Re: Bill Simmons, The Sports Guy (A must read for the haters)

"I don't care about rejuvenating a city's economy; I care about me."
- Bill Simmons

Seems like the guy was just a grump because he was cold. Talk about a whiner!

I guess he expected the Mayor to make a call to God (about the weather) before he arrived.

 

Yup, used to be my favorite sportswriter.

No more.

 

He's made me root against Boston for the rest of my days. I really would have sent a barrage of nonstop e-mails had Carolina won.

 

I can't stand the guy. He looks for anything and everything he can find to talk **** about Houston.

 

You all are so sensitive. It's pretty much expected that Simmons is going to b**** about something. That's his schtick. It's funny most of the time. Sort of lame this time since he was really reaching for complaints and predictable.

 

Agreed. Bill Simmons is by far my favorite read, and I wasn't too happy when he took the Kimmel gig because it trimmed down his number of regular columns. Obviously, he was going over the top by ripping on Houston all week long. However, there is no one else out there that captures my same passion for sports, pop culture, humor and video game icons in one particular column. I mean, how can you NOT love someone who can appreciate the invincibility of Tecmo Bowl Bo Jackson and Jerry Rice?

I can understand not liking a column of his, but to not appreciate him just because of his thoughts (probably contrived) about H-town seems sacriligious.

"I WILL NOW LIGHT MYSELF ON FIRE."

 

hilarious. while i didn't enjoy the houston bashing, simmons is epicly funny. like junglerules said, he seems to think like i do on sports and combines it all with pop culture and such and makes for a damn funny column. his columns have been posted here before to plenty of laughs and even people who seem to hate all writers like him. now that this episode has passed, i will be laughing my ass off at more of his columns.

anything about tecmo super bowl is great.

 

The weird thing about his columns last week was that he was pretty positive about most of the places he went (he virtually raved about Icon), but he just felt the need to complain about the weather in every single column. Get over it! Weather is weather, deal with it!

 

I still think Bill Simmons is fantastic!

I found his jabs at Houston to be hilarious.

 

Simmons is a talented writer, but is still lame in that he NEEDED the Houston bashing to get his columns going....

In one of his columns' he seemingly compares himself to acclaimed writer, Rick Riley of SI, whom he saw at the Roxy in Houston last week...Simmons is as closely comparable to Riley as i am...and im pretty damn far...

 

A few choice jabs at Austin and you'd be crying for his head...

 

Not quite Alex.

 

Some of you ware way too sensitive. Believe it not, but Houston actuall IS a pretty crappy city. I have frends all over the country who live in major cities and travela lot for theirjobs, and every single one of them says Houston is by far the worst of the major cities, with the possible exception of Atlanta.

The place is ugly, dirty, unorganized, and way too sprawling.

That said, it also has definite benefits. Learn to take the bad with the good and roll with the punches.

 

A few choice jabs at Austin and you'd be crying for his head...

Why? Why do people care what some random guy you don't know thinks about your city? Does it affect your life in any way?

Bill Simmons makes me laugh, so I'll keep reading him, whatever he slams. If he stops being funny, that's when I'll stop reading.

 

i never like reading derogatory comments about my hometown...

but having said that...the only one that really made me mad, and i'm not sure if i'd even go so far as to use the word, mad...was the one where the guy wrote on Tuesday saying it had rained since he got here...remember that it rained a bit on Saturday...but didn't rain at all Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. that dude wrote that article before he left Boston.

much of the "bad" that was alluded to was accurate about houston about 10 years ago..but is less than accurate today. simmons, in my mind, just came across like a wuss. 55 degrees in January is too cold?? come on!

 

To this day, they still quote the New York Post headline, "Hellhole." That should tell you the power of the press. Like Max said, much of the stuff reported about Houston isn't even true any longer.

I saw numerous visitors to the Super Bowl saying in interviews, "Everyone says Houston is so awful and dirty and spread out, but we thought it was beautiful and transportation was easy."

That's what is frustrating to me. As one Chron columnist pointed out recently, "Have you taken a cab from LaGuardia to Manhattan lately? Now, THAT's ugly."

Ugly is relative.

 

Well, the city officials don't look at it that way (sensitive). They listen to criticism with open ears and make the changes needed to attract tourist and visitors (domestic and International). City image is very important for trade and business as well as entertainment events like the Super Bowl, World Series and All-Star games etc...

The "ugly, dirty, unorganized, and way too sprawling" is exactly what city officials have been trying to change.

Houston should take up zoning laws for BILLBOARDS. When I moved to Maryland I couldn't figure out why the highways and boulevards had such a clean look....I couldn't put my finger on it. Then I realized. NO BILLBOARDS!!! ZERO! There are some in DC. But not the state as a whole.

Westhiemer and Richmond, Highway 59 are littered with bilboards....ugh...River Oaks is nice. But of course the rich area will be that way. It's the urban and rual zoning law for most of the city that allow the ugly billboards (Sorry, but the "Be Part of Something Big" billboards aren't something that esthetic). Can you say, "Pink Flamingo" in your front lawn? It's not the kinda of thing you "decorate" your city with.

It's like wearing a pair of dirty sneakers with your three-piece suit. Or putting two fuzzy dice on your rearview mirror in your BMW.

 

There's that friggin' "sprawling" word again.