The last we heard of Jennifer Floyd Engel — the Little Ball of Hate, as she was known as Fort Worth Star-Telegram‘s longtime sports columnist — she’d left the paper in July without a word of farewell, no goodbye column, no nothing, and taken a higher-profile national gig at FOX Sports.
Engel’s first column about the Philadelphia Eagles drew a whole bunch of negative comments from people suggesting she fly far, far away and become extinct. Readers hated her words, her femininity, her bad TV habits, and particularly her ill-fated decision to use “The Hills” as a sports metaphor.
“You lost me at ‘The Hills.’ What the hell is that a reference to? This is football. Go watch the WNBA,” was one of the more pleasant ways that readers described their disgust.
Since then she’s written about college football, realignment, cheating at Miami U, and soccer.
Her new column finds her covering familiar territory, her hometown Dallas Cowboys. Nostalgic? Not much. The self-explanatory headline: “Entitlement is what’s holding Dallas back.”
She’s got a new column photo (above). New hairdo. Body tan. Lean. Mean. Almost android looking compared to her Star-Telegram days (former column photo below).
She’s shortened her byline to Jen, which is more streamlined and cyborg sounding than Jennifer.
She’s dropped the Little Ball of Hate tagline, which is good because it was a rip-off of Pat Verbeek anyway.
And she’s downplaying that particular cross she bears in the male-dominated online sportswriting world: her femininity.
FOX describes their new columnist as “just another one of the boys.”
But Jen can’t shut off the estrogen faucet completely. She is woman, after all; hear her roar. Her new Cowboys column dares to mention…gasp!…actress Jennifer Aniston, prompting more mocking from ruffian readers.
“I don’t get the Jennifer Aniston reference,” twoshady commented. “These women writers need to stop interjecting their starstruck, girl-TV comments into my football. Go write for OK magazine or Star.”
Hmmph, twoshady doesn’t even know that OK! has an explanation point in its name. Heathen.
Don’t try to write down to those animals, Jennifer Floyd Engel! I mean Jen Floyd Engel! ;>)
Stay the way you are! XXXXOOOOO!!!!!!
While never a big fan of Engel, the woman was prone to disastrous hyperbole, I’d have to say that she take comfort in the realization that making a reference to anything outside the realm of a third grade education doesn’t suit male football fans.
She should simply restrict her football columns to single syllable words and typical idiot-jock analysis. The dumbasses will love her for it.
She’s the Little Ball of Yawns
“WWRGS” ?(what would Randy Gallaway say?)
Galloway and Hate had good rapport on their weekly videocast on the Star Telegram site, but now Galloway is teamed with Hate’s hubby Mac Engel and that guy is a stiff and a bore.
JFE’s departure from the S-T was definitely addition by subtraction for that rag. Although it won’t be enough to stop that rag’s slow death spiral.
I must have stepped on your toes!!!!!!!!!!