Remember the movie
Oh God, You Devil. If you don't you are better off in the long run. It's random and obscure movies like this that get stuck in my brain and don't come out. Then in a public situation I blurt out a quote that goes over everyone's head like a TT Boy money shot. Where the hell was I? Oh, right, the movie.
Well, the gist of the story is Ted Wass (he of Blossom fame) is a musician who can't get a break. He comments that he would sell his soul to the devil to become successful. In waddles George Burns (playing the dual role of devil and God) and grants him his wish. The fine print is that this will only last a year. Then he is done. For good. A dirt nap. In the end he is saved by God, who has been a fan of his for years, ever since Wass' dad prayed and sang to him as a child when he was sick in bed. It's no academy award winner but it was a decent flick, couple funny Burns one-liners and a young Ron Silver. The movie also stared Roxanne Hart, hailing from my hometown and the capital of the Garden State, Trenton, New Jersey. Where the hell was I going with this? Oh right.
The deal with the devil is a popular scenario in movies, books, television and even the NFL. I saw this online and didn't really think twice about it.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Byron Leftwich underwent surgery on his right ankle Wednesday and will be out three to four weeks, giving Joey Harrington another chance as the starter.Leftwich had been with the team less than a month. But he is injury prone and they were going nowhere fast. The second part of the sentence stuck out. Harrington getting a second chance. He would once again be the starting quarterback for the Falcons. He was originally signed as a backup but ended up replacing
this guy. And we all know how that story ended. Harrington came to Falcons from the Miami Dolphins, a team in which he started for the previous season after replacing Daunte Culpepper who couldn't recover from a knee injury.
Are you seeing the pattern here? Stop thinking about the George Burns movie and concentrate. Harrington isn't winning the starting spot based on talent or past performance. He has a deal with the devil. Except he keeps getting one year deals. Hell Harrington might even be the devil himself. Ask a Lions, Dolphins or Falcons fan.
Let this be a warning to backups Chris Redman and DJ Shockley. When Harrington stinks it up again the next few weeks, Petrino is going to turn to one of you. You thank him for the thought but respectfully decline. Ask for a trade. Fake a liver failure. Buy a few pitbulls, lock them in your backyard and throw a video up of it on YouTube (what? too soon?) Because he will find a way to injure you.
There is only one thing that can save you and the Falcons. And it ain't George Burns.
It's Jesus himself. But he is too busy cleaning up Joey's old mess.
-posted by Fat Willard
