Tommy Sherman

Character Overview
Tommy Sherman was a former student of Lawndale High, in Trent Lane's graduating class. He was seen only in the episode "The Misery Chick," but his presence is felt in a later episode, "A Tree Grows in Lawndale."

Tommy Sherman Before the Series
Before the timeline of the series, Tommy Sherman was a star Football player of Lawndale High. He brought home the State Championship. He played Quarterback, and insisted on making all the touchdown runs himself ("a real team player," Daria points out). Distracted by the crowd, he would often run straight into a goal post during the run, sometimes injuring himself.

It is implied that he was a very poor student.

Tommy in "The Misery Chick"
When he reappeared at Lawndale High, Tommy was tall, broad-shouldered, and muscular. He had light brown hair, a flattened nose, a T-shirt, and bluejeans. Personality-wise, Tommy can only be described as "a colossal jerk" (Daria's phrasing). He was arrogant and rude to an extreme, having no concern for the feelings or needs of others, and he felt entitled to sex and attention at his every whim. One odd habit he had was referring to himself in the third person as a way of emphasizing his importance. He also tended to strut in a self-important manner. Given some comments he made, it is possible he was a binge drinker.

Tommy Sherman was about the same age as Trent Lane, who was a former classmate. Trent is noted to be 21 during the first season of Daria. Per Richard Lobinske’s chronology of the Daria series, “The Misery Chick” probably took place in the fall of 1997, so the state championship was won in late November or early December 1994. Tommy thus graduated in spring 1995, give or take a year.

When he was a senior at Lawndale High, Tommy was the school's star football player. He was the quarterback of the Lawndale Lions when the team won the state championship. (This was three years before the time of "The Misery Chick.") Tommy was known for wanting to bring in the touchdowns himself, never passing to anyone else. He also had the habit of turning to wave at the crowd as he did so, often running into the goalpost head-first. He broke his nose twice and during the playoffs went into a coma for six days, an injury that nearly caused him to miss the championship game. He recovered without apparent harm to lead the team to victory the next day.

In "The Misery Chick," a break-away goalpost on the Lawndale Lions football field was to be dedicated to him, which set up the major conflict of the episode. While walking onto the football field after a nasty conversation with Daria Morgendorffer and Jane Lane, Tommy was struck by a large, heavy wooden crate containing the goalpost (which had apparently not yet been assembled and erected) and was killed on the spot. Only Kevin Thompson idolized him, though Angela Li (and perhaps Coach Gibson) appreciated his winning talents if not his personality.



A Closer Look
Certain aspects of Tommy Sherman's life and death are worthy of closer examination and comment. Ignore for a moment the fact that this is a cartoon, and just play along.

What Happened to Tommy After Graduation?
Not much, apparently. No one, including Tommy, said a word about where he’d been or what he’d done since he left high school. He was out of town, for certain, as Kevin said Tommy was “coming back to Lawndale.” It is possible Tommy went to college on a football scholarship, but if he skipped classes that seems unlikely. He probably passed classes the same way Kevin did, getting a bye (explaned here) whenever he needed one. Perhaps Tommy was one of those people for whom high school was the best time of their lives, the peak of their achievements, and nothing that came after was quite as good. He was stuck in his own past, and being unable to move on finally killed him.

Was Tommy Sherman Evil?
Though he was a jerk, Tommy was not as bad as some fans (and fanfics) have painted him. True, he viewed women only as potential sex partners and was crudely outspoken about this. He also helped Brittany to her feet, complimented her looks, and did not become angry (much less strike her back) when she slapped him in the face. He took it in stride, called her a bimbo, and moved on. Doubtless the slap was not a unique event. Doubtless, too, his come-ons sometimes worked. There are always more fish in the sea.

Tommy also insulted and belittled every male he met, though with a curious air of political correctness. He made fun of Mack Mackenzie’s name, but he didn’t use racist slurs. Tommy preferred verbal abuse with a personal touch.

What must have been galling to Tommy’s foes is that he was so arrogant as to be practically immune to return fire. View his reaction to Daria’s verbal broadside, just prior to his death.


 * Daria: I know the whole school's turning itself inside out because of some egotistical football player, and I've seen you insult or proposition just about everyone you come across, so my guess is that you're the football player guy. Congratulations. You must have worked very hard to become such a colossal jerk so quickly.


 * Tommy: You know what Tommy Sherman's going to do now? He's going to go out onto the field and check out his new goal post. He's going to read the plaque and think of all the people who admire him. But you wouldn't know anything about that. You're one of those misery chicks, always moping about what a cruel world it is, making a big deal about it so people won't notice that you're a loser.

That is one thick rhino hide. A lack of self-esteem wasn’t one of his shortcomings. He was conceited, self-important, egotistical, and boorish; like Quinn Morgendorffer, he esteemed himself more than anyone. (“Do you know who I am? Tommy Sherman?”) Worse, in his retort to Daria Tommy nailed the basics of the issue: Daria was a “misery chick” who externalized her anger at the unfairness of the world. She seemed to revel in her self-imposed unpopularity, but she really was miserable—a “loser” at the popularity game, and she knew it and he knew she knew it.

Even worse, Tommy was completely right that he was widely admired, though perhaps not by people who knew him very well. He was “unanimously voted most valuable player” by his teammates after the state championship win, and upon his return to Lawndale High was put up in a good hotel at LHS’s expense. A jerk he was, but he played to his strengths and was little hampered by his weaknesses. He was the worst kind of winner, but he was a winner nonetheless, and (almost) everyone loves a winner. The easygoing Trent had nothing bad to say about him, other than noting that Tommy didn't show up for classes often. "The guy was a hero," said Kevin. "A really good quarterback, everybody liked him, kinda hunky, you know." Nearly everyone at his memorial service looked sad. He was genuinely missed. He even had a memorial tree (per "A Tree Grows in Lawndale."

Finally, it appears Tommy had no notable criminal record, given the lack of mention of the same. He never physically harmed anyone (except himself, by hitting goalposts). He didn't even lie. As Daria observed, he was not a nice guy, but he did not deserve to die. Was he evil? Only barely. He could have been far, far worse.

The Coma Before the Championship Game
According to a number of medical sources (a good example being this page from the website for the Brain Injury Association of America), a coma that lasts for six days as a result of a head trauma qualifies as a severe brain injury. During the playoffs, Tommy is said to have hit the goalpost so hard that his helmet cracked. Technically speaking, he suffered a closed head injury as his skull was not broken open. (If it had been, he would not have played football for a very long time afterward, if ever.) Interestingly, he recovered and played quite well by all accounts.

Did Tommy suffer long-lasting brain damage as a result of this severe brain injury? Despite the fact that he does not seem very bright or well mannered, he acts normally in all respects in “The Misery Chick.” For all his faults, Tommy is never shown to be impulsive, violent, irrational, or incoherent—all symptoms of certain kinds of brain damage. He was always in control of his emotions and reactions. It is interesting, however, to note that Tommy in "The Misery Chick" was unlikeable, but he is often said to have been popular in school. Could he have undergone a personality change from brain damage?

Tommy's apparent normality is nothing short of amazing, given the number of times he is said to have knocked himself out against goalposts. Study the information from the Brain Injury Resource Center, or the effects of repetitive head injury (“second-impact”) syndrome as defined on emedicine.com. His ability to withstand repeated brain injuries seems almost superhuman. Why, then, did he succumb to a final goalpost hit in “The Misery Chick”?

The Circumstances of Tommy’s Death
Tommy’s death in “The Misery Chick” is problematic on several levels. After he left Daria and Jane, how did he get from a high-school hallway to the football field in less than 20 seconds? Look at the diagram of the high school in The Daria Diaries and note the distance he had to cover. One is forced to assume that an interval of several minutes actually passes between the time Daria says, “You know wishes don't come true” and the crash signaling Tommy’s demise, though it is shown to be only an instant. Perhaps the scene between Tommy, Daria, and Jane took place at the end of Lawndale High next to the football field, as the crash is heard so clearly. Less time would have to pass before Tommy is killed, but 20 seconds is still pushing it.

How exactly did Tommy die? We can piece together a probable scenario with intriguing possibilities from clues scattered throughout “The Misery Chick” and even in The Daria Diaries.

After the crash and a rush of students to the scene of Tommy’s death, Kevin Thompson wails, “Oh, my God! The goal post fell! Tommy Sherman's dead! He's deeeaaad!” This implies the break-away goalpost broke away too soon and fell on Tommy, killing him. In her eulogy Principal Li calls Tommy “a young man—our hero—struck down in a freakish accident by the very goal post that was to have been dedicated in his honor.” However, she then adds: “What lesson can we take from all of this, other than not to leave any goalposts in sharp-edged wooden crates leaning precariously against the bleachers!” As she speaks she glares at two startled and upset men who appear to be the school’s custodians, likely responsible for moving and placing the delivered post. The goalpost had not been set up, then.

Later, Kevin says to Daria (misunderstanding her), “You're saying he got hit on the head out there on the football field, the team's home, and now it's going to be cursed or something, and we're going to lose all our games.” We know from this that Tommy suffered another head injury when he was struck by the crate. Ms. Li’s remark about “sharp-edged wooden crates” implies one of those sharp edges hit Tommy’s head with disastrous consequences. This was one brain injury too many.

How big would a crate have to be to ship a single high-school football goalpost? (Jane said only one was purchased due to budget cuts.) Well, how big is a goalpost? About.com states that a gooseneck (or “pitchfork”) goalpost consists of a “post, crossbar, and two uprights. The post that holds the uprights is 10 feet tall and placed approximately 80 feet from the sidelines. The crossbar, which is 18 feet, 6 inches in length, sits atop the post. The uprights extend 30 feet above the crossbar.” Another website notes that uprights for college field are 20 feet long and those for high schools are 10 feet, but many high-school goalposts are sold in the larger size. (See, for example, Jaypro’s goalposts and those from Blackwater Sports.) A 30-foot-tall goalpost made of galvanized steel weighs 1,100-1,200 lbs., not counting the weight of the crate and packing. Gooseneck goalposts are shipped in four parts (post, crossbar, two uprights). If packed into a flat rectangular crate, with the long uprights in crossed diagonal positions and other parts fitted around them, the sides of the crate will be at least 15 feet long, and the whole about 1-2 feet thick, with packing and wood covering. This is guesswork, yes, but not unreasonable. (True, The Daria Diaries shows the upper part of the school’s goalposts are U-shaped, not square-edged, but bear with me.)

A very large crate weighing over half a ton falls and one sharp edge hits Tommy on the head. This sounds like an open head injury resulted, breaking Tommy’s helmetless skull and exposing (if not crushing and scattering) his brain tissue. He died on the spot, so the worst may be imagined. The accident scene must have been ghastly.

What caused the crate to fall? The wind, as Tommy walked past? A careless brush of his hand, or an attempt to lean against the crate? Or something else? We have one big crate leaning “precariously” against the viewing stands on the football field. The memorial goalpost had not been uncrated, assembled, or mounted. Before he left, Tommy Sherman told Daria and Jane that he intended to go out and see his goalpost, which he clearly thought had been assembled and mounted, and he wanted to read the plaque that dedicated the post to him. When he got to the field, he obviously realized none of that was possible. Was he so upset at seeing this that he tried to uncrate the goalpost by himself, pulling it over on him? Did he punch the crate in frustration and tip it over? Or did he finally lose his temper and do something stupid after he discovered the goalpost had been misnamed?

Fans of Daria have long been puzzled that The Daria Diaries identifies Lawndale High School’s football field as the location of the Tommy Sheridan Memorial Goalpost--Sheridan, not Sherman. It is generally assumed a mistake was made in the book. Perhaps not. Timothy O'Neill is infamous for getting the names of his students wrong. What if he was the one who wrote out the order for the goalpost? What if Mr. O'Neill got his history confused? (Sherman and Sheridan were both Union generals during the American Civil War.) What if the egotistical Tommy Sherman discovered that the shipping label for the goalpost misspelled his last name, so his goalpost was misnamed as well, and in a rage he kicked or struck the nearest flat surface: the unstable crate containing the goalpost designed to prevent careless football players from getting head injuries? His goalpost?

That’s irony for you on a lot of levels.

Alternate Versions of Tommy Sherman

 * In the John Lane fanfic series, Tommy assaulted Daria and John while visiting Lawndale High. This was caught on a security camera, resulting in Tommy's violation of parole (from an earlier offense), arrest, and loss of his football career. It is strongly insinuated that he would be sent to prison.