Monday, February 2, 2015

Michael Josephson: Three things I hated about Superbowl XLIX

1. I did not see a second of it as I was en route from L.A to Des Moines thru Dallas. But I read the entire play by play when I got to my room allowing me the second thing to hate: self-righteous, after the fact, critics of a play call.

2.  Yes, I hate the parade of second-guessers labeling the pass call with 26 seconds left on 2nd and goal on the 1 yard line. A chorus of critics, both professional and amateur, have declared it the worst call in history. It's on the tweets and Facebooks’ of millions of experts. Sure it turned out badly, but how did everyone forget that the go-ahead touchdown for New England was a Brady pass on 2nd and goal at the 3 yard line — essentially the identical decision? Had that pass been intercepted the Patriots almost certainly would have lost. Was that the 1st or 2nd worst call in history? Do we forget that a player could have fumbled, that the Seattle quarterback has proven to be pretty good in the clutch? Anything is possible in football. It appears to have been an unbelievably great game and to taint it with foolish second-guessing is disgraceful.

3. But my number three hate is what actually did taint the game for real and forever, at least in my mind — the stupid and unprofessional brawl at the end of the game. The most watched sports event in the world including millions of kids and it ends with staggering bad sportsmanship resulting from unrestrained frustration and seemingly condoned by rationalizations by announcers. This was a genuine disgrace to the game. I think every man who engaged in the fight should be severely fined to send a message.

  What do you think?

  About the author: Michael Josephson is one of the nation’s most sought-after and quoted ethicists. Founder and president of Josephson Institute and its CHARACTER COUNTS! project, he has conducted programs for more than 100,000 leaders in government, business, education, sports, law enforcement, journalism, law, and the military. Mr. Josephson is also an award-winning radio commentator.

  This article was published by the Josephson Institute.

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