Belichick’s walk of shame shows no class
This was not the way it was supposed to end. Not this time, not this year.
Everyone expected Bill Belichick and Tom Brady to become the new Don Shula and Mercury Morris—the new perfect team of the modern era of football that would tout themselves until no end as the greatest team ever because of their unblemished record, popping the corks every time the last unbeaten fell.
Someone forgot to tell Tom Coughlin’s New York Giants that that was how it was supposed to go. Eli Manning, the Giants defensive line and David Tyree ruined the dreams of sports fans hoping to see history and shut up the ’72 Dolphins, while at the same time showing everyone that some things are still right in the world. That cheaters never prosper. And that the underdog always has a shot.
It is nights like February 3, 2008 that reminds me why I love sports. As cliché as that sounds, Bill Belichick’s early exit from the manicured turf of the University of Phoenix Stadium was a touching end to my football season, not to mention seeing a gigantic smile creep across the boyish face of the much-maligned Eli Manning while hoisting the Lombardi trophy his older brother brought home just a year ago.
But I’d like to focus on Belichick, the most-hated and most-copied coach in the NFL. The man known for “Spy-gate.” The man, that after eighteen straight wins, couldn’t hold himself to a high standard and take his first loss in over a year with some class and dignity. The incident I’m referring to is when the clock had one second left and Belichik and Tom Coughlin met at midfield, thinking the game was over. The two shook hands with as much enthusiasm as if they were in the waiting room for a prostate exam, exchanged a few words, and were then rushed off the playing field because the officials, rightly so, were requiring the Giants to snap the ball in order to run the clock out.
It is what happened immediately after this moment that really grinds my gears and shows how little respect New England’s head man deserves.
I’m talking about when Belichick refused to give Eli Manning and the Giants their moment in the sun: the endgame knee. The point where Manning takes the snap, kneels and finally gets a chance to revel in his success. It’s the point where the opponent is supposed to realize and accept the fact that his team didn’t play to its potential and just got beat.
Belichick was not man enough to give Eli his moment. He was too much of a coward to have some class and civility. He walked off the field early, further showing that he is a classless individual when it comes to the basics of sportsmanship. We’ve seen earlier displays this last season when his teams would run up the score on lesser opponents and throw long bombs throughout. I don’t even want to get into the fourth down attempts when the game has been well in hand.
And I can hear you yelling out right now. “It was just one second!” “Everyone thought it was over!”
Mybe you’re right. Maybe I’m being too picky, but the other truth is this: you are supposed to respect your opponent. That’s the first rule of sportsmanship, and Belichick refuses to follows these rules. It has been seen in the Spy-gate incident, his postgame walk-off, running up the score during the regular season and his laughable post-Super Bowl interview with Chris Meyers (You couldn’t help but feel bad for that guy).
But, the sports world confirmed Sunday that some things do ultimately work out—the Pats lost and Belichick could face further repercussions with the Spy-gate situation. Thank goodness karma exists.
credit AP
February 7th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
I think someone else needs to learn how to properly walk off the playing arena after a loss.
Bruce Weber’s post-game “handshake” tonight was classless and worse than Belichick’s little problem. I can almost buy Belichick’s excuse, but Weber’s was as intentional as the pre-game chest bump.
After all, “You are supposed to respect your opponent. That’s the first rule of sportsmanship.”
Thank goodness karma exists.