In Defense of Bobby Sippio
From River Falls, Wisconsin
When starting this site, I was determined not to waste too much of my time and more importantly your attention writing about the media. There’s nothing more boring to me than the media covering the media. As for correcting mistakes and countering poorly formed media opinions, I could throw up a site that does nothing but that and have plenty of material every day, 24/7, 365.
Especially when it comes to the Kansas City’s fish wrap’s coverage of the Chiefs, and in particular Bobby Sippio. I must comment on a couple of recent written incidents involving Sippio.
The Chiefs wide receiver is struggling to make the 2008 Chiefs roster. There’s no surprise there, because Sippio will always struggle to make it in the NFL. He’s got attributes every coach wants, like guts and heart and he catches everything thrown in his direction. But Sippio lacks the kind of speed coaches want from their wideouts. That means he’ll always be in a fight to keep his job.
Nobody knows this better than Sippio himself.
So when he goes out and catches the winning touchdown pass in the Chiefs pre-season victory over the Chicago Bears, Sippio knows it guarantees him nothing but the briefest moment in the spotlight. By the next practice, he has to get back to working his butt off to make the team. Sippio understands the facts of pro football life; he’s been living with them for the last six years.
Then comes the Kansas City Star. Writing in a blog item several days after the game, one of the star’s beat reporters penned under the title “The Myth of Bobby Sippio”:
“One of the many negative aspects of last summer’s visit to Chiefs camp of NFL Films and the Hard Knocks crew was that the show glorified a wide receiver of rather average talents by the name of Bobby Sippio.
I still receive regular e-mails from fans wondering why the Chiefs don’t play Sippio more and why I don’t write about him more. I get more questions about Sippio than about any other Chiefs player, a fact that is simply amazing considering that Dwayne Bowe, Larry Johnson, Brodie Croyle and dozens of other more interesting subjects play for this team.”
The writer goes on to eviscerate Sippio and his contributions to the team, predicting at one point that he’s got little chance for a spot on the final 53-man roster.
How miserable must a person be to stomp on a player who goes out to practice every day and does nothing but bust his butt to make the team? Fans got to know Sippio from the Hard Knocks series last year. It was exposure that Sippio didn’t ask for. Why hold that against him?
Somehow Sippio eventually reached the Chiefs active roster last year, where he performed primarily on special teams. He did not hold that position because he was on Hard Knocks or because NFL Films or HBO demanded his presence. He did not survive all season because he had a cadre of fans. He hung in there because he did the thing Herm Edwards always says is the most important task for any player on his roster: he did his job.
That’s what he’s doing here in camp again, this time without cameras and without reality TV shows watching. Â Why would a person with any sense of decency find fault in that?
Then there’s the habitually misinformed columnist, the most over-worked guy on the fish wrap staff who somehow finds a way to churn out maybe two columns every 10 days or so. Earlier this week, in writing for the first time about a game he did not attend and some five days after the game actually happened, he penned:Â
“The Chiefs would prefer Sippio, the former Arena League star, not make the team. It’s not personal. He’s just not a Bill Kuharich draft pick.”
What makes this so wrong and so hilarious is the fact that Kuharich is one of Sippio’s boosters. Although he’s not a draft choice, he is a Kuharich guy. It was Bill Kuharich’s brother Larry, who coaches in the Arena League, who tipped the Chiefs VP of player personnel to Sippio. Rest assured that Kuharich is one of Sippio’s greatest supporters.
The columnist would know this if he spent any time around the team, or had any contacts for information, or had any real understanding of what goes on with anyone but his chosen foil, King Carl.
I don’t know if Bobby Sippio is going to make the final roster. The odds are long and nobody knows that better than the man himself. Why anyone would slam him for making the effort defies belief. Bobby Sippio should be cheered for his efforts.
What is Sippio’s 40 time?
Everyone talks about how slow he is… so what is it?
Sippio is a GAMER and that is what every team needs.
Remember Rich Gannon? GAMER… We let him go and he kicked our butts.
I have to wonder if Bobby Sippio committed some unpardonable sin like turning down an interview request from Adam Teicher or something. It’s not every day that Teicher unleashes venom so openly.
The self-promotional, “we’re better than the rest of you” attitude regularly exhibited by a large number of media types never ceases to amuse me.
—Tim
Touchdown! Bob! This article is just an example of why many people are discorvering your site and read it faithfully!! We are tired of the reports you mentioned. It is unfair to the organization they work for and to all those who love the KC Chiefs!!
Sippio amassed a big fan base playing arena football in Chicago. He built that fan base by being a damn good football player. If you’re a sports fan from Chicago, you know Bobby Sippio.
Really, “Hard Knocks” had little to do with it.
Whitlock’s schtick is sooooooo old. Unfortunately, he gets a paycheck for the crud he writes– his good columns are few and far between.
I like Sippio, “he catches everything thrown in his direction” like you said. Sure he isnt the fastest, but in most DF zones that are run - he doesn’t have to beat a man to man coverage to get open.
The Chiefs have had a few speedsters in days gone by and look where they are now, thats do to they dropped wide open passes to them and Sippio doesn’t. If Sippio makes it as a #4WR and he doesn’t get all the coverage on the feild then he stands a better chance of being open and maken the big catch plays when they come his way and you know if the ball is thrown to him he’s gonna catch it and not drop it!
GO CHIEFS!!!!!
Bravo. Thanks for taking the time to write this.
Yeah, I mean there is definatly something about that guy. I have been a fan of Sippio since I first saw his attitude last season. He just seems very down to earth. He seems like a good team player. He appears to have great work ethic. He just feels like that kind of player who could make that last ditch effort catch to win the game. I definatly hope he makes this team. Go Chiefs!!
I’ll admit up front that I don’t find myself agreeing all that often with the columns you write, particularly in regards to the quality of our team’s GM, but I’m in complete agreement with you on Sippio. He’s got an uphill battle to make the team, he’s got less to work with athletically than a lot of his competitors but he’s done nothing but bust his butt since he got here and he’s made the most of the limited opportunities he’s gotten and that certainly deserves some recognition and credit. Frankly, I hope he does make the team and even if he doesn’t I’m glad that he spent time in a Chiefs uniform and I’ll root for him to catch on somewhere.
Good piece.
P.S.
“Then there’s the habitually uniformed columnist,”
So you’re saying that there’s a columnist at the Star who wears a uniform to work? Does it include a lot of medals and some spiffy white gloves for when he types?
Sorry…couldn’t resist
When a ball heads in the direction of Sippio, I have a good feeling about the results. When it headed toward Parker or some others, not so much. Sippio strikes me as a tough guy who is really good at grabbing a football out of the air. When it’s third down and we need 8 yards to move the chains, I hope he’s one of the three receivers on the field. It may be in a back-up role, cuz I’m likin’ Darling and Franklin, too. Even Price has made the most of his chances. But Sippio seems to fit the mold of a “Chief.”
Thanks Bob and Bobby for your hard work and excellent results.
I think the coaches need to at least give Sippio a chance to run with the first string Offense during one of these preseason games. I don’t think you can fairly evaluate a player’s ability until you see him play in a game. We all know he can tear it up against a scrubby D, well let’s see what he can do against a starting unit. I’m sure, if given that opporitunity, Sippio, as usual, would make the most of it.
I’m really rooting for this guy.
This is what needed to be put out in the open. I have probably been Bobby Sippio’s biggest supporter outside of the organization (which my buddies will readily admit is annoying). The guy just knows how to play the game.
Look at Jeff Webb for example. This is a guy who the Chiefs spent a draft pick on, and has yet to elevate himself above a #4 receiver. It’s not as if he was playing behind recievers like they have in Indy and doesn’t get time to play. He was playing behind Eddie Kennison, Samie Parker, et al. He may have speed to burn, but speed to burn doesn’t do much if you don’t have the ball in your hands.
I will admit, I don’t get to see every play of every game, but I have yet to see Sippio drop a pass, and I definitely don’t see him being hesitant to go across the middle to grab the ball. Also, do you see him pulling the Samie Parker special of sliding to avoid contact? As a football player, contact is the nature of the beast, and Bobby Sippio seems to embrace it.
I wish Bobby all the best, and thanks Mr. Gretz for getting the opinion which I think many Kansas Citians share about #83.
Thanks for keeping them honest Bob
I read the article as more a slam on the fans than on Sippio himself. Teicher does that a lot. He gets annoyed and the vocal minority of irrational, uninformed fans. It’s really petty. He gets a lot of mail or people asking him about something and his attitude is “these people are stupid”…which is totally fine, he can think that, and he may well be correct, but why waste paper writing articles about it??? I don’t want to read that crap. I want to read and hear you talk about the KC Chiefs and what’s happening with the team.
The last thing I want to read printed in the media are media people bickering in a public forum, or media bashing fans…grow up and do your jobs.
Who would you rather have Sammie Parker who has speed and no hands or Bobby Sippio who has hands but no speed. I would want Bobby Sippio. Is there any chance they put weight on him and make him a TE or just line him up as a TE.
TimInKc & Anon - It’s Whitlock, not Teicher.
Mike:
actually, I’m quite sure Gretz’s article refers to Teicher for a majority of the article. The first quote is from Teicher. He also then takes a shot at Whitlock at the end…the last quote is from a recent Whitlock article.
Thank you, Bob, for standing up for someone who, make the team or not, should be cheered for his work ethic and character. I hope Sippio makes the team but if he doesn’t he can walk away head held high, knowing he gave everything he had. How many of us have done that?
Thanks again for a great sight.
Hey, Bob…Great article…When are you going to write about me? Don’t you like Cox?
Good article. I hope Sippio makes it. He not only works hard on the field and makes the catches he’s also very personable. At one of the fanfest events he gladly held up my 3 year old daughter and talked to her like she was family. She loved seeing him score against the bears and he’ll always be a favorite in our house.
Thanks Bob for a needed response.
I first saw Sippio on Hard Knocks, and then did my research. He was a great athlete in high school and later in college as a DB All-American. It was as a DB he was cut from Miami. However, it was his highlite video when he was with the Rush which made me a fan. I saw the Sip hurdling over the top of a defensive player to get into the end zone. I cannot imagine any other WR on our team making that effort, with the exception of his cousin…DBowe. They both fight like he!! to score and that is the mark of a winner.
Kudos to you bob, another article that shows your arrogance. Hope you enjoy your job while king carl is around.
Hey “TheWatcher”, what does that make you for calling someone else arrogant? Who gave you the ability to judge anyone else? Bob was stating an opinion, just like you did in calling him arrogant. Way to make a complete @ss out of yourself. Bob did an excellent job with this article. It needed to be said and he said it. Someone needs to give Sip a voice.
Bob I hope you saw my response to Adams article on the Red Zone blog. It was titled “The Myth fo Adam Teicher”. Check it out.
The draft pick reference was from Fatlock, in Tuesday’s column. I just looked it up.
Gretz-You’re a dumbass