Thomas Jefferson
I was talking with a friend this week about a plague that has been making the rounds of our nations sports teams. It seems that all the rage is now about making political statements and not the enjoyment of the game itself. From the NBA to the NFL we see rich, entitled athletes forsaking our national anthem to make a political statement. My take is that they have forgotten what it was like. What it was like...when it was just a game. I remember what that was like, because we played the game many times. Usually our game of choice was hockey. When you grow up in the frozen north of Minnesota, that's kind of a no brainer. I remember the game. I remember loving the game so much that we would be outside in sub zero weather just for the opportunity to play. Back then it was simple, there were no political agendas to be met. We just played. If someone came along who was a different race than we were, we invited them to play as well. In fact, one of my best friends growing up was a American Indian kid by the name of Ron. We forged many friendships out on those snow covered ice rinks, because it was just a game. The most heated disagreements we would engage in was deciding when to quit playing. As the rink lights faded out and we skated in the dark, all we would promise was "One more goal!" There was never any homework assignment too big, nor any chore at home too tough that we couldn't forsake for just one more chance to play. We were having fun...playing the game. The few times I watch sports on tv these days I see young kids idolizing professional players for the political stands they take or the products they endorse. We idolized the professional athletes of our day because of how well they played. One of of my most prized possessions growing up was a New York Islanders Mike Bossy jersey that my mom bought for me. Of course, the Islanders were my favorite team back then. When I wore that jersey while we played, I would often imagine myself as Bossy himself playing under the lights of New York's Nassau Coliseum. Back when it was a game.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Abraham Lincoln
When I look around me these days, I don't see the passion for the game that we had growing up. What I do see is a generation of young people seeing the opportunity to play a kids game for financial gain or notoriety. I recall a prominent college quarterback who sat out the final game of his college career because he didn't want to damage his prospects of being a top pick in the upcoming draft and the financial windfall it would bring. Well, perhaps because of that move, he fell out of the top five draft spots and is today out of the game. How much does he wish that he had just played the game? Growing up, we dreamed of standing out on the ice while the national anthem was played. Never once did we consider disrespecting our country as more than a few athletes these days have done. It's not as if we grew up in a country that was less restrictive than the athletes of today. Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco quarterback who made headlines with his protest of kneeling while the national anthem was played, grew up in a pretty affluent family. However, apparently being a entitled kid in no way means that you appreciate where it is that you came from. Maybe it was the fact that athletes of our day didn't make the multi million dollar contracts they do now, but we never idolized players for how much money they made. Our likes, dislikes and loyalties all depended upon how the player performed on the ice, where it mattered. I had more than a few bragging rights growing up as my New York Islanders won four straight Stanley Cup titles. We wore our jerseys with a pride that comes from knowing our heroes believed in the same thing we did...that it was just a game.
~Scott~
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