Mike McCarthy’s rousing halftime speech during the Detroit Lions game Sunday lost some of its inspirational momentum when, mid-sentence, the Green Bay Packers head coach loudly farted in front of his player audience.
With the Packers facing a five-point deficit on the road during a critical NFC North Division contest, a successful motivational speech was crucial for team moral. And McCarthy was whipping his players into a frenzy.
“Coach McCarthy was talking about how we’re a come-from-behind team,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “He was talking about our toughness. And the guys were responding well to what Coach was saying.”
“He had us really fired up. A lot of guys were slapping each other’s pads and knocking helmets,” wide receiver Jordy Nelson said. “But, all of the sudden the room went dead silent.”
The fart was “very wet,” according to locker room sources.
McCarthy, who had been shouting and pounding his fist into his hand only moments before, stopped speaking abruptly. After a few moments of silence, he turned from the group and walked briskly out of the room, leaving behind a bewildered Packers football team.
“Well, it kind of took the wind out of our sails,” linebacker Clay Matthews said. “It was hard to look the guys in the eye after that.”
The incident had a profound effect on the rest of the football game.
“The guys were sort of mortified when we took the field again,” Rodgers said. “I was a bit deflated myself.”
The Packers did not score a single point after halftime.
“Their guys were all jacked up, and our side of the field was completely silent,” offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga said. “And then the game just sort of slipped away from us.”
Packers players have speculated McCarthy defecated in his pants.
“Dude shit himself,” nickelback Jarrett Bush said. “From the way it went down, yeah. He shit his pants.”
“He’s always eating. Always,” fullback John Kuhn added. “Nasty food, too. Chili and microwave taquitos, stuff like that.”
McCarthy rejoined the team shortly after the start of the second half, emerging from the tunnel in a fresh pair of blue jeans.
He tried to get his players motivated again.
“Coach was really active on the sidelines, more than usual,” Matthews said. “He was talking everybody up and giving out high fives. A lot of guys left him hanging.”
“He’s got these new pants on, and he thinks everything’s cool,” Bush said. “It wasn’t cool, Coach. That shit messed me up.”
McCarthy declined to comment on the incident, but advised reporters to avoid Roundy’s Brand Taquitos at all costs.
