In any pro sport, just as there are many great players who’ve won several titles, there are also many great players who failed to win it all. For every Michael Jordan is a Charles Barkley. There could be many reasons for their failure, such as injuries and bad luck, but at the end of the day fans only count rings. This tendency to discount decorated players who haven’t reached the pinnacle of their sport doesn’t sit well with quarterback Lamar Jackson, whose Baltimore Ravens lost the AFC title game to the Super Bowl winner Kansas City Chiefs.
Jackson made a guest appearance on Mad Dog Sports Radio and gave an honest answer to his haters.
“I really don’t care what the criticism is, what the critics say,” he told Adam Schein.
The Ravens’ Super Bowl hopes
“I know what I wanna do at the end of the day. You know those guys had their time,” he added. “Because at the end of the day, I just came off…injury the year before, and we made it all the way to the AFC… It’s nothing to be down on myself, my teammates, or anything like that, you know, ’cause we made it far…. We haven’t been to the AFC in a long time.
The quarterback also continued, “We’re getting closer. I feel that. We just gotta keep going and guys will wanna be there, ’cause that’s our goal. We criticize ourselves more than anyone else. So when people from the outside have their takes, you know, they can believe in what they wanna believe, but we know we’re striving for it, so that’s all I can say about this.”
Fans tend to credit championships more than individual awards in a team sport like football, which could also motivate the two-time MVP Lamar Jackson to lead the Ravens to the Super Bowl. He has proven himself as a terrific quarterback, but the only trophy he doesn’t have is the Lombardi, undoubtedly the most important prize in his sport. Still, reaching the AFC title game is no easy feat, and it’s also the deepest Jackson had ever gone in the playoffs.
Despite his own accolades, critics have also cited Jackson’s tendency to fold in the playoffs. Many great players in every sport have wilted under the bright lights, but he should be eager to prove fill the biggest gap in his trophy case next season. Can Lamar Jackson finally get over the hump and win the Super Bowl next season?
