People of Los Angeles hilariously fail at identifying Malcolm Smith [Video]

Feb 3, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Seattle Seahawks outside linebacker Malcolm Smith stands next to a new truck after the winning team press conference the day after Super Bowl XLVIII at Sheraton New York Times Square. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

On the streets of Los Angeles, it is not an oddity to see a movie star or a star athlete.

But some people don’t know a star when they are staring at them in the face.

Malcolm Smith took some time with ESPN anchors Stan Verrett and Neil Everett to walk around the Staples Center in L.A. and see how many people recognized him as the MVP of Super Bowl XLVIII.

The answer? Not many.

“Can anybody answer this question,” Everett asked to multiple people in a video on ESPN.com. “Who’s this man right here?”

He then proceeded to point to Smith.

“Sam Matthews?” asked one woman. “No, Sam Michaels,” another man corrected.

Verrett tried asking some people as well, and they failed just as miserably.

“I’m not a big basketball fan, sorry,” one man said after saying he couldn’t identify Smith.

One woman suggested Smith was a sitcom actor on the CW.

When Everett asked who had watched the Super Bowl, one woman had an epiphany: “Russell Wilson!” she shouted. Wrong, but it was closer than some of the other guesses.

It isn’t entirely surprising to see so many people mis-identify the young Seahawk, but it should be noted that Smith played college ball at USC, just a few miles from the Staples Center.

His face shouldn’t be that unrecognizable in Los Angeles, should it?

Had the event happened in Seattle, would more people have recognized Smith? Probably. But it’s more fun to watch other people guess and guess incorrectly.