Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson stirred up headlines when he declared he plans on watching Beyonce’s halftime performance during Wednesday’s contest against the Houston Texans.
ESPN First Take analyst and former Super Bowl Champion Shannon Sharpe announced that he hopes the MVP candidate “was just joking and saying that tongue in cheek.”
Netflix is pulling out all the bells and whistles for its $150 million Chrismas Day games (despite some early technical hiccups), including featuring the 32-time Grammy Award winner Beyonce at halftime.
“I’m going to go out there and watch,” Jackson declared. “[It will be my] first time seeing Beyonce perform, and it’s at our game – that’s dope. I’m going to go out and watch. Sorry [head John] Harbaugh, sorry. Sorry, fellas.”
Sharpe pleaded with the Ravens quarterback. Hopefully, Lamar was just joking and saying that tongue in cheek,” he said.” I mean, Beyonce is worth seeing, trust me. Ive seen her in concert and the entire two hours is worth the price of admission.”
“But I think Lamar understands that hes the leader of the team and the last thing that you want is him out there and you got the whole team watching the ballgame,” Sharpe continued.
“Lets stay focused, youre very close to getting to where you need to be. Because at the end of the day, you want to be at the Super Bowl.
First Take star Stephen A. Smith couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Shannon, you wouldn’t watch Beyonce?” he cried.
Wednesday’s contest is rich with playoff implications. A Ravens win (corresponding with a Pittsburgh Steelers loss to the Kansas City Chiefs) would put the team in poll position to claim the AFC North.
Jackson also admitted the score of the game would not impact his decision to watch Beyonce. “No, I’m not even thinking about the lead,” he said.
“I was just thinking about just seeing Beyonce for the first time. Not saying it like that; no disrespect or [anything], because I know how people can take things.”
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was a little less in the loop regarding Beyonce’s performance. “I can’t say I’m a huge Beyonce fan, but I think I like her,” he admitted. “Is she doing country [music] now? You think some of those country songs will be in there? You’ll have to report to me on that.”
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