Money Matters, But Not If You're Rich

You might have caught the middle-finger victory dance unleashed by Titans owner Bud Adams following an interception on Sunday. It's quite amusing and excessive, but what else would you expect from a quirky Texas billionaire without his six-shooters in easy reach? If the Rich Texan from the Simpsons had a real-world parallel, Adams wouldn't be far off. I even imagined him shouting "Yee haw" as the Titans turned the interception into seven points.

Now, reaction to the NFL's fine of $250,000 for the bird-waving has struck fans as extreme. I instead leaned back on my father's common refrain - "That's akin to fining me a dollar." Granted, he usually uses it whenever the newsrags gush about an athlete or actor giving a donation to their alma mater, but it applies with Adams as well. From the cheap seats, it seems like a large fine.

I stopped using the bird years ago - best not to give bad drives with gun racks an excuse - but an obscene gesture on a roadway might cost me a few hundred dollars (I'm purely guessing here, but Metro cops pull over people for far less). That hurts me far more than the bigger fine impacts the team owner with a 10-figure bank account.

It isn't as if that penalty is going to kill the Adams fortune. He writes the check and goes on with his life, and we can only hope the slap on the wrist doesn't embolden him - next week the Titans play Houston, and I don't want to know how Adams would react to the team now playing in the town he spurned. I wouldn't be surprised if he flashed them.

We forget that athletes and the wealthy don't subscribe to the same rules as us commoners. Personally, I long for the day when we can say, "Remember if you see any celebrities, consider them dangerous" (thanks to Kent Brockman for that).