I must say I found Richard Sherman’s post-game interview refreshing, even grounding.

Anyone who’s been around let alone competed in high level sports has either condoned or embraced the intensity that athletes carry, be it in their locker rooms, on the field, between games, etc. Aside from carefully edited video and audio, we see and hear relatively little of this, yet once the game’s over, we count on them to either mask or turn off this passion. Expectations of pleasantry are fine, though I would argue that demands for it arrive as byproducts of detachment.

For me, oddly enough, this phenomenon parallels eating processed meats. Many love eating hot dogs or sausages or spam, but few truly appreciate the finer details of how those juicy terds of flavor came to be. The demons and pent-up emotions that often drive pro athletes mirror the ground-up chunks of flesh and scraps and balls we care not to hear or see grind.

For most, the taste of that foot-long or the thrill of that game-winning play alone hits the spot, and that’s quite enough. No need to further grasp the reality behind it. In pro sports, as with life, there’s always much more happening than we tend to realize.

Personally, I would’ve liked to have heard an interview with Russell Wilson as well; generally speaking, I might try to carry myself in a post-game interview more like him, or, say, Peyton Manning, or another ‘nice’ guy.

I just find it hard to throw Sherman under the bus here, knowing that in many ways, and at the right times, I could easily be thrown right there with him.

As a balancing footnote, I’d like to add that I’m not a fan of immediate post-fight celebrations in MMA (e.g. UFC) and other combat sports.

Again, while Sherman’s interview doesn’t convey my ideal, every day attitude, at least he didn’t do so as an opponent lay unconscious, possibly in need of medical attention.

As one might guess, bigger KOs tend to lead to bigger celebrations. I’d rather see fighters jump and scream and climb the cage after checking to be sure their opponent is fine, not the other way around.

I don’t expect to fully understand the emotional waves of others, but I do feel a general change in post-fight celebrations would better represent the respect that fighters have for one another, not to mention, better representing the martial arts.