The contestants appear to be schmucks, but they have to be. Three reasons why:
1) They’re on a TV game show.
2) The men in front of them could easily destroy them if they gave 12 percent effort.
3) TV people don’t sign contestants who are more Paul Pfeiffer from “The Wonder Years” than Puck from MTV’s “The Real World.”
The host, Petros Papadakis, gets paid to do the same, subscribing to reasons 1 and 3 from the above list. It’s all good, though, because the new show “Pros vs. Joes” on Spike TV is incredibly cool.
In case you didn’t see Monday night’s debut of the 10-week series, you didn’t see Jerry Rice, Jim McMahon, Goldberg, Matt Williams and Dennis Rodman clown three jabronis in various athletic contests.
In case you didn’t see Monday night’s debut of the 10-week series, you didn’t see Jerry Rice, Jim McMahon, Goldberg, Matt Williams and Dennis Rodman make fun of three jabronis before, during and after clowning them in various athletic contests.
Watch upcoming episodes Monday nights at 10 p.m. because you’ll see Jennie Finch, Bo Jackson and John Rocker, among others.
The concept of “Pros vs. Joes” is simple: Take three “regular guys” and pit them against five professional athletes, all of whom are no longer active except for Finch, in various athletic contests.
Normally this type of exposure requires a boatload of money or a Queen Mary II-load of rewards points from a credit card company.
Here, it just takes a good audition tape and the desire to get embarrassed on television for the chance to tell your friends and co-workers 10 years from now, “Yeah, Jerry Rice ain’t all that. I covered him once.”
These regular guys are the guys who sit behind you at a football game and know more about the game than every coach in the league.
These are the guys who sit next to you at Yankee Stadium and say the Yankees should trade Kelly Stinnett, Carl Pavano and Miguel Cairo to the Washington Nationals for Chad Cordero and Alfonso Soriano and believe the Nationals would make that deal.
These are the guys who call sports talk radio shows.
Watching the show, the Joes will make you root against them with their lame egos. You’ll want the Pros to hammer the Joes and embarrass them mercilessly. And they will.
You’ll then find yourself wanting to challenge the Joes because they talk so much trash about how they’re the best yet they can’t seem to throw a baseball from third base to first base on a fly.
Remember that professional athletes are professional athletes for a reason: they’re better than regular people. Do you really think you can beat a 63-year-old Michael Jordan one-on-one?
Let’s save you 20 years of wondering: You can’t. They have competitive DNA that we regular people can’t comprehend, which is what makes Pros vs. Joes inherently fun.
In the never-changing world of reality television, Spike TV has given us something slightly different. OK, that’s a lie. At its core, it’s no different than Fear Factor or Survivor.
But at least "Pros vs. Joes" is watchable. Fellas, time to cash in on all those "The Bachelor" points you racked up in the last few years and gain control of the remote control.
Comments (12)
While watching the Pros vs Joes on TV I expected trash talk form the "Joes" but not from professional athletes. All of the "pros" were taughting and ridiculing the "Joes" like they thought they were some kind of gods or something. Even the lady softball player was trash talking the "Joes". What poor sportsmanship. I have seen and played against many athletes with less talent than the so-called "pros" but they had 10 times more integrity. How about getting some "Pros" that really act like professionals and not egotistical "look at me and how good I am" jocks.
I think any fan frustrated by the pros boasting are just plain losers. It makes it more fun when the pros seem to take the joes serious. I like the show! I get sick of fans complaining about players that have fun on the field. I like the arrogant player especially when he backs up the talk. The great thing about trash talking is when the trash talker doesn't back it up. We should hold trash talkers accountable by trash talking them after they fail. Make em eat crow! Don't let them weasel out of it by being humble. Call em on it! The media needs to have more fun and joke the player when he's talking instead of writing serious articles to tear a player down. If we had a bunch of quiet guys in sports half the people wouldn't watch. Personality is important in American sports and no one had more personality then HOWARD COSSELL, who had fun with the PROS and made it fun for all of us!!
I am Joe 3 on episode 2. I was the true Average Joe on this show. I have no real athletic experience. I was never in sports ( except rec. league ) in High School or College. I coach volleyball now but I was put on there because I heckle. I am not a schmuck. I love baseball. I allow myself to be emotional about the game. I let those feelings flow when appropriate. I do not curse, I do not talk about families but I do say my peace. The Pros told me that they respect that and that it is part of the game.
The biggest problem with the show is the Editing. They shot interviews with us after each event, none were shown. They shot interviews with us about each event, how we felt, etc, they were never shown. There was ALOT of that show that never aired. The concept and execution of the show are great. I love the show but I am not someone who enjoys being called a Schmuck when I actually excelled at what I did, enjoyed it, and was not humiliated at all on television. Generalizations are fine, but I am proud of what I did ( even down to the puking ).
So here's the deal. Greg is right on. I, too, am a "Joe" on the show. While Spike is marketing this thing as "armchair" quarterbacks getting a taste of the real deal it is not quite so. The actual 5 day shooting of each episode was filled with a lot of great moments and memories. The events we took place in happened pretty much the way they are shown. Of course the pros have the upper-hand in most events but all the Joes fought extremely hard and showed courage for being there in the first place.
In regards to the "trash talking". The majority of it was done in fun, was good natured and encouraged. In off-camera moments the pros and joes would visit with each other and laugh about the experience. The pros would offer insight on their professional careers, where they are now, the work they did to get where they got etc... Alot of great moments on this show are being edited out to stay consistent with the marketing of this show. Most people don't want the "feel-good" stuff, they want to see the Joe's defeated b/c it allows them to feel better about themselves for not trying and not being humiated.
I consider the 5 days spent there some of the most memorable of my life. It challenged me physically, mentally and emotionally. Sure, I'll be embarrassed at some of my performances, sure I got banged up by some of the greatest of all time, sure you may think I'm crazy for thinking I'm "better" than a pro. But the truth is, it's about challenging yourself. Getting in over your head and sinking or swimming.
To all the Joes on the show, I salute you. Granted, alot of you probably should have kept some of your trash talking to a low roar b/c the joke ends up on you/us, but you have to admire the courage to get into the ring.
I'm looking forward to seeing all the remaining episodes and am hopeful for more insight and less criticism for guys willing to step onto the field and line up against the great ones of all time.
Bottom line: Enjoy the show. Cheer on the Joes. RESPECT the pros. Encourage yourself to go for it in the areas that you've been holding back.
To all you "Joes"! I salute you all for giving it all you got and leaving it all on the field. Of course you are not expected, at least not by some of us, to overcome the talent and years of dedication that these "Pros" have devoted into their expertise. If you could for some unexpected reason, overcome the Pros at what they do best, you would not be a "Joe" you would be one of the "Pros". We, the "Joes" in the everyday world, are "Joes" for a reason. We dedicate our time and efforts into what we do best everyday. Those "Pros" dedicate their time and efforts into what THEY do everyday, play their sport. I'm sure if those "Pros" tried taking us on in our areas of expertise, computer skills, courtroom debates, filing tax returns, composing a work schedule for a company of 1000 employees, taking and placing a food order for a birthday party of 50 people at a popular restaurant in a Metropolitan city, they would also lose and with the power of editing, be made to look like shmucks!
I have met Jerry Rice on several occasions because I am a friend of one of his family members. Jerry has an unimaginable devotion into maintaining his level of fitness and being the BEST in his sport and he takes it to the field hard everyday. Athletes half his age have trouble keeping up because of the great physical shape he is. However, have him or Goldberg fill in as a waiter at a busy restaurant in the middle of a major city on a Sat. night, and he might have trouble carrying a tray with 10 drinks and 5 entrees.
As for you "Joes"... I commend you an taking on the BEST on at what they do BEST. Not many people would even think of trying that. However, you took them (Pros) head on and whether people see it or not, you guys/gals came out winners! Regardless of how the show was edited and how they made you guys look. If the network edited it and made it come out different, the show wouldn't get all the attention they want it to get. I applaud you all. How many people can say they played with and had the opportunity to guard the BEST Wide Receiver in the history of the NFL?? You guys all won, at least in my book.
Unlike the commenters above, I do not enjoy watching the joes get beaten down. After all, that is what we all expect to happen. What fun is it to watch when you know the outcome? I find the show to be much more enjoyable when the joes succeed in beating the pros, like on the episode that aired on April 10th, when Joe Gutierrez [I think that was his name] tackled Herschel Walker twice in a row, talking smack the whole time. Now that was good television!
I think that the show is a great show to watch, but the majority of the "pros" are lightyears past their prime. If the producers wanted to really humiliate regular joes that think they could play a professional sport then they should actually have some top class athletes on the show. I would much rather see a Ladanian Tomlinson or a Larry Johnson run over a joe rather than Hershel Walker. It would just make the show a lot more real because the joes are actually going against someone that's at the top of their sport. I'm sure this kind of thing would never happen though because it would either cost to much money to have a high profile athlete on the show or it would be against the pros contract due to the possibility of getting injured.
I love the show's idea, the concept of athletic greats bringing their game to average "Joes" on Monday night television. I wish every day I could join in on the fun even if it meant taking the beating and enduring the talk.
I also agree with Mr. La Monica's statement above; I shudder to think what these PRO'S would do when confronted with an armed ejection seat from one of the Navy aircraft I (professionally) maintain. Unfortunately, that would never make for a compelling TV show...or would it?
I would like to address Britt's arguement of current stars coming on the show. It just isn't quite realistic, as fun as it may be. Consider L.T. or Lary Johnson tearing an MCL in a freak accident on the field. For what, an episode of SpikeTV? It just doesn't make sense for any current "Pro" to take that sort of risk.
Not so fast! There are many good atheletes out there. Some of which, would make make those pros look bad. For instance, I played college atheletics and we had good players that either got hurt or could not make the grade. These young atheletes in there prime with college experience would give an old pro a run for his money. Trust me!!
Am I the only one that has watched this show and see it for what it is. The show is clearly fake. Please do yourself a favor and watch the editing. Watch some of the events and see all the editing misuces and the scenes that are clearly shot after the fact and not in sequence. I am not hear to rain on anyone's parade. I watched the show and enjoyed it until I began seeing and feeling something was strange. If the show is not supposed to be real that is fine but if it is then they are pulling one over. Don't you ever ask why they show certain camera angles at certain times etc..
Good show but not reality...
Hey! I love your show and I would do anything to appear on it. I would love to the challenge against any pro's.
the show is real......