You want to know the bottom line? The Patriots won again. Period.

So after the game, one which plenty mistakes were made on both sides, and one in which one team capitalized just a little bit more on those mistakes, I was shocked to see the demeanor of LaDainian Tomlinson. After the game, Tomlinson yelled and pointed at a Patriots player, upset that some Patriots were dancing on the Chargers logo at midfield after they had silenced the crowd.

“I would never react in that way. I was very upset,” Tomlinson said. “When you go to the middle of our field and start doing the dance Shawne Merriman is known for, that is disrespectful. They showed no class and maybe that comes from the head coach.”
–LaDainian Tomlinson

Cheese With That Whine Anyone?

Ok, I know that this is a huge game– the biggest in Tomlinson’s career. You may get emotional and say things that are stupid. I hope he wakes up and realizes this was one of those stupid things. However, just as “down in the dumps” the Chargers were for losing the game, the Patriots were that much in high spirits for winning. Teams celebrate. That’s how winning makes you feel. And anyone who denies a little celebration to the winner is just a sore loser in my book.

And this bullshit about feeling disrespected? Hogwash. So what, the players are supposed to hang their heads in victory? Um… no. I think the Patriots restrained themselves quite well for a victory on the road. So some team members may have done a little dance at the 50-yard line. /me yawns. That is more disrespectful than Shawne Merriman doing his “lights out” dance after he sacks a QB? Does Tomlinson think that’s disrespectful?

This Is A “Big Boys” Game

Hurt feelings and a dollar will get you any one of the fabulous items on the McDonalds dollar menu. Do I feel bad for Tomlinson? NO! Do any Patriots feel bad for a victory dance? NO! If the roles were reversed, would Tomlinson feel bad for New England? Hell NO! If Shawne Merriman can dish it out, LaDainian Tomlinson is going to have to accept it all day when the Patriots give it to him.

One other odd point in Tomlinson’s remarks was the mention of Bill Belichick, the Patriots head coach. Said Tomlinson, “they showed no class and maybe that comes from the head coach.” What is this guy talking about? If any coach in the league gives too much credit to teams it’s Belichick. Belichick is one of the most soft spoken coaches in the NFL. Very rarely do you ever get any good sound bites out of this guy, just for the fact he never wants to give anything away, or anything the other team can pin to its bulletin board.

So what did that mean? I have no idea, but I’ll try and figure it out before I watch the Patriots beat the Colts next week:) I think Joe Theismann said it best, paraphrasing, “if you don’t want the Patriots dancing in your house… just win.” I couldn’t agree more.

This article was written by Bryan Los on Monday, January 15th, 2007 at 11:26 AM and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.