Smith deserves spotlight

Richard Sherman.
That name has dominated the world of sports for the last 48 hours.
That’s unfortunate, but not for the reason one might think.
It’s not unfortunate because of Sherman’s actions, although I did think his antics and post-game interview with Erin Andrews showed a lack of class. And I haven’t been impressed by his comments and/or explanations since.
What’s unfortunate is a great game has been lost in the spotlight and the fans and the media have focused on Sherman. Others who deserve to have their 15 minutes of fame on the biggest stage in all of sports are being denied that opportunity.
Consider the following name: Malcolm Smith.
Now, I’ve admittedly avoided watching too much ESPN, NFL Network or FOX Sports 1 since Sunday to avoid all of the Sherman nonsense. But in the little bit I have watched, I haven’t heard Smith’s name mentioned once.
I haven’t had anyone ask me what I thought of what he did Sunday. And I haven’t seen his name pop up on Facebook or Twitter.
A lot of football fans, probably don’t even know who Smith is.
Malcolm Smith is a 24-year-old with an eating disorder that effects his ability to swallow.
He’s was also a 2011 seventh-round draft pick out of USC who now wears No. 53 for the Seattle Seahawks. And he, not Sherman, was the player actually responsible for ending Sunday’s NFC Championship game.
Yes, Richard Sherman made an athletic play to tip the potential game-winning pass away from Michael Crabtree.
But without Smith, that deflection could have been just another play. Without him, it’s second down with 22 seconds left. The 49ers would have had at least three more chances to score.
Smith was the man trailing the play. He was the one who made the interception, thereby allowing Russell Wilson to kneel three times to run out the clock.
Some might say Smith was just lucky. He was in the right place at the right time.
But he had to be there. And he was.
Too many times in sports the athletes not directly involved in the play end up as spectators, watching rather than following through until the whistle blows. Not Smith.
Even though there was no chance of him keeping the ball away from Crabtree — he was 5 yards behind the play — he kept going. And because he did, he made the play that sent Seattle to the Super Bowl.
It brought to mind Derek Jeter’s play in the 2001 American League Division Series, when he came out of nowhere as the “secondary cutoff” to flip the ball to catcher Jorge Posada for a game-saving tag.
Jeter had no reason to be there to make that play, other than that he was simply doing everything he could to help the Yankees win. The same can be said for Smith.
So while Sherman beats his chest and touts his own talent, take a minute to turn away from the spectacle and look at Smith.
He let his play do the talking Sunday, and it said a lot.[[In-content Ad]]