The wise old drunk that gave me a lot of my teenage wisdom that I use today, once said this about crazy people:
“Son, some people are just playing with 50 cards in a 52 card deck.”
That pretty much sums up one Steve Smith who post game interview with Andrea Kramer after the Panthers upset victory over the Vikings was both brilliant and confusing at the same time. It was also passionate and irrational.
I don’t think words can describe it, but thanks to Football Outsiders you can make try to break the “Stevinci Code” (Watch the video as well):
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Andrea Kremer: “Thanks very much, Bob. Well, Steve, coming in at 5-8, what does a win like this mean for the Carolina Panthers?”
Steve Smith: “You know, first, you know, I just gotta thank my Lord Jesus Christ, you know, without him we wouldn’t be here. But, 5-8 or 8-5, you gotta play. This is why I feed my family. This is why I grew up on the B. You know, I wanna be on this field, I play for keeps. And so, it’s just an opportunity to display my God-given ability, and also, uh, the whole team, and, uh, what our fans mean to us. That’s our job, and we gotta play no matter what the score is or what the record.
Andrea Kremer: “You were fired up. I mean, after the third quarter, you were just going nuts on the field, on the sidelines. What was going through your mind?”
Steve Smith: “You know, uh… [smiles] You know, #22 [28-year-old Vikings cornerback Benny Sapp] had something to say to me on the field. So, little youngster…
Andrea Kremer: “What did he say?”
Steve Smith: “Ah, you know, just telling me who he is, so I had to establish the rules and regulations of the game…”
Andrea Kremer: “Which were?”
Steve Smith: “Which was 89.”
[pregnant pause]
Steve Smith: “Bottom line. That’s why he going home.”
Andrea Kremer: “You know, it’s funny because coming into this game, the thought was you had to run to win this game. But why was the passing game so effective, obviously, led by you.”
Steve Smith: “Ay, you still gotta run to win this game, you know, you gotta have runs after the catch, and the bottom line is, is team with the most, most points at the end or the most yards. The team that makes the least amount of mistakes.”
Andrea Kremer: “Thanks a lot for your time, Happy Holidays.”
Steve Smith: “Appreciate it.”