Strikeforce Marino

Not a fan of Dan Marino as a television personality. Mainly because he doesn't appear to outwardly exhibit one.

His space on the CBS NFL studio show dais virtually assures that program will always have less sizzle than its competitors on FOX and various cable outlets. He personifies the worst traits of the ex-jock commentator: unpolished, too reserved, and with this underlying vibe of mandatory attendance — like he'd rather not suffer the fools he's trading barbs with. It's all very austere from a former player who had the guile to pull off that fake spike against the Jets, and a performer who was the third-best thing about the first "Ace Ventura" film (behind Jim Carrey and Tone Loc).

Marino's always been a hell of a lot looser off the network and on HBO's "Inside the NFL"; maybe it's live television that dulls his senses. I don't want to say that it's Bob Costas that drags the interesting out of him, because that would be me giving Bob Costas credit for something, and I would like to be able to look at myself in the mirror tomorrow morning. It really helps me tame the hair.

But it was Costas this week who lit a fire under Marino, igniting the still-flammable emotions of the 1987 NFL Players' Strike.

"Inside the NFL" ran one of those feature stories that HBO Sports does best: piano-twinkling music, buttoned-down narration, and a cinematic feel. It focused on two replacement players for the 1987 Washington Redskins, who went 3-0 with their scabs, including a defeat of the Dallas Cowboys (who had several of their star players back) on "Monday Night Football."

One was a salesman, the other a security guard; both participated in a surreal moment in football history, in which players cut in the preseason and guys right off the street came together to play in the NFL while the professional players picketed their practices and assailed their buses.

Some of these guys even had a chance to play with Keanu Reeves, although I may be thinking about some other replacements.

The HBO feature was as you might expect: charming, informative, and with a tightly-wrapped narrative. And then we go back to the studio, where Costas asks three players who participated in the strike — Chris Carter, Cris Collinsworth, and Marino — their thoughts.

And then Marino snapped to life. He claimed the replacement players had accomplished "nothing," and passionately explained why the strike occurred and why the scabs were an insult to the union guys. They may have been two-decades-old talking points, but he made them sing.

Obviously, Marino knew about this segment beforehand, but there was no mistaking a certain indignity he felt after its broadcast. He was dead serious and deadly accurate in his criticism. It was a startling performance.

Naturally and unfortunately, the producers weren't going to let this turn into a tension convention, so they followed that segment with a short comedy feature on the short-shorts and tanned legs of a younger Marino on the picket line. HBO doesn't usually undercut its moments of sports genuineness with malarkey; in this case, it transformed Marino from an informed NFL labor policy wonk into a grinning ex-jock on a football infotainment show. Like I said: natural and unfortunate.

I'm torn on scabs, to be honest. I think the NFL Players were right to strike, and they continue to get the shaft from their league from a financial security perspective. I was a little too young to really have a stance on the scabs back then, but I think I would have opposed the replacement games.

During the NHL lockout, however, I advocated scab hockey, because I thought it would have been a way to actually put the game back on the right course. Regular Joes lining up at their local rink to try out for the Canadiens and Bruins? Having the logo on the front of the sweater mean more than the name on the back again? Rock-bottom ticket prices to get fans back to the arena, and keep them returning? Beer league players playing old-time hockey? I mean, other than the awful realities of crossed picket lines and union betrayal, what's not to love?

Not that there were picket lines, mind you. It's hard to really get some old-fashioned labor unrest going when half of your workforce is holed up in their summer homes in Europe.

I grew up in a union house. My family has benefited from the strength of that union, from medical benefits to keeping my father employed for most of his adult life. I'm not going to get into the sad decline of the labor movement in the United States, although it's a topic every American should consider during times of economic uncertainty and immigration strife. But I will say that I understand the passion and fury Marino still carries with him about replacement football, and for the players today that have no concern or context for what Danny and his peers did for them 20 years ago.

Even though scabs appeared, the wounds haven't completely healed.

Greg Wyshynski is also a weekly columnist for SportsFan Magazine. His columns appear every Saturday on Sports Central. You can e-mail Greg at [email protected].