Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
The Cowboys lost Sunday, and Stephen A. Smith is winning Monday
Stephen A. Smith cautioned us all to just be patient.
After the Dallas Cowboys dispatched the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a final score of 31-6, many were quick to look at the Cowboys as a team that could make a longer-than-expected playoff run. Given that the Cowboys came close to winning the NFC East, and were in contention for the first-overall seed in the conference, there was a case to be made that Dallas was still one of the better teams in the conference, and given who they looked last Monday night, they could go west and handle things against the San Francisco 49ers.
Not so fast, warned Smith. Because what could go wrong, will go wrong.
Just be patient.
Smith was proven correct on Sunday night, as the Cowboys found every conceivable way possible to lose to the 49ers, setting up an epic Monday of content from the ESPN analyst.
It began on Sunday night. As Skip Bayless was throwing his Dak Prescott jersey in the trash in his kitchen, Smith was in his own kitchen, taking pure joy in the Cowboys’ downfall:
Then on Monday morning, Smith brought back his Pinky impression to torment Michael Irvin, the former Cowboys receiver:
Unfortunately for Irvin, Smith was just getting started.
The show began with Irvin trying to break down the loss. However, there was Smith. Dressed like an NPC from Red Dead Redemption 2, cigar in hand, feet on the desk, waiting for his moment:
Finally, Smith began his opening monologue, and he came loaded for bear. Smith worked his way up to this critical point, which seems particularly prescient in the wake of how Dallas lost on Sunday.
“What can go wrong, will go wrong.”
Finally, Irvin had a chance to respond.
But Smith did not let him off the hook:
This, quite simply, is art. An absolute masterclass from Smith that began on Sunday night in his kitchen, culminating in him screaming at Irvin and refusing to give an inch, all while Dan Orlovsky and Molly Qerim look on in amazement.
Along with the rest of us.
Smith’s long-running feud with the Cowboys dates back decades, and was even part of the team’s schedule-release video last spring. That featured Smith, hat on head and cigar in hand, recording what he thinks is a video blasting the team.
Instead, the joke is on him:
For today at least, and for yet another season, Smith has the last laugh.
