Twelve Step Sports Addict

Since today is Veteran’s day, I wanted to take a minute to honor all the veterans out there that risked their lives to protect this country. Thank you. Never having served in the military myself, I can not fathom what it would be like to be in a war zone. But I do know, next to what you all went through, my problems are pathetic in comparison. While watching the History Channel today, I saw many shows about wars, stemming from WWI to Operation Iraqi Freedom. The fear that those men must have felt not knowing if they were in a snipers sight, or walking next to IED on a road would have paralyzed me. It seems surviving a war is a winning lottery ticket, as it just takes one bomb, one bullet to end your life. It is unbelievable the amount of sacrifice soldiers make for this country. I don’t care if civilians agree with a war or not, those soldiers are just doing what they are told. I am ashamed that my house is the only one on my block that had a flag out today. People need to stop immortalizing professional athletes as heroes, and use that man or woman, who may not run a fast 40 yard dash, or have a sick jump shot, but put their lives on the line, so we all can watch sports, write blogs, and be free. God Bless all you brave people, I for one, will never forget you.

I feel compelled to write about a couple things that struck me recently. The other day, a coworker of mine took the day off so she could pick up her brother-in-law from the All-State Arena. Her brother-in-law is a United States Marine that was stationed in Iraq for over a year. I have had many friends come back from the war in Iraq and some of these brave soldiers have seen and done things that we civilians could never fathom. While there isn’t a lack of support for our troops overseas, I think of all the news around sporting events that steal phrases from wartime. “Football is a war!!” is a favorite of mine. I played football for many years and never did I have to kill anyone, or fire a weapon. I was always nervous, about missing a tackle, or fumbling, but never about losing my life. While sports are dangerous, and occasionally people do die, I regret that arm chair quarterbacks and athletes alike, dramatize athletics in the media as some great struggle. I’m sorry, but losing a game, or getting injured, doesn’t result in your mother or spouse receiving a folded American Flag. I wish some of our heroes got the same attention Brett Farve got this past six months. All he did was have trouble deciding whether or not to retire. Whether to accept a 25 million dollar salary to sit the season out, and not a day went by that I didn’t see his face on TV or in the paper. While I am a Farve fan, I thought the constant coverage in all media outlets was pathetic, he‘s a quarterback. There was a story I heard about a soldier jumping on top of a live grenade, that killed him, to save his fellow soldiers in a tent. I think that was a much harder decision than whether to hang up the cleats. That’s a decision that deserved to be honored.

That brings me to one more little point. I heard on the radio today that some Chicago people were upset that Barrack Obama said he was White Sox fan. Some even said that would influence their decision on the election. That statement almost makes me ashamed to be part of this generation. Many men and women died for the freedom to vote, and some crazy fan is going to throw that away because of an allegiance to a baseball team. George Patton would have slapped the snot out of you people. But for those of us who appreciate our freedom, thank you soldiers, whatever branch you serve. Every American owes you a debt of gratitude for risking your life for this country. No matter what color baseball cap you wear, I thank you for fighting for the red, white, and blue.ML