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Cold, Hard Football Facts = Complete Friggin' Homer Hacks

I have no problem with homer fans that run homer sites. Jump over to Grizz's Cowboys Blog or Tommasse's Patriots Blog and you'll see rampant homerism on display and in full regale. Those guys are homers and they know it. They embrace it. If you don't like it, go somewhere else!

I respect this attitude, and I like it, which is why I read them.

I too am a homer. I make no bones about it. Peyton Manning is the best QB in the league, and anyone who disagrees is wrong. Period. Don't like it? There's the door.

That's homerism, and it's GREAT!

What I don't like though is when sites or news sources pose as objective, but are in reality so blatantly homer it's sickening, like this one.

Cold, Hard Football Facts (CHFF) describes itself as an "omniscient, all-powerful gridiron sage and emotionless arbiter of all things pigskin." However, a closer look at their content reveals some serious hatred towards all things Colts, and some serious Kool-Aid drinking when it comes to the Patriots. An even closer look at the authors of this site reveals that many of them are from New England. One has a radio show on ESPN Radio Boston.

Now, many times people's location has little to do with their opinions. I jet back and forth from Indy and New York, with most of my time spent in the Big Apple. I'm not a Jets fan. I don't root for the Giants, even though Peyton's little brother is their QB. So, it's not where these guys are from that irks me. It's the content on their site and the fact that readers here and elsewhere are referencing it as "fact."

Apparently, according to these knucklehead hacks that pose as objective sports commentators, a three article expose is necessary to explain how Colts management is incompetent for letting Edgerrin James sign with the Cardinals. Their apparent hatred for Bill Polian, Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, and anything else Colts-related is available for your viewing pleasure all throughout the site. Patriots fans enjoy. This site was apparently made with your "objective" viewpoints in mind.

Now, when it comes to the Patriots letting arguably their best player walk away for nothing, there's an article rationalizing it as a good move. Most normal, objective sports commentators or writers are not saying Vinatieri leaving New England is a good move. People like Skip Bayless, Adam Schein, and Mark Kreidler are writing about how this is a big blow to the Patriots, a potential sign that the club is in decline. They write that Vinatieri is now THE biggest free agent signing of the off season. CHFF sees it differently. Here's my favorite line from their Vinatieri article:

He's still not worth $2.5 million a year and a $3.5 million signing bonus - the numbers Indy is reported to have ponied up for him. Here's why: No matter how successful a kicker has been, he remains a marginal, part-time role player who spends less time on the field than any other man on the roster. The towel boy sees more action than a potential Hall of Fame kicker.
So apparently, according to these objective experts, time spent on the field should merit a large salary rather than actual achievement on the field. I went back through their archives looking for articles dealing with this issue prior to Vinatieri signing with Indy. He was paid millions last year, and the year before that. I'm sure that the insanity of Vinatieri making all that money while in New England surely must have ruffled their feathers back then, right?

Wrong. I didn't find any. Not one article about how it is such a great injustice that a player that's on the field 2.9% of the time (their calculations) is paid more than the towel boy, who sees more field time. What I also didn't find is any articles complaining about New England's $2 milion a year offer to Vinatieri earlier this month. $2.5 million a year for a kicker is a crime, but $2 million a year is a-okay... as long as it is New England that offers it and not the "incompetent management" of the Colts.

I have no problem with homer sites or homer writers. Love your team and love them true. I've got a big problem with posers and liars: guys who claim to be objective when they are such obvious homers it's not even funny. The guys at CHFF are more than entitled to their opinion, but to call themselves "emotionless arbiters" that present "cold hard facts" is like Michael Jackson claiming his skin is au naturale.

Embrace what you are. Don't pretend to be something you're not. People who do end up looking like idiots, like the guys at CHFF.