Apparently We've Been Underestimating Ricky Stanzi's Patriotism This Entire Time
by Adam Jacobi on Jan 8, 2010 7:00 PM CST
in Football
65 comments
How American is Ricky Stanzi? Made in America, son:
Stanzi’s latest tattoo is positioned across his back; he prides himself on being extremely patriotic (His BlackBerry cover is the American flag).
"I had the idea to get ‘Made in U.S.A. 1987’ on my back," he said, smiling. "… That’s pretty much the story on that one."
Emphasis ours. So yes, it's really his tattoo, and that picture's really him; it came from the DI's photo essay on athletes with tattoos (conspicuously absent: Kirk Ferentz's Swayze centaur tattoo, but I guess he's not an athlete), and that was back in May of this year. So yeah. This has been going on for a while.
Not only that, friends, but it's going on right now. As those who've read the Stanzi/Leman poll thread already know, one of our commenters was at a hotel bar that Stanzi stopped by after the Orange Bowl. The shirt he was wearing? Like you even had to ask, lawya:
Obviously, you'd expect him to wear that shirt after giving that answer to Chris Myers and all that, but remember: they're all in Miami, and have been for at least a week. Thus, Stanzi had to have packed that shirt and planned to wear it.
So now things start coming into a little clearer focus. Obviously, we weren't in any closed rooms or meetings between media and players, but isn't it just a little odd that after winning the game, Chris Myers asked Ricky Stanzi (of all people) a question that prompted a patriotic answer*?
People: that's politics and PR 101. Of course the question was planted. It'd be crazier if it weren't planted. And it was planted for one very specific reason:
2012, baby.
*Technically, Myers' question--if answered properly--does not prompt a patriotic answer. However, he brings up America, and we feel safe in assuming that Myers simply botched his responsibility. After all, it's just Chris Myers.
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I don't exactly know why yet...
but this weirds me out about Stanzi. He’s like this guileless superhero who intermittently make Gotham less safe without knowing it. He’s such a unique dude, I am going to factor in the eccentric quotient very large.
"I think it's safe to say our concerns are many." -- Kirk Ferentz
I think he being a unique dude, possibly a bit eccentric
Probably has a little bit to do with him shaking off negative things on the field – like a pick six or four interceptions in one quarter and still leading the team to another comeback victory. Maybe most quarterbacks with image issues would be able to shrug this sort of thing off like he seems to do, but there’s something about this new Stanzi that has been hidden from us all this time that makes him even more fun to follow. He doesn’t come off as tightly-wound and seems to not give a rat’s ass what you think about him, his ability or his unabashed love for all things America and Twilight.
"I know you're from Middle America, and sometimes you feel like you're representing more than just a school or a conference, maybe an entire group of American citizens out there."
by Twin Cities Hawk on Jan 8, 2010 10:36 PM CST up reply actions
Glorious.
Hulk tested. Hogan approved.
by George Washington Eagleclaw on Jan 8, 2010 7:18 PM CST reply actions
Stanzi
giving the correct answer even after Myers botched the question just further shows how ready he is.
It never gets to be easy
Stanzi is the ultimate cipher.
I mean, WHO KNOWS how ironic Ricky means this all to be? Wearing a goofy patriotic t-shirt and having MIA tatooed onto your lats are two different things entirely.
Then “the speech” after the Orange Bowl, and the Halloween pics, and the hotel bar pics, and his “I’ll still be an American” comment and all—it’s so demented it’s brilliant.
Is this guy ZELIG or something?
"If you want to become a man--come to Iowa"--All American IOWA LB PAT ANGERER, whose best friend is a dog.
"WHO KNOWS how ironic Ricky means this all to be?"
You know, you could ask the very same question about Dr. Stephen T. Colbert, MFA and never get a definitive answer. Which is about how Ricky wants it, I’m guessing—there’s an undeniable silliness to it all, but it’s still serious enough for a friggin’ tattoo.
So I’m saying it: Ricky Stanzi is our Stephen Colbert.
I got more rhymes than Wade Lookingbill's got dunks
You know, this is going to weird out our opponents even more.
It adds to Ricky’s aura. Really really.
"Wow. You know you have problems when even the cheerleaders know you suck." ~ Pain in the Sash
Sacking Stanzi is like sacking America
O’Brien Schofield’s a fucking terrorist. I knew it.
The Pick 6’s are like foreign aid? I’m bad at analogies.
by YouCanPutYourEddsInIt on Jan 8, 2010 8:35 PM CST reply actions
Everyone is a terrorist now
you’re either with Stanzi or against him!
"I think it's safe to say our concerns are many." -- Kirk Ferentz
I can't wait until next year...
to shout WHY DO YOU HATE AMERICA! as loud as I can everytime the opposing team does anything productive.
Does that mean we are The Stanzi Nation now?
More importantly, can we get another piece of equipment on the ISS named after him? I see a movement a comin’. It will give us a reason to continue living until the season starts this fall.
"Wow. You know you have problems when even the cheerleaders know you suck." ~ Pain in the Sash
The most incredible American since Richard "Dick" Bong:
"We've gotta execute! We've gotta have fun out there!" - Ed DeChellis
Funny how you know this guy....
He has a maintenance building dedictaed to him at Nellis AFB. Were you an AF guy?
I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member
by TheMightyErik on Jan 9, 2010 1:00 AM CST up reply actions
Nope
Too much Combat Flight Simulator 2.
"We've gotta execute! We've gotta have fun out there!" - Ed DeChellis
by ReadingRambler on Jan 9, 2010 9:41 AM CST up reply actions
He also has a road named after him in Dayton.
"I thought the kid we were using had the potential to be a good quarterback, and I blew that one." - Joseph V. Paterno
by leeharvey418 on Jan 9, 2010 10:02 AM CST up reply actions
Didn't he shoot down like 25 Jap planes in one engagement?
by Stay thirsty, my friends. on Jan 10, 2010 12:39 AM CST up reply actions
No.
"We've gotta execute! We've gotta have fun out there!" - Ed DeChellis
by ReadingRambler on Jan 10, 2010 10:24 AM CST up reply actions
There's a sign on I-94 in Wisconsin
directing people toward the “Bong Recreation Fields”.
"Oh no, don't do that, don't do that. If you shoot him, you'll just make him mad." - The Waco Kid
Ah... right, it was more like 30 Jap planes in one engagement.
by Stay thirsty, my friends. on Jan 11, 2010 8:47 AM CST up reply actions
He never shot down more than 3 in one engagement.
"We've gotta execute! We've gotta have fun out there!" - Ed DeChellis
by ReadingRambler on Jan 11, 2010 9:09 AM CST up reply actions
This has been one of the weirdest, craziest and most awesomely unbelievable day as a Hawk fan in quite some time
If he were to reveal that he spent the week before the Orange Bowl operating unmanned droids over Afghanistan, I would probably shake my head, chuckle a little bit and think nothing strange about it whatsoever.
"I know you're from Middle America, and sometimes you feel like you're representing more than just a school or a conference, maybe an entire group of American citizens out there."
by Twin Cities Hawk on Jan 8, 2010 10:22 PM CST reply actions
Fox News Pushing It's Political Agenda
during a nationally televised bowl game? no way.
perhaps, as the director and ops stated, this is all tongue and cheek for Rick. we can only hope. otherwise, our QB might be to Patriotism what Tebow is to Christianity. vomit.
by KentuckyThunderPussy on Jan 8, 2010 11:40 PM CST reply actions
Now now now
There was nothing expressly political about the question; it was just a dumb attempt for cheap populist appeal. Both parties do that.
Further, nobody gives a fuck about anybody’s political affiliations or views on BHGP. This is the wrong, wrong place.
And last, Dr. Stephen T. Colbert, MFA, is a more positive force for nationalism than just about any politician. It’s the 21st century way to love the country. Stanzi’s down with that, and I am too.
I got more rhymes than Wade Lookingbill's got dunks
I have a feeling the answer is BOTH serious and a put-on.
Let’s take the Irish: they love kidding around about the “luck of the Irish” (which, I was once assured by a real Irishman, references BAD luck), they kid around about being boozers, and hating the English, and all of that. They are masters of self-deprecation.
But don’t you get serious about insulting Ireland or they’ll smash you in the mouth.
So, I think, it is with Ricky. I think he IS an unusually patriotic kid, but at the same time recognizes the potential for self-parody in that. At the same time that he’s celebrating America he’s also having fun at the expense of those who overly-celebrate it. In this instance, he can have his cake and eat it, too.
It’s that strange paradox of being able to make fun of yet love something all at the same time. I think that’s where Ricky is at.
"If you want to become a man--come to Iowa"--All American IOWA LB PAT ANGERER, whose best friend is a dog.
Something tells me
That the fist pump and the point to his teammates suggest he’s having fun with all of this. When was the last time you saw Tebow celebrate Jesus like that?
"I know you're from Middle America, and sometimes you feel like you're representing more than just a school or a conference, maybe an entire group of American citizens out there."
by Twin Cities Hawk on Jan 8, 2010 11:45 PM CST up reply actions
You mean celebrate himself?
They took the bar, the whole fucking bar!
by recoveringfratguy on Jan 9, 2010 2:38 AM CST up reply actions
I guess the bigger question is
At what point does the University of Iowa create a tablet similar to the one created at Florida in honor of Tebow’s promise that has this historic “speech” inscribed on it?
"I know you're from Middle America, and sometimes you feel like you're representing more than just a school or a conference, maybe an entire group of American citizens out there."
by Twin Cities Hawk on Jan 9, 2010 10:32 AM CST up reply actions
Stanzi wont be 35 in 2012...
However, MissouriHawk & I will get him the 11 Electoral College Votes in 2028 for the Show Me State.
You can book it.
this place smells like feet. i’ll bring a can of lysol next week.
by pfac51 on Jan 9, 2010 10:14 AM CST via mobile reply actions
How old do you have to be to be governor?
Cause I would back a Stanzi-Parker ticket over Culver or Branstad any day. (Norm could be Ricky’s Dick Cheney)
probably 30, not sure.
state governor races aren’t my specialty, at least not since Terry Brandstad. I’m sure HawkeyeState has influential state Reps up there that can help out Manzi.
this place smells like feet. i’ll bring a can of lysol next week.
by pfac51 on Jan 9, 2010 10:27 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
Fuck and Yes.
Stanzi is a million times better than just about anyone the Show-Me State wants to send to Washington.
Black and Gold Blood: Cubbie Blue Heart
Follow me on Twitter: @MattLaCasse
by MissouriHawk on Jan 9, 2010 12:49 PM CST up reply actions
This really all comes down to one thing...
How smart is Ricky Stanzi? I don’t know if you guys noticed it or not but when he pointed back to the rest of the team after paying homage to his country, the rest of the team had this “What did he just say?…Did he really just do that?” expression going on, or at least that’s the vibe I was getting (albeit maybe because that’s what I was thinking as well). So, is the Manzi a satirical genius, the likes of which have not been seen since the days of Chevy Chase and Kurt Vonnegut? Has he found a way to morph a fascination with Twilight and America into something that we all can believe in, or is he just kinda daffy? I really have no fucking idea and it’s weirding me out man…
He was pointing at his team because they understood the joke.
They call him Ricky “Bobby” Stanzi. His point is akin to DJK’s wink to the media when he made his get with the program joke during an interview. He’s just acknowledging those that he knows will appreciate the humor in what was said.
by The Mexican't on Jan 9, 2010 11:06 AM CST up reply actions
Somehow, I think that he is a goofy college kid who is quite good at the sport he plays, but has an appreciation for the ridiculous nature of it all. They have all these old farts fawning over their every word, and they’re supposed to be super serious about it (see JC Tebow). SDS nature is to put it to them (us). Here’s hoping he doesn’t change, other than cutting down on his taints.
Amen.
I've sentenced boys younger than you to the gas chamber. Didn't want to do it. I felt I owed it to them.
-- Judge Smails
by WaterlooChazz on Jan 9, 2010 2:08 PM CST up reply actions
in the spirit of unbridled homerism...
Why isn’t Stanzi the top of the ticket? I’m a little late to j leman, but all i’m finding is he wears that tie for every picture possible. If the internet is judge, jury, and executioner, Stanzi seems to have more legs to stand on at this point than Leman.
And fuck Illinois!
Keeping wildlife, an amphibious rodent, for uh, domestic, you know, within the city - that aint legal either, Dude.
by AcrimoniousAngerererer on Jan 9, 2010 11:08 AM CST reply actions
The Internet is NOT Judge Judy and executioner!
Hot Fuzz FTW!
Keeping wildlife, an amphibious rodent, for uh, domestic, you know, within the city - that aint legal either, Dude.
by AcrimoniousAngerererer on Jan 9, 2010 11:09 AM CST up reply actions
Am I the only one who remembers the Stanzi Identity?
He wasn’t pointing back at the team to acknowledge the joke – he was telling them to shut the fuck up. Being deeply buried undercover, highly trained and working on BIG XI BLACK OPS he has to maintain his cover. He slipped up slightly in the joy of the moment of being the first Treadstone-like agent to win the Orange Bowl. If the team would have shown any more awareness he would have had to arrange a little “accident” for some O – linemen. This would not be good for team morale.
Really, does anyone think Matt Damon could have out run Derrick Morgan? I think not.
"Well of course, there's nothing better than being American!!!" - Ricky Americanzi, Jan. 5th, 2010
by The Bacon Explosion on Jan 9, 2010 11:37 AM CST reply actions
Ricky Stanzi quite possibly is the antichrist/the second coming of Hitler
Beware, the devil will come in disguise. Scramble the last four letters in Stanzi (NAZI). I’m on to you Ricky! You’re obvious anti-semitism aside, nice game in the Orange Bowl.
by KenOKeefeIfuckinghateyou on Jan 9, 2010 11:52 AM CST reply actions
A sign
When I clicked onto this article again today, the banner ad across the top was an American Apparel advertisement for their “Flag T-Shirt,” a t-shirt with an American Flag emblazoned across the front of it. This is yet another reason that Stanzi is an American hero.
They took the bar, the whole fucking bar!
by recoveringfratguy on Jan 9, 2010 12:00 PM CST reply actions
well, of course most of us WANT this to be joke. Suppose I’m willing to give Rick the benefit of the doubt.
and well said Hawk4trees
by KentuckyThunderPussy on Jan 9, 2010 6:39 PM CST reply actions
Count me out of "most of us"
Around here I keep my mouth shut about politics, a skill I learned living in Hollywood. And I appreciate the way BHGP keeps the Poli Sci crap to a minimum. But truth be told I’m a retired 25 year US Army Special Forces Sergeant Major, fought in Viet Nam, carried a Top Secret clearance and harbor politics just to the right of Genghis Khan’s.
Stanzi! Fuck Yes!
A warrior background with a username Zulu??!!
Hmm. Never would have guessed! :)
Black and Gold Blood: Cubbie Blue Heart
Follow me on Twitter: @MattLaCasse
by MissouriHawk on Jan 10, 2010 12:42 PM CST up reply actions
First, sir, thank you for your service. 2nd, if the Hawks get to Pasadena next year you can kick some ass for us? 3rd, I think I have this right, pls don’t go to any more jNW games. ANY other one next year is great, just skip the Evanston trip.
You're Welcome and I'm Planning on it and True, Very True
I travelled 2000 miles at fifty cents per to sit a hundred feet from Stanzi when he got hit so hard it altered his DNA.
And, IF, the Hawks make it to Pasadena I’m already skulling out how I’m going to invite all of Black Heart Gold Pants to a pre and/or post game party. (Right now, leading plan is to have biggest RV I can rent, parked just south of the Bowl, open to all BHGPers. Pass word, “Fuck You. We’re Iowa”)
I’m thinking about coming back for the tOSU game.
Agreed with your first sentence.
Thanks, Zulu!
"We've gotta execute! We've gotta have fun out there!" - Ed DeChellis
by ReadingRambler on Jan 10, 2010 5:03 PM CST up reply actions
If you watched yesterday's US ARMY ALL AMERICA BOWL...
I was in this aired TV commercial at 00:15…
My disappointment
Is that our hero is drinking what appears to be a Mike’s Hard Lemonade. I expect him to kick back a Red Label Budweiser!
That is a Bud Light in his hand.
I know that partial logo anywhere.
"You don't become a Hawkeye fan, You're born with Black and Gold in your veins." - Me
by BStylin Hawkye on Jan 11, 2010 12:40 PM CST up reply actions
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