Liam Neeson went on Sportscenter to promote Taken 2 yesterday (2aken? Twoken?), and because ESPN is largely run by loudmouthed blowhards whose only identifiable skill is being able to emit long strings of unbroken shouting without pausing to think about the words being said, anchor Mike Hill opened with what he thought was a softball question for Neeson, “Can you even act like the Jets are good this year?”
You know, the usual meaningless semantic provocation used by ESPN talking heads to stimulate shouty discussion without resorting to any pesky facts. Unfortunately for them, Liam Neeson, despite living in New York, is an Irishman, and folks across the pond generally know about as much about American football as you or I know about hurling. Said Neeson:
“Okay, we better start again. …Are we live? Oh sh*t. Okay, I’ll be very honest with you, it was only the second football game I’ve ever been at in my life. I still don’t understand the rules.”
Never is straightforward Irish candor quite as refreshing as when it’s juxtaposed with the American institution of mindless bloviating on cable TV to fill space in the 24-hour news cycle. God bless you, Liam Neeson. I’m still not seeing Taken 2, but God bless you.
“If it’s gridiron opinions yar ahfter, aye kin tell ye that ah don’t have none. What ah can doy is spake in charmin accent ahnd poot broken bottles to me knuckles an punch woolves to daith. Ah haite those mangy fookers.”
[DeadSpin]