We see this in every sport from time to time. Whether it be basketball, baseball, golf, or football, trash talk has and will be apart of any sport. Is trash talk just something used by athletes to ridicule their opponents? Or can it is used to psych the player out in order for them to lose focus during games. How can trash talk affect players? Let's take a closer look into sports psyche.
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According to the Webster dictionary, the term "trash talk" means to "disparage, taunt, or boast comments especially between opponents trying to intimidate each other." This definition can clearly be seen between Carolina Panther's cornerback Josh Norman and New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr since the beginning of last week. Both of these players are at the top of their games right now, so football fans everywhere were looking forward to seeing the two go head-to-head. When Josh Norman was interviewed about the matchup, Norman referred to the matchup as "edible". When Beckham was asked about the matchup, he simply stated that the matchup was "just another matchup", yet he seemed as to have a very serious demeanor when trying to answer such a question. Fast forward to Sunday, and OBJ is flagged for three personal fouls throughout the game.
The initial trash talk was not exactly the reason that OBJ played in such a mild manner Sunday, but I'm sure that Norman and the rest of the defense knew they could get into OBJ's head due to the way he plays the game. Athletes that really play with a lot of emotion could really be up or down, depending on what's happening. In this case, OBJ was frustrated, as his team only managed to score 7 points within the first half. In addition, Beckham was struggling to produce. This combination brought OBJ to really go back and forth with Josh Norman. It even got to the point in which three after the play skirmishes occurred in the first quarter alone. It even reached to the point that both were hitting each other out of pure frustration. The difference between Norman and OBJ was that Norman had more self control over his emotion when pushing or distracting Beckham. Through"secret" ,or not as obvious blows to OBJ, Norman was less likely to be penalized for his actions. In the case of OBJ, Beckham's frustration level got to the point where he didn't care about getting penalized, as long as he was able to retaliate to whatever actions Norman was performing. This psychologically takes OBJ out of the game because he is so distracted with Norman. Although Norman is important to his team, OBJ is even more important to the Giants. Therefore, it is imperative that OBJ tries to keep his cool moving forward in order to help his team win.
Athletes will always be challenged at some point psychologically during their respected events. Whether it be opposing players, coaches, or fans, it is important for participants to tune out the negatively impacting noise. Doing so will allow them to focus
Check out this link to see the highlights between Josh Norman and OBJ
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap3000000605411/Odell-Beckham-Jr-vs-Josh-Norman-highlights
