Graham's Word: Running Up The Score Shouldn't Be An Issue In Professional Ranks
Running up the score at the professional ranks in any sport should not be an issue. The latest example was yesterday’s NFL game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals.
The game ended with a final score of 58-0 with the Seahawks easily winning over the Cardinals. Some fans have an issue with Seattle’s Head Coach Pete Carroll running up the score. I don’t have an issue with it at all. These guys, at this level, are big boys and should have big boy pants on. Sometimes, you get your rear-end handed to you. These guys get paid to play, to score, to play defense, and to win. At all costs. A lot of the players have incentives in their contracts to play hard no matter what.
If I was a player on the Arizona Cardinals sideline, I would be mad at the way we played the game, not at the other team for continuing to play the game at their highest level. The Seahawks put in their second and third strings to get them playing time and they still continued to play well against the Cardinals. I would find it more embarrassing and disrespectful if my opponent took pity on my team and purposely played to a lower level. The fans pay see professionals play at their highest level not see them give up or give in.
I did not see Arizona’s Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt come out crying about how badly he was beaten by the Seahawks and that they should have taken it easier on his team. Instead, he came out after the game and apologized to the fans and the organization for how poorly his team played and how embarrassed he was. He said all the right things. I would be willing to bet that the film session for Arizona this week is going to be a long one.
When a professional team gets beat badly they should be angry with their performance and not their opponent’s. In this particular case the Seahawks were doing their job, and shouldn’t be looked down upon for doing it all game long. It would have been very easy for the defense to give up, and say enough is enough but they prevented the Cardinals from scoring all game long. I applaud them for playing the full 60 minutes.
The Seahawks played the game, can’t fault them for that.