Better to be thought to be a dick than to steal a football and prove it

Midway through the third quarter, Cincinnati tight end Jermaine Gresham caught a 1-yard touchdown pass that put the Bengals up 19-3 when he jogged over to the end zone wall. As he approached, two female Bengals fans — one dressed in a black A.J. Green jersey and the other in an orange Bengals T-shirt — had just jogged down the section’s steps to the edge of the wall. They were excitedly pleading for the ball when Gresham complied. But what none of them, not Gresham nor the women asking for the ball, had expected was the male Saints fan lurking nearby in the first row. As the ball left Gresham’s hands, the Saints fan, identified by the Cincinnati Enquirer as a man named Tony Williams, leaped in front of the two women. As the one in the Green jersey — identified by the Enquirer as Barrett — caught the flip, Williams snatched the ball from her. In the same motion, he sat back down, putting the ball underneath his right arm. It stayed there the rest of the game.

Even with all the sporting events I’ve been to in my lifetime, I don’t suppose I’ll ever understand the fascination with balls (and pucks) that leave the playing surface and go into the crowd. I’ve watched adults chase after a baseball worth perhaps 10 bucks as if it was the key to everlasting life and untold fortune. Adults will knock kids over, go flying across seats, and risk life and limb in order to possess what a few short moments ago was in a pitcher’s hand. It’s silly and childish, but I suppose there’s something about the thrill of the chase, about winning something that helps one feel more connected to the game that causes adults to regress so quickly and profoundly.

The down side is that some adults forget things like manners and etiquette or even being a decent human being. Earlier this year, a woman in Houston snatched a baseball away from a child and acted as if she’d won the lottery. She was roundly- and deservedly- shamed for being so thoroughly selfish. C’mon, lady; you stole a baseball from a child. What’s next; stealing candy from a baby?

And then there’s Tony Williams, the latest iteration of the Fan From Hell. As a Saints fan, he had to know that when Jermaine Gresham tossed a football to a woman wearing a Bengals jersey it wasn’t meant for him. Why he would think it appropriate to intercept the ball when it clearly wasn’t meant for him Even worse, as fans chanted “Give her the ball! Give her the ball!” at Williams, he refused to do the right thing. Yep, when you’re a dick, you’re a dick. Williams’ defense?

“It’s very simple,” he told the Enquirer. “I caught the football.

“I didn’t mean to hit that young lady. I was just reaching for the football.”

Right…and thanks to the awesome power of the Internet, the world now knows that Tony Williams is a dick. Now he has his 15 minutes of fame infamy; here’s to hoping it was worth earning the enmity of virtually everyone with a functional sense of decency.

I believe strongly in karma, so I have to believe that Williams’ asshole move will come back to him in some measure or form. With any luck, he’ll be roundly ridiculed throughout New Orleans and Cincinnati. People will recognize for the miserable excuse for a human being he evidently is, and hopefully he’ll learn that what he did just isn’t cool. The world doesn’t revolve around Tony Williams and what he wants…which is probably a good thing for all of us.

I commend Christa Barrett for being the bigger person, and to the New Orleans Saints for doing the right thing after the game. If nothing else, it demonstrates that you really can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.

Enjoy your football, Mr. Williams; I certainly hope it was worth the embarrassment, the ridicule, the enmity, and the 15 minutes of infamy.