Fronting? Really?
November 16, 2007 by Run Up The Score!
Considering all of the legal troubles Penn State players have faced over the last few months, one would think that they’d be smart enough to shut up when the police come asking questions*. You know, snitches get stitches and all that.
Today’s Daily Collegian has even more details of the HUB fight, and they’re hysterical in that “it’s funny but it’s really not” sort of way.
Accounts describe a vicious attack. One player, said by witnesses to be wide receiver Chris Bell, climbed onto a chair and jumped onto Capehart, driving an elbow into his face.
Clearly, Chris Bell was a huge fan of Randy “Macho Man” Savage. Can’t really blame him. He got the pretty girl.
Snap into a felony!
The Collegian apparently omitted the fact that thirteen Slim Jim wrappers were also found at the scene. For further commentary, here’s Tailgate Shogun:
“So, Chris Bell can’t run the right routes, but can however manage to Superfly Snuka a guy at a party? Classic! Now if only someone would put a turnbuckle in the end zone, so Bell could jump off the rope to catch some passes.”
Well, yes. That’s certainly a thought. I suppose the other alternative is to allow Chris Baker to rip off the padding around the goal post and shred it with his hands and mouth, as if he was George “The Animal” Steele**.
The other gem from this morning’s Collegian article is this 1980’s flashback:
The fight arose from a prior disagreement during the fraternity’s “Mardi Gras” party, according to the complaint. Capehart, participating in Alpha Phi Alpha’s traditional “party walking,” in which greek members step-dance, reportedly bumped into Bowman several times.
Capehart told police he had apologized and moved on; Baker contends that Capehart bumped Bowman twice and said, “This is our party. I’m fronting on you and I’ll do what I want.”
Fronting? Frontin’? That term is still used? I’m an early 30’s white guy from the mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania, and even I know that “frontin’” stopped being an acceptable term about 13 years ago.
Again, Tailgate Shogun, who has totally owned the day:
“I didn’t know people still used “fronting” as a verb. I thought that went out with the high-top fade and 8-Ball jackets.”
Ain’t Gonna Hurt Nobody
But on the rizzeal (might as well get into the act with antiquated hip-hop terms). If the fight was really this extensive, why were these players on the field throughout October and November? You can’t possibly convince me that Joe Paterno was clueless as to the details of the brawl. Does catching Bobby Bowden mean that much?
(Also, is Tom McEowen just a tad out of place in this scenario?)
By the way, I just saw this stat posted on the FightOnState message board:
Since 2000 we have played 30 away games against average to good teams (Michigan, Ohio State, Minny, Pitt, Mich State, Wisky, Iowa, Purdue, Indy (this year), BC, ND (last year), Ill (this year), UVA, and Neb (2003).
We are 4-26.
Not sure what his “average to good” criteria was, but…yeah, not so good. Even if you only look at the good years — 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007 — quality road wins are scarce. That’s why I don’t particularly like Penn State’s chances this week.
* — I fully recognize that telling police the truth is preferable from a moral standpoint, but everybody knows that when it comes to fending off potential criminal charges, morals be damned.
** — I hereby nominate Mark Rubin to play the role of Leaping Lanny Poffo.
Update: Black Shoe Diaries flexes his Photoshop skills.
Meanwhile, Knowledge was flipping the Spanish Announcing Table
That’s all for Friday — back after the Michigan State game. Don’t forget the biggest game of the weekend — the Duke Super Bowl!
Nice Lanny Poffo reference, isn’t he AKA “the genius” and Macho Mans brother?
http://www.lannypoffo.com/Main.html
Gotta see it to believe it…great find.
I’m waiting for word to leak now about James “Animal Jr.” Laurinaitis being involved with this Royal Rumble.
[...] January 17, 2008 by Run Up The Score! Legal tumbleweeds from Centre County, connected with the fight involving football players, a black fraternity’s “party walk”, and uh…frontin’. [...]
[...] the same thing. When Chris Bell decided to scale that table, looked over the brawl beneath him, and decided to drop the Randy Savage elbow on the scoundrels below, I said, “Surely, the crazy bastard can’t top this! I mean, the [...]
[...] the most prominent but far from only incident of mishbehavior last year was Bell delivering a Macho Man Randy Savage flying elbow to some civilian during an epic brawl Penn State bloggers refer to as “the HUB fight.” [...]
[...] Bell, he of beating-the-crap-out-of-fellow-students fame, has been arrested in an apparent mix-up between threats of violence and a love of huge steak [...]
[...] Someone was frontin’ on someone else [...]