No Defense

I have wanted to write about the Penn State scandal for several days now.  In truth, it has dominated my thoughts since this past weekend.  I heard mention of it on the news when the story first broke, so I read some of the coverage on it.  And, I wish I could un-read it.  It horrified me so much that I had trouble sleeping that night.  The next day, I sat my older kids down and explained what they needed to do if anyone approaches them in an inappropriate manner.  I told them, "Scream as loud as you can, punch them as hard as you can in their special place, run as fast as you can, and then tell me as soon as you can."  I didn't know what else to do.  What I wanted to do was to drive up to Happy Valley (ironic name, this week), find Coach Sandusky, and murder him.  That is precisely why I didn't write about this whole issue.  I didn't see any way that I could convey my thoughts without cursing, offending someone, or making me look like a violent rage-a-holic.  From the coverage I have been hearing and reading, my thoughts are not isolated.  It is amazing the number of sportswriters and sports talking heads who have expressed those exact same sentiments.

The fallout from the scandal is still being measured.  So far, the University President, Athletic Director, and a VP have exited - along with the firing of Joe Paterno.  Somehow, though, the original accuser still is coaching on the team - despite the fact that his reporting of the 2002 incident was so poor that several people hid behind the claim they "didn't fully understand the gravity of the accusation."  Personally, I think that the Board of Trustees needs to just get rid of the entire coaching staff and shutter the program for the rest of the year until the school can truly assess what in Hades is going on.

Now, apparently that last comment would get me a riot outside of my house.  There are so many horrifying and inexplicable things that have happened in the course of this scandal.  But one of the most mind scrambling is the fact that Penn State students rioted last night when news of Paterno's firing hit the airwaves.  Dannah Gresh, who is an amazing writer of purity resources, lives up near State College.  She has been tweeting about what was happening up there.  One of the things she posted (I think it was from someone else originally) was, "Too bad the rioting wasn't because a child was molested."  That's the crazy part.  AT LEAST eight boys were molested by this guy.  I say at least because the police are fielding tons of calls about other cases not related to the Grand Jury indictment.  [By the way, I refuse to say "allegedly" in all of this.  If it was one accuser, I may have some doubts.  Eight?  A three year Grand Jury investigation?  Reports that this guy was "walked in on" on FOUR separate occasions?  You don't get an "allegedly" for that.  This isn't some tv cop show where they drag five different people in and threaten to arrest them.  This was a freaking THREE YEAR Grand Jury investigation.]  The rioters were not up in arms that this kind of horror could happen right under the noses of the university.  They weren't furious that state and school resources went to this man - even after he had been accused and ADMITTED to making mistakes with young boys.  The angry hordes weren't buying pitchforks and torches because the school allowed this guy's nonprofit (which was supposed to help children) to operate on its campus running football camps.  They were mad because the people who made stupid, irresponsible, reckless decisions that led to the continued destruction of children's lives were fired for those decisions.

This is one of the things I absolutely hate about sports.  Sports fans are so passionate about their teams and players that they turn a blind eye whenever something that could tarnish that entity arises.  I can understand being shocked and not wanting to believe an accusation.  But to stubbornly defend a team, a school, an athlete in the face of mounting evidence is just asinine.  It isn't like there isn't a track record of sports personalities and groups making self-serving and immoral choices.  How many times do we need to see this play out before we start to believe that these players and teams are not deserving of that level of defense.  I remember when trouble first started to swirl around Tiger Woods.  People made all kind of statements and accusations about Tiger's wife.  Nearly twenty women later, those supporters know the truth.  But it was their first inclination to defend, defend, defend.

Two other things happened yesterday that highlighted this.  While Penn State was watching their world unravel, UCF was watching their athletic department for entirely different reasons.  UCF President John Hitt fired Athletic Director Keith Tribble and the Wide Receivers Coach.  Head Men's Basketball Coach, Donnie Jones, was suspended without pay for three games.  Several basketball players have been suspended, including Michael Jordan's sons Marcus and Jeff.  In the case of UCF, an NCAA investigation has shown that the athletic department had been getting into an improper relationship with a professional "runner" - who is a guy who guides players to specific teams and is paid for it (illegally).  Back in April, the reports began to surface.  UCF was dirty - that's how they were getting a shocking number of high quality players from Chicago.  UCF fans refused to believe it.  I myself, being a devout UCF fan and alum, wanted to doubt it.  But, there was something that didn't add up.  Partly, it was a sports entity being accused - which, in my opinion, always ends up being true.  Keith Tribble went so far in April as to say he had never met this guy, couldn't identify him.  Turns out Tribble was a big fat liar.  Now, UCF is big trouble.  They are trying to self discipline.  But it isn't going to work.  What has been the response of most UCF fans I've seen?  Shame - followed by questioning if this is going to keep us out of the Big East.

It should.  I think that the Big East should contact President Hitt and say, "I'm sorry, but that is not the kind of institution we want in our conference.  You have no control over your players or staff or coaches. Stay in the Conference USA, if they'll have you."  They SHOULD say that, but they won't.  This is the same conference that houses UConn basketball and Louisville basketball and Cincinnati sports and West Virginia (until last month).  The Big East is probably rushing even faster to get UCF now - since they proved they can cheat with the big boys.  Cheating is a prerequisite for admission.  [Truly pathetic part?  Eight of the teams in the Big East for basketball are Catholic universities - the kind of schools that shouldn't stomach cheating on any level.  And they are thinking of inviting BYU, the team who suspended their top players last year for having premarital relations with their girlfriends.  Run, BYU, run.]  Once again, the temptation for UCF fans was to defend their teams.  The temptation for the Big East is to defend their schools.

In the NFL, Ryan Clark - a safety for the Steelers - was fined $45,000 for a helmet to helmet hit on Sunday.  His response was touching and sensitive.  "If I'm going to get fined that much, I'm going to make sure I get my money's worth."  Amazing.  The NFL is trying (pathetically, but trying nonetheless) to cut down on concussions now that it is evident that brain damage from football are costing players years of their lives.  So they have ramped up the penalties for head hits.  Then you have Clark responding like that.  And, once again, Steelers fans will rush to the defense of their player.  They will complain about how the NFL singles out Pittsburgh players.  They will say the NFL is getting soft.  They will laugh at Clark's comment.  And they will get giddy the next time a Steelers player tries to paralyze someone.

We keep seeing this happen.  Football fans defend their sport and try to minimize those brain damage studies.  They defend their teams and players.  They defend behavior that is violent and uncalled for and irresponsible.  It is sad.  It is like a person loses their usual moral and ethical compass when it comes to winning a championship.  I guess that makes me a lousy sports fan.  I ditched the Dallas Cowboys around 2000 because I hated the way they did business.  I did the same thing with the Bucs a few years later.  And I did the same thing with the Yankees when the Mitchell Report hit and it showed everyone on the Yankees had a needle perpetually sticking out of their arm.  I won't ditch UCF because I went there and my tie there is different.  But I will have hard supporting the current coaching staffs until this gets fixed.

Sports isn't the only place this happens, obviously.  We see Republicans doing the same thing right now with Herman Cain.  These are the same people who wanted to crucify Bill Clinton and fire Rep Weiner over their misbehavior.  But their first response with Cain is to say it is a conspiracy.  Fans of Apple Computers refused to acknowledge anything negative they heard about Steve Jobs - even going so far as saying that what made him so great was his tendency to be a rude, abrasive, intolerant, short tempered tyrant.  We all have the desire to defend things we care about.  Unfortunately, more often than not lately, the things we want to defend don't deserve our defense.  They haven't earned such passion and loyalty.  So we are put in a position where we have to compromise our own morals and ethics to defend their lack of control.  "All programs cheat.  We just got caught.  We just are worse at hiding it."  Why should anyone who claims to have a moral guide and compass DEFEND unethical behavior?  You shouldn't.  Wrongdoing is wrong - no matter what.  Breaking the rules is wrong.  I don't care if you like the color of the jersey or the helmet logo the person is wearing.  It is wrong.  There is no circumstance that makes it okay to cheat ... or to sexual harass someone.  And there is absolutely nothing that makes it okay to sexually assault a child.

Which leads us back to Penn State.  Some people have asked what Paterno's crime was.  They say he legally had done everything he was supposed to, but he had not morally done everything.  The fact is that he ran that campus.  He ran that athletic department.  And he allowed Sandusky to remain there.  I don't even know how he could.  I doubt that I would be able and willing to have someone that I knew had hurt children around my workplace.  At the very least, Sandusky admitted to making a mistake in 1999.  Paterno then was told about another disturbing incident in 2002.  That's two.  At that point, even if he didn't understand everything, Paterno should have banished Sandusky.  He should have made trouble for his nonprofit and refused to let them operate on campus.  He should have ended the friendship.  The fact that he not only didn't do that, but allowed him on campus "all the time" and allowed him to use the athletic facilities.  He saw him in the company of young boys "from the nonprofit group" on trips.  That never triggered a question?  I believe that is is the job of all adults to defend and protect the innocent - the ones who can't defend themselves.  That includes kids.  You may think kids are annoying and hate their noise.  But you still should protect them.  That is ingrained in people.  We are built to care about others and to take care of small people.  To sacrifice children for the sake of a friendship is deplorable.  To ignore harm coming to children for the sake of a bowl bid is reprehensible.  And to be more upset about the decimation of a football team instead of the decimation of innocent lives is completely indefensible.

Changing Face of Sports

The Super Bowl is coming up in a little over a week.  This is the biggest single sporting event in the country.  Some would argue for March Madness - but that is spread out across weeks.  The Super Bowl is just a mammoth day.  It is treated the same as a holiday.  Stores put on Super Bowl sales - mainly electronics, food, and electronics stores.  Non-sports news devotes significant time to covering it.  It is just huge.  In fact, the hype surrounding the game has basically dwarfed the game.  Rarely does the game itself measure up or carry the same interest as the concept of the game.  Sure, some years like the Patriots/Giants matchup a few years ago and Saints/Colts last year can actually hold our interest.  But, for every game like that there is a Steelers/Seahawks that doesn't.

I've written about the Super Bowl several times on this site.  I've examined how the Super Bowl gains and loses interest based on how many national/regional/local teams are involved.   I've talked about how important the event is to me.  I've even looked at how the Super Bowl contributed to my eating problems over on my Darth Fatso blog.  This year, I wanted to look at the matchup - along with a little on the issue of loyalty in today's sporting world, especially when it comes to the Super Bowl.

For most of the fans of the other 30 NFL teams, you probably don't really care too much about the outcome of this game.  Sure, Browns fans hope the Steelers get annihilated.  The same goes for Vikings and Bears fans with the Packers.  But your average Dolphin fan or Cowboy fan or Rams fan (are there those?) probably doesn't really have a rooting interest.  [If you are gambler, of course that is thrown out the window due your financial interest.]  This year's contest has two very popular teams - ones who have a long history, many Super Bowl wins, a huge national fan base.  They are two of the six or eight truly national teams - franchises that have large groups of fans all over the country.  So, for the NFL, this is a great matchup.  People have a knowledge of the Packers and Steelers.  The game sounds important.  It has a Super Bowl aura about it - unlike something like Jaguars/Seahawks or Chargers/Lions.  Those games don't have the regal sound like this one does.

The really strange thing about this matchup, though, is that it shouldn't work.  Yes, there is a ton of history and everything.  But leagues always are hoping for matchups between big market teams.  You know, the LA and NY and Chicago and Dallas teams.  They want the ratings those teams bring - between their huge population and former residents.  Green Bay and Pittsburgh hardly qualify.  They are "small market" teams.  In every other sport, Pittsburgh is always in danger.  The Pirates are horrible.  The Penguins nearly disappeared a few years ago.  They don't even have an NBA team.  Green Bay is known for freezing weather, cheese, beer, and Brett Favre - and the legacy of an old team.  Basically, the city's entire identity is wrapped up in this team.  Without it, that city is just another Duluth or Lansing - a frigid northern city.

Leagues also want to showcase their super duper megastars.  They want Kobe and LeBron and Jeter involved.  They want Sid the Kid and Peyton/Eli Manning in it at the end.  In today's sports culture, the superstar is more important to the league than the team.  Free agency has seriously eroded team loyalty.  It used to be a team would sign a player and he would play there his whole career.  They went hand in hand. Think of the great players and you immediately think of their team.  Now, though, players jump ship all the time - even the big name guys.  Look at LeBron to see this demonstrated the best.  He should have stayed in Cleveland forever.  Those two should have gone together - with kids growing up as Cavs AND James fans.  Instead, he left for Miami.  Overnight, there were a ton of "Heat Fans."  Team loyalty isn't there.  It's hard.  You get attached to a team, then they trade half the team.  I'm a Magic fan.  I like the way the organization is run.  So I follow the team, and develop a fan relationship with the players.  You get to know them and connect with them.  Then they don't get resigned.  Or the team trades them away and takes on some head case (Arenas).  Shaq is the poster child for this.  Easily one of the ten best players ever - and he's played on SIX teams (and counting).

But the Steelers and Packers aren't jam packed with these stars.  The biggest name is Big Ben Roethlisberger - someone with a seriously damaged reputation.  Aaron Rodgers, while one of the best QBs in the NFL, still isn't a "name" player yet.  Troy Polamalu and Clay Matthews are both stars, but not on the same plane as the big names (Brady, Brees, Manning) - largely because they are on defense.  The rest of the roster is filled with guys doing their jobs without the fanfare.

The thing is, these are actually easy teams to root for.  They are doing things right.  The Packers are not owned by some mega-billionaire software developer or former Russians mobster.  The team is owned by the fans - people who bought shares in it years ago.  How cool is that?  Back when I was a child picking teams, I didn't care about that stuff.  I just hated the Packers because they had ugly colors.  Then they kept messing around with the Cowboys and Bucs.  Now, though, as I get more and more disgusted with the business end of sports - something like the Packers' ownership situation would get me to root for a team like that.  The Steelers are a family-owned team from the old days of the league.  They don't overpay for big name free agents.  Frequently they lose players to other raiding teams (Randel-El, Santonio Holmes).  But they just rebuild and challenge again.  They are loyal to their players and coaches - but they don't tolerate idiocy.  (Proof of that was when they seriously considered cutting Roethlisberger during his scandal this year.)  They have only had three coaches in the last 40 years  (Wha!?!?) - Chuck Noll 1969-1991, Bill Cowher 1992-2006, Mike Tomlin 2007-present.  And, with the way they treat coaches and how well Tomlin has done (and how young he is), he could be there for another thirty years.

The Steelers and Packers both have so many positives.  They have two of the best stadiums in the NFL - legendary Lambeau and the beautiful Heinz Field.  Their uniforms are two of the best in the league.  The Steelers are 6-1 in Super Bowls.  The Packers are 3-1.  Together they hold 20% of all Super Bowl titles. They have likable coaches, players, owners.  And both are located in hard-working cities with hard-working citizens who "deserve" something to rally behind.

This is why I find it so hard to believe an adult can stick with one team their whole life.  It may be different for someone who grows up in an area with a rabid fan base - like New York or Boston (shudder) or St. Louis.  But for most Americans who are trying to pick a team, how do you stay loyal?  Things change over time.  People change.  I don't like the same things I liked as a kid.  Why would I like the same teams?  I used to eat fern leaves and paint from off the chair in our living room.  I don't do that now.  I used to think the Flinstones were the funniest thing ever.  I owned albums by Nelson and Color Me Badd.  I had big round glasses.  Times change.  People change.  I'm older with a family.  I struggle financially and have a hard time having tons of sympathy for "financially strapped billionaires."  Different things are important to me.  When I was younger, something like uniform color or the team having the same name as my street (Georgia Avenue - UGA) could sway things for me.  Now, though, other things matter.

I used to have a complete set of NFL pencils.  They all laid there in a tray - each one painted solid in the team colors, with the team name written in the secondary color.  Later, I got another set with fancier markings - the logos, mascots.  I never used either set.  I just would arrange them in the order that I liked the teams.  Dallas was always first.  Washington was always last (biggest Dallas rivalry, also as a way to tick off my brother - a Redskin fan).  The Dolphins were always second to last - actually last, but the whole brother thing kept them from really going where they deserved.  Things in the middle would change over time.  But the bottom ten or so never changed much.  Washington, Miami, Oakland, Jets, PACKERS, STEELERS, Giants, 49ers, Broncos.  Without fail, those teams were in my bottom tier.  I hated those teams.

So imagine my surprise when I was watching the championship games last weekend.  Jets, Steelers, Packers, Bears.  I couldn't care less about those teams.  The Bears was the only team I never "hated" - largely because my dad was a huge Bears fan.  Yet, I found myself rooting for the Packers and Steelers.  As I thought back, I realized this was not the first time, either.  I remember rooting for Pittsburgh against the Cardinals two years ago and the Seahawks in 2006.  Why was I rooting for the Steelers?!?  And why in the world was I wanted Green Bay to win?  That was a new thing for me.  I realized that my total hatred of them really disappeared when Favre did.  Now, I admired those teams.  I had positive feelings for them.  That can't happen, can it?  If you hate a team, hate it forever.  Sure, if Pittsburgh was playing Jacksonville, I would have been rooting for them all to have their legs fall off.  But in this case, I actually found myself aligning with former enemies.

I've changed.  The league has changed.  Teams have changed.  Things that used to be important aren't now.  I loathe the Cowboys.  They used to be my team.  I had so much Dallas Cowboy stuff.  That was true through college.  But at some point, I just couldn't take them any more.  I got tired of the signing of guys of poor character.  I couldn't stand Jerry Jones and his weasel act.  Their ego and overinflated view of themselves just got to be too much.  Now, they have dropped into that bottom tier.  And a couple other teams have crawled out.  I'm excited for this game.  Either way, a good team will win.  The teams seem to match up well.  It should be a fun watch.  And, of course, the commercials and movie trailers will make up for it if the game is a snoozefest.  I just find it humorous that a matchup that would have sent me to the movie theater a decade ago actually has captured my interest.