Is This A Joke?

L-R: 1) Two Legends And A Joke, 2) Roy Williams Forcing The Joke Into An Interception That Clinches Victory For Oklahoma

I think the editors of Texas Monthly must all be on crack.

Gracing the cover this month are two bona fide legendary quarterbacks in the state of Texas, Hall of Famer Roger Staubach and future Hall of Famer (just as soon as he's eligible) Troy Aikman. Between them, they won five Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys.

And standing in front (!?!) of them is Chris Simms, the University of Texas quarterback who has yet to live up to his pedigree, and is most famous for choking during big games and being replaced from time to time by the less talented overachiever Major Applewhite.

The sad thing is, Chris Simms isn't even the best college quarterback in the state of Texas. Although his daddy isn't named Phil Simms, Kliff Kingsbury of Texas Tech was the best passing quarterback in the Big 12 last year, even though he didn't have nearly the talent surrounding him that Chris Simms did. Kingsbury is an excellent college quarterback.

So why would they put Chris Simms on the cover with two NFL legends?

And why, pray tell, would they pick Texas (which is still coached by Mack Brown, the last time I looked) to win the National Championship? Last year was Mack Brown's year -- the schedule was favorable, the talent was there, and he blew it, as usual.

If they really wanted to do a football issue, they might well have devoted some copy to the Houston Texans inaugural season, and maybe even pictured their young quarterback David Carr on the cover with the legends (since he was taken first in the draft). It would have made a nice byline. And the Cowboys look to be resurgent with their best offseason since Jerry Jones has owned the team. Not to mention Emmitt Smith's pursuit of Walter Payton's rushing record. Those could have been a focus.

But no. Instead, there's the overrated Chris Simms standing in front of two legends.

Whatever.

[Posted at 23:45 CST on 07/28/02] [Link]