Dear Critical Fan,

I can only speak for myself, my friend, but I have long been weary of hearing or reading the comments of Coach Mendenhall's critics. That's why I can't stomach sports talk radio anymore (except for KSL on Saturday afternoon), why I haven't listened to it for at least a couple years, and why I won't even read one particular sportswriters' columns in the newspaper. So you are right, a least when it comes to me, it is a "tender" spot. I find it extremely annoying. I have little patience for it. Whenever I encounter it, I either feel the need to put the critic back in his place, or I'll simply go away. In either case, I won't put up with it for long.

Why? Well, I can think of at least two main reasons:

1) I like Bronco Mendenhall and I respect him. Thus, my defenses go up whenever I encounter someone who I perceive to be making either an ill-informed or a personal attack upon him. And, I'm afraid that most of the criticisms I encounter fall into one of these two categories.

2) I follow sports for fun, and as an escape from all the other negative crap out there. And, frankly, it's just not fun for me to listen to, or read the critical opinions of fans. For me, it is a complete waste of time and it brings me down. What I'm into is news and information, not some other guy's negativity and opinions.

Some years ago I was listening to Jan Jorgensen's and Kyle Gunther's show on one particular sports talk radio station and was blown away when they actually began to break down the X's and O's from their individual experience as defensive and offensive linemen. It was fantastic -- a brilliantly informative glimpse into what it's actually like in the trenches from two different perspectives. I loved it, and yet lamented how rare such an experience is to be found in that medium. Most of what is broadcast is just a bunch of sophomoric humor and hollow analysis from semi-informed non-athletes with delusions of grandeur -- and these are the professionals! If I can't take it from them, I certainly can't take it from their amateur counterparts in the comments sections and message boards.

"BYU sucks!"

"Mendenhall sucks!"

No, in my humble opinion, the critics all suck.

If I was a better person, I might have more patience. Unfortunately, I'm not, so I don't. Please forgive me, and God bless.

Your Brother,
A.W.

P.S. The note above was posted on another thread in response to one critic's comments. It is shared here in order to broaden the circle of those involved in the discussion.