Can we please call for -- no, insist on -- a moratorium for what has to be the dumbest trend in sports reporting (and that's saying something)? It's the trend of getting a player to predict that his team will win, and then acting like the player has set an orphanage on fire.
It happened with Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress this week, who had the gall to suggest his team will win the Super Bowl. Such statements are treated as "controversial" for several reasons, including the fact that it will serve as motivation for the other team. See, it's not good for the other team to catch wind that their opponent expects to win.
Honest to Betsy, people.
Positive thinking. Arrogance. What's the difference?
ReplyDeleteYeah, this kills me. The Pittsburgh rookie who "guaranteed" that his team would beat the Pats, was actually asked if he thought they'd win. (What was he supposed to say? "No, we're going to lose"?) He responded that if they made their plays and didn't make any mistakes, then they should win.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet even the usually serene Tom Jackson blasted him. It was bizarre.
However, the Burress story has the added wrinkle that, after Plaxico predicted a final score of 23-17, Tom Brady said, "He thinks we'll only score 17 points?" The Pats ended up scoring only 14 points. And Plax scored the winning TD.