Matt Stover: The real star of Super Bowl XLIV

February 9, 2010

Matt Stover missed a critical 51-yarder last night, which was prompted followed by a go-ahead  Saints touchdown drive…so why is Matt Stover a hero? Because he pointed up to the sky when he missed the kick.

So often we see athletes praise god as a go-to celebratory move. But who does it when they miss? Matt Stover does, and seeing it this past Sunday was perhaps the most refreshing move by professional athlete that I’ve ever seen in my entire life. At the risk of generalizing, athletes are ego-driven, unappreciative, and cocky. It doesn’t take a psychologist to know that all this ridiculous Twitter talk, criminal behavior, and flamboyance is all rooted in an underlying sense of self-consciousness and fear, which serves as concrete evidence that money does not always equate to happiness and inner peace.

But along comes Matt Stover, who pointed up to the sky with a grin despite having just potentially cost his team the Super Bowl (as some analysts and writers would say, but realistically the whole team cost themselves the game). This is a guy who knows how lucky he, and all of us, are to be alive, and to be doing what he’s doing. Amazing.