Forgive me for an oversight in my column last week about the good and the bad in the world of sports.
How could I forget perhaps the best story of them all: Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett?
His recovery from what many feared was a paralyzing injury to returning to the “scene of the crime” — so to speak — and walking onto the field of Ralph Wilson Stadium was, well, miraculous.
Obviously, I don’t think he’ll be playing football ever again but I believe that is the furthest thing from his mind.
It is reminiscent of Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech where he calls himself the luckiest man on the face of the earth, even though in all likelihood he knew he was dying from ALS — or at least suspected it.
The human spirit sometimes amazes me. The very same one that all-too-often is splattered on the front page reminding us of the evil we can do to each other can yet be the one that shows the world that — with a little help — there is good in all of us, that proves indomitable in the face of adversity.
If the sports world teaches us anything — very much like the so-called real world — is that there are possibilities for redemption, second chances, the potential to make that comeback and rehabilitate one’s name.
The American people are very forgiving — Marv Albert ring a bell? — because, deep down, I believe we are reminded of the familiar refrain “there but for the grace of God go I.”
I believe it is the propensity to at least try to walk in the other person’s shoes, that we don’t really know the circumstances of another person’s life.
We may not necessarily like what they do or believe — rape or heinous murder, for example, are exceptions to what I have written in the above lines — or how they live but we all want the benefit of the doubt when we mess up or don’t go along with the crowd.
How’d I get from Kevin Everett to here? It’s what happens when you muse, isn’t it?
Is it time for Bobby Bowden to step down at Florida State, especially after the cheating scandal (plus injuries) that left him 36 players short during Monday’s Music City Bowl loss?
I don’t believe the answer is an automatic yes, though he’s had a few more of these types of incidences lately that college football fans might like.
The problem is it seems to be happening far too often everywhere. I also don’t believe this just involved football players; it also included non-athletes.
Perhaps it is a part of our overall culture’s forgiving attitude — the dark side of what I wrote above. Because we want the benefit of the doubt when it comes to us — probably a good definition of “mercy” and a good thing — we might go overboard and declare nothing really wrong.
Let’s face it; youngsters do pick up on this and without the proper guidance, they might think nothing is really wrong. Thus, you have this kind of stuff going on.
Or the “I’m-entitled-to-whatever-I-want”/instant gratification attitude. Is that also not a dark side to our consumerist, “what’s-mine-is-mine/what’s-yours-is-mine” mentality? Or “I know what I want and I want it now”?
Again, it’s the two sides of our human spirit, the good and the bad.
It seems like everyone has already given the Bowl Championship Series title to Louisiana State University.
Ohio State can’t match up with the Bayeaux Bengals in the speed department; it’s a home game for LSU; LSU is healthy and will show everyone the team they should have been, etc.
I’m not sure the first is actually true, by the way. If you look at last year’s blowout by Florida over the Buckeyes, it wasn’t that Florida was faster as much as they were more prepared, more physical, more aggressive. How did Michigan — gasp!!! Yes, I can spell out that name!!! — beat the Gators Tuesday? By attacking Tebow and being aggressive on offense.
The second part is true; it is all but a home game but the Buckeyes — the Big Ten — is used to that with the Rose Bowl. Pasadena was virtually a home game for UCLA — it has been the Bruins’ home field for how many years now — and USC — which wants to make the Rose Bowl its home field.
LSU players like Glenn Dorsey are healed up, that is true, but the Buckeyes had some guys beat up as well and not playing their best by the end of the season because of it.
OSU can take some solace from the fact that Michigan did beat Florida. Illinois got hammered by USC but the Trojans might be the best team going right now; they just had that 2-game slip earlier in the season — when they had some injuries — and couldn’t make up for it.
Again, the biggest concern for me is the extra two weeks off from competition OSU had. That had something to do with the Bucks’ awful performance in last year’s BCS title game because they simply did not look very sharp.
I think that they also believed the hype about how the Gators had no chance, etc., etc., and came in with puffed-up heads. I don’t see that happening this time around.
By the way, I issue my mea culpas to San Diego GM A.J. Smith. I thought he was a dunce after firing Marty Schottenheimer and hiring Norv Turner as Chargers coach.
I piled on, too, when they got off to a terrible start.
I stand corrected.
Have a Happy New Year!