Wes Welker’s Super Bowl Sour Grapes

Added on Jan 26, 2011 by Jack Thurman in

Super Bowl

Boston fans love New England Patriots’ wide receiver Wes Welker (“Welkah! He’s a gamah!”) but in the civilized world outside of the Bay State the prevailing wisdom is that he’s sort of a prick. The latest Welker ‘controversy’ started during the leadup to the AFC Divisional Playoffs when he decided that the team’s weekly press conference would be a good place for a frat house skit. Welker went out of his way to make any number of ‘foot’ references, poking fun at New York Jets’ coach Rex Ryan. Ryan’s wife, you’ll recall, allegedly has a penchant for making fetish videos of her admittedly very pretty feet. This made the Jets’ made, of course, and even resulted in Pats’ coach Bill Belichick benching Welker for the start of the game. Welker has apparently had second thoughts about the situation, but he’s still happy that the Jets didn’t make it to the Super Bowl.

The Pats entered the NFL postseason listed as the favorite to win the Super Bowl at every sportsbook on the planet. Instead, the Jets upset New England to advance to the AFC Championship game where they fell short in a comeback against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Welker at least tried to be diplomatic when asked if he was happy the Jets weren’t going to the big game:

“I think if you’re a Patriot fan, a little bit.”

Welker went on to second guess his sophomoric ‘foot’ comments, though it sounds like his primary regret is embarrassing his coach:

“I’m not going to get into any details about it, but I don’t think it’s worth putting (Bill Belichick) in that situation. So in a sense, I do regret it. … As much as you might want to get enticed into that stuff, at the end of the day, it’s just not worth it.”

Welker went on to deliver this stemwinder, though considering the source it comes off as insincere as Claude Rains sounding alarmed that gambling is going on at ‘Rick’s Place’ in ‘Casablanca’ as he collects his winnings:

“You know what, I think the best way to stick up for your teammate is on the field. I like the fact we don’t get caught up in all that stuff. At the end of the day, it’s about football. That’s what it’s supposed to be about. That’s all that matters. It’s concentrating on your job and what you do, and not concentrating on the riff-raff that goes with all that other stuff. It’s about the team and going out there and playing good football. And not getting caught up in all the media hype. It’s just not worth it.”

“It’s not always easy to keep a lid on it, but at the same time, there’s a greater goal, and that’s winning the game and playing good football. That’s what matters. All that other stuff doesn’t matter at the end of the day.”

Welker has plenty of time to think about this, since his team was upset at home in the NFL playoffs and fell far short of the Super Bowl. Current Super Bowl betting lines on the teams that *did* make the game have the Packers installed as a -2′ point favorite.