After watching last night's BCS Title game, all I could think was "GET OUT OF THE WAY." Who was I talking to? The players? No. The coaches? No. They both had their right to be on the field to celebrate/congratulate.
I'm talking to the media.
I'm fine with cameramen getting on the field, showing the viewers at home what the people in attendance can see. That's fine. What isn't fine is the hoard of media members who immediately swarmed the field, grabbing at coaches and players so they could get their soundbytes. Oregon coach Chip Kelly and Auburn coach Gene Chizik had to fight through photographers and ESPNers just to shake hands and have a friendly word after the Auburn Tigers 22-19 National Championship victory in Arizona. It was pathetic.
Seconds later, an audible "CAM! CAM! CAM!" was heard -- an interviewer vying for Auburn Quarterback Cam Newton's attention. Newton responded by brushing the guy off as he went to talk with Oregon Quarterback Darron Thomas.
I understand that the media need to do their job. The photographers need their front page snap. The interviewers of the tv and radio stations need their soundbytes. But they should have to wait. Let the people who actually participated in the game do their business. Let the losers congratulate the winners, and vice-versa. We have to remember, it's just a game. Sure, a lot of money is made on this particular game, just like any other major sporting final, but give the participants some respect.
Can you imagine being Cam Newton last night? He's just won a National Championship, the newest best-thing-ever for him (after the Heisman trophy win), he wants to talk with Darron Thomas, Chip Kelly, etc. and he has to fight his way through photographers and interviewers just to do so. Sure enough, thirty seconds later, he was giving a live interview on ESPN.
It seems American fotball is used to this though. Maybe it's because the sidelines are blanketed by an army of media to begin with. It's easy to have an invasion when there's a lack of barriers to get through. Basketball suffers from the same too. I think that's what makes the celebrations at the end of the Stanley Cup and the World Series so great.
When the buzzer sounds at the end of the Stanley Cup, and the final out is made of a World Series, all you can see is the players celebrating with one another. That's perfect in my opinion. Let the players celebrate with each other, not with Johnny Microphone from Radio GTFO. My favourite American sports memory is the Philadelphia Phillies winning the World Series in 2008. After Brad Lidge struck out the final Tampa Bay batter, catcher Carlos Ruiz jumped into his arms and then the rest of the players piled on top of each other as fireworks lit up the sky. No media, no clutter -- Just pure elation of the players on the field, and the fans in the stands. Beautiful.
Looking across seas, you would think soccer would suffer the same fate of American football. But it doesn't. Watch the end of any major final. The FA Cup, the Champions League, the World Cup -- it just doesn't happen. When Spain defeated Holland in the World Cup final, the only people to run on the field at the end of the game were the rest of the Spanish squad and their coaches.
The bottom line is, sports are sports. They're recreational games. They make alot of money and are watched by millions, but I think sometimes the main point of the game gets lost in the hype. There will always be a winner and always be a loser, so let the winners celebrate their victory, and let the losers congratulate them.
Johnny Microphone can get his soundbyte in five minutes.
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