‘Skins quarterback Robert Griffin III greets fans as he leaves the field after the game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The ‘Skins defeated the Eagles 31-6. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The Weekly Standard has a problem with Robert Griffin III. Not necessarily with the rookie quarterback’s heretofore stellar play, or even that he could be leading the ‘Skins back to playoff form.
No, Geoffrey Norman, writing on the conservative journal’s website, is put off by Griffin’s political science degree from Baylor University. Griffin, if you haven’t heard, is some kind of übermensch—in addition to being a great quarterback who softens even the most vitriolic ‘Skins haters, he’s also a pretty smart guy who got a political science degree and a 3.67 grade point average from Baylor, the same university that produced five governors of Texas and a slew of members of Congress and the federal judiciary.
But because Griffin plays for Washington, he surely must be putting that degree to nefarious purposes, Norman suggests. After all, in The Weekly Standard’s eyes, Washington isn’t just the home of the ‘Skins, it’s also a corpulent cesspool of self-lavishing politicos who have little regard for the rest of the United States.
What kind of quarterback is RGIII, then? Norman writes:
One who can beat the other team with his arm or his legs and then captivate the media and the whole town of Washington, to include the Georgetown dinner party circuit, with his personality. A Super Bowl for the [‘Skins] would be sublimely fitting coming just a couple of weeks after Washington has lavishly celebrated itself during the Inauguration ceremonies and balls and parties. The town is rich and getting richer, prospering even as the nation out beyond the Potomac struggles. How better to confirm the majesty and glamour of Washington than to have the [‘Skins] in the Super Bowl and come out winning.
Uh-oh. How fearsome it is that Griffin can hold his own at a MacArthur Boulevard intellectual salon as he can the turf at FedEx Field. Surely that means he is no good for the rest of the country.
Instead, Norman suggests the rest of America coalesce around Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, who was the top pick in this year’s NFL Draft. (Griffin was No. 2.) And not only are the Colts surging under Luck, they’re rebounding from an even more dire situation than the one RGIII encountered when he arrived—without the services of Peyton Manning in 2011, the Colts tanked to 2-14. And at the beginning of this season, head coach Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia.
While unlikely, it’s possible the ‘Skins and Colts could match up in the Super Bowl next February in an epic face-off of star rookie quarterbacks. How does Norman think viewers would align themselves on the day of the big game?
And if the Colts were to play the Redskins, darlings of a united Washington, with a quarterback who actually “… was a political science major [and] knows about politics.” Which team would the ordinary fan pull for?
Easy call. Could there be a more flyover city than Indy? So it will be the Imperial City against … the rest of us.
Yeah, Norman went there. He envisions Griffin, the political hack leading the corrupt and fetid capital (Seriously, can the right stop getting so hard over the Hunger Games references?), against Luck, the inoffensive guy representing the inoffensive midwestern city.
So, congratulations, Weekly Standard! You’ve race-baited the NFL.
P.S.: Norman notes this, but buries the fact that Luck is no academic slouch himself. Luck finished Stanford University in snobbish Palo Alto, Calif. (Baylor is in Waco, Texas, which the Weekly Standard likely counts as much realer America) with an architecture degree and a 3.48 GPA.
So, if there is a ‘Skins-Colts Super Bowl, sorry, it won’t be the snobs versus the slobs. It’ll be a football game with a couple of smart guys at quarterback.
Editor’s note: The first version of this post accused Geoffrey Norman’s argument of containing coded racism. Upon reconsideration, I have retracted that claim. You can read more on the matter here.
