Athletes who offer more than the company line are far and few between. Missouri linebacker Eric Beisel is one of the few exceptions to the rule.
Some call it an ego trip, while others call it a distraction. Sometimes it’s referred to as being cocky, and other times it’s touted as being disrespectful or brash. I call it confidence in his team and self.
There are times when athletes can cross that line from confidence into egotistic cockiness, but it’s easy to tell that Beisel is being real, and is focused on helping the Tigers win in 2017.
Late in 2016 before Missouri’s game against Arkansas, Beisel said what many, myself included, would have otherwise cringed to hear: He poked the bear, and gave a verbal challenge to Arkansas.
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“Oh, no,” I thought to myself. “Missouri is sitting on a 3-8 record now, and Beisel just told the Razorbacks to ‘get ready, if they even bother to show-up.’ Them’s fighting words that a team in Mizzou’s situation shouldn’t dare utter.”
The difference between Beisel’s phrasing of his challenge, and that of someone with an ego trip, was that he never directly said that Mizzou was a better team than Arkansas.
Reading between the lines, he may have alluded to it, but initially he gave the Razorbacks their due while also saying the Tigers would be ready, as well.
Fortunately for Missouri, the Tigers staged a superb comeback win, thus backing Beisel and carrying some momentum over into the offseason.
As we recently saw during SEC Media Days, Beisel didn’t hold back, in his seeming plight to ramp-up the conference-urged rivalry between Mizzou and Arkansas.
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I like it, though. It’s playful banter, and he’s never made it personal. It also speaks to his belief in what head coach Barry Odom is doing, and what the Tigers’ defense is capable of. Beisel is a leader, and that’s what Missouri needs.