It’s been over a decade since the popular Saturday Night Live sketch MacGruber was turned into a movie. Apparently, though, it still resonates with Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. At least it did in the immediate aftermath of him getting knocked out of his team’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night.
The Dolphins came under heavy criticism for playing Tua on Thursday — even before the game started. After his injury, the criticism was only ramped up. After being taken to the hospital, Tagovailoa was released and flew home with the team after the game. That was questioned, given what had happened to other players who had flown shortly after a concussion, namely Kris Dielman in 2011.
Fortunately, Tua’s flight home seems to have gone without any incident. Though, the story his coach, Mike McDaniel, shared on Friday did raise some eyebrows.
McDaniel and Tua sat next to each other on the flight home from Cincinnati. On Friday, the coach recalled (per Marcel Louis-Jacques, ESPN) that Tagovailoa “watched MacGruber during the flight home, and that Tua laughed throughout the movie.”
McDaniel said he and Tua sat together on the plane and watched MacGruber during the flight home, and that Tua laughed throughout the movie
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) September 30, 2022
If you think this is a parody report, we wouldn’t exactly blame you. But sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. This is actually what McDaniel said.
The NFL world had some interesting and humorous takes regarding Tagovailoa’s choice of movie.
https://t.co/3vwyMamR3p pic.twitter.com/ZLERQAR8LN
— Jason Schwartz (@JasonSchwartz) September 30, 2022
Bad sign. https://t.co/yoTgY8ptmy
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) September 30, 2022
You all are laughing, but laughing at MacGruber is also how the Mayo Clinic evaluates concussions https://t.co/L7JuhdJJa0
— David Gardner (@byDavidGardner) September 30, 2022
Oh no, it's worse than we thought. https://t.co/XzYZFLoL5M
— Bryan Knowles (@BryKno) September 30, 2022
oh god. he was laughing at macgruber. he's super-concussed. https://t.co/jXAD8lQS9m
— Joshua Brisco (@jbbrisco) September 30, 2022
Tua laughing on the plane https://t.co/kP5uLkOrat pic.twitter.com/hEjQjtTd18
— Mike Maher (@mikeMaher) September 30, 2022
It is good to hear that Tua was laughing. As far as his movie choice goes, tastes are subjective.
MacGruber has a 47% Tomatometer rating and a 35% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. There are a seemingly infinite supply of better, funnier movies to watch. That said, there are also worse options than MacGruber, as well. If Tua had watched a movie like Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector, there would be some serious cause for concern.
[Marcel Louis-Jacques on Twitter]
