Nick Barnett and Jermichael Finley have been on the Packers Injured Reserve list for most of the season. From all accounts, being on IR is sort of like being in Limbo -- one is not divorced from the team, but one is not really part of it, either. So I suppose it is not a real surprise to learn that, apparently, Barnett and Finley, along with the other 13 players on IR, won't be part of the team picture when it is taken in conjunction with the Super Bowl next week.
While this might not be a startling revelation, it is also not surprising that these two guys are more than a little hurt by their exclusion. I certainly can't blame them. I mean, it's not like they just checked out or quit playing -- they were hurt badly enough to end their seasons, and they did it in service of the Packers. If either of these guys was Johnny Jolly, a player who made bad decisions off the field and ended up being suspended before the season started, it would be another matter. But that just wasn't the case here.
My guess is that the Packers probably wouldn't mind having Barnett and Finley in the team photo as they were core members of the squad at the time of their injuries. But including them means including people like Josh Bell and Anthony Levine, players who are decidedly not part of the nucleus that resulted in such a successful season. So, rather than parse that out and risk owning up to a double-standard, the Packers probably decided it would be cleaner to exclude everyone who is not on the active roster.
If my guess is right, I would understand the decision, but wouldn't like it. If a team is told that every member is important, than everyone who contributed to the season, who played a role no matter how small, should be invited to stand with their teammates when the picture is captured for posterity.
Some might see this as a small thing, but for players I suspect it means a lot. It certainly did for me. Back in high school I played one season of varsity baseball, my senior year. I wasn't a great player, but good enough to be a late inning defensive replacement and do some pinch-running (that, of course, was many, many pounds ago). In that role, I played in about half of the team's games, including the game in which we won the conference championship. However, when the roster shrunk from 18 to 15 for the post-season tournament, I was left off (and it was probably the right decision to do so). Unfortunately, the team picture was taken before the first tournament game and, not being on the roster at that time, I was excluded. So the picture of that championship team, the one I contributed to all season, does not include me--and that photo is the one that went into the school's trophy case. So, yeah, I get why Nick Barnett is sad and Jermichael Finley is miffed.
At least 56 and 88 will get Super Bowl rings should the Packers win on February 6--that is some consolation. Even though my picture doesn't grace the high school trophy case at Stevens Point Area Senior High, I did get the medal that goes to members of the 1977 Wisconsin Valley Conference Championship Baseball Team. And while that is certainly meaningful, there is something about being pictured along with one's teammates, the guys you won and lost with, permanently together and on display for future generations to see.
I can't help but think that a month from now, and even a year from now, no one is even going to remember this. It's a controversy now because it is in the now and it went down on Twitter. The goal is a ring, and the trophy, not a picture.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely agree about the ring and the team goal. But it won't be forgotten by the players, and it will leave a bad taste in their mouths for quite a while. Even though my experience was many years ago, there's still a piece of me that feels rankled. It's a personal thing, of course, something that means nothing to the team as a whole. But as an individual who gave my best for the team and stood shoulder to shoulder with a group of guys who achieved something, there's remains a sense of loss.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the Steelers are having little mini-dramas or if it's the result of Packer fans caring about these little details. Personally, I don't disagree as much since 15 years from now, people will look at the photo and think the people in it are the ones that played / were active. Fin and Barney are on the official team photo taken at the beginning of the season and they get a ring balecause they considerably contributed to this Super Bowl journey and I think that's pretty damn great.
ReplyDeleteGood point about the "official" team photo -- it is pretty great, indeed.
ReplyDeleteAs for the PIT fans, they have been through this so much in recent years I doubt that there are many "mini-dramas" like this. Well, unless Big Ben decides to take a motorcycle ride or go trolling for girls someplace.
Here's what my wife just said when I told her about this: "It's a Super Bowl picture. For players playing in the Super Bowl. It's not a Players Still Under Contract picture."
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