 |
| The 'CHB' |
Don't get us wrong, there have
many occasions when Globe columnist
Dan Shaughnessy has made us want to set our hair on fire. He is often a contrarian for the sake of being contrary. He routinely looks down his nose at fans, bloggers and anyone who doesn't exhibit his congenital cynicism. Having said all this, he
is a columnist—
not a beat reporter. We should
want him to offer something more than the PR pablum that oozes out of Yawkey Way and Foxboro. In that light, the visceral negative reaction to
Shaughnessy's Wednesday column astounds us. Essentially, all he's saying is that good sports columnists shouldn't shill for owners,
"These are high times in Boston sports. We have seen eight Duck Boat parades since February 2002 and all four of our pro teams seem to be in good hands. We are the envy of sports fans in America. But not everything is always great and it’s OK to point this out now and then." Damn straight! Shaughnessy comes from a tradition that valued skepticism. As he points out,
"It was not a crime against humanity if you suggested the Patriots or Red Sox might not win the championship, or perhaps might not be serving the best interests of their fans. It was OK to occasionally poke fun at Haywood Sullivan or Billy Sullivan." Or the NOG, perhaps? I hate to admit it, but when he's right, he's right. Lay off the CHB!
