Watch CBS News

Choppy: Stephen A. Smith Just Doesn't Get It

Stephen A Smith went on and on during First Take Monday morning, pondering as only he can, why Jerry Jones would take so much time out of his speech to mention Tony Romo.

A man Stephen A Smith diminishes to a guy who never won anything.

I can only imagine the disappointment in Smith's eyes if a child of his wasn't valedictorian. I mean, the embarrassment the family must feel!

Smith, and other meatball sports fans like him, fail to recognize that being results oriented is the most archaic of traits that sports fans still hold. In an era where we've realized that Passing Yards, Touchdowns, and "Duh, Rings," should be replaced by Y/A, QBR and other stats that show, oh, I don't know, nuance, sports fans like Smith continue to miss the mark.

I understand. I can't expect a man who has one of the deepest vocabularies on TV to have the time to learn fewer words and gain more life perspective.

Coach Joe Avezzano once told me, "If you don't enjoy the journey, you can't appreciate the destination." I suppose that means that Smith doesn't think much of the NBA careers, nor should their respective franchise owners, of Malone, Stockton, Barkley, Miller or Ewing.

I don't hear him going on and on about his beloved Don Mattingly, or "Mr. May, Dave Winfield," but if you're simple enough to judge a quarterback's value to his franchise owner based on rings, you're probably simple enough to ignore the same types of guys on your team but still hold them in high regard.

I mean, this is the same type of guy who would take Eli over Tony, when anyone who can close their mouth fully when they aren't talking can see that the only reason he's going to Canton is his Front 7, and David Tyree's helmet.

He talks about Romo missing the postseason 5 times, which is 2 fewer than Eli has missed, but forget that football is this team game.

But this isn't Romo vs Eli, that's off topic. This is Stephen A, Stephen A'ing. This is a guy who doesn't understand that it's possible to love a guy that played for you but didn't win. Possible to be a father figure to someone that may not have reached your expectations.

Dang it, I fell for his trap again.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.