This will only be relevant and make sense to you pro football fans out there, but onward and upward...
A pet peave I have with the NFL of today, is the fact that almost literally after every play there is someone on the field doing a little pre-mediated victory dance or skit, that says, HEY LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT WHAT I JUST DID (their job, for which they are being an obsene amount of money for?...LOL). Now after a touchdown or game winning play in the closing seconds, I (as a former footballer m'self) can totally understand the emotion of wanting to celebrate a bit, but in the NFL of today, there is no thought to foolish pride, or not showing up the opposing team or respecting your foe, etc.... It's all about how much attention can I call to myself for making a tackle, or getting a sack, or making a good run etc....
The ultimate foolishness in this whole process to me, is when a player does one of these little dances (after of course running a few yards away from the play, so the TV cameras can get a good shot of him looking like an ass)... even when his team is behind in the game. So it doesn't matter his team is getting whooped on, but HEY LOOK AT ME I MADE TACKLE!!
Okay, what does this have to do with Ladainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers? For those who missed the end of the playoff game last weekend, after his team lost the game, he was caught by TV cameras trying to fight with the opposing team (which is usually a time when opposing team-mates shake hands, hug or even pray together...yea!). When asked why this happened he said (paraphrasing), "they disrespected us, because they were doing a celebration dance (made popular by one of HIS TEAM-MATES) on the Charger logo in the middle of the field."
Two problems with this: 1. Hey dude, you lost, they won...that's when celebration dances are supposed to be done, especially in the playoffs...especially when you just beat the top seeded team in your conference! 2. What goes around comes around. His team-mates dance (Steroid user, Shawn Merriman) was used to taunt opposing teams all year long when he made a big tackle or sack. LT apparently didn't have any problem with that, so it's just seems almost fitting to give some payback when it matters most.
And hence lies the whole problem with allowing these kind of things from going on in the NFL to begin with. They are unsportmanlike, they taunt the opponent, and the draw attention away from the accomplishments of team and shift it to the individual (which of all sports, the NFL is most about team and team chemistry to get wins). The NFL doesn't allow a pre-meditated endzone celebration, why do they allow one when a tackle, first down or sack is made?
So LT, take a deep breath, understand that your team just choked big-time and understand what is reaped is usually sown in this world of ours.
Sorry, just had to vent about this someplace!
RJLuedke
www.HEADPRESS.info
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I had received a comment about this post, which I did not choose to publish, (because when the person does not have the courage to identify himself and then use profanity on top of it...you don't make the cut my shy friend).
But to paraphrase, Mr. Timid Poster wanted you to know that he felt I was not right about LT because what the other players did WAS DISREPECTFUL to the Chargers after the game (to celebrate on their logo). Secondly he feels that Shawn "steriod" Merriman's little sack dance isn't disrepectful to the other team.
Hey Dude...read the whole posting! The main point I was trying to make, was that none of this stuff (tackle-sack dances etc...) should be allowed because it robs the game of the proper air of sportsmanship, professionalism and of team. The more of it that goes on, the more the NFL begins to look like the WWF.
Speaking as one "who has been in the trenches", (that's for you timid poster), There is no other professoinal sport in this country that the league or the players allow the other team's players to show them up like this...without a penalty, a foul, or physical action taken.
But also, LT, (though a class act by anyone's standards), still lost his cool after this devastating loss...and that fact cannot be denied. But hey, do I fault him for that? Naaaaa...I also cheered when Terrell Owens was knocked on his butt for celebrating in the Cowboys star in the middle of the field, (but then again, that was in the middle of the game with all cameras on him).
Post a Comment