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Illinois’ lack of adjustments against Indiana? Baffling

One of my favorite ever moments in sports media happened after Super Bowl XLII.

Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images

In that particular game, the Giants defeated the Patriots 17-14.

ESPN hosted a postgame panel, moderated by the late, great Stuart Scott and Steve Levy. The panel featured Sean Salisbury, Keyshawn Johnson…and Emmitt Smith.

Emmitt Smith on ESPN never disappointed. But this was his crowning achievement.

He referred to the Patriots as having been “debacled.” Yes, he made the word debacle into a verb. One might say that in this moment he debacled the English language.