Football has been a big part of my life from my earliest remembrances. I fell in love with it and couldn’t wait until I was big enough to play.When that day finally came, I was given a helmet and pads, and was taught to be aggressive and hit hard. I quickly learned that football was not the game for a momma’s boy (now don’t get me wrong; I love my momma).
When a rookie signs a multi-million dollar contract to play pro football, there is no doubt he knows what it’s all about.He knows all about getting hit hard and understands the risks.
In recent weeks, the NFL has lowered the boom on flagrant hits such as helmet-to-helmet and spearing with the helmet. Pittsburg linebacker James Harrison, Atlanta cornerback Dunta Robinson and New England safety Brandon Meriweather have all been slapped with hefty fines.
My late grandfather played offensive tackle for TCU and was the team captain for the 1952 Cotton Bowl game.I loved listening to his football stories.He talked about one game during which he split his head open and the doctor on the sidelines stitched him up and he returned to the game. In his later years, he would get so annoyed with the flag-throwing referees in the games.
“Leave them alone and let them play,” he would say over and over.
That’s what players and fans are saying today about the NFL’s decision to alter the way the game is meant to be played.
Chicago linebacker Brian Urlacher has been vocal in his disapproval of the NFL’s ruling by saying, “It’s freaking football.There are always going to be big hits.You know what we should do?We should put flags on everybody.Let’s make it the NFFL — The National Flag Football League.It’s unbelievable!”
There are several factors that have played into this calamity. There is a big concern for the players’ safety on the field and for their well-being years down the road.Do you tell a racecar driver to slow down?It’s the nature of the sport. It’s not golf or tennis (thank goodness).It’s a violent sport. The media have also helped to create this controversy, but not intentionally.It’s a reaction to the replays.The big hits are more publicized and shown over and over in slow motion, which makes them look worse.But these big hits that are being fined are the very ones that make the ESPN highlights and NFL commercials.
I’m all about playing fair and clean hits.The dirty players who consistently make cheap shots (cough cough Cortland Finnegan) on defenseless receivers should be watched and penalized.But the majority of defensive players are just trying to do their jobs.The guys in the suits making all of these arbitrary rules had better learn to deal with it and quit weakening the game.And in the words of Coach Herman Boone from “Remember The Titans,” “Let the boys play!”
