Saints fan Tony Williams has gotten his 15 mintues of fame. He stood up and intercepted a football from Bengals fan Christa Barrett thrown to her by Bengals tight end Jermaine Gresham, and he declined to appease her many pleas to give her the ball, which was intended for her in the first place.
He acted like a 3-year-old child stealing a stuffed animal intended for a little girl on a Mardi Gras Day parade route.
Sunday’s Saints outing was less than ideal.
Not only did they lose 27-10 to the Bengals at home, that loss is combined with the selfish actions of Williams.
Even though I tuned in late to Sunday’s game and missed the live feed, the replay was already on loop.
When I first saw it, all I could think was how negatively Williams’ actions reflect on the entire team, and city.
Sure, football is not a sport known for having the best manners. Sometimes players stomp on each other, grab facemasks during a big play, and may face criminal charges for their actions off the field. But now we can add inconsiderate fans to the list.
He ignored Barrett’s requests for the ball, a prize she would surely enjoy more than Williams considering it was a Bengals’ scoring ball.
Who knows, maybe that fact made the ball desirable to Williams.
However, the Saints organization was willing to put this right by providing Barrett with a souvenir football.
While the gesture was definitely kind, it was still overshadowed by Williams’ actions.
I hope sports fans remember this incident the next time a game ball is thrown in their direction, but not meant for them.