Big Lead Sports Bar

2/05/2008

Buy Bill Simmons' Jersey!

Bill Simmons of ESPN is easily the most polarizing figure in the sports/internet world. So expect plenty of people to be talking about Simmons' eBay auction of the "unlucky" Randy Moss jersey that he wore on Super Bowl Sunday.



My name is Bill Simmons and I write the "Sports Guy" column for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. As I described in my post-Super Bowl column, I forgot to bring my lucky Wes Welker jersey to Arizona for the Pats-Giants game, so I ended up spending $85 on a white replica XL Randy Moss No. 81 jersey at one of the merchandise stands inside the stadium to represent my beloved Pats because so many fans were wearing jerseys at the game. Why Moss? Because it was the last Pats jersey they had available.

You know the rest: The Giants ended up pulling off one of the great upsets in sports history, and as I wrote in that post-game column, "You can currently find that jersey sitting at the bottom of the garbage can in my hotel room. I might take it home and burn it. I haven't decided yet."

After we posted the column, a number of readers e-mailed asking if they could have the jersey instead of me burning it or throwing it away. That's when I decided that there was a way this Moss jersey - this evil, unlucky, possibly-possessed-by-the-devil jersey that I never want to see again -- could actually do some good. I'm putting it up for auction, and instead of the money going to me, I'm going to have the winner of the auction donate the winning bid to The Jimmy Fund. I will pay for shipping and handling of the jersey. If you win the bid, we'll connect by e-mail, and then, you'll donate that money to the Jimmy Fund online and forward me a receipt of that donation. Once I see the receipt, I will send the jersey along.

Obviously, Simmons speaks for the common Bostonian in thinking that somehow, this season was ultimately a disaster. Since February 3, 2002, the city that's witnessed three Super Bowl championships, two World Series trophies, an undefeated regular season and the prospects of a championship NBA team is acting just like we expected them to act. Unlucky? Try telling that to a fan in Cleveland, Buffalo, or Philadelphia.

But at least he's doing a nice thing and donating the money to the Jimmy Fund. That should cancel out the complaining Bostonian act, at least for a day.

3 comments:

Louis Lipps is my homeboy said...

Let me put it this way about Simmons.

I like the way he writes.

I just don't like constantly hearing about his favorite teams all the time.

He's not a complete asshole like Skip Bayless or that Cowherd guy. He actually seems like a very nice guy.

BUT he shills for his favorite teams nonstop, and the fact that his favorite teams have been very good recently makes that even harder to put up with.

If all of his Boston teams sucked right now, nobody would hate the Sports Guy.

Koz said...

You are dead on LL. I agree 100%.

Unknown said...

Of course the jersey is cursed. That's been Boston's excuse for more than 4 decades for any sports collapse.

It couldn't be because their teams choked, so, therefore, they or something is cursed.

Suffer, you bastards.