I read recently about the demise of Twitter. The main idea
of the article was that Twitter has become a haven of hate. Attacks are made on
people simply because they don’t share the same opinion or because the attacker
is simply an indecent human being. This past Saturday afternoon, I witnessed
one of the best football games I’ve ever watched. My favorite team (the
University of Michigan) looked to have a victory sewn up against our cross-town
rival (Michigan State University) when a miracle occurred in the last ten
seconds, handing U of M a heartbreaking defeat. Michigan’s punter dropped the
snap, and in a panic to attempt to get a kick off, deposited the ball into the
hands of an MSU player, who ran it in for a touchdown as the clock expired.
Since then, the Twitter idiots and commenters on other forums have gone so far
as to wish death upon the punter. What has our world come to?
I used to coach basketball, and one of the most important
things I taught my players—preaching the concept to the extreme—was that we don’t
make excuses. Over the years of coaching well over 500 games, there have been
many times that the timekeeper or referee made an error at the end of the game.
There were other times that one of my players made an error that “cost us the
game.” I don’t deny the anger…the frustration…the desire to blame. But blaming
the result of a game on one play or one call or one mistake is just plain
stupid. Let me explain by giving one example from my coaching history.
I was coaching a team that was winless the year before. It
was the first game of the year, and it was against one of the best teams in the
conference. At the end of the game, with just two seconds remaining, we had a
one-point lead and one of my players was fouled and was to shoot two free
throws. I called a time out, and I told the four non-shooting players to stand
at half court, so there was no way they could foul. I told my shooter (Al) that
once he made the free throws (positive thinking), to back off. They’d have to
make a miracle shot just to tie. But I also reminded him that if he happened to
miss, they’d have to throw in a full-court shot to win it. The worst thing he
could do would be to foul and give them free throws. So what did he do? He
missed both free throws, and after the second miss, he fouled the other team’s
best player, who made both of his free throws. We lost the game. It was Al’s
fault, right? He missed shots that could have sealed the victory. He made a
dumb foul. I should blame Al, right? Wrong.
Let me say first of all that we lost by just one point. We
did not shoot 100% that game. We didn’t get every rebound. We committed fouls
to put our opponents into the bonus before that fateful final foul. We blew
defensive assignments during the game. We made turnovers. We missed free
throws. At one point, we had a lead larger than one. If we had played better,
made more shots, made less mistakes, had given up fewer points, Al’s free
throws and foul wouldn’t have mattered. And while I’m mentioning Al, he had a
really good game that day. He scored an unexpected nine points and had several
steals and forced several other turnovers. We wouldn’t have been in a position
to win without him. It wasn’t his fault we lost.
And it wasn’t Blake O’Neill’s fault Michigan lost. MSU had
more total yards by a lot. They had a greater time of possession, had more
first downs, got called for less penalties, made no turnovers, had a one-play
75-yard score on the play after it seemed Michigan put the game out of reach.
Michigan’s running game was stopped. Who blew the defensive assignment on the
75-yard pass? Why did MSU’s quarterback pass for over 300 yards? Why was
Michigan’s special teams unit preparing to tackle the punt returner when no
returner was back? Why wasn’t the whole team defending MSU’s attempt to block
the punt? Wasn’t the snap low? And by the way, wasn’t it Blake O’Neill who had
an 80-yard punt? Wasn’t it O’Neill whose punts pinned the Spartans inside the
10-yard line three or four different times during the game? Isn’t O’Neill one
of the best punters in the country? Blaming him and threatening him is as
absurd as accepting that those giving out threats could actually play better than
O’Neill themselves.
Several years ago, a Cubs fan by the name of Steve Bartman
did what about 98% of all fans at a baseball game would do. He reached to catch
a foul ball (out of the field of play). Video replays even show other fans
attempting to do the same thing because, well, that’s what fans do at baseball
games. I sure do, and I even caught one once. It made my day. Yet, other Cubs
fans seem intent to blame him for the Cubs not winning the World Series.
Really? Was that the only play of the game? (If caught, it would have actually
only been the second out of the 8th inning). Didn’t the pitcher
still have another opportunity to get the batter out who hit the foul ball? (He
walked him). How did the other team score eight runs in the inning without
other runners? (Shortstop Alex Gonzalez made an error on a sure inning-ending
double-play ground ball before other hits and walks began to pile up). Didn’t
the Cubs make 27 outs that game? Didn’t they have a chance to win game seven
the next day? Are Cubs fans entitled to determine that the Cubs would have won
the World Series had Steve Bartman not “interfered” with one batted ball in a playoff
game prior to the World Series? Yet Bartman had death threats. One moment in
time when he did what anyone would do ruined his life because of idiot “fans.”
And by the way “fans,” isn’t it a game? I realize fan is short for fanatic,
but seriously, did Steve Bartman’s instinctive action matter so much that he
should fear for his life?
It’s a game, people. We watch the game for entertainment…diversion…a
reason to get together with friends. Yes, we take pride in our teams. Yes, we
get emotional, leading to anger and disappointment, at times. But in the course
of a game, we also feel joy. We literally get nervous. We laugh and celebrate
with our friends. We might even yell or throw things. But it’s a game. It’s a
game in which Michigan fans felt hope and excitement. We celebrated Blake O’Neill’s prior punts. We got angry at instant replay calls that somehow were still
inaccurately called, one of which was for a touchdown our team should have
never been awarded. We’ve been watching our team play better this year than we
expected, and we’re happy for it. But to go on Twitter and wish the death of a
kid who dropped a snap is way overboard. To threaten his life should be
punishable by law, and the idiots who could never do what Blake O’Neill is
capable of doing should be fined or thrown in jail. He’s a kid playing a sport
for our entertainment.
And by the way, you parents out there who berate your own
children for not playing up to your absurd expectations…you need to back off.
Your view of your own past athletic prowess is probably skewed, and your desire
to live vicariously through your child’s feats should probably take a backseat
to your love and devotion for your son or daughter. It’s a sport—a recreation.
It’s a way for your son and daughter to make good friends, have good
experiences, learn how to work hard, learn how to work together, learn how to
deal with successes and failures, and learn who they are and what they’re made
of. Sports and competition mirror real life in many ways, but one way they don’t
mirror life is that they aren’t life and death. The idiots who want Blake O’Neill
or Steve Bartman to suffer for their miniscule part in the loss of one game in
one season need to back off and put their own life in the proper perspective.
And lawmakers ought to be figuring out a way to punish people who threaten the
lives of others in a public forum. Maybe that would stop idiots from hurting
innocent people.