I’m sure that you’ve watched Richard Sherman’s postgame interview with Erin Andrews by now. If not, you can watch it over at KSK. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Feel free to show it to some coworkers while you’re at it. If your boss gets upset, tell him that he’s a dick for making you work on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Once you’re finished watching it, go ahead and sign in to whatever social media accounts that you have and register a formal opinion about it to your friends and random strangers, because that’s what most people have already done.
About those opinions – if you’re in any way upset with the way that Sherman acted in that interview (and you’re not a San Francisco 49ers fan) you should probably reconsider your opinion. I don’t like telling people that they’re wrong, because opinions are like a-holes and we all poop out of them, but Sherman is an absolute breath of fresh air for professional sports. He didn’t curse, threaten to eat Michael Crabtree’s offspring, fire guns into the crowd, piss on the American flag, or try to make out with Andrews. He was excited about his team’s huge win over its biggest rival, and he was lost in the moment. It was pretty awesome. Again, unless you’re a 49ers fan.
“No thanks,” I’m sure some of you are saying, “I’ll take my celebrations with class and dignity, if you don’t mind.” That’s cool. You’re allowed to feel that way. But I watch that video (again and again) and I can’t help but think how badly other sports – looking at you, UFC – could use a personality of such magnitude, and an athlete that possesses such polarizing charisma but still doesn’t actually offend or hurt anyone. Except, of course, 49ers fans. We’re really lucky to be watching a guy like Richard Sherman play.
And if this brief defense of a guy’s happiness doesn’t change your mind, then you should watch him take down Skip Bayless on First Take again. Because if I had written a serious (and stale and clichéd) Best Sports Moments of 2013 post, this would have been No. 1.
