A broadcaster makes a forced comparison between a sports win and a military victory? That’s only been done 100,000 times before… Methinks Mr. Rorabaugh is being a bit over-sensitive here.

Posted by Forechecker from Nolensville, TN on 04/21/09 at 06:41 AM ET

@Dirk -

Other broadcasters could maybe get away with it.  Edwards’ history however demands that people not let him get away with it.  He’s now WEEKLY getting his own KK thread for the stupid, ridiculous things he’s spouting during broadcasts.  He’s basically made fun of people with learning disabilities during a game, he’s cackled like an idiot to the point where even Bruins fans stopped and said “Wait, what thell was that all about?”...

I’ve said it I don’t know how many times already in various “Edwards Is a Tool” threads on here, and I’ll say it again—THIS is why Edwards is no longer employed by ESPN.  He was doing EXACTLY this kind of stuff during soccer broadcasts and was refusing to stop it, and ESPN finally got fed up with him.

Posted by Primis on 04/21/09 at 06:58 AM ET

I think people are overreacting, I hardly think that Edwards meant any disrespect to our country’s veterans. I know he’s got a “history”, or whatever… but sometimes you just have to take it in isolation with a grain of salt. Even someone as weird as Edwards? I just don’t think he would really mean to insult our military.

I’ll admit, it’s not something I would say, but sports has always drawn parallels with society. Psychologists have likened football to a simulation of war. It’s a game about fighting for territory—pushing the enemy backward. Salary caps and revenue sharing methods in hockey and football mimic a moderate socialist/communist ethic.

This is just how things are, I don’t think anything offensive is meant by this. Heck, here’s a saying we hear in sports all the time—“war room”—and what’s more, it’s almost always associated with “drafting”. Heck, that’s more offensive and inflammatory if you think about it.

I won’t tell you Edwards isn’t a tool, because he is, but this time, I don’t think there’s anything here.

Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 04/21/09 at 07:45 AM ET

Nathan -

It’s not that it was insulting to veterans (as far as I’m concerned)—it’s that it was stupid, unnecessary, inappropriate, and just plain a poor idea all-around.  Worst of all, you KNOW he planned ahead to use it all along—that’s not a spontaneous call even.  That makes it even worse.

Kellen Winslow Jr. stands up in a locker room in Miami and shouts “THIS IS WAR!  I’M A SOLDIER!” at a journalist and everyone gets all bent out of shape (because it isn’t war, and he’s not a soldier).

Well, at least Winslow was saying it in the heat of the moment in frustration.  Edwards has no such excuse—he just was being a tool.

Posted by Primis on 04/21/09 at 08:08 AM ET

he’s cackled like an idiot to the point where even Bruins fans stopped and said “Wait, what thell was that all about?”…

To be fair, he explained that one and it actually made sense.

But it is definitely an overreaction. What if we got upset every time someone gets labelled a locker room cancer? I am sure many many more people watching have had their lives touched by cancer than by war.

Posted by Pension Plan Puppets on 04/21/09 at 08:41 AM ET

It was scripted.  Planned and it seems he loves to rub it in the faces of opposing teams

What happens when the win the series, will he recite the Gettysburg Address?

One good thing, after round 2, no more of hm!!!

Posted by Greg W. from Jersey Shore on 04/21/09 at 08:49 AM ET

he loves to rub it in the faces of opposing teams

He’s the Bruins home announcer. I wouldn’t expect anything less.

Posted by Pension Plan Puppets on 04/21/09 at 08:52 AM ET

I absolutely love Edwards. I’d give my left foot to have him in Nashville. Now, if i hated the Bruins or my team is a Bruins rival, maybe i don’t like him as much. But he is great. I love his emotion.

Posted by Predneck from Hicktown on 04/21/09 at 10:25 AM ET

After reading just part of EN’s article and the comments, I agreed that he was overreacting a bit.

But then I red the entire EN article, and this paragraph made me stop for a second…

People died at Lexington and Concord. And just because it happened over 230 years ago, that doesn’t make it any less ignorant of a statement. No one in their right mind would cite the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while describing a goal by Chuck Kobasew.

He’s right.
What if Edwards had compared it to fighting in Ramadi or Kandahar?

My brother is in the Marines and has fought at both Ramadi and just outside of Kandahar, and he’s been shot at, killed people, and watched people die at both of them. He lost good friends at those places, and if Edwards had said it about them, he probably would have been fired immediately.

So how is it any different? The only thing is that it happened a long time ago, but as Seth said, that shouldn’t make a difference.

Edwards needs to stop trying to get youtube hits and do his job. A boring announcer is better then a joke announcer.

Posted by Kstewy16 on 04/21/09 at 10:44 AM ET

Is it just me, or the stupidest part of it was that he tried to pass the Bruins off as the underdogs?  Metaphorically, they would be closer to the English he so obviously loathes…

Posted by Laydownthelaw from Gatineau on 04/21/09 at 11:14 AM ET

Regardless of one’s thoughts on Jack Edwards being a tool, people really need to LIGHTEN THE HELL UP about this. Seriously. Coaches, announcers, commentators, etc. make military analogies a few dozen times a week and 99.9% of them pass right on by without an ounce of reaction or discussion. This is simply a matter of people who don’t like Edwards looking for a reason to bitch about him. He rubs you the wrong way so you hoist up your mock indignation because you just plain don’t like the guy and now you think you’ve got something you can run with. Don’t even try to pretend it’s anything other than that…

Posted by Rico from a place we call reality on 04/21/09 at 01:07 PM ET