Wipe that smile off your face, mister
Shakespeare wrote: "A smile cures the wounding of a frown." But what did he know? He was this soft, namby-pamby playwright. He never dropped a sure touchdown pass in the NFL and flashed the pearly whites and heard an entire city howl in protest, the way Derrick Mason did.
C'mon, aren't we making too much of Smilegate, the newest conspiracy swirling around the Ravens?
Mason, the normally sure-handed wide receiver, drops that TD pass against the Steelers last Sunday and TV cameras show him smiling and laughing. Linebacker Terrell Suggs blows an interception at the goal line that would've been another easy TD and he's spotted laughing. Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata wipes out two Steelers on the sideline after the whistle blows and he's seen smiling on TV, too.
Big deal. All three of those guys are seasoned veterans who play their hearts out. They're not smiling 'cause they enjoy blowing plays and getting penalties.
They're smiling because . . . well, let Ngata explain it:
"I was thinking that it was a stupid penalty, and I was just basically laughing at myself that I could do something that dumb.
"That's pretty much why I was laughing, because that was the only thing I could do."
What do you want these guys to do in that situation, cry? How would that look, a big, tough football player sobbing and dabbing his eyes with a hankie? Vince Lombardi would roll over in his grave.
In the heat of an NFL game, when they blow an easy play or commit a dumb penalty, players smile because they're embarrassed, because they're angry, because they're dumb-founded over the stupid move they just made.
They're sure not smiling 'cause they're happy.
So let's put Smilegate to bed and move on.
Please.
Comments
They were smiling because they're the best player at their respective position on this team. This happens with a lot of teams best player. There reaction is to smile because how could I(the best player at my job on this team) make this simple mistake? They know there will be no consequences for doing this egregious error (like coming out of the game, or demotion). Basically they're saying I know I should have tried harder, but I didn't feel like I had too because I'm not worried about my job.
Great players with great ambitions don't have these reactions. Have you ever seen Ray Lewis do this? I love Mason's work ethic but keep your head in F'in game. N'gata seems to have a mental error every three weeks. He knows he's one of the best and its sad he thinks he's above the team. We all know T'sizzle thinks he's above the team, we learn that every training camp, don't expect different from him.
They need to get there heads right and respect the game like Ray does, he knows how much every single play means, you only get so many.
Posted by: BmoreBlitz | December 31, 2009 3:40 PM
Kevin,the fans back home were being given the tv shots from the game producers;the fans were'nt exactly looking for trouble.As fans,we felt that some players were'nt seeing the situation/ or having the perspective that these penalties were handing the Steelers an easier victory after most people thought the Ravens were the better team.Also, some observers were cringing from the refs bias against opponents at Hienz field( see Green Bay) and the fan base is sick and tired of seeing our team compete against one team and a ref's crew all at the same time.Nevertheless,I agree,Kevin;Let's move on from Smilegate and hope the team gives it's fan base something real to smile about this Sunday. Amen,brother.
Posted by: Dan R. | December 31, 2009 3:49 PM
I remember the same thing a few years ago against the Bengals when Jonathan Ogden was spotted smiling after blowing a fumble recovery deep in our own territory, and knocking it to a Bengal who ran it in for a game winning touchdown.
I wonder if fans are still questioning his integrity or commitment to the team and winning, like they are with the current "smilegate" situation.
Posted by: mtr01 | December 31, 2009 4:59 PM
Smiles or not, what I'd like to see is a player that cares if the Ravens win or lose as much as I do! I'm a season ticket holder and a die-hard fan and sometimes I wonder if the players care as much as I do!
Posted by: scott | December 31, 2009 5:27 PM
small things amuse small minds. that's the small portion of the ravens fan base who has nothing better to do than sanctimoniously moralize about the ravens week-in and week-out. these are the cronic complainers who would even find something wrong with a super bowl win. thank god they are a miniscule minority, though they make a lot of noise in these forums.
Posted by: gordonlee | December 31, 2009 6:13 PM
I understand why they all were smiling. They all knew they made a bad mistake. Really what else could they do? They for the most part were not smiles of happiness but smiles of disappiontment. What I don't understand is Harbaugh not removing the smiles, and removing them quickly. If he had there very possibily would have only been 1 smile, and maybe fewer stupid mistakes.
Posted by: Rich | December 31, 2009 7:49 PM
Thank you K.C.!
Maybe if it comes from a columnist / colleague others (fans & media) will follow suit. I've been "commenting" much the same since all this B.S. came out.
Posted by: Dave from St Marys | December 31, 2009 9:06 PM