Whether you watched it for yourself or heard about it afterward, I think it’s safe to say we all know about Richard Sherman, cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks, and his boisterous comments after their victory in the NFC championship game over the San Francisco 49ers.

I saw it live, sitting in front of a projector screen at Wild Wing Café and watched as the events unfolded.  After Sherman made what was probably the biggest play of his career to send his team to the Super Bowl, I can only imagine the amount of adrenaline that was pumping through his veins.  When time ran out and the final score was in favor of the Seahawks, Sherman began celebrating with his teammates, knowing he was a big reason for their victory.

Let’s take a step back for a second; as a football player, Sherman plays defense against the same player nearly all game long.  For four quarters, Sherman is trying to prevent 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree from scoring, and in the final seconds, Sherman tips away a pass in the endzone intended for Crabtree and the Seahawks win 23-17.  I would imagine that during the course of the game, Crabtree and Sherman would exchange more than a few words, and possibly some trash-talking would be involved, so of course Sherman is going to be fired up.  Did he say anything offensive or inappropriate?  I don’t’ think so.  What we saw was a display of pure human emotion, how some athletes express themselves when the cameras aren’t pointed in their direction.

Some would argue that what Sherman said was uncalled for, and yes, maybe he should’ve put on a façade for the camera, but I was happy to see that rawness coming from a professional athlete.  Let’s not forget that Sherman played for Stanford and graduated with a 3.9 GPA and majored in communications.  Some may find that ironic, but if I can tell one thing it’s that Sherman may have made a mistake, but he’s not stupid.  Emotion causes irrational thinking and Sherman has apologized for his comments.  We’re all human, even the ones that we only see on ESPN, and I think people forget that sometimes.  Don’t be so quick to judge… that’s just my opinion.