Jared Allen of the Vikings says he'd rather drown than live in Detroit...

Obviously Detroit being talked about negatively is not something new, but I'll admit I was a little surprised by Jared Allen's comments about Detroit that he made when being interviewed about this Sunday's game versus the Lions. Did anybody else read this [[http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf...to_live_i.html). At one point Allen even said "I don't know, I couldn't do it. If I had to live in Detroit, I think I'd just drown myself in the river that was across the way."

I know what people says doesn't matter and people will continue to talk bad about Detroit as they've done for many years, but as a resident of Detroit this still makes me mad. I just wanted to hear any comments/thoughts about this.

There have been but few athletes who have impressed me with their intelligence. I rest my case.

He's just shit talkin'. I'd rather live in Detroit than play for a team with the Vikings' record this season.

.... hypothermia in a Minnesota lake would be more appropriate...

I had to go to Rochester, Minnesota for training back in the 90s. It is not an experience I want to relive. How people survive those winters escapes me.

We do have a river a short distance from Ford Field , I'll pay his cab fare if someone will accommodate his wishes . ;)

Pretty laughable coming from a guy who lives in Minneapolis. I'm sure he's never done much more than drive from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the stadium. And to complain about OUR weather???? huh???

"Brownstones everywhere"...really...where? He more than likely was in New York and unaware of it.

What a wuss. Drown or live? When you think about it, Norm Cash did both. But when the guy hints @ suicide that's admittinmg he's a choke artist-not a clutch player. I will say, there are downright dodgy places in New Orleans...but that's not what people immediately think of when N'awlins comes to mind. I've only run into true confrontational crime-y sketchiness in D.C., here in L.A.[[do riots count?) and sadly, The D. I've seen lousy parts of Chicago, St. Louis, Baltimore, Miami, Seattle-but would never be presumptious enough to say the whole cities are dangerous...

Jared Allen grew up in suburban California, so probably isn't a big fan of cold weather or urban areas. He plays in a dome so can be a weather wuss, even in MN.

A lot of people likely feel similar to how he does about Detroit.

Detroit's a rather miserable city by first world standards.

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Originally Posted by 313WX

A lot of people likely feel similar to how he does about Detroit.

Detroit's a rather miserable city by first world standards.

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I don't really disagree, but his specific comments are odd. There are no brownstones in Detroit, and the climate is sunnier and warmer than in MN.

And I would think that athletes would love New Orleans, with all the revelry. The safety issues in the ghetto are pretty much irrelevent if you're staying in some ritzy hotel and being escorted around town to the fanciest places.

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Originally Posted by Bham1982

I don't really disagree, but his specific comments are odd. There are no brownstones in Detroit, and the climate is sunnier and warmer than in MN.

And I would think that athletes would love New Orleans, with all the revelry. The safety issues in the ghetto are pretty much irrelevent if you're staying in some ritzy hotel and being escorted around town to the fanciest places.

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I agree how he said it was wrong, but his conclusion is generally the rule and not the exception.

If anything, it just proves [[along with the antics from the mayor of Troy) that an awful lot of people have very poor communication skills, if they're not out-right anti-social.

I didn't take the comments seriously... if you're playing for a 2-10 team, you've gotta do something to hype yourself up to play every week. Drawing the ire of the other team's fans with comments is one way to do that... although when I think about it, most of the fans who attend the game probably feel the same way he does.

I wasn't mad at this. What the comments were was just plain bizzare, though. This guy plays in Minneapolis. I think that's the story. He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, is he?

I mean, if you're going to attack Detroit on it's weather, and you're from Minneapolis of all places, it's not going to make sensee. Minny is further inland on the continent and without the lakes to moderate its weather meaning much more extreme weather. Colder winters, intolerable summers, more snow...I mean, there just isn't anything about Minneapolis' weather that isn't already worst than Detroit's.

Detroit is so easy to pick on, it just shows you the guy's smarts that he went after our weather being from Minneapolis. lol

If he jumps in, I'll toss him a cinder block to hold on to.......

He's probably saying this stuff because he knows the Lions players have no control.

Talking smack is a common tactical weapon used to get folks thinking about something other than what they should be thinking about.

You can talk about someone's girlfriend, their sister, their momma, their daddy. You can talk about how ugly they are like Ali did with Liston. You can talk a blue line about this and that. Anything to get the opponent's mind off of the task at hand.

If the opponent gets all riled then so much the better. That is in fact the goal. Rile them up and they'll forget the snap count, forget the stutter step on a trap block, forget that the pass route is 6 not 5 strides, forget that the goal of winning is winning not beating respect into the smack talker.

I must confess that talking smack was one of the things I did when I had hair. Talking smack was the easiest way to bring a better opponent down. A bigger guy could be made a foot shorter with some smack talk. A fast guy slower. A fan base insane.

Allen has talked some smack and the fans have bitten. They will fill the air with invectives aimed at Allen when they should be quiet for so Stafford can be heard. The cameras will pan the stands and focus on hand-lettered signs offering free river tours, or customized cement shoes.

The cameras will pan the crowd of angry faces and the central truth that Detroit is a city of violence will guarantee that Allen will win the game within.

Yawn, another knuckle dragging Nugentesque buffoon, craving attention against the backdrop of his team's horrible season. The Lions know all about this guy so it's highly doubtful he's succeeded in getting into the head of anyone that matters.

Which would be the guys lining up against him.

http://youtu.be/KkI9axajmT8

BopCity-

We should pay attention to anything you say after asking this intelligent question:

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No kidding? Care to share exactly where Gratiot intersects Woodward?

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Really, that is what you bring to the conversation? Be serious.

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Originally Posted by Bham1982

I don't really disagree, but his specific comments are odd. There are no brownstones in Detroit, and the climate is sunnier and warmer than in MN.

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It is colder in Minnesota, but it is also much sunnier, especially in the winter. The lack of cloud cover actually contributes to the colder temps, as the clouds will hold heat in. That said, you never feel the dampness that you do in Detroit or Chicago, as there is no humidity in the air. The colder temps also mean that kids can play in the snow for hours on end and they never get wet, so they're not as cold as kids playing in the snow in Detroit. If you are dressed right, the winter weather in Minnesota is considerably more pleasant than winter in Detroit. Plus, the cold temps keep the riff raff out, or if they do come, they tend to stay indoors more.

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Originally Posted by 13074Glenfield

It is colder in Minnesota, but it is also much sunnier, especially in the winter. The lack of cloud cover actually contributes to the colder temps, as the clouds will hold heat in. That said, you never feel the dampness that you do in Detroit or Chicago, as there is no humidity in the air. The colder temps also mean that kids can play in the snow for hours on end and they never get wet, so they're not as cold as kids playing in the snow in Detroit. If you are dressed right, the winter weather in Minnesota is considerably more pleasant than winter in Detroit. Plus, the cold temps keep the riff raff out, or if they do come, they tend to stay indoors more.

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Besides that, all the crap from the large scale blight, city-suburban squabbles, etc. [[none of which Minneapolis has BTW, and if they do, it's kept to a bare minimum) is much more harder to deal with when it's coupled with over half of the year featuring overcast skies.

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Originally Posted by gnome

BopCity- We should pay attention to anything you say after asking this intelligent question:

Really, that is what you bring to the conversation? Be serious.

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Who's "we"? Do you have a frog in your pocket or something?

Not sure why you didn't address what you term as my "intelligent question" in the thread in which it was posted, would have provided understandable context but perhaps wouldn't have allowed your setup?

But, whatever the case may be, feel free to ignore whatever you'd like.

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Originally Posted by gnome

Talking smack is a common tactical weapon used to get folks thinking about something other than what they should be thinking about.

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Absitively...

And you fell for it.

I talked smack and you got your thong in a twist. That is what smack talk is all about. That is why one should never fall for the feint.

The art of the smack is to take a small truth and exploit it. What I did was use a question you asked on another thread and used it to pick a sore point.

You slapped back. That is a lesson in smack talk. How it gets people off their game. That is Jared Allen is doing to entire Metro region. He is taking a known sore point and enflaming our passions thereby making us look silly.

Never fall for the feint. It means nothing. It is a tool. Allen is expert at using that tool.

Nothing personal intended towards you, just an illustrative example of the use of smack talk.

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Originally Posted by gnome

And you fell for it.

I talked smack and you got your thong in a twist. That is what smack talk is all about. That is why one should never fall for the feint.

The art of the smack is to take a small truth and exploit it. What I did was use a question you asked on another thread and used it to pick a sore point.

You slapped back. That is a lesson in smack talk. How it gets people off their game. That is Jared Allen is doing to entire Metro region. He is taking a known sore point and enflaming our passions thereby making us look silly.

Never fall for the feint. It means nothing. It is a tool. Allen is expert at using that tool.

Nothing personal intended towards you, just an illustrative example of the use of smack talk.

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Thanks for the clarification.

Only difference is there's no thong involved, learning that Gratiot has been extended to Woodward isn't really a sore point and I'm not a highly paid Detroit offensive lineman playing for a team scrapping mightily for their first playoff spot in more than a decade. I understand first-hand the competitive advantage of getting into an opponent's head, I'm just of the opinion that the Lions are primed and ready to take this jughead and his team on. Knowing full well, if they aren't able to, there'll be hell to pay.

So I'm ready to see whether they stand their ground and kick the hell out of the Vikings. Figuratively speaking, of course.