My Terrapins Blog

This previous Saturday was a day of upheaval for the Maryland Terrapins football team.

The criticisms of quarterback Chris Turner that stemmed from the Middle Tennessee game were thrown away by Turner’s two-touchdown performance against the Golden Bears.

The criticisms and near-hatred of coach Ralph Friedgen that has stemmed from this entire season dating back to spring practice were tossed aside by his team’s overall domination of a stronger and more talented opponent.

And last but not least this Saturday marked an upheaval for the stomach of California running back Jahvid Best, who actually tossed his cookies on the grass of Byrd Stadium.

No one believed that Maryland even had the slightest of chances in this game against 23rd-ranked California, myself included. But for once Maryland lived up to its hype and talent.

Running back Da’Rel Scott continued his early success with two touchdowns and 87 yards and wide receiver Darius Heyward-Bey caught another touchdown on a huge play.

The day was highlighted by cornerback Kevin Barnes’ hit on Best during a screen pass late in the second corner. Barnes his Best just around the ribs on a very clean hit which jarred Best’s helmet loose and left the running back breathless and with a very empty stomach after he vomited on the field.

Washington Post blogger Dan Steinberg made the observation that the University of Maryland is one of the first high-powered D-1 schools to have opponents vomit on both their basketball court and their football field (Virginia Tech’s Dorenzo Hudson vomited on the floor of Comcast Center right in front of Maryland coach Gary Williams last winter).

Despite the intestinal turmoil, the Terrapin football team showed glimpses of its true potential for this season in the weak ACC and if they continue playing at this high level there will be a lot more upheavals this season (either from upsets or from stomachs of opponents).

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm back and it's about damn time. After a long "vacation" for the summer I am back with a vengeance and looking to get back into the blogging world.

Today's topic: THE VINCE YOUNG CONSPIRACY

In case any of you people have not seen or heard about it, Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young, who was Rookie of the Year, a Pro Bowler, and Rose Bowl MVP has not had the most glamorous past two seasons. Last year he threw only 12 touchdowns compared to his 17 interceptions and completed 62% of his passes.

However this season he has faced more criticism because of his increasing role in the Titan's offense. In his first game he threw two interceptions but also threw a touchdown. The Titans fans did not appreciate this sub par effort and booed Young.

Then when Young was hurt in an awkward hit and sprained his left MCL the fans cheered the final coming of career backup Kerry Collins.

After the game, Young left his house to evidently "go watch Monday Night Football at a friend's house" and the red alerts went off. Family members and Titans coach Jeff Fisher all worried when Young left his cell phone at home and was out of contact. This sparked a four-hour police-led search for Young which ended when his friend calmly let Young's family know his location.

Now there is a huge calamity over whether Young is mentally stable or emotionally tough enough to continue playing in this league.

Here is my point, long awaited as it is.

Why would we ever baby people who are paid millions of dollars every year to perform at sports? Who else gets millions of dollars every year without some emphasis on performance?

So if people don't perform well why should we coddle them and make excuses for their shortcomings?

These are elite athletes, they are recruited to colleges as elite athletes, they are picked in the NFL (or other sports') drafts as elite athletes and are expected to perform like elite athletes.

Now tell me if I'm wrong but, a 2-1 interception-to-touchdown ratio is pretty crappy for a NFL quarterback. Why is everyone taking this so seriously? He is under-performing and deserves some criticism.

Now everyone is questioning his mental toughness. Jason Campbell, the quarterback for the Washington Redskins has not performed as badly as Young has from behind the center, but he also has not lived up to expectations. Is he crying about it? NO!

Young needs to understand that, as Tobey McGuire said in Spiderman, "With great power [or in this case talent] comes great responsibility."

If he is as talented as everyone thinks, then why not expect him to perform well?

Granted its OK to feel badly because your home fans boo you, but you can't throw away your entire career because you can't take criticism. Everyone will criticize every move you make when you play at a high enough level. If you can't understand and accept that then you were never ready to play at this level.

Like "Nuke" LaLoosh says, "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and sometimes it rains."

Take the good with that bad because not everyone is expected to win every single game. They are expected to live up to a certain level of performance, but not perfection.

Stop crying, as me and my buddies like to tell each other, and get moving. Sorry Vince and sorry Mama Young but it's time to grow a pair and get over being sad about criticism.