways" talk is one of the
annoying aspects of Callahan hype. But at the same time it's not
impossible for me to believe that, among the top candidates, Mac has
the best throws and the best top speed.
So, where is Mac inferior? Well, I would guess that Franchise would
probably beat Mac in a shuttle-run-type drill. From a leadership
perspective, the Baccarini quote on the Michigan hype page makes it
basically impossible for me to believe that any candidate is a better
leader than Will Neff.
Still, the broader point Chicken is trying to make is that Mac is an
exceptionally complete player, which is definitely a fair point.
> There was never a reason to bring the other guys into this. It just
> makes people have to speak up to avoid the appearance of tacit
> agreement.
I disagree. Comparing candidates is a whole lot more meaningful than
touting the great aspects of some candidate in isolation.
-Tarr
P.S. Mac EASILY won the 2009 GRUB finals fantasy title for me.
Pron
Adam, I agree that Mac is a very complete player. The two players who
are his most direct competition are similarly complete, and I think
Chicken's endorsement of Mac made that appear to be not the case.
If this was a normal RSD thread, I would just jump in with a pretty
specific strengths/weaknesses evaluation, but this thread was started
for the purpose of recognizing Mac's accomplishments and I don't want
to totally crap on that. So I'll go so far as to point out what I
think are mischaracterizations about the other candidates, but not
really beyond. I think the two examples you gave about the other
player's skills are level-headed observations that cast everyone
involved in a more reasonable light. And I doubt you talked anyone who
was already sold on Mac out of it. So that pretty much works for
everyone.
Casey Boy
them play though) but my vote is definitely going to Stephen
"Franchise" Presley, all around great player and seems to be just as
great of a person off the field as he is on... killer throws, quick
cuts, and unshakable in the clutch. Consistent as well, he's made
South all-region every year available to him, including being FOTY in
2005. I am however somewhat biased, since I play in the South
Region.
Like I said before however, I don't know Mac Taylor and have only seen
him play... but if Mike Houston says you're "crazy sick on the field,
but also just such a good guy off it." then I tend to think you're
just as deserving as any other candidate.
Vote for whomever you think is the best but to think that one of these
guys is "better in all ways" than the others is ludicrous. (like how
i worked that in there Houston?)
Boy
Franchise for Callahan
p.s. can we get some more videos posted of all the nominees... finals
are almost over and all i've got to do is sit around, jerk off, and
watch ultimate.
steveprodan
Mac is a top five for sure, but number one I am not so sure. I have
seen Mac play a lot in the Southwest the past couple of years and what
always drops him a few points on my scorecard is the amount of
turnovers he has over a the course of a game. In the SW Regional
final this year, in a mild wind, he probably had 6-8 turnovers in the
first half. In the finals at Vegas he probably had close to 8
turnovers or more in the game. A guy that has that many turnovers no
matter how many assist, goals and d's he has is something to be
discussed. Would you rather take a player who has:
8 assist
5 goals
9 turnovers
OR
4 assist
3 goals
1 turnovers
Jerrod
8 assist
5 goals
9 turnovers
OR
4 assist
3 goals
1 turnovers
In a game to 13, I'd definitely take the first player....
stephen...@gmail.com
> final this year, in a mild wind...
That was not mild wind.
Mac has my vote.
One thing no one was mentioned is swagger. Mac's got it. Presley looks
worried in his USA Ultimate cover, I've never seen Mac worried.
Chicken
Bird is a deeper team than Michigan this year. Both have newer
coaches, both have extensive nationals experience, both have great
young players coming in from juniors programs (columbia, paideia).
Similar baseline starting characteristics.
Mamabird has substantially better results so far this season...which
absolutely reflects on the leadership. Point is not to knock Will as a
leader but to give Mac his due in the category where he is likely
overlooked because he's quiet.
Steve--turnovers? I wasn't at the regional final, but I did notice the
score ended 15-2. So he certainly wasn't causing any damage. Vegas
final--in wind like that against the 4 man Florida double-teaming cup
in the early season, the guy who is called on to make the toughest
throws is going to have a high turnover count. I speak from
experience. Reference the mamabird highlight videos for a relentless
display of clutch catches and BIG throws made by Mac in the biggest
games of the year. In the clutch, you want a player as cool headed as
Mac. As a teammate, I have NEVER worried when he has the disc. He can
put it anywhere and he makes great decisions. Confidence abound.
Boy. You have no business claiming anything I say as "ludicrous" when
you haven't even seen Mac play. I'm presenting exclusively empirical
evidence here. As Tarr said, Mac might really be that good...
He is. That's really what I'm saying here, Pron. There is nothing
ludicrous about claiming that Mac is the best in the college game this
year at everything.
I would LOVE to see Mac vs Stevie in a 60 yard shuttle. Mac has
incredibly quick feet. Not just for a tall player. For anyone. That
would be close, but I take Mac. Even against the super-squirrel.
All together now,
Mac for Callahan.
chigger
>
> - Show quoted text -
Stevie and Mac are both from Texas so they are both okay in my book.
I observed Mamabirds semis and finals at regionals this year the wind
was anything but mild.
joshua...@gmail.com
I saw Mac worried once. We were at Japango all-you-can-eat sushi with
a couple other fellas and a few ladies. Mac was quiet all night, it
being his first time and all. He just sat there and housed everything
we put in front of him, putting in the work like everybody else.
Everyone was filled to the brim with sushi rolls and lightly seared
meat. Then came crunch time, as the waitress came over to tell us it
was last call; Mac gave her two sheets. I asked Mac what he ordered.
2 bowls of edamame, 8 sushi rolls and 4 more appetizers. A pained
look came across my face that was mirrored by everybody else at the
table except Mac. He just looked at me and said, "we got this". I
could see Mac was worried that we didn't believe. Would we have to
pay for all that sushi we didn't eat? No, Mac wouldn't have it. I
know he would go it alone if he had to. That confidence gave us that
extra push to force down the last bit of sushi. The waitress came
back and said she "was impressed" and she'd "never seen anybody do
anything like that". Impressed or disgusted, it didn't matter. All
that mattered was that Mac was content, he was sated and we did not
disappoint him.
Casey Boy
> you haven't even seen Mac play. I'm presenting exclusively empirical
> evidence here. As Tarr said, Mac might really be that good...
>
i.e. I have seen him play
but it really doesn't matter, I don't wish to argue over how good
someone is (when they are obviously stellar or they wouldn't even be
up for the award) I think everything you said was valid, I just really
like the word ludicrous.
Corley
> Macis a top five for sure, but number one I am not so sure. I have
> seenMacplay a lot in the Southwest the past couple of years and what
> always drops him a few points on my scorecard is the amount of
> turnovers he has over a the course of a game. In the SW Regional
> final this year, in a mild wind, he probably had 6-8 turnovers in the
> first half. In the finals at Vegas he probably had close to 8
> turnovers or more in the game. A guy that has that many turnovers no
> matter how many assist, goals and d's he has is something to be
> discussed. Would you rather take a player who has:
>
> 8 assist
> 5 goals
> 9 turnovers
>
> OR
>
> 4 assist
> 3 goals
> 1 turnovers
Well, if guy 1 gets a heat stroke on Sunday of Regionals, you're in
pretty big trouble...Would the 'Mac is better than or equal to
everyone at everything' argument still be made if Florida hadn't
gotten called O.B. on universe against Georgia?
Have seen Mac play--he's a fantastic player, and he'd have a very
strong case for Callahan no matter who else was nominated. But I agree
with Pron that it's a little hard to take the above argument
seriously.
jacob...@gmail.com
Boy, is this the first time you talked to someone being a bigger jerk
than you?
I miss Rabbit, he'd post videos.
jacob
to winning (Speed, Cutting, Throws, Decisions, Leadership, Defense),
Mac is top 5. Easily."
The same can be said of Shakey Hillman, who plays for Oklahoma Tech.
If he played for a high profile program, he would be getting lots of
buzz right now, so let's keep in mind how the Callahan voting is sort
of rigged to help those lucky enough to play for good teams. When
Shakey guarded Mac at the Hoe Down tournament, he did not stop Mac
(impossible to do), but did contain him better than most. I should be
clear that I am not actually endorsing Shakey as Callahan over Mac.
Mac is a great guy, and Shakey has an unfortunate habit of loudly
cursing out opponents in front of their families in response to them
making perfectly legitimate calls.
dub dub
Presley looks worried?
He is probably just trashed...he is really good at that too
never seen him worried about anything, on or off the field.
Franchise for Callahan
Zack Taylor (Signals)
the other candidates are and I've never seen them play. For that
reason I won't try to argue that Mac is a better athlete, has better
spirit, throws, or leaping ability than any of the other Callahan
nominees. He is simply the best Ultimate player I know.
What I can speak to, is Mac's complete dedication and commitment to
the sport.
Mac played soccer from childhood all the way through high school until
he discovered Ultimate. Mac was never fast. None of our family could
figure out why, even with his height, he was consistently one of the
slowest players on the field. It didn't matter if it was a sprint or
long distance, Mac was slow.
Over the past five years, and significantly more noticeably in the
past two, Mac has become the fastest player on the field. This was
evidenced by Chicken.
"At the west coast team USA tryouts, he finished second in the
70 by .03 seconds. The only person that beat him was Beau."
This change was brought about by Mac's determination to be the very
best at the sport of Ultimate. He dedicates himself entirely, be it
in the weight room, on the field, or behind the computer balancing his
team's finances, booking hotel rooms, and planning trips to
tournaments. Everything he does is aimed at improving himself and his
game or that of his team and teammates. I believe this and everything
else mentioned before are qualities everyone wants in a Callahan
winner.
Since there is no video for Mac this year, I put together a photo
album of some of his well captured feats.
http://picasaweb.google.com/idelect/MacForCallahan#
Mac for Callahan
-Zack Taylor
tony
>
> Since there is no video for Mac this year, I put together a photo
> album of some of his well captured feats.http://picasaweb.google.com/idelect/MacForCallahan#
>
> Mac for Callahan
video is coming soon.
Casey Boy
actually... yea.
David Abram
their start.
MH
die, but Mac for Callahan this year, and that's no lie.
-MH
Mimmo
blah blah blah...
so...i know florida didn't make nationals, ok whatever. and i know
that they're not nominating brodie for the callahan because kurt got
gipped (jipped?)...fine whatevs...but seriously. where are the clips
of neff/franchise/taylor playing against florida? they (florida) had
an awful weekend at regionals...but i feel like the callahan award is
built on a season and in many cases on a career of success...so....if
a player wants to show they deserve the award they should show clips
of themselves playing against the top players right???
so...what happened when colorado played florida twice this year (vegas/
huck finn)? who did mac cover? how did he do? when michigan played
florida at the ripon invite who did will neff cover? who covered him?
sorry i couldn't answer this last question myself...i got a flat tire
on sunday morning...sucks...
one dude put a bunch of pictures of mac playing against nord...and
some of those pictures are telling (mac laying out and seeming to be
about to get a layout d against nord) and some of them are not (mac
jumping in the air and the caption says "mac vs nord" and nord looks
to be coming into the play late).
i wanna see video of these guys playing florida...playing
carleton...playing the cream of the crop. Foster's highlight reel had
2-3 clips of him in the finals of nationals and in various tournaments
against florida making plays against kurt and brodie. pretty
baller...although the boys in Gangstaville (especiallly alex) will get
all uppity for me saying something like this
yeah yeah yeah everybody hates florida...yeah they didn't make
nationals...shuud up. everybody knows that nationals is a worst
tournament without them there, and everybody is glad to not have to
play them. they have been one of the most dominant teams over the
last few years and the overwhelming majority of these highlight videos
have lacked any footage of players playing against them.
basically what i'm saying is that the callahan is whoever gets the
most hype and carries momentum at the end of the season...one of these
days there's going to be enough video so that we don't have to have
people hyping up their teammates, we'll just be able to go to the
tape, and go to the stat sheet like we do in most sports and boom!
MVP!...or wait...this is ultimate, who is the nicest guy? boom!
callahan!
i'm sure whoever wins it this year will deserve it...there's no real
front runner like there has been in the past few years...it seems to
be a 3-4 horse race really with mac, franchise, neff and foster taking
the lead.
if i had a vote (and i dont, so there's really no reason to listen to
me) i'd vote for robert runner...but most of the country is unfamiliar
with him, and the hype he's garnered is too late in the season to
really get a good push.
so...in summation:
TJ McCourt for Callahan!!!!
irvin...@gmail.com
I'm so freeking sick of this Michigan-Colorado pissfest.
The guy in the Neff thread is right. Michigan posting testimonial
after testimonial plus video about their dude is obnoxious.
Michigan's hype machine around the star player of a mediocre team is
an unfair advantage for him. Podunk U candidate from Directional State
U probably makes just as many big plays, you just don't know about
it. Please, Colorado, don't sink to their level. If I see video of
one more candidate I will puke.
Let the candidate's reputation speek for itself.
I'm voting for the Texas guy. His team is the only one relying on
good old world of mouth.
Where do I vote?
Mimmo
> If I see video of one more candidate I will puke.
>
> Let the candidate's reputation speek for itself.
>
> I'm voting for the Texas guy. His team is the only one relying on
> good old world of mouth.
>
Did you also believe Bush when he said there were WMDs in Iraq?
Good ole word of mouth can be misleading, see:
Fever
> gipped (jipped?)...
It's gypped. Because of the gypsies.
jaba...@gmail.com
annoying and maybe makes me less likely to vote for them, but how can
having a callahan video do that? It demonstrates the play-making
ability of the candidate the way word of mouth can't.
Mimmo
they'll shrink you
justhereto...@gmail.com
Well, that wasn't quite what I was getting at... I don't mind a
candidate having a thread, or a page on the team's site, or a video--
frankly, I'm addicted to well-made videos of good ultimate. It's
important to the legitimacy of this award that all voters be given
enough relevant information to vote. I also understand that this is
largely a popularity contest built on a significant amount of
hyperbole. But when the promotion turns into an old-fashioned pissing
contest and a series of thread-jacking (as other prominent but unnamed
posters often do on unrelated topics), it's a little irritating. If
your nominee of choice is really worth my vote, I should be able to
see that without an outrageous volume of propaganda.
Many teams nominate a player as an honor, signifying that they've
earned their teammates' respect. Their own teammates feel that they've
demonstrated sufficient excellence in play and spirit to be a Callahan
winner. Despite this group being part of the internet, I don't think
it's unreasonable to hope that we (collectively) could show due
respect not only to the rest of the nominees, but also to our own, by
letting their accomplishments and personal testimonies (not repeating
"vote vote vote") be sufficient.
Cue me being attacked for using the words "propaganda," "respect," and
"spirit."
carth...@gmail.com
As an inside/outsider (I played Bravo until the year before Mac played
Bravo) The passion that many programs generate can at times be
overwhelming. Post college players always want the best for their
respective programs. Call it posterity, call it favoritism, call it
outright bias, it is all just chatter. Consider those that are being
chattered about worthy to be in the conversation, but reserve
judgement to your own experience. If you don't have that, be careful
about whose word you take. For my part, and I have never posted an
endorsement for any for Callahan nominee, I find Mac to be one of
those players with all the tools as well as the chillest demeanor of
anyone you would ever encounter on the field. If you have played him
you know this. Having not seen the other...two? frontrunners, I
couldn't in all honesty say that he is better. But dudes don't get
onto Bravo, start on offense, and bring the quiet noise that Mac has
done w/out being pretty fucking good. My best wishes to all the
candidates. As I tell my Highschool boys, leave it on the field.
JB