The Washington Post published a special section on the NFL on Wednesday, complete with the usual predictions of how the teams would finish in the standings. They even polished it up by illustrating the teams with comic-book-style art by Richard Johnson.
But the Post is so averse to offending the most sensitive Indian activist that it refused to illustrate not only the Washington Redskins, but the Kansas City Chiefs with an Indian image. Pardon the crude cell-phone photos, but the Redskins fan knows that this is an illustration of the "Hogettes," the burly males who have long dressed ridiculously as women as a tribute to the "Hogs," the Redskins offense line in the Joe Gibbs days:
But when one would turn to the AFC predictions, a team that looks like the Minnesota Timberwolves is picked to win the AFC West. Without the red arrow in the mouth, no NFL fan would have a clue this is a Kansas City Chiefs reference:
PS: The Post had no trouble showing Caucasian mascots, from the Vikings to the Cowboys to the Patriots. But if we're going to be politically sensitive, what is up with the illustration of the Packers? As a Packers fan, is our team best illustrated by a fat, bald guy smoking a cigar covered in blood and holding a pig head?
Perhaps the Post should have been more sensitive, since the Packers were first sponsored by the “Indian Packing Company,” horrors. But they specialized in canned meat, so perhaps the fat guy should be holding a canned ham instead of a pig head.
The Wikipedia entry reports “The Indian Packing Company was a company that was involved in the canned meat industry and was organized in Delaware on July 22, 1919. Its canned meat sold as "Council Meats." When the company was absorbed by the Illinois-based Acme Packing Company in 1921, it had facilities in Green Bay, Wisconsin; Providence, Rhode Island; Greenwood, Indiana; and Dupont, Indiana.”
At least the Post picked the Packers to win the North (and the Chiefs to win the AFC West over the Broncos). They picked the Redskins to finish last in the NFC East.
