The NFL, Politics and You

So, I am sitting here, after watching my vaunted Steelers choke in the overtime period of their game against the Bears, of which I have several thoughts. First, and most important in my mind is to say a hearty “Well played, and congratulations on the win.” to the Bears players (as if they would ever read this), and too their fans, “Your team showed up to play, and got the job done.” I like to get that out of the way, because good sportsmanship comes with being a gracious winner, and while I personally don't like seeing my teams loose, it comes with being a big enough person to congratulate the winners, even if we don't like it. Now, I am about to do something I really don't like doing, the game is over, we fought the good fight and we lost, but the season is still young, and I observed something that has really bothered me.

Now, I can be the type that likes to pile on, when I see something wrong, I will comment about it, and if more people are talking, hey, I'll be there adding my two cents, wanted or not. But what was it that has bothered me? When the pregame started I saw players kneeling with each other, I saw players linking elbows, I saw one player standing at the entrance of the tunnel in my teams colors. Standing as a sentry to the tunnel, paying his respect to a flag. That actually doesn't bug me, he is voicing his thoughts with his action, and I am proud to see him standing there, using his speech in a peaceful way. But I am also proud of the men who decided to remain in the locker room, also using their speech in a peaceful way. I think Mr. Rooney is in whatever afterlife there is, looking at his team, smiling, proud that the men that he brought together for our benefit are trying to become more, that they are a symbol of something bigger.

Okay, that doesn't bother me, I do not know the politics of the locker rooms in the NFL, I know I have heard some refer to it as a brotherhood, a family of sorts. And if more players had wanted to follow Mr. Villanueva (a former US Ranger), they should have, maybe more didn't, and I seriously doubt peer pressure played into this. Again, we don't know the full details of what happened in the locker room, and it is not our place to question. So, what has me bothered by this? Its the reaction from fans, from my own little community of “die-hard” Steelers fans. The people who we celebrate with after a win, those we mourn with after a loss. This is directed to some of my fellow fans, and this is where we are going to have issues moving forward.

And let me say, these issues are pretty major. We have a problem in our nation, a severe problem with police militarization and brutality. We have police killing people in the streets, abusing privileges that they should have never been given. We have an environment on the war path, income inequality that is second only to the worst of third world nations, the worlds most expensive healthcare while ranking pretty poorly.  We had one man, who used a platform he was given to start making a clear point, we have a problem with police brutality. That one man turned into many. While people did not agree or like his actions, they saw the problems, and said there has to be a better way. But what set this off, really had nothing to do with the initial actions of a handful of people, it was the response they received. The response, has been heart wrenching, people want to ignore the issues that started this, they are ignoring why players, coaches, staff, and owners decided it prudent to go further. Many fans, my peers in particular.

Look, you can say you are a lifelong fan of a team, and that means enduring many different things. Hey, I wasn't around for the bad times, the first run in the golden age, or the slum of the 80's and early 90's. I came around in the mid-90's, when I found that I actually enjoyed football. I endured the Slash years, and the Maddox era, then back to the promised land, and the following Roethlisberger incidents (motorcycle accident, rape accusations, injuries, and everything else), but like so many of my peers, we stood in there, in good and bad. Now, to see fellow fans coming down on the team for actions by players is heartbreaking. Look, these men, like it or not are expressing themselves, they are pointing a finger at a problem, and a President who is only concerned about being a bully, and its not just my team, its multiple teams, most of the players, coaches, staff and owners who are pointing out that free speech is under fire. I see fans screaming with rabid hatred towards players being on a “political soap box,” and some of these same people are perfectly content to sit on the sidelines allowing the insanity to continue. FFS, not two days ago I saw a snuff video of a 16 year old kid getting shot multiple times by a cop, less than a week ago, I heard about a deaf man being shot because he couldn't hear police orders. And all I am hearing about is disrespect for the flag and a song, meant to bring about feelings of patriotism. In our own way, we have forgotten true patriotism, in its place a sense of nationalistic pride. I'm sorry, well no not really, being a real patriot is not unquestioning observance, unquestioning acceptance of those things that are wrong in our fair land. Real patriotism is questioning the status quo, to seek real improvement for all, to point out that which is wrong and fight to change it for the better. People playing a game have every right to do so, yes, they are there to be paid to play a game, but beyond that, they are using a platform that they have earned through talent and force of will, to point out a problem, and show support to those who also see the problem. I am ashamed to be a Steelers fan today, not because of what the men I root for did, or did not do. I am ashamed because of my peers, you want to get rid of your Steelers swag because of it, I'll take it. You want to never step foot into Hines Field again, mail me your ticket, I'll gladly show my support for my team, the only team I ever pulled for. I take solace in knowing that there are many of us who feel this way. I will also say that if your fandom for a team is diminished because of those showing support against a ill tempered orange bully, then maybe you weren't that big of a fan to begin with.

At this time, I want to apologize to Mr. Art Rooney II, because honestly, I feel that his message is true, and this rant is not helping what he had hoped his statement would do. This isn't unification of a community, this is me being fairly divisive, and against the grain of his ultimate desire. He is right, we are facing some uncertain and very divisive times ahead. It is my hope that fans of every team, take a step back and realize what they are doing. In the very way they claim that most of the Steelers staying in the locker room before the start of the game is disrespectful to the flag, and the nation, what they are doing is equally disrespectful to the nation, the flag, and the men who give themselves to us every season, putting their bodies and lives on the line to entertain us. Like it or not, they have the right to do what they are doing, to protest what Trump said, and what our nation has become.

Now, I want to thank my fellow Steelers fans who are walking away because of the players actions, and to congratulate them on willfully allowing fascism to take control of our nation.