Monday, October 11, 1999Smith's family shares big day
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati EnquirerCLEVELAND — Ray Smith and about 20 of his relatives and friends cheered the Bengals' busses as they rolled out of Cleveland Browns Stadium Sunday.
The statement had been made and his son, Bengals rookie quarterback Akili Smith, had supplied the exclamation point with a two-yard touchdown pass with five seconds left that broke the heart of Browns' organization seeking its first victory.
The touchdown to Carl Pickens gave the Bengals an 18-17 victory, their first of the season.
It was not lost on Ray or his son that the Browns passed over Akili and made Tim Couch the No. 1 pick.
“Yes, it was sweet but it was greater than that,” Ray said. “Animosity is the wrong word.
“The Browns did what they had to do. We just felt we had to make a statement, and I know Akili felt the same way, that he was the better (pick).”
Akili pleaded with reporters to stop asking the question because he was no longer discussing it, perhaps realizing they play in Cincinnati Dec. 12.
Ray Smith had to stand outside the players' entrance after the game “because they say they're not letting in families,” and laughed when asked if it was just the Smith family that wasn't allowed in.
Akili came out for about a minute for hugs and kisses, including one from 75-year-old grandmother Alberta Smith in her wheelchair, before getting on the bus.
She had come all the way from San Diego and wore a necklace of orange beads and a shirt with orange lettering that read, “Akili's Granny.”
“I knew it was going to happen at the end. I just knew it,” Alberta Smith said.
Her grandson had tossed and turned the night before his big day. It was getting late as he watched alma mater Oregon losing a 20-10 game before switching it off and trying to fall asleep with his head phones.
“He said he felt good, that the team had looked good in practice,” Ray said. “I thought it was great how they let him throw the ball when they could have handed the ball to Corey Dillon. They stuck with him.”
Ray Smith said the Browns' fans' figured out who they were and it got a tad ugly: “They were giving us problems. I thought Cleveland should have given us a little more respect.”
But he was philosophical, knowing he had seen the start of “a great rivalry.” He clutched a football that had been signed by Akili.
“We're trying to get Couch to sign it,” said Ray, but he was told Couch had already left.
There's always Dec. 12.
The last game ever at Cinergy Field.
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Smith's family shares big day