Before you start thinking this piece is about a breakfast waffle, it ain’t. This is about that a little worm that exists inside our heads, telling us we are candidates for a big “S” on the chest. Sometimes our egos lead us to be offensive, sometimes amusing and sometimes clever and in good taste.
This effort is going to address the egos of some football players. If you are a fan of the NFL, you are aware of the recent sanctions against Cam Newton. Cam is a superstar quarterback, but he forced his head coach to tap him on the shoulder and point to the bench for violation of team protocol. Most teams have a dress code for travel, and for quite some time, Cam has been dancing to the tune of his own drummer. With the Panthers on a downslide, it was necessary for the coach to issue a wakeup call. There was no better way than to nudge his star back in line.
Cam had a habit of dressing more for Halloween than for travel to another city. So, when he reported for a flight with no tie, he was benched for the first play of the game. Coach Ron Rivera didn’t want to gamble with the fans or management, so this was the perfect ploy. No fines or loss of game play, but it started a buzz among the fans, and embarrassment can be a pretty good tonic for making a point.
My spouse is fan of Black QBs, and when Cam would score and run through the end zone to give the ball to a kid, she would smile. But as the celebrations got a little bigger, her smile got a little smaller. When the Panthers were on a run last season she didn’t miss a game. But after Cam tanked during the Super Bowl, she hasn’t watched a game. Hearing about the benching sanction, she said, “Serves him right.”
I have to admit, his celebrations were starting to get on my nerves, too. When he got his butt kicked during the Super Bowl, he became just a footnote in my memory.
This issue started me thinking of some of the other superstars who fell from grace with bad antics. Plaxico Burress was a star who caught a tip-toe game-winning touchdown to help the Giants win the Super Bowl. But when he got caught carrying a gun in NYC, he had plenty of time to reflect on his behavior while he was in the slammer.
Adam “Pac Man” Jones was a shut-down cornerback and his performance on the field was exemplary, but when he decided the make it rain by showering the patrons at a night club with money, he got a little attitude adjustment. Michael Vick found out that fighting dogs wasn’t cool outside of his circle of friends. All of these guys had an ego check and had time to reflect on their behavior while vacationing in the house with slamming doors.
In contrast to the preceding individuals are other characters on the other side of the coin. Baltimore running back Lenny Moore was noted for leaving Pennsylvania Avenue (The Harlem of Baltimore) on Sunday afternoon and arriving at Memorial Stadium in time for the game. Green Bay Packers fans were treated to Paul Hornug’s shifting style of running while fighting off the haze of a hangover. Hornug was a standout player, but was forced to take a year off for betting on games. My favorite was Oakland’s Ken Stabler. Ken would readily admit that he studied game plans by the light of a juke box. He would often arrive at games with a lady under each arm.
This last group of guys were all ego-driven, but they were characters of a good kind.
