Daily News Sexy Singles: My 2008-2012 Comments

ex-Eagle Curtis Marsh
Sexy Single 2012

Before I get to 2015, I think I should summarize the last few years' posts on this subject. So I'm writing this first, and the second part will arrive later.

The first time I ever wrote about the Philadelphia Daily News' annual "Sexy Singles" feature was in 2008, their 6th year. It was for the Outsports.com blog. The tie-in was that one of their choices was a Philadelphia Eagle, Todd Herremans. He's no longer an Eagle, and he's also no longer single. But I got to expound on the feature itself, pointing out that the 30 selected singles (over 500 names were submitted by readers that year) included a proliferation of people in the fitness industry (personal trainers, gym managers) as well as six employees for local TV and radio stations -- a full 20 percent. As I wrote then, this was "undoubtedly providing lots of free promotion for the paper on their stations. (Or does it really mean that a full 20 percent of beautiful single people work for TV and radio?)" That made for a total of seven local celebrities out of 30, or 23.3 percent.

I did note that there was a gay man among the 30. I also noted: "On a 'favorite single' poll at Philly.com Herremans is currently in 7th place among the men. The gay guy is in last place with just 9 votes. Ouch."

The following year, I wrote on the Outsports blog that for the second consecutive year the list included an Eagle, Stewart Bradley. But I saved my criticism for this very blog, which was a little over a month old at the time. In 2009 there were 37 singles, and 10 were working for TV and radio stations, up seven percent from 2008. They also selected Davy Jones of the Monkees, who lived part-time on a horse farm far, far away from Philadelphia. I wrote: "The paper promotes it as a 'diverse group from all walks of life' and adds, 'Who knows? This could be the year you meet that special someone. And you'll have the Daily News to thank.' As if 99 percent of us would ever have a chance with these celebrities, pseudo-celebrities, pro athletes, models, etc." 12 of 37 celeb types, just a shade under one of three.

My 2010 post was titled "No Gays, No Eagles." The two pro athletes this year were lacrosse players (from the Philadelphia Wings, no longer in Philly). Still, of the 35 singles, 5 worked in local TV/radio and there was a "reality" TV competition show contestant. 8 of 35, just about 23 percent celeb. However, there were another 14 who were trying to become celebrities -- including shopping a TV pilot, graduating from broadcasting school and trying out for "The Amazing Race." And with no LGBT representation (at least openly -- often there's no specific mention of the type of mate a Sexy Single is looking for) for the second year in a row, I referred to the 9-vote polling result I mentioned above: "Maybe that scared them off. That, or I guess everyone in the local LGBT community is either in a relationship or not very pretty."

True Blood: Too Gay? Or Not Gay Enough?

It seems that the "controversy" over Eagles offensive lineman Todd Herremans and his Twitter comment on the "barrage of homosexuality" on the HBO show "True Blood" has died down. These things generally do go away when a person issues an apology in a situation like this. Whether or not the apology is sincere, when it's issued -- and especially if it's issued quickly, as Herremans did -- the public and the media runs off to other stories. Only Twitter seems to want to keep the story alive in my mind, as it keeps recommending I follow him, and I keep ignoring it.

Those who took no offense whatsoever and became indignant at anyone who did, or who blamed the media, usually made the point that Herremans was only expressing his opinion about the show. So when I read this column at AfterElton.com the other day, I couldn't help but wonder if the writer and Todd Herremans were watching two different shows.

Again I have to point out that I've never watched "True Blood," so I can only go by what was written in the column. I'll quote the section that specifically refers to "True Blood," as the column discusses a number of topics. It begins with a discussion of full-frontal male nudity in films (the topic in question referenced in the first line of the quote)...

Really, Twitter? Really?

Twitter has copied a page from the Facebook playbook and has begun recommending other accounts for you to follow. Here's what just popped up on my page:

Ironic? (Alanis?) Or just an example of some dumb computer using keywords and such?

Eagle Todd Herremans' "Barrage Of Homosexuality"

If you believe that beautiful people or jocks are generally stupid, here's one example to support both theories. Eagles player Todd Herremans (this is the "jock" part), a 2008 Philadelphia Daily News Sexy Single (here's the "beautiful" part, although that is, of course, a matter of taste), had this to say about the HBO series "True Blood" on his Twitter feed:

"So ... caught up on Trueblood last night .... Not a fan of how they get u hooked with the 1st 2 seasons then bring on a barrage of homosexuality."

The original post has been deleted, which is why I don't have a screen capture, but the text was quoted by both Philly.com and CSN Philly.com. As for the rest of this, as far as I can tell, this is the correct chronological order. First, Philadelphia Inquirer columnist John Gonzalez tweeted at Herremans:

Herremans' reply is not on his feed, but was quoted by Philly.com: "I have no issues with homosesxuality, to each his/her own... Its just not for me.. #jussayin." Gonzalez' nest tweet:

Daily News Sexy Singles: No Gays, No Eagles

This week the Philadelphia Daily News ran their annual Sexy Singles feature, in which they show off local men and women, nominated by family or friends or co-workers or even by the singles themselves, because they're attractive and single. I complained about it last year, and interestingly enough, I still get occasional hits on that particular page according to my Feedjit widget. Is it because of having "sexy singles" in the title or because of the picture of one of last year's Sexy Singles, Eagles linebacker Stewart Bradley?

Overall, things haven't changed from last year. Of the 35 men and women, there are 5 employees of local TV or radio stations -- which surely leads to lots of mentions on those stations -- and the usual assortment of fitness trainers/models/actors. By my count, 22 of these people are either already celebrities (the TV/radio people, athletes, a contestant on the "reality" show "Chopped" on the Food Network) or are trying to be (shopping a TV pilot, graduated from broadcasting school, tried out for "The Amazing Race"). It goes against the idea that these are regular people who might happen to meet and fall in love with you or me.

I'm particularly out of luck: for the second consecutive year, no one is openly LGBT.

Is Stewart Bradley A Samantha?

If you've ever wanted to hear a professional football player proclaim, "Let's buy some shoes!" this is your lucky day!

Eagles linebacker (and 2009 Philadelphia Daily News Sexy Single) Stewart Bradley posted a link on his Twitter feed to something he posted on YouTube. It's an audio recording of his interview on a local radio station's morning show. On the show Bradley debuted an a capella rendition of the "Sex and the City" theme as performed by himself and teammates Brent Celek, Todd Herremans (a Sexy Single from 2008), Hank Baskett (co-star with his wife Kendra Wilkinson in a "reality" TV series) and new starting quarterback Kevin Kolb.

Bradley is the one who recites the "shoes" line, and possibly the one that follows (which is even more fun; you'll have to listen -- I won't spoil it). The pertinent portion begins at about the 0:50 mark: