Two questions:
1) How many of you have unfollowed Donte Whitner on twitter?
2) How many of you can’t wait for Whitner to leave via free agency?
Yeah, I’m pretty sure 9/10 readers are over Donte.
Let me tell you what I see with Donte Whitner. No, I’m not talking about a player who never came close to achieving his ninth overall pick status or a player that you’d forget was on your team, I’m talking about the person he’s become…
Us.
At one point, Whitner was being touted as a leader, a guy who Marv Levy signaled out as being a true character. When Whitner first started talking about Bills football, there was something about him that would always catch my ear. He was a great public speaker and more importantly, he was a leader. However, he just wasn’t a good player. There aren’t many second year safeties who are the vocal leaders of a football team.
Since he was from Cleveland, I think he understood what Buffalo was all about when it came to their sports. Some fans don’t give a player enough credit for blending in with a community when being a outsider. I don’t think it’s that hard to figure out the type of fans you play for. I’m not saying Donte was doing Tops commercials, but he knew how important it was for us to have a winning football team. Frankly, I think he wanted to be the spokesperson for the team because of the pedestal we put football on in this town. He reveled in being the center of attention or being the go-to guy for the state of the union.
You always hear about how when the Bills win, the people of Buffalo stick their chests out more. We also know what happens when we lose, as we we tend to go into self-defeat mode. The first time it happens, you tend to get over it rather quickly, but when it returns…and returns… and once again returns…it becomes our little friend who watches the games with us. We wear this emotion of anger/sadness like a cloak, it becomes our darker side. I’ve even heard the notion from some that we may miss the pain if it left…well, I say, I wish someone would have ripped this fu#ker out of me by now.
Trust me, younger fans who hate when people like Bucky Gleason throw this stereotype onto you. You don’t know sports pain until you’ve lived through the 90’s as a Buffalo fan. Jay McKee wearing the dirty skate is a day in the park in comparison to Wide Right, 4 Super Bowl losses in a row, No Goal and The Music City Miracle.
Now, what does this all have to do with Donte Whinter?
I think the description I just gave about us is equivalent to what Whitner has become. From being the leader who relished his role as the ambassador of the team to being an absolute sideshow, the bitterness of losing has made him..well…become like us on our worse football days. This is such a stark contrast to what I remember Whitner being like when he was a second or third year player. Last season he was picking fights with fans on Twitter, challenging bloggers to boxing fights, and totally shutting down the media. I think losing finally got to him.
Success builds character while failure reveals it.
The pressure of being the spokesperson made him go into a state of bitterness. He never could figure out a way to deal with losing once it became a trend. I always go back to the story about him after the New England loss in the home opener of 2009. After the game, Whitner was in tears while talking to reporters. I mean, it was an awful way to lose a football game, but my goodness, it was the first game of the year! If that season opener happens in 2007, I don’t think Whitner would be that emotional. Maybe that was Whitner’s impasse. At long last, the ugliness of losing got to him. Right after that, Whitner started to become a loose cannon. He was getting outplayed by Wilson, the fans were over his war/peace quotes, and he become the poster boy of a losing era for the Bills.
I guess losing can change a person’s demeanor and we should all know that by now from personal experience.
(Footnote: Look, I know I’m probably laying it on a little thick here and making Whitner look like Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith. However, I do think all of this makes sense.)
So in a month, when Whitner signs with the Browns or Jets or any other team, I’m sure Twitter/message boards will erupt with “Dont let the door hit you on the way out” rhetoric. Hell, I’ll probably be there with you. However, just realize when we boot out Whitner, he was kind of like us. It’s funny, but people always say that Jim Kelly resembles this city more than any other athlete. His tough demeanor and never-say-die attitude are what drove us to loving the guy so much.
Well, maybe Whitner has the most in common with our darker side of being a fan. Hopefully, both parties will find their inner peace with sports at some juncture.
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