Some hotshot press room reporter got his opportunity of a lifetime last night.  And he made the most of it.

After the Arizona Cardinals humiliating 27-6 loss at home to the San Francisco 49ers, there wasn’t much that the home team could say to defend its poor performance.  The performance looked so poor that most found it hard to fathom that the Cardinal players were fully invested in the game.  Outside of a field goal block and an attempt to make an amazing touchdown grab by Larry Fitzgerald, it’s very easy to agree with that sentiment.

So, after the game, into the press room saundered Arizona quarterback Derek Anderson – fresh off of a non-impressive 16-of-35-for-196-yards-and-a-pick game.  And the reporter’s eyes lit up…

Anderson was asked why he was smiling on the sidelines as his team was getting handled.  The former Cleveland Pro Bowler was caught on video chatting with offensive lineman Deuce Lutui, when the two seemed to be laughing - including Anderson clearly displaying his pearly white teeth.

Of course, Anderson denied that he was laughing or smiling…and then relented.  And then went off…

In light of Anderson’s defensive stance on the matter, the situation brings up a topic of interest.  Just how are athlete’s supposed to act when they are being beaten like they stole something on national television?  Or at any point when they are in the middle of doing their jobs?

LeBron James – who was vilified by the media over the summer – was often seen hamming it up on the sidelines after big plays by his teammates.  Last year in Cleveland, King James had the other Cavaliers executing dance moves, kick steps…you name it.  However, I am pretty sure that he did refrain from doing those Kid ‘n’ Play routines during blowout losses. 

Where does Derek Anderson’s smile rank in comparison? 

For us that have jobs that don’t involve professional sports, are we chastised for smiling in the midst of adversity?  Don’t we have moments that aren’t dedicated to the stewardship of work?  Perhaps we all are familiar with laughing with a co-worker over a non-office related incident?  Or from time to time, don’t some of the crazy friends of yours forward a (not-so) humorous email to your inbox?  Notice that Anderson wasn’t smiling on the football after he was intercepted by Takeo Spikes, but rather when he was temporarily relieved from the action of having 300-pound gladiators trying to remove his head from his body.  

People want to hold athletes, like Anderson, to a higher standard than they would hold themselves.  The character of a person is refined through their actions in adverse circumstances.  The next steps should require logic based on the principles and lessons learned from the initial failure.  But at the time is there no room for a few seconds of laughter? 

At the end of it all, athletes (and people) should realize that they can’t take back what has already happened.  For the media to assume that a cameraman’s 10-second shot of a losing quarterback smiling sums up the degree of his seriousness is certainly off par.  We all need to be careful not to fall into the trap being set by the media. 

And then give Derek Anderson the memo not to fall for it either.  

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