Super Bowl Sherman

I'm still confused as to why so many are still throwing a hissy fit over Richard Sherman's post 49er's game interview... but the fact that the Super Bowl is right around the corner probably doesn't help to silence the critics and keyboard warriors. In my personal opinion, I think fans need to look at this incident from outside the box.

Richard Sherman is not a dumb man, in fact, he's quite smart.... Credible sources say his mother would feed and clothe gang members where Sherman grew up in order to get them off the streets and to deter Little Richey from that lifestyle. A former coach said gang members would tell Sherman to go home and study if he even approached them about joining out of respect for his mother.

He was an honor roll student in the top of his class and majored in Communications at Stanford. Now, I know plenty of jocks get through classes because their team needs them (you can fill in the blanks) but that's probably not so much the case at a school as prestigious as Stanford.

Immediately after seeing the interview, I was reminded of a famous scene in which a warrior aired his emotions in a very similar way...

The arena... blood spewed everywhere, mangled bodies rotting in the sun. The crowd wanted death and destruction, but what happens when a man takes it one step further? When he gives them EVERYTHING they ask for?

"ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!" cries Russell Crowe in the movie Gladiator.



Perhaps the things we want most in life are the things we are often not ready to accept
 

THAT is what we got during that post game interview... that entertainment we so constantly beg for, even though we never truly get it. Because we don't think the story of David vs. Goliath is cool because the little guy beats the big guy... we think it's bad ass because David chops Goliath's fucking head off.

With the advances in technology, fans can literally feel as though they are on the field. Mic'd players, half a bajillion cameras with zoom capabilities and HD quality... to be any closer you would literally have to be that guy with a forehead the size of Nebraska who had to choose the most worthless fucking city in that state to constantly shout (fuck the Huskers).

But we ourselves don't want to be that guy... we want his life but we don't want the concussions, the millions of fans cheering us on so they win their bets, the millions more screaming at us to fail. We just want a glimpse of what he goes through, to receive a full taste is something we could never stomach... though we couch potato coach as they we could.

So a better question is, why are we so shocked when we get a full blown sample of what we so desire? When we witness Sherman put Crabtree on blast... when we hear a coach like Paul Rhodes drop a plethora of f-bombs live on ESPN...

Why are we so shocked when a "reality" television star becomes an idol, let's fame and money get to their head, becomes an alcoholic, gets into drugs, goes bankrupt and eventually kills them self by suck-starting a pistol?

Are we no longer entertained when we witness just what we've created? Why are we so shocked when we nurture vicious animals and then are for some reason offended when they decide to turn and snap their ugly fangs at us?

For some reason, we have this crazy notion that violent sports are played by The Brady Bunch... fun loving athletes who joke around and at the end of their day, go home jolly and calm.

The interview staff knew exactly what could have happened, which is why it was exceptionally funny they were shocked it did. In the majority of violent sports, athletes will be rushed from their environment and given some time to wind down before being confronted. I'm sure had Tim "I swear I'm a virgin even though I went to THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA" Tebow hurdled the axe murderer Ray Lewis for a game winning touchdown, he probably would've threatened to skullfuck his unborn children mid post game interview... and then immediately went to confession/into the Witness Protection Program.

He didn't tap that... even once? Whatever you say, Timmy.
 

We are so mentally distraught and emotionally high after testosterone laden events and sporting matches that we have to have time to come back down to Earth, just as an astronaut's body needs time to re-acclimate to its new surroundings.

I remember back when I still trained mixed martial arts... my second fight was against a guy who talked more shit than Muhammed Ali and Chael Sonnen combined. I knocked him out with a haymaker a minute into the fight. I literally don't know what I said to the MC afterwards, because all I could see was red like a bull an all I wanted to do was shove the microphone up my opponent's ass... the wide way.

But after letting myself rest for 10 minutes, I finally calmed down. I finally felt all the aches, pains and bruises... I could finally think straight.

I don't necessarily approve or disapprove of what Sherman said, although I completely realize why he reacted that way. A wise man once told me, "Conversation should be like a mini skirt... long enough to cover the essentials but short enough to keep some one's attention." Had it been me, a simple "Better luck next year, Crabbypatty" followed by a wink to the camera would have burned a little more. Sherman got his point across, whether America was ready to hear the unfiltered version of it or not.



STAAAAHHHHHPPPPPP!
 



Maybe someday we won't be surprised when Pavlov's dog gets tired of salivating, breaks free and decides to go latch onto some one's neck...