The only thing that's been burned higher than Eli Apple in the Super Bowl is Eli Apple after the Super Bowl. The controversial Madden 23 ltds Bengals corner has become a lightning rod for insults and humor, and he's getting dragged everywhere on the internet.
It's fine to be confused on why. There have been corners that were burned previously, and Cooper Kupp has left dozens in his trail this season. The question is why Apple turned into the most talked about topic in the league? It all boils down to the past and his attitude.
In 2017. Apple had an argument between the coaches, which resulted in Apple being suspended for conduct that hurt the team. Landon Collins, a 2016 All-Pro and leader of the secondary at the time, said Apple was an "cancer," a statement that he later apologized forhowever the damage was already done. A change in the coaching staff temporarily saved Apple's spot, however, a year later, Apple was transferred to the Saints in just two years after being taken in the top-10.
Unbeknownst to most fans, Apple was a snarky person at all times. There wasn't a receiver in Madden NFL 23 which didn't know about his exploits of taking advantage of a big game on the line of scrimmagehowever, it was rare for them to translate into elite performance. It was fairly simple for Apple's game to not take his mouth off, but that didn't stop him talking.
It was publicized within the league, but it boiled over and became public in those 2021 championships. To ensure that no love everlasting was gone, Apple stated that he did not like fans from the Saints and Giants both of which were the former teams he played the longest time with. The number of people wanting to see Apple fall grew, and this was just the beginning.
Apple would also go on to retweet anyone who talked rubbish about the Chiefs, or ridiculed their receivers. He also took credit for the whole defense team's success when he was a very small part of the machine.
So, now you have an instance where a player who boasts more than his actual performance was enjoying in beating the Chiefs. That's absolutely his cheap madden 23 coins prerogative but he must be ready to face the same scrutiny if it comes to a mistake ... and that's exactly what he did.