CJ Stroud has been remarkable during his rookie season. The No. 2 overall pick stepped into an organization that needed a spark and lit a raging fire.
Stroud led the Texans to a 10-win season in his first year at quarterback. Houston put a beatdown on Cleveland during the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs as the No. 4 seed.
As a result, Stroud marched his team into Baltimore for a Divisional Round matchup against the Ravens on Saturday evening. His mother, Kimberly, was in the crowd. She was going through it.
ESPN cut to Mrs. Stroud shortly before halftime. To say that emotions were all over the place would be an understatement. Cool, calm and collected was not part of the equation.
Kim even closed her eyes, brought her hands together and said a prayer for her son.
According to Laura Rutledge, C.J. looked up to his mom during the second quarter and told her that he loves her, and that it was going to be okay. The reassurance did not do much for Kimberly.
She was unable to relax at all, which — can you blame her? Every single NFL fan has gone through a similar process while watching their teams. Now imagine if your son was the quarterback…
You’d be a nervous wreck, just like Kimberly Stroud!
Unfortunately, ESPN did her a little bit dirty.
They obviously did not tell her that the entire world was watching her react to the Texans and set her up to become a meme if CJ Stroud couldn’t lead Houston to victory. It’s all part of the deal when your son is the starting quarterback for a playoff team, but there is no doubt that Kim would have preferred to share that moment with the people around her and only the people around her — not the entire world.