Bob Lobel: Punks We’ve Grown to Love
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
Bob Lobel, GoLocalWorcester Sports Contributor
The Patriots made a very interesting move in between their London beat down of the Rams and their upcoming game against Buffalo (Now, there is a tale of two cities if I've ever heard one).
The move I'm talking about, of course, involved a 4th round pick for a defensive back with a somewhat sketchy record. The acquisition has made Pats fans very happy, or least hopeful, that momentarily suspended cornerback Aqib Talib will shore up their sieve of a defensive secondary.
I did mention suspension, because that is what he is for one more game following a violation of the league's performance enhancing drugs policy. He has already served three games of a four-game ban, and would be eligible to play in two weeks against Andrew Luck and the Colts, provided they can keep him out of jail.
That does sound harsh, but the kid is a "punk."
Certainly, he is not the first punk to grace our arenas, and he certainly will not be the last.
His arrival has actually caused some Boston media to ask, if in fact, the Patriots have lost their soul? I can’t make this up. Think about that question and remember that fans are quite pleased the Patriots have lost whatever was their soul.
Didn’t they used to be above the rest of the rabble around the league, or was it just our imagination that they sold us on the “no punk shall pass these doors” policy?
Well, don't blame Talib. A few have passed through the "punk" security lines, and not just on the football team. When we start naming the top punks around New England sports, we can really have some fun.
Was there a bigger punk with the Red Sox than Josh Beckett? I would even go so far as to add Bobby Valentine to the recently departed punk list. Time now to define what “a punk” is like.
It's one of those definitions like pornography; you know it when you see it. Wil Cordero was a punk. Rajon Rondo is a punk, as Dwyane Wade called him recently. Paul Pierce used to be a punk, but he seems to have ended those days after he took off the jersey after a playoff win.
Chris Nilan is a friend of mine, but he was a punk too. Can't deny it.
I thought Roberto Luongo was a punk, just like Ulf Samuelsson. Then there are original punks like Sydney Wickes, and Curtis Rowe.
There is Zeke Mowat of Lisa Olsen fame. Ben Coates, I hear, was not a model citizen, which puts him in punkville. Lets welcome clock killin’ Corey Dillon. Albert Haynesworth was practically a poster child for punkamania.
How would you vote on Carl Everett? Maybe the biggest punk in Red Sox history. He gets my vote. Then there is a whole category of super punks. They include those with superior credentials, but could be viewed as punks for their trash talking, lip flapping way of doing business. Larry Bird was Mr. trash talk and Pedro “the Yankees are my daddy” Martinez has to join him.
Jose Conseco? Big time punk. Manny Rameriz finally revealed his innate punk qualities by the time it was all over and his suspensions for PEDs were handed out. Remember, these are just the guys on our side, in our uniforms, and played for our teams. I haven’t gotten to Bill Lambier, Dennis Rodman and Isiah Thomas, or Lance Armstrong, the prodigal punk.
So Mr. Talib, you join a long list of professional athletes. Maybe you can be the best of both worlds. Be a player we can all root for that was both terrific on and off the field.
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