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After two quarters of play against the Los Angeles Rams, the Cincinnati Bengals went into the halftime of the Super Bowl, trailing 13-10. In such a situation, everyone would have expected the Bengals players to retreat to their locker room. While there, it's assumed they would have spent halftime coming up with a strategy for the next two quarters. Without question, each player should have expected to spend their halftime learning what their coaches wanted them to do going forward, so they and their teammates would be victorious.
Unlike the rest of the players on his team, Evan McPherson decided to give the halftime team talk a miss in favor of watching the Super Bowl halftime show featuring Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige and Eminem. It was premeditated as well, as he had said, before the game, that he would be keen on watching the show:
"I don’t know if they’re going to force us in the locker room (and say), ‘You can’t stay out and watch anything.' I’ll be super bummed if we can’t, at least, watch it (half-time show) on a TV or something. I hope I get to watch it. I hope I get to be out there and experience it.”
But with his team losing, one would have expected Evan McPherson to realize the gravity of the situation and pay attention to the more pressing matters at hand. Special teams coach Darrin Simmons certainly seemed to think so. He called Evan McPherson's choice to watch the Super Bowl half-time show a "sore subject."
“That's a sore subject,” special teams coach Darrin Simmons said of McPherson's move, per The Athletic. “That's a real sore subject.”
Simmons went on to say:
“He needs to become a better practice kicker and kick better than he has,” Simmons said. “Not that it’s poor, but I think, for him to be elite and go over the top, he’s got to kick better in practice and learn new things.”
It has since transpired that McPherson was not the only one who skipped the team talk, with long snapper Clark Harris giving it a pass, as well. Considering that two members of the special teams did not venture into the locker room is bound to rankle with the coach.
Who is Evan McPherson?
Evan McPherson has become as much of a sensation as anyone else this past season because of the air of confidence that he exudes. He has a swagger about himself that is charming in the right amount, like when he said they were going to the AFC Championship game right before he hit the game-winning field goal.
Nicknamed the "Shooter" due to his accuracy, he converted all 14 field goal attempts that he had in the postseason. But his bravado might not be so endearing when he loses a game, especially if it turns out to be the Super Bowl.
