'No One's Dying!' Mavs Coach Jason Kidd Gives Off Wrong Cowboys 'Tony Romo Vibe'
DALLAS - If we're trying to "Dr. Phil'' this thing? Tony Romo was right. And so is Jason Kidd.
It was December 28, 2008, and the Dallas Cowboys had just suffered a blowout loss at the hands of the hated Eagles. It was left to QB Romo to comment on the painful end to his team's playoff chances.
“If this is the worst thing that will ever happen to me,” Romo said, “then I’ve lived a pretty good life.”
And by God, he was right. Even a 44-6 loss to Philadelphia is "just a game.''
Except ... it's not.
As the "CEO of the locker room,'' which is what quarterbacks are, fans in Cowboys Nation (not to mention some of his teammates) wanted him to join him in their grief, wanted company in their misery, wanted to know that it hurt too much to ever let it happen again.
Instead, Romo's casual dismissal of defeat (which might've simply been a misguided facade) stuck with him for the rest of his career.
"Does he want it enough?''
As accomplished as Romo was in the NFL, not even he is as accomplished as Jason Kidd, the NBA champion, Hall of Famer and Dallas Mavs head coach. Kidd knows sacrifice and he knows pain.
And that is exactly why it is so stunning to hear Kidd going nonchalantly tone-deaf in his review of Monday's critical loss to Memphis, marking a ninth failure in the last 12 games and putting Dallas just a little bit nearer being a non-playoff team.
Dallas was without Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving and Christian Wood. That makes it "easier to lose'' - but that shouldn't make it "easier to accept.''
"Understand, we're getting better,'' said Kidd, despite the fact that his 34-35 team has now dipped below .500 and slipped from the No. 5 spot in the West standings to the No. 8 spot. "It's just a matter of can we be healthy in time to make a stretch run?
"If not, that's just the season. No one is dying."
There is a time and a place where "perspective'' is right. Fifteen years later? Yup, Tony Romo's had "a pretty good life.'' And fifteen years from now, when maybe Jason Kidd is in a rocking chair on a sun-lit porch? It'll mark a lovely time to reflect with perspective.
But not today, J-Kidd. Not in the heat of basketball battle. Not today.
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