I believe in fundamentals. I believe in flossing. I believe in evolution.
A man has to have his beliefs, doesn't he? As for me, I believe in love. I believe for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows. I believe the children are our future. I believe I need to listen to some new CDs.
Hey, call me gullible. I believe in free speech, especially if you agree with me. I believe in Magic, although not the Orlando kind. I believe I'll have the duck.
Frankly, I'm trying as hard as I can to believe Emmitt Smith.
Ah, Emmitt. A guy rushes for 17,162 yards, and now he learns to reverse his field? If Emmitt backtracked any faster, he'd have passed Walter Payton again. Only this time, he'd be going the opposite way.
If you haven't heard, Emmitt Smith's voice finally made it out of the desert last week. It didn't sound happy. Smith said that last year was his worst ever and that he felt "like a diamond surrounded by trash."
In hindsight, Emmitt says people have Emmitt all wrong. Emmitt says people have taken Emmitt out of context. Emmitt says Emmitt never meant any of those nasty things he said to be taken as criticism.
For instance, Emmitt said he didn't mean anything negative toward his former teammates, especially not the rest of last year's backfield: Litter, Junk and Garbage. He thought the tight end, Recyclable, was great and the young receiver, Refuse, has a great future. Put it this way: If Smith didn't have a point, why did coach Dave Campo end up in the disposal after the season?
Look, Smith meant "trash" in the nicest possible way. Besides, isn't it true what they say about one man's trash being another man's treasure? If you look at it like that, Emmitt called the Cowboys treasures! How classy is that?
Actually, what Smith says now is that the Cowboys franchise is the diamond and the performance was the trash. I'm certain that's what he meant all along. Aren't you? Let's see a show of hands.
Of course, there have been other comments. Smith said there was "too much drama, too much selfishness" last year. I'm sure he was talking about the state of motion pictures.
Earlier in training camp, Smith was talking about the Cardinals offensive line. "You haven't seen what I've been behind," Smith said. Obviously, Smith was talking about Dallas drivers, not the Cowboys offensive line.
It is important that we believe Smith because, frankly, we love the sight of legends in twilight. We like to see them, dignified and elegant, pausing just before they ride off in the distance. Pouting does not befit a legend, and whining suits him even less.
At this point in his career, we all should appreciate Smith as he attempts to squeeze a few more yards from legs that have traveled farther than any back in NFL history. He always has been a dignified, respected athlete. It would be a shame to see all that lost in the desert.
Perhaps that's why it was odd to see Smith quoted in such blunt terms regarding last year.
Oh, I can buy that it was a difficult season for Smith. Once, he played with Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin, and every yard was a step toward another Super Bowl.
Then came last year, and people acted as if he were a guest who had stayed at the party too long. The team was losing, and even his place in the lineup was questioned. Every time someone talked about how many yards Smith had traveled, someone else wondered where he would wind up in another year.
But, um, Emmitt, one question lingers.
If the trash bothered you so much, why did you go to work at the NFL's biggest landfill?
If you remember, there were a lot of people, including me, who thought it would be a dandy idea for Smith to return to Florida and finish his career with one more grand assault on the Super Bowl. Throughout sports, that has become an accepted close to a great career. An athlete, with his fortune earned and his fame assured, signs on with a contender for one more chance at a title. The Bucs and Smith seemed to be a grand fit.
It must have seemed that way to Smith, who seemed a little ruffled that it didn't work out. It was Smith who first suggested there was a rift between Rich McKay and Jon Gruden, if you'll remember.
"What I really wanted to do was go home to Florida," Smith told Sports Illustrated. "I wanted to go to Tampa Bay. But something happened in Tampa. The Cards didn't insult me and tell me they'd only pay me the minimum."
At the time of Smith's free agency, the Bucs didn't offer a contract at all. They were concentrating on other needs and adopted a wait-and-see attitude with Smith, who signed a two-year, $7.5-million contract with Arizona.
You'd like to believe, however, this was about more than just money. At this stage of his career, shouldn't Smith be chasing a ring instead of a paycheck? Not that Smith shouldn't get paid what he's worth, but ask yourself: If you're a rich running back, how much do you charge for your final shot at the big trophy?
Despite it all, you want to believe in Smith. You want to believe that a little of the toughness, a little of the flair remains. You want to believe he'll prove everyone wrong.
After all, he's a Cardinals running back.
Eventually, don't all those guys wind up in Tampa Bay?
