Aggie fans complaining about Marcel Reed video are just embarrassing themselves

This has not been the season that Texas A&M fans wanted it to be, but as always happens when there's some kind of dissatisfaction or disappointment, there are sections of the fanbase that start taking things in a completely unnecessary direction. Marcel Reed has been the (well-deserved) object of complaint with regard to his on-field performance— he has simply not played QB well this year— but the frustration with that aspect of things has begun to bleed over into areas that are not only irrelevant, but embarrassing for fans to complain about.

There are two things that have been circulating this week— one from the game, and one from outside of the game— that fans are chiming in on. The first was a clip from the end of the Alabama game when Marcel was smiling while talking to Brady Hart on the bench as the Tide salted away the game on the field.

This was something that apparently rubbed a few fans the wrong way, with the message boards talking about how it was inappropriate for Reed to be smiling after such a disappointing final quarter for the team. This was not necessarily a widespread sentiment, but it is in a similar vein to what has been circulating lately.

Fans critiquing Marcel Reed for a TikTok video are only embarrassing themselves

A video has been passed around of Marcel doing a TikTok dance with some friends this week, and this has, for some reason, really blown up in Aggie spaces. The reaction... has not been great.

Now, listen. You may not like TikTok dances. I do not like TikTok dances. I think they are dumb and I do not know why people like doing them. But it is positively embarrassing for someone, Aggie fan or not, to look at this and make this kind of complaint about Marcel.

Yes, he's not playing quarterback well right now. Yes, he's being paid quite a bit to play quarterback. But it's ridiculous to see this video of a college kid— well-paid or not— and draw lines between this and his level of play on the field.

He's not a robot; he's a person. There's this picture of an athlete that some fans have, that every player ought to be a Michael Jordan-type, obsessively focused on winning. But that kind of comparison is nothing but selective memory informed by results-based thinking: while Jordan did have a focus on winning that is legendary, he had more than his fair share of off-court activities that were always making headlines— things far more headline-grabbing than a TikTok dance.

In fact, given the way this season has transpired, it would probably be worse for Marcel to be reacting in the way that some fans apparently want him to. The reason that he has been having trouble is not a lack of care— it's been caring too much and pressing too hard in games.

It's been said time and time again that Marcel seems to be playing a lot better when he's not thinking so hard, and he's just going out there and playing— we've seen it when the Aggies get in two-minute drills multiple times. So why do some fans insist that he ought to be spending the entire week ruminating upon the losses and beating himself up?

Marcel didn't take the step that fans wanted to see over this offseason, and there are coaching reasons for that, but one of the big things that has played in to that reality is the fact that he simply has not been relaxed or calm when he's been out there— he's been jumpy and all over the place mentally. Elko compared it earlier this season to the yips, as a matter of fact.

The solution is not going to be that he should hermetically seal himself off from normal personal activities and spend his days watching tape until his eyes turn bloodshot. If anything, it should be the opposite.

I get it. You see this video, and you see other fans laughing about it, and you feel embarrassed. But just because you feel embarrassed does not mean that it is embarrassing, objectively speaking. For however silly TikTok dances are, it's a normal thing for a college-aged kid like Marcel to be doing with friends.

And yes, again, he's not a normal college-aged kid— he is a starting quarterback in the SEC and is well-compensated as a result of that fact. But you can't appeal to that status and ignore the fact that his issue comes from pressing too hard rather than not caring enough. There is no argument you can make that he should be disallowed from doing this.

Be frustrated however much you want with his play on the field. Critique him there— it's fair. But when it comes to the jokes you see about this, just laugh and move on. To point to this kind of thing as some type of evidence as to why he has been playing badly is more than just a reach— if any part of this is embarrassing, it's that.

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