I hate modern cell phone etiquette

Tell me if this has ever happened to you. You pick up the phone and dial someone. The phone rings a few times. You’re prepared to leave a message. The person you called answers. You start your typical greeting and then the person says.

“Hey I’m really busy, can I call you back later?”

You say, “Okay” and then the call is terminated.

Don’t you usually feel a little weird afterward? The weirdness normally subsides within seconds because you’re so use to the behavior. It happens all the time now. You’re immune to it. You probably don’t even know why you feel weird in the first place.

If you’re over 30 years of age this behavior is weird because you remember a time when phones weren’t attached to people. You remember the phones being in centralized areas of your home.

What you DON’T remember is someone ever answering the phone and then telling the person on the other end “Hey, I’m really busy, can I call you back later?” You know why you never heard it, because it’s a stupid asinine thing to do.

Back then when you were too busy to talk you chose to NOT ANSWER THE PHONE. It makes very little sense to answer when you can’t talk. If you don’t have much time, why deplete it by answering the phone at all? Why would you cut into your already hectic schedule to pick up a phone that you’re not going to use?

If you ever get intellectually curious and ask someone why he/she does it, they’ll say, “I just wanted to let you know I couldn’t talk.” They don’t realize that I get the same clue if they don’t answer the phone at all. In fact that’s the first thing that goes through my mind when the phone goes to voice mail. Then being courteous I actually consider the importance of my query even before leaving a message. Will it be worth their time to check this message? Can I get the information I need from another resource?

Also when you just don’t answer I can say to myself. The phone isn’t nearby, you couldn’t get to it before it went to VM, or you’re working on some top-secret plan to end war, poverty, and human strife, as we know it.

When you pick up the phone I actually think to myself that you do have time to talk, and then when you tell me otherwise I get confused. Then on top of that I get to hear you tell me that the thing you’re in the middle of right now, is more important than talking to me but not important enough to ignore your phone.

So you answering the phone when you can’t talk, is not comforting at all, it’s actually a bit troubling.

Let’s break this down a little further shall we. Say I’m calling you. I have basically two objectives:

1) To speak/connect with you
2) To leave you a message if I can’t speak to you

You answering the phone deny me of both objectives. When you do this I actually get nothing out of the transaction, and remember I was the one that initiated contact: not you. Shouldn’t I be able to get something out of it? I would think so!

And if the phone ringing is annoying you just send me straight to VM. I’m a big boy, I can handle it! No secure person will get upset if the phone rings once and then gets jettisoned to VM. In fact I appreciate you more for not having me sit through the pointless 3-4 additional rings before VM is queued up.

The only time this behavior makes any sense is if you and I have set up a pre-determined time to chat, a phone date if you will. A mutually specified time to converse, and you answer the phone because you had to change the time of our conversation, due to your schedule being pre-empted.

Think about it. Stop doing it.

I hate people who have the audacity to think that they can actually tempt fate

Leave it up to human beings to think that they have the ability to change destiny by speaking something into existence. It’s 2011 and people are still doing stupid crap. We are well into the 21st century, and humanity still has to deal with this nonsense.

Don’t get me wrong. I believe in positive affirmations, and visualization techniques. It’s paramount that people have a vision for themselves especially because success is created in the brain before it can be born into the world. Having said that; let me give you an example of what I’m talking about with the speaking it stuff.

Some of us have been blessed/cursed with dark senses of humor. From time to time, we’ll say something out of the box to move a person out of their comfortable happy place. Usually we’ll take something cherished like children or old people and say something “insensitive” about them. Or we’ll say something about ourselves in a derogatory way, and someone will say, “You shouldn’t say that. You don’t want to put that type of stuff out in the air.”

Like the chemistry of my breath joining with this magical air is going to make my words come into fruition.

I don’t have that kind of power. Wish I did though because I would say things like.

20 Million, in my bank account, NOW…

Halle Berry, teddy, bedroom, NOW…

Cancer, cured, NOW…

Dallas Cowboys, Superbowl, NOW….

Take this a step further. People still feel like if they don’t say certain things bad things will happen.

Recently a friend informed me that his wife was pregnant. He was overjoyed at the news, and I was happy that he was happy so I congratulated him.

My friend’s a good dude. He just got married; his wife has a 7-year old daughter that he adores, and raises as his own. One of the things that I admire about him is his straight-forwardness and honesty. He’s a huge proponent of keeping it real.

He knew I had taken an interest in the pregnancy so he’d give me updates. A few weeks ago he told me that they were going in for the ultrasound/sonogram, and that they’d be made aware of the gender of the baby.

So of course I asked the obligatory question, but before I asked it, I paused, and thought inwardly, would this time be different? Would this honest, straightforward person give me a real answer or would he just regurgitate what so many mindless robots have vomited from the beginning of time. After calculating these 9 variables….

Already has a girl
Another girl would make the house 3-1 girls
A boy would complete the set
He’s a dude, why wouldn’t he want a boy to pass things down to?
A boy will carry the family name
Boys are easier to raise
Couple is advanced in age and probably won’t attempt having another child
Friend’s honesty
Friend's straight-forwardness

I felt comfortable that I was going to get a real answer. So I proceeded to ask the question; exactly like this…. “Hey friend of course the health of the baby is paramount, that being said, do you have a preference? Boy or girl?

Sidebar….

There are only four logical answers to this question, and one of them never gets thought of. I would have accepted any one of the four.

Yes, I prefer a girl.
Yes, I prefer a boy.
I have no preference.
My personal favorite, No, I want a hermaphrodite. That’s it. Only those four!

I didn’t have to wait long for his response. He said, “I just want a healthy baby.”

OK HERE WE GO!

The ignorance train just pulled into the station. Why do people say this? Of course you want a healthy baby. Who doesn’t? If given the choice healthy or unhealthy, an ape would choose healthy. Come on! Do you really think that saying this is going to somehow insure a healthy baby? 8 million children are born each year with a serious birth defect. You think those 16 million parents were hoping for an unhealthy baby or forgot to say aloud that they were hoping for a healthy baby.

I’m not asking about your baby’s health. It’s understood that we all want your baby to be healthy. My last name is not Dahmer, Kraczyski, Gacy, Manson, or Berkowitz.

You giving me the “I just want a healthy baby” to my question is the equivalent of me asking you do you prefer the black car or the red one? And you answer, “I just want a car that not going to run off the side of the road and kill me.”

This is worse than superstition. At least the superstitious know that their quirks are weird and outside of the norm. But these people, who insist on saying this, really do humanity a disservice because they believe that this is proper and normal behavior.

I beg you. Please stop saying this.

Sidebar…

I don’t have children, and if I’m ever blessed to have them I’m sure I’ll say something dumb like this, but believe me I’ll hate myself for it.

I hate the SID (Sports Information Director) at Auburn University

Last Saturday, Cam Newton a junior at Auburn University won the most prestigious award in collegiate football the Heisman Trophy. He won this award under the shadow of allegations that his father Cecil Newton was less than ethical during his son’s recruitment process last year.

Collegiate athletes amateur eligibility can be threatened if the NCAA can prove that the student or someone representing the student receives unfair benefits for playing college athletics. Cecil Newton was accused, by a school recruiting Cam, of soliciting cash payments for Cam’s commitment (pay for play) to Mississippi State University.

The charges were dropped by the NCAA, because there was no proof that the Newton’s received any money, and more importantly that Cam was aware of his fathers solicitation(s).

Cam Newton was the front-runner to win the Heisman Trophy for over 2 months. His play this year has been astounding and lead many to say he had the greatest year in college football history. In most experts eyes it was a forgone conclusion that Newton was going to win the award. So last Saturday felt more like a coronation than an awards show. Everyone who gathered at the Touchdown Club in New York knew who was going to take home the hardware.

So imagine my chagrin when Cam Newton got up to accept his award and he sounded as if he was trying to chew on a mouthful of golf ball. His speech was all of 7 paragraphs and he stumbled through each and every paragraph horribly. They, he and Auburn, had 2 months to come up with a suitable speech and they put this dreg out there for public consumption.

Moreover the content of the speech left much to be desired. I quote “My parents do a lot of things behind the scenes that go unnoticed” His dad is being accused of pimping his son out to the highest bidder and he uses the phrase “behind the scenes.” Are you kidding me? Who at Auburn proof read this? How on earth does that sentence see the light of day? This is a very delicate situation. You don’t let a young man do this to himself. Auburns SID should be fired.

Then Cam takes it to another level, speaking to his mother who was in attendance, and I quote “this award is not an award, in my opinion has been won by my play this year. This is an award that was won when I came out your WOMB.”

Now I may be old fashioned, but I don’t think it is appropriate to mention your mother’s private parts during an acceptance speech. These are the only times I would consider it reasonable to speak of your mother private parts in an acceptance speech.

1.You are winning an award for “Pimp of the Year” and your mom’s WOMB is your primary money- maker. You couldn’t have won the award without her WOMB!

2.Your mom lost her WOMB in a terrible accident when you were young, and you decided to become a doctor so that one day you would master a WOMB transplant. You successfully fix your mom’s WOMB and win the Nobel Prize for Medicine.

3.During your speech for winning any award your moms WOMB becomes combustible and you yell out for someone to put the fire out that started in your mom’s WOMB.

Outside of these 3 instances the word WOMB should never be uttered during an acceptance speech. The Newton family should sue the Auburn SID for negligence. At the very least he/she should be looking for a new job today.

I Hate Drama Junkies

“Taking ownership of something that doesn’t belong to you”

Introduction

One of the things I’ve notice over the last few years is mankind’s love affair with drama. You see it everywhere. It’s infected everyone. I’m no sexist, but this drama thing used to be reserved for women and children (throwing tantrums to get their way). Now it’s Men, women, and children. No one is immune to it.

I’m not sure if this is a product of an increased desire to be relevant in a society where people’s attention spans are the size of a knats; or if it’s just the expansion of the pussy-fication of the human species as a whole. But it’s getting increasingly more difficult to sit through the never-ending barrage of woe is me that is being slung on a daily basis. We live in a society where people would rather you feel bad for them then have you respect them.

I have a friend who’s Mom has cancer. Having this person as a friend, I frequently have conversations with her about her mom’s health and state of mind. Cancer is serious. Cancer is a very destructive disease, as we all know, and the treatments sometimes are just as destructive. I wish we could locate a cure for it especially for this ladies mom. Truly she is a jewel and if anyone deserves a cure it’s her.

Having said this, I use this experience as a way to highlight the dramatic behavior that some take on when their loved ones are faced with illness. As aforementioned, my friend and I have frequent discussions about her mother’s condition. She, on many occasions has expressed that it’s a trial for her (my friend) to see her mom in the condition that she is in.

She mentions the hardship that it takes on her (my friend) physically and mentally. She is taking ownership of something that doesn’t belong to her. As a human being I understand what she is saying, however the way she is saying it make me feel hate.

What is wrong with the statement?

Of course we have emotional ups and downs when we see our loved ones in pain. If we are connected to them on any level we “feel” their pain, but lets not lose sight of the ball here.

Her Mom is the one going through the trial. Her mom is the principle in the story. Her mom is the one we should feel for, and pray for. My friend is only a supporting character in the drama, but speaks as if she is the lead character. She is in her mom’s life for support, if she confuses that then she can’t be much good for her mom when the harder times come.

I liken this to men and their sports. It’s like having a favorite team and when you refer to them in conversation you say “we”. “We” almost won last night. Or I can’t believe “we” drafted him. What do you mean “we”? You don’t own that team, you don’t play on that team, and you are not a decision-maker for that team. You only support. And, the sooner you get that through your thick skull, the sooner, I can stop hating you.

Best Practice

Always have the proper perspective when speaking. Please make sure that everyone is aware that the loved ones suffering the illness is paramount. Attempt to refrain from mentioning yourself and what you are going through until asked. If you don’t it may seem as if you are consumed with self and looking at things from the wrong point of view.

I hate that it took me 7 weeks to experience “The Social Network”

I guess it would be apropos that I would be at the end of the sloped curve of persons experiencing this movie. I just opened a facebook account this summer, which puts me about 5 years behind that curve as well.

Intellectually there is no solid reason why I waited so long. I saw the trailer in August and loved it. While on the computer that same night I researched the movie and found that one of my favorite writers, Aaron Sorkin, penned the screenplay adaptation from Ben Mezrich book entitled “ The Accidental Billionaires.” So there is no logical reason why it took so long.

An aside, Aaron Sorkin is a brilliant writer. If you’re unaware, he was the creator of “The West Wing” which ran on NBC from 1999-2006. This show is amazing and really gives you an inside look at how political sausage is made on a daily basis. There are 156 episode of classic TV out there just waiting for you. If you haven’t had a chance to experience this show I highly recommend it.

My favorite episode is entitled “Two Cathedrals”. The writing is stellar and the story culminates with the President asking to be left along in the National Cathedral where he questions aloud; life, randomness, death, and the existence of God (in English, and Latin), as he grapples with the senseless death of his close friend and personal secretary Mrs. Landingham.

Sorkin also created “Sports Night” a behind the scenes ESPN style show, and “Studio 60” a dramatic behind the scenes Saturday Night Live style show, both have a cult following but never approached mainstream popularity. These shows are superb and worth a look.

OKAY, getting back to the point here. The Social Network opens in a bar with Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook Founder), and his girlfriend Erica Albright (Muse). They are having a typical conversation that suddenly turns ugly when a shortcoming of Zuckerberg’s is exposed. Feeling threatened he falls back on the one thing that gives him supreme confidence, his superior intellect.

The conversation becomes sharp and frenetic, and evolves into basically a verbal shoot-out at the OK Coral where Albright is carrying a six-shooter, and Zuckerberg an AK-47. This conversation is beautiful because it gives us distinct insight into a genius mind; how it processes words, how it identifies queues, how it interprets syntax, how it parcels context, and unfortunately how it misses humanity.

The six-shooter surrenders and decides to end the relationship with Zuckerberg, which sends him into a dark fertile place where he conceives the facebook idea, as an act of revenge and therapy all at once.

All in all very cool flick. I wish I had seen it when it first came out so I could have had 7 extra weeks with it. Finally….

The story of the movie is told through a narrative of the 2 lawsuits that Zuckerberg is a defendant in. This movie is not for the intellectually squeamish. In fact, at odds, for most of the films is ownership of intellectual property. WHO OWNS IDEAS?
Very interesting concept!

I hate people who refuse to answer hypothetical questions

Just got done reading "The Shallows" by Nicholas Carr and it reminded me of something I wrote last year. Critical thinking is becoming extinct in our society.

Introduction
I wasn’t there when the first hypothetical question was asked. However, I don’t think I’m taking a logic leap when I say an intellectual person in search of truth probably constructed it. This smart fellow probably was, more than likely, born with an insatiable need to know what people logically thought about things. He probably was blessed with the ability to separate thought from feeling, but encountered people along his journey that, for whatever reason, could not. I’m convinced he sought to know true unadulterated opinion. And of course he wanted to get it before an individuals personal belief system, political correctness reflex, or illogical emotions, hijacked their perfect thought. So he was forced to devise this genius detour “the hypothetical question”.

Let me start by saying, hypothetical questions should be used rarely; only when absolutely necessary. If overused they are liable to destroy the natural flow of conversation. I strongly suggest avoiding them when ever possible because it takes a very skilled person to introduce the question, and then facilitate the answer.

However in our current society: where people pride themselves on personal belief systems, political correctness, and illogical emotions what are we to do? The intellectually curious among us are compelled to ask these questions. We value knowledge and information above everything. We have to know things.



I’ve noticed recently that I’m forced to use too many hypothetical questions during conversations, because people can’t separate their thoughts from their emotions. I can’t get a straight answer because people are too cautious or haven’t dug deep enough to know who they really are. This trend is unsettling. Rational thought is becoming extinct. And society forces me to use hypotheticals so much that I have to use a hypothetical to explain my use of so many hypotheticals. It's exhausting.     


What’s wrong with it?
I have to over-use hypotheticals because people are becoming incestuously intimate with their emotions. It’s gotten to the point that when something happens (anything) the first thing a person thinks of is how it will affect their personal psyche. They can’t see the entire situation because they are wrapped up in how they feel about it. This micro thinking doesn’t lend itself to perfect thought.

The bigger problem however is that people who know better, people that know that this is immature, aren’t standing up and admonishing these freaks. They aren’t holding these people accountable for having to use their perfectly useful rational minds. Many of them have acquiesced, some have jumped ship, while others have committed the most heinous act of treason, and have abandoned logical thought altogether themselves, having joined the Axis of Evil of micro thinkers.

Moreover the macro thinking muscle that we all were born with, that we, once upon a time, used to answer hypothetical questions has atrophied, into this useless mass of nothingness.

At first we dislike hypothetical questions.

Then we refuse to answer hypothetical questions.

And then we finally, sadly, wake up one day and we don’t even have the wherewithal to answer hypothetical questions.

Tell me if this sounds familiar. You’re in the middle of an engaging conversation. You’re about to introduce controversial subject matter. You anticipate resistance, so you enlist the service of a hypothetical, in hopes of circumventing the emotional wall you’re about to run head first into. You craft the perfectly suited hypothetical; that removes word triggers, and conversational speed-bumps, giving your conversation partner the freedom to go in whatever direction he or she chooses. You’re actually proud of yourself. You’ve created the perfect bed to consummate this fantastic mental intercourse. And then, you pause to let your partner take the lead, and they look at you as if you’re the anti-Christ.

Damn!

They become confused.

Discombobulated.






The conversation, all of a sudden, starts to feel like an interrogation. You start to hear responses like:

“I would never do that!”

“ That could never happen!”

And my personal favorite “Why are you trying to make me say something I don’t want to say?”

Conversation over!

Best Practice
We all have to get better at separating emotion from thought. Yes, I know I’m asking a lot but this can be done. We have to first allow ourselves to be uncomfortable for more than 30 seconds. We have to really listen to what others have to say even if it moves us out of our “happy place”. We can’t sterilize everything. We have to throw that security blanket away that our mommies gave us, and take intellectual risks on occasion. Test our boundaries; explore our horizons.

Humans have dominion over the animal kingdom because of our superior intellect. Let’s not lose sight of that? We must not become a people; that is ruled by feeling and emotion. Don’t get me wrong; they both have their place, just not in the realm of perfect thought.

In order for us to reach our true potential, we have to press on to the higher ground of perfect thought; everyday striving to get a little closer to our final destination.



For those that are living in perfect thought already, we must reach back and help our brothers. We can’t stand idle, as our brothers fall in the valley of idiocraty. The great society will settle at the top of the mountain, not at the base. The future of all mankind is riding on our shoulders.

The question “am I my brothers keeper” must be met with a resounding YES!

In a perfect world we would never have to use hypothetical questions. The hypothetical question, although genius, should have never had to come to be. A straightforward question should not be seen as evil. If we ‘d been better stewards of our feelings, hypothetical questions would have never become necessary. But we, of course, live in a very imperfect world. So the next time a hypothetical question is introduced in your conversation don’t run scared. Use it as a path less traveled that will bring you closer to the promise land of perfect thought.

I hate the NFL 100 Greatest Player List

Let me start by saying I LOVE LISTS. Ask my friends they’ll all tell you. I’m always asking them to rank experiences, to rank likes, and dislikes. I’m always asking them to put a numbers on everything. How much did that hurt? Put a number on it. How cool was that movie? Put a number on it. How much do you like me? Put a number on it. Also I love football. I’ve been in love with it ever since I saw the blue star on the side of the Cowboys silver helmets when I was 3 years old.

February is the worst month of the year for me; because I’m going through Football withdraw then. That's how much I love football.

So it’s hard for me to juxtapose hating a list about football history. I applaud the concept of the list. I appreciate the congregation of “blue ribbon” panelist that the NFL Network put together to work through the list. I love the show and I TIVO it every Thursday. I’m sure a lot of work went into it, and I must admit 95% of the list works for me. . The remainder however has my proverbial boxers in a bunch. Let me start with a minor omission.




Warren Sapp was the best interior defensive tackle of his generation. He was the leader of a Tampa Bay team thats entire identity was defense. His defense, on the road, held the “greatest show on turf” to 11 points in an NFC Championship game. He should be somewhere on this list with his partner in crime Derrick Brooks. My best guess would be somewhere between 90-100 on the list. He should definitely be above number 100 on the list, and the person who is the MOST overrated football player ever!

Joe Namath; how long can this man live off of his “Broadway Joe” reputation. Okay he banged a lot of women. Okay he quietly guaranteed a Super Bowl III victory over the highly favored Colts, but come on! This man threw more interceptions in his career than touchdowns. He had one extraordinary season. Look he got his reward. He somehow got inducted into the Hall of Fame. Let it rest now. No way he should be on this list.

Now on to the biggest omission, Terrell Owens, this one is just pure dislike for an individual overshadowing his career. Yes, he is a quarterback killer. Yes, he wants the ball on every play. Yes, he thinks a lot of himself. Most of the time he says the things that most are afraid to say. Look I’m just going to put pure numbers out there. I’m going to compare his numbers to another wide receiver from his era that is on the list.


Terrell Owens
Catches 1046
Total Yards 15515
Yards Per Catch 14.8
Total Touchdowns 150

WR (X)
Catches 947
Total Yards 14770
Yards Per Catch 15.6
Total Touchdowns 153

The stats are remarkably similar. They look like twins actually. WR (X) was 65th on the top 100 list. His name is Randy Moss. There were three other receivers on the list after Randy Moss at 65, and Terrell Owens wasn’t one of them. To pad Owens’s case, he runs routes over the entire field not just outside the harsh-marks, and he never quit on his team. He was selected first team All Pro 5 times, and Randy Moss was only selected 4 times. This means in 5 NFL seasons Terrell Owens was considered one of the top 2 receivers in the league, while Randy Moss was only considered top 2 in 4 seasons. Sports writers vote upon this honor. Terrell Owens omission from this list is borderline criminal.

Okay this next part is tricky because it’s mostly subjective, and I have to use my Biggie vs. Jay-Z argument for this to make sense.

In my opinion, Biggie Smalls is the BEST Rapper of all time. If my life depended on someone delivering a sick rap that is lyrically superior, and becomes an instant classic I would choose Biggie. Hands down. No contest. But if you ask me who is the GREATEST rapper of all time? I have to say Jay-Z because his body of work is vastly superior. He’s been at the pinnacle the longest. He has more classics. He has sustained a level of excellence over a substantially longer period of time.

Having said that, Tom Brady has had a terrific career but in no way should he be ahead of John Elway and Dan Marion on this list. John Elway single handedly took 3 inferior Denver Broncos teams to the Super Bowl. Dan Marino obliterated all the passing records. He destroyed them. Tom Brady being ahead of these guys is a little premature. I’m not saying he won’t eventually pass them but not in the fall of 2010. Sidebar: How the hell can a Guard albeit a terrific Guard be ahead of Dan Marino? John Hannah was great but come on son! That is nucking futs! Which leads us to the final atrocity on the list.

Full disclosure I’m a huge Cowboys fans, which some will use to disqualify the following statement. Emmitt Smith should be way higher than 28th on this list.
He is the all time leading rusher in NFL history. At the time this is being posted the top 20 haven’t been revealed, however if my assumption is correct the "blue ribbon" panel has Smith as the 5th best running back behind; Jim Brown, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, and Gale Sayers. So let's look at each of these comparisons indvidually.

Sayers v Smith

Sayers had 5 fantastic seasons. He was an excellent running back and return man. And if this were the list of 100 most electrifying players, or the 100 best players, or the 100 players that got cut down in their prime, he’d be at the top of the list. However he is not one of the top 25 greatest and should not be ahead of Emmitt Smith. Sayers numbers are comparable to Terrell Davis’ numbers. He too had his career cut short due to injury. He has never and will never be seriously considered for the Hall of Fame, and Sayers probably shouldn't have been either.

Sayers ran for 4, 956 yards and had a total of 48 touchdowns in his career. Smith ran for 18,355 yards in and 175 touchdowns in his career. That’s 3(x) as much on both count. Look, life dealt Sayers 2-7 off-suit but don’t discredit Smith because he got dealt Aces.

Advantage Smith...


Sanders v Smith

I don’t kid myself with this one. If Sanders had not retired early he would be the all time rushing leader. He would have run for 20,000 yards and put the record out of reach forever. The only thing I can say here is he didn’t care about being the greatest so why should we make him the greatest. The record meant nothing to him. He had another 3-4 years in the tank and he walked away. Smith loved the game had passion for the records, and from day 1 of his NFL career wanted to own them all. He wasn't as fast as Sander, didn’t have the moves like Sanders, wasn’t as explosive as Sanders but he wanted it more than Sanders.

Advantage Smith...

Payton v Smith

We all loved the man they called “Sweetness”. We feel for him because he was a great playing on a bad team, much like his Bears brother Gale Sayers. He was taken from the world far too soon, and we have a romantic place is our heart for Walter Payton, but if you look at the numbers He retired at 33 years old with 16, 726 yards, that was the rushing record at the time. Smith broke the record at age 33 and in the same number of seasons, and played an addition 2 seasons. Also Smith was the driving force on a team that played in 4 consecutive NFC championship games, and won 3 out of 4 Super Bowls.

Advantage Smith...


Brown v Smith

Brown is the GOAT. No contest.
Browns numbers are absurd. If they had played 16 game seasons in his time, and barring injury, he would have ran for 15, 030 yards in 9 seasons. That’s an average of 1,670 per season. He would have had (2) 2000 yards seasons. Amazing! He played 9 seasons was a pro-bowlers in all 9 and was All-pro in 8 of them. Enough said!

No one is in Browns class but Smith should be right behind him as the #2 greatest running back of all time, and that should have been good enough to place him in the top 10 of the NFL’s greatest players of all time.