I’ve never seen such a train wreck in the world of sports! NFL football is in complete chaos and the vast majority of American fans are having a melt-down… weary of manipulation and the rapid erosion of their favored pastime. 
My Facebook feed has never been teeming with so much of one topic; it’s inescapable. Never had I intended to pontificate on this lunacy and here I am wondering “Where do we go from here?” The wielding of the intentional or unintentional weapons against that which actually symbolizes the very fabric which binds us brother to brother, sister to sister, American to fellow American is pummeling all which makes us great. The so-called ‘unity’ desired has taken three steps forward and one hundred steps backward. Have you ever heard the phrase “past the point of no return”? I fear we’re gravitating ever near the precipice.
Talk about a FUMBLE!!
Players kneel, teams stay off the field, owners make statements, and coaches are offended shaking forefingers in shameful ridicule while advertisers join in the political boxing ring. Sportscasters weigh in with half-witted statements. Why does everything have to funnel through the spout of politics? Talk about hurricane force winds!! A CAT 5 has just been delivered to football and we better hope we can recover from the seemingly irrevocable damage!!
I believe the league, owners, managers, teams and players have missed the entire point if what they’d like us to swallow is the pill asserting this is all about inequality. Isn’t sports, concerts and the like those very events which provide an escape; a timeout from our hurried lives? from stress-filled jobs? the full plates of family life? the insane world of Left versus Right? Aren’t those venues THE VERY PLACES where we savor moments of decompression and we simply revel in rooting for a team or cheering on our favorite players? It seems to me THESE are the specific occasions when inequality’s eraser shows up and we root for a game which draws us in as Fans. Together. Devoid of political anything. We’re fans bound together watching talented individuals with varied races and backgrounds compete for the winning score.
So now what’s the call? I’ll play referee and announce it – Interference!! All this protesting within one of the pinnacle calls to recreation within our borders is hurling a brickbat into one of the very settings which actually unified us. It’s clearly interfering with the beloved game of football Americans have cherished for decades. American fans assemble in these incredible stadiums, tailgate pre-game with fellow friends & families. We arrive donning team jerseys, painted faces, twirling towels, cheese-heads and giant foam #1 fingers while we cheer in delight. We can be seen on the jumbo-trons in nervous tension over the next play or celebratory elation as the scoreboard tallies up another seven points.
Never have I seen a display of perceived or real inequality rear it’s ugly head in a football game. Americans take a time-out from life to support the sport while removing hats, placing hands over hearts and some shed patriotic tears while the anthem is sung and jets fly overhead reminding us just how blessed and privileged we are to recognize and declare our gifts as ‘One Nation Under God’, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
These infractions add up to fans having suffered the penalties as certain players are not guilty of roughing the kicker but roughing the American audiences whom show up to deliver them a paycheck. Americans are collectively reaping what players have sewn over the last year and many are swiftly becoming indignant. Jerseys and season tickets are burning in the barbeques of backyards whilst football channels are being cancelled and pledges are being made to swear off the NFL.
Is there an answer? Is there a way to rewind? That is the big question. From my little referee corner of the world I would call Delay of Game. Then the best thing the NFL can do at this point is for all to come together and simply be Americans united for America. No further division needs fostered. And if I could offer one really major piece of counsel for which I am unequivocally unqualified – yet unquestionably confident in my recommendation; it would be this….
If anybody is going to take a knee, take a knee in prayer! Our Country’s greatest need is unification as Americans first and foremost.
A divided house cannot stand.
In fact, take two knees!
Tammy,
As you know I am a sports fan but very frustrated with professional sports. I am amazed at athletes who have such great talent but disgusted at how ungrateful many are for the unreasonable pay and benefits they receive compared to the pay checks of most of their hard working fans. It also really upsets me when the media seems to ridicule peaceful acts expressing a player’s faith but excuses acts of others which often leads to hate and violence. I have told you I read too little but admire the way you express yourself and plan to watch for more of your blogs. I really enjoyed this one – it was the “correct call”.
Thanks, Ron… how interesting to read your take and I completely concur! As a society, we have glorified these sports figures to the point of superhuman status; almost godlike where they begin to believe they are untouchable and without blemish. I see it in the attitudes where some are now asserting “If you don’t like that we kneel, don’t come to the game.” That’s an audacious arrogance for someone who is only there because of fans who exist which support and behold the game of football… creating the overblown paychecks to indulge in a lifestyle the likes of which their fans will never know. And to top it off, many of these players are not worthy of admiration in ways of character. I just read yesterday where NFL players have incurred 855 arrests since 2000!! Drugs, DUI’s, domestic violence & assaults ranking at the top for these very players exhibiting these behaviors.
Thanks so much for your feedback!!