Tyler Loop’s missed kick sparks widespread criticism
From the amateur to professional level, the benefits of the sports world pull athletes into an experience that can define their lives. However, a lingering expectation of performance always sticks with the athlete’s mind beyond any benefits, and the drawbacks of potential failure can completely change the mental outlook of an otherwise successful athlete.
On Jan 4, a crucial game was underway between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. A win for one team would mean a guaranteed trip to the playoffs; a loss for the other would mark the end of their season.
All of this rested in the hands, or leg, of Tyler Loop, the Ravens’ rookie kicker. The stakes were simple, but the magnitude was overwhelming. A 44-yard kick was at play, a distance which Loop almost never misses. As the crowd in Acrisure Stadium held their breath, the kick sailed right; Loop was unable to convert in the big moment, marking an instant end to his team’s season.
Immediately, fans across social media showed no mercy on Loop’s error. His pinned Instagram Post, one featuring the engagement between him and his fiancée, was flooded with thousands of hateful comments within minutes following the kick, with Loop having to disable his comment section after multiple cases of threats to his life.
Receiving an overwhelming amount of criticism is something professional athletes must learn to handle and adapt to at every level of competition.
However, when people can hide behind a screen to criticise, it is easier to feel more disconnected from the human aspect of the game itself.
The pressures, variables, and context of the kick are things separated from the average fan’s knowledge, and it becomes very easy to hide behind a screen and take an extreme stance against what was seen on the field.
The reality is that the Ravens have been through and through one of the most disappointing teams in football this season, and the fate of the playoffs should never have been up to one singular kick.
Unfortunately, the average fan remembers the moment it ended instead of the moments leading up to it, and because of this, Loop will continue to feel the heat from the same fan base that was on his side just the day before.
The heat from Loop’s miss will diminish as time goes on, but despite the stakes not fully being in the hands of him, this failure of a Ravens season will always end up with Loop getting the blame.
Is it part of the game? Yes. But the response has brought up a glaring issue on player-fan interactions that will continue for the foreseeable future.
