CLEVELAND, Ohio — Browns kicker Andre Szmyt deserved our support before he kicked a 55-yard field goal to beat the Packers. We just didn’t know it yet.
Because before Szmyt kicked the longest walk-off field goal in Cleveland history, we didn’t know him at all.
Didn’t even try, if we’re honest. Kickers don’t draw attention unless they’re deciding games. New kickers? Anonymous. Last name and number. The burden of proof is on them to make us care, and it better be for the right reasons.
Until Szmyt missed two kicks during Week 1, we ignored him. Until he redeemed himself Sunday, we wrote him off. And in the process, we ignored two of life’s crucial tenets.
1. Be kind to all, because you never know who’s suffering
Ten days before training camp, Szmyt’s mother died of a brain aneurysm. Six weeks later, he missed two kicks against the Bengals. And in the days that followed, people called him names, called for his job and called into question why he earned it in the first place.
I won’t re-hash the mean tweets or YouTube comments here. Just trust me when I say: They were as mean as our judgments were rushed. The crow Szmyt served us Sunday had been sitting in the fridge. And the story he told afterward had us saying we’re sorry.
Our best defense: We didn’t know.
Exactly. We didn’t. So we shouldn’t have judged so harshly.
Fans are allowed to boo when their favorite team loses. And people get paid to hold underperforming pros to account. But we can do both things with the grace afforded a grieving son, even if we don’t know the son is grieving.
Rule of thumb: Would you crack that joke (or call for that job) if your punch line was in pain? No?
Then keep it pushing.
2. Redemption doesn’t exist without forgiveness
In the land of second chances, we’re quick to ask for our own. Granting somebody else’s? Different story. But it’s a fun one to tell when it works.
Of course, it starts sad. During the first big break of Szmyt’s career, he cost his team four points — 36-yard field goal, easy extra point — during a one-point loss. And in his line of work, one errant leg swing can cost you a job.
Can you imagine? In the world where one bad column cans me, I’m sitting at home, paralyzed by writer’s block. Ever caught your own typo at work? Embarrassing, but at least you can follow-up.
Szmyt doesn’t have the luxury.
When kickers miss, they’re on trial. New ones? Guilty as charged. The jury decides quickly, and it rarely includes their specialist peers.
In this case, however, the Browns kept believing. Szmyt proved them right, the rest of us wrong. Now we have a nice story to tell, complete with a couple worthy lessons.
Be nice to strangers. Don’t give up on people. These aren’t new themes.
But sometimes, when we hear a certain teaching too often, its lesson dulls. Or our practice wanes. Or we need a concrete reminder.
We need Szmyt to play hero and explain his heartbreak before we hold a mirror up. Only then do we realize our Week 1 outrage wasn’t warranted, and Szmyt deserved our support the whole time.
Let’s keep that in mind before his next kick. Or at least, before we forget our manners again this Sunday.
Football Insider newsletter free trial: Take a minute and sign up for a free trial of our Football Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive content from cleveland.com’s Browns reporters.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Source link
