Running for something

Originally I had an entire screed written about the egocentric nature of sports, media and culture all tied in to how I thought Curt Schilling was the most masterful media manipulator in the modern era of sports, but I changed my mind. Oh, I still believe that the superficialities, self-servitude, egos run amok and attention-seeking attitudes in local and national media and sports is, well… tacky, but instead of a entire rant on Schilling as the poster child for this, I have relented.

The reasons are simple – I like what Curt Schilling does for ALS and what he and his wife do for skin cancer awareness. This is important work. Sure, maybe I’m a little turned off that it’s Curt Schilling’s Fight for ALS (what, no one else is fighting?), it’s still a fight against ALS and that’s a good thing. From firsthand knowledge and from research, the work and effort Schilling puts into his ALS is more than admirable, and if his name attracts more attention to the fight, then maybe I should relax a bit.

The same goes for the Schilling’s SHADE foundation, which attempts to raise awareness about skin cancer. As a long-time outdoorsy type, I never paid much attention to my skin, but have begun to see the light, to coin a phrase. The SHADE web site is chock full of information and is a good reference point for anyone interesting in learning more about their skin.

Plus, it’s hard to deny that Curt Schilling is one of the greatest big game pitchers ever. His post season statistics are ridiculous – almost video game-like.

But when it comes to the chatter about Schilling running for the senate in Massachusetts in 2008, and his other political views, let’s just say Curt is a good pitcher.

According to stories in the Boston papers/web sites, there is a veritable “groundswell” of support for Schilling to take the Republican nomination and run against John Kerry in 2008. That’s cool, I guess. Schilling would be a great politician if the criteria were the ability to create superficial attention, alienating colleagues and the media, hypocrisy and arrogance. In fact, in those regards Schilling could be ahead of the curve.

Plus, (and I have no proof of this and I’m not saying it’s fact – I’m just saying something for the sake of saying something) I would not be surprised if the “groundswell” was manufactured by Schilling. I’m not saying this is the case, but everyone knows how much the big boy loves the attention.

Of course, Schilling was humbled by the notion of running for the senate. Who wouldn’t be? It also allowed him to tout his charities (shrewd… very shrewd) and toss out the quote about how mixed up they are in Washington.

“While I am a registered voter, I have too many problems with the political scene, and I don’t think I’d fit into it,” he said.

I also believe that Schilling knows that political pundits suggest a run against Kerry in Massachusetts could make Lynn Swann's run against Governor Ed Rendell look like a close contest.

Nevertheless, the extra time in the spotlight (sans towel over his head) also gave Schilling a chance to endorse fellow Arizonan Sen. John McCain and Illinois Senator Barack Obama as his favorite would-be presidential candidates. Better yet, it gave Schilling a chance to take a swipe at New York Senator Hillary Clinton, who formally announced her bid for the 2008 Presidential race.

“As far as Hillary Clinton goes, I just want her to keep talking,” Schilling said. “I just cringe every time I hear someone with a voice in the political scene talking out against the war. I am not for it, no ones for it, I just feel like -- especially someone like Hillary has to know that those comments have serious implications overseas for the men and women of the United States armed forces -- it scares the hell out of me.”

It’s kind of ironic because most sportswriters feel the same way about Schilling. When Curt starts talking about things other than baseball, his charities or his video games, well… let’s just say he’s a good pitcher. Not to mention that it’s kind of fun to listen to a self-serving blowhard like Schilling go on and on.

Let’s just say this – I like athletes that have interests outside of their sports. I think it humanizes them as well as shows that they actually care about things other than the superficial celebrity culture. Though it’s pretty safe to say that Schilling and I disagree on everything politically (though I’m not a Hillary Clinton supporter either, but not for the same reasons as Schilling) and maybe even on most ideas, I like the fact that he is someone who doesn’t hide behind the veneer political correctness and engages in some semblance of a public discourse.

I think he’s wrong, but it’s kind of refreshing to see an athlete pronounce an opinion.

As for Schilling’s opinion, since when does speaking out against a war mean someone is not supporting the troops? That’s just about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.

I wonder what Schilling thought about The New York Times story in which troops in Iraq were asked if Donald Rumsfeld’s ouster could affect morale, and answered with, “Who's Rumsfeld?”

But that’s Schilling – an enigma wrapped in a riddle and covered with a “bloody” sock.