{"id":885,"date":"2013-07-10T09:16:07","date_gmt":"2013-07-10T13:16:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bigredsportsmachine.com\/?p=885"},"modified":"2013-07-10T17:15:34","modified_gmt":"2013-07-10T21:15:34","slug":"tuesday-teabag-july-9-2013-colin-kaepernick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/?p=885","title":{"rendered":"Tuesday Teabag, July 9, 2013 – Colin Kaepernick"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>

The face of your franchise Niner Nation, in teal and orange.<\/p><\/div>\n

Colin Kaepernick wore a Dolphins hat.\u00a0 This story is that simple.\u00a0 While the rest of us were spending quality time with family and friends over the Fourth of July holiday, grilling, slamming beers, and wishing \u2018Merica a Happy Birthday, Colin was violating the cardinal rule in pro sports:\u00a0 Thou shalt not wear opposing team\u2019s merchandise (pretty sure that\u2019s one of the 10 Commandments).<\/p>\n

Last season, The Machine had an exclusive view into the New School\/Old School drama during the Kaepernick\/Smith feud<\/a>, and we learned all about Mr. Ball So Hard.\u00a0 The young, hip, gunslinger who does what he wants, when he wants, and doesn\u2019t give a fuck, because caring is for pussies\u00a0like Alex Smith.\u00a0 Ain\u2019t no shame if you got game (C-Kap\u00a0you should get that inked).\u00a0 Colin backed up his actions on the field, captivated Niner\u00a0Nation, led San Fran to the Super Bowl, and led Alex Smith right out the door.\u00a0 The loyalty the fans have to Kaepernick now is cult-like.\u00a0 He\u2019s going to change the game.\u00a0 The read option will no longer be a fad (note: it is a fad).\u00a0 Yes, hopes and dreams are a post-Montana all-time high.\u00a0 So what could go wrong?<\/p>\n

So Colin was snapped wearing a Dolphins cap, and the picture (obviously) went viral.\u00a0 So what?\u00a0 No big deal.\u00a0 All you do is simply say you were joking with some friends and put the hat on all in good fun, and maybe throw in some shit that you appreciate (sorry, got mad respect) for all NFL teams and players (sorry, playas or ballers).\u00a0 Had you done that, everything would\u2019ve died down quickly, and all would be forgotten.\u00a0 But no.\u00a0 Not Colin.\u00a0 Not Mr. New Age Hipster.\u00a0 Colin is part of the new generation of kids who were raised by parents who probably let him do whatever he wanted, never had to apologize for anything, and who refused to believe he could do anything wrong (\u201cour little Collie would never do that.\u201d).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Proving that point, in response to the mobs of angry Niners fans who shell out thousands of dollars to see him play, Colin responded as follows:\u00a0<\/p>\n

This the hat y\u2019all mad at? I\u2019m goin wear what I want regardless of what you think, all you need to worry about is the fact that I grind for my teammates and the 49ers! I plan on doin this until they won\u2019t let me in the building! #ridiculous #y\u2019allmustbebored\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

First off, The Machine can\u2019t tell if that\u2019s how he really talks, or if he\u2019s trying extra hard to be cool.\u00a0 [Note: perhaps it\u2019s a sign that The Machine is getting old, but we thought grind meant something totally different.]\u00a0 We\u2019re going to have to get up to speed with the lingo.<\/p>\n

Second, really?\u00a0 You\u2019re going to pick this moment to send a big f-you to your fan base.\u00a0 How about you wait until they\u2019re riding your ass for having a bad game. \u00a0Then you can hit them with the old \u201cI give you 100%\u201d I mean \u201cI grind for my teammates.\u201d\u00a0 You feeling me, brah?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Colin\"<\/a>

Just kiddin’ y’all, I mofo\u00a0love da’ Niners [wardrobe stolen from Joe Montana’s closet].<\/p><\/div>On Monday, after Colin [read: Niners\u00a0PR Dept.] had time to think about his actions some more, he posted a picture of himself on his Instagram\u00a0account wearing Nines gear, but he couldn\u2019t help sending out a dig to the Niners faithful, tweeting:\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s just swag. It ain\u2019t never hurt nobody.\u201d\u00a0 The Machine will look past the double negative, but that\u2019s about all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For starters, doesn\u2019t having an Instagram\u00a0account negate your street cred?\u00a0 \u201cYo playas, check out dis fresh Niners cap\u2026and pictures of cats!\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s even more incredulous, is that there are folks in the media defending Karpernick\u2019s actions.\u00a0 Les Carpenter at Yahoo! Sports argues<\/a>\u00a0that Colin has the right to wear a Dolphins hat, and that team loyalty is a farce, especially considering as soon as he can no longer play QB at a high level, the Niners will dumb his ass.\u00a0 Kevin Lynch goes one step further<\/a>, saying that Colin \u201cwas right\u201d for his go f yourself tweets to Niners\u00a0fans.\u00a0 Kevin also notes that Alex Smith used to wear a Padres hat (his favorite baseball team) until the San Francisco fans and media got on his case.\u00a0 Then, he wore a Giants hat.\u00a0 Ah, such simpler times.<\/p>\n

Les is right that team loyalty is a farce.\u00a0 NFL players are, in the eyes of NFL owners, replaceable widgets with a (short) shelf life.\u00a0 They’re an investment, and as soon as that investment stops yeilding returns, it’s dumped.\u00a0 However, both Les and Kevin are missing the point.\u00a0 It\u2019s not about team loyalty\u2026it\u2019s about fan loyalty.<\/p>\n

As an NFL player, one thing you know is this:\u00a0 NFL fans are bat-shit crazy.\u00a0 Like Anna Benson crazy.\u00a0 Like getting tattoos of team mascots, converting school buses into mobile man-caves, and getting married in the stadium parking lot at halftime so you can catch the third quarter crazy.\u00a0 To see their star player wearing an opposing team\u2019s hat is an act of defiance, treason, and blasphemy.\u00a0 It\u2019s just something you don\u2019t do.<\/p>\n

This rule applies more so if you\u2019re the quarterback, the leader of the team.\u00a0 Obviously, the NFL old guard (Brady, Brees, any Manning) understands this rule, and even some of the new guys (Luck, RGIII, Russell Wilson) get it.\u00a0 But Colin clearly does not.\u00a0 His Allen Iverson \u201cwe talkin\u2019 \u2018bout practice\u201d approach to quarterbacking won\u2019t cut it.\u00a0 As the quarterback, it\u2019s not just how you perform on Sunday (sorry, how you ball).\u00a0 You are the face of the franchise, the person the team builds around.\u00a0 You are held to a higher standard.<\/p>\n

And the media coddling him and explaining away his douchness isn\u2019t going to help him change.\u00a0 They should be riding his ass, not apologizing for him like a suburban helicopter parent (\u201cit\u2019s the teacher\u2019s fault he\u2019s not paying attention\u201d).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Colin:\u00a0 man up, brah.\u00a0 Your brashness on the field cannot transfer over to the fans off it.\u00a0 You can still play your way AND show some humility\u2026they\u2019re not mutually exclusive.\u00a0 Granted, as soon as you torch Green Bay at home in Week 1, all will be forgotten.\u00a0 The problem is if you don\u2019t get the Niners back to the Super Bowl (and win).\u00a0 Then no one will forget.<\/p>\n

Enjoy your teabag, beyotch, and get rid of your Instagram\u00a0account. #lame #youlovecats<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Colin Kaepernick wore a Dolphins hat.\u00a0 This story is that simple.\u00a0 While the rest of us were spending quality time with family and friends over the Fourth of July holiday, grilling, slamming beers, and wishing \u2018Merica a Happy Birthday, Colin … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tuesday-teabag"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Bp3y-eh","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=885"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":889,"href":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885\/revisions\/889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}