I thought we, as a sports community, were moving away from the “You didn’t play the game so you can’t comment on it,” way of thought. Maybe that’s just my echo chamber that doesn’t include a voice like former NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia.
His professional career began in the CFL, and he was signed by the San Francisco 49ers in 1999. Garcia would go on to make four Pro Bowls, three in a row from 2000-02, and he would be the last quarterback to lead the 49ers to the playoffs until Alex Smith in 2011. Of course he is passionate about this franchise, but a recent rant on an Instagram post was too much.
A 49ers’ fan Instagram account, @oursf49ers, posted a joke that ESPN’s Mina Kimes made on First Take. She said that current 49ers starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is the “definition of being part of the group project that gets an A while doing none of the work,” — as a student I resented that kid, but as an adult I understand there’s no need to forgo an afternoon of PlayStation when no one expects anything from you anyway.
Garcia took great offense to Kimes’ remark and went on a rant in the comments section of the post that was straight out of a time when Crash Bandicoot was the apex of video game technology. He posted 131 words about how Kimes has no business talking about football because she never played, he called her a joke, and then requested an amen from knuckle draggers far and wide who share his sentiments.
Being the social media lethal weapon that Kimes is, she sent out a tweet that eviscerated Garcia in about 16 words that simply pointed out she was far from the only person who was critical of Garoppolo.
“Apparently I was the only person last week to point out Jimmy Garoppolo didn’t play well,” Kimes responded to a screenshot of Garcia’s Instagram caption.
On that literal same episode of First Take, same segment, Stephen A. Smith got up from his chair and did a very funny impersonation of Garoppolo at quarterback which was Smith handing off a pretend football to a pretend running back over and over again. Smith has also nicknamed him, Porn-Star Jimmy — another good one Stephen A. There are numerous people across sports media, people who played in the NFL and people who haven’t, who have criticized Garoppolo because this postseason is the second in which he, the starting quarterback, has performed like a background singer. Hell, his own team criticized him by trading up to the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 draft to select a quarterback.
I wonder what ticked Garcia off so much specifically about Kimes’ take? Does he not watch much sports television and happened upon the Instagram post while scrolling and became infuriated? Was he the kid who didn’t participate in the group project? Does he spend his days blowing up at people who criticize Garoppolo on social media and this one just happened to go viral?
Or might he have a problem with a woman talking pigskin?
I can’t be 100 percent sure about any of that, but I do know that Kimes does not need me to defend her football expertise. If you want to find out how much she knows about the sport listen to her podcast, or watch her on NFL Live. Yes, she talks about advanced statistics like expected points added, but she also delivers facts that those who fear math more than public speaking and death can appreciate. Such as when she pointed out that the Seattle Seahawks’ biggest problem in recent years has been the front office’s poor job at drafting in the first and second round over the last eight seasons.
Garcia, it’s understandable that you want to defend your team. It was a circuitous path for you to get to the NFL, and it was the 49ers that gave you the opportunity to play. The result was a former CFL player ending up in the Pro Bowl. However, just because you don’t like an opinion doesn’t make it irrelevant. The same way you can’t be the arbiter of football opinions just because you played in the NFL, is the same way chefs can’t discredit the public’s opinion on their food just because the people who eat it have never worked in a professional kitchen.
Besides Garcia, who do you think looks better in this situation, person who works for the Coca-Cola of sports media, or guy who goes off in the comments section of an Instagram account for 49ers fans?