Football Fails Miserably at Honoring the Troops on Veterans Day

Just like most weekends in the fall.  I watched a good amount of football this weekend.  Most teams honored veterans in one way or another.  camouflage in their uniforms, flags unfurled across the fields or in the stands.  Message boards from the folks in the seats.  Fly overs (paid for by average men and women since it’s no longer done by the government – but that’s a debate for another day).  As I watched this, I thought about the veterans I know, whether they be family, friends or otherwise.  I thought to myself.  Thanks for the freedoms these men and women have afforded me.  Giving it just a passing thought and really nothing more.

Then, I settled in, to watch some football.

As I watched the myriad of games on yet another glorious fall weekend, I heard the announcers, talking heads and players all use terms I’ve heard a million times over.  Then, late Sunday, Peyton Manning fell to the ground.  The announcer said something that struck me, and I replayed all the sounds I had heard over the course of the weekend pre-game shows, the games and the post-game coverage for all the years I’ve been playing and watching football.  And then there was a soldier standing in the background off the field, and it all clicked.  We’re all wrong…

What did the announcer say?  “Peyton Manning, he’s hurt, but he’s a warrior…”  Wrong!

Taking nothing from Peyton Manning.  He’s a great football player.  And he’s pushed through injuries.  But he’s nothing like the guy standing in the background behind him.  That man behind him is the warrior.  Peyton just plays football.

So, I took a short inventory of some of the terms I’ve heard in the last few days that have struck me as incorrect.  Or terms I’ve heard while playing.  Once again incorrect.  Here they are, I’ve put the dictionary.com definition of each, in case you needed it.

Warrior –

1. a person engaged or experienced in warfare; soldier.

Yes, definition two discussing politics and athletics, but let’s get real here.  There’s a HUGE difference between warfare and football, or warfare and politics.

Hero –

1. a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.

2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.

3. the principal male character in a story, play, film, etc.

Again, this term shouldn’t apply to a sport figure (I’ve blogged on this one before).  This is a term that should only be reserved for the handful of people we meet in our entire lives that could fall under these definitions.  Remember, football is a game.  Saving the lives of others, whether on a battlefield or coming to the aid of those in distress is not.

Battle –

1. a hostile encounter or engagement between opposing military forces: the battle of Waterloo.

2. participation in such hostile encounters or engagements: wounds received in battle.

3. a fight between two persons or animals: ordering a trial by battle to settle the dispute.

4. any conflict or struggle: “a battle for control of the Senate.”

5. Archaic. a battalion.

Once again, we use this term all the time in football.  These definitions apply to war (except for definition 4).  But if you tell someone the definitions listed, and you have to get to the fourth definition before it applies.  There really is a better word out there for the confrontation on a football field during a GAME!  We call our little well painted and proportioned field a battlefield at times.  This cannot be further from the truth and the fog of war isn’t a defined territory.

Destroy –

1. to reduce (an object) to useless fragments, a useless form, or remains, as by rending, burning, or dissolving; injure beyond repair or renewal; demolish; ruin; annihilate.

2. to put an end to; extinguish.

3. to kill; slay.

4. to render ineffective or useless; nullify; neutralize; invalidate.

5. to defeat completely.

Okay, so once again, we have to get to definition five before it could be applied to destroying your opponent on a football field, during a game?  Yes “he got destroyed on that hit” is a common term in football.  But, THANKFULLY, we rarely, have players “put an end to”, “Extinguished”, “Killed”, or “slain”.  So unless we’re looking to go back to Gladiator days, and we’re looking for blood sport where people are actually killed, this term cannot be applied to football either.

Bombs –

1. Military . a projectile, formerly usually spherical, filled with a bursting charge and exploded by means of a fuze, by impact, or otherwise, now generally designed to be dropped from an aircraft.

2. any similar missile or explosive device used as a weapon, to disperse crowds, etc.: a time bomb; a smoke bomb.

So… uhm… how does “throwing bombs down the field and hitting receivers” have anything AT ALL to do with these definitions?  I mean seriously.  We’ve created a new language to make sports sound tough, mean and manly.  But the words we use have no actual use at all in the sports we consume.  If we’re going to make words, and create a new language, let’s do so without diluting the meaning of the words.  I mean the first definition even has the word MILITARY in it!

War –

1. a conflict carried on by force of arms, as between nations or between parties within a nation; warfare, as by land, sea, or air.

2. a state or period of armed hostility or active military operations: The two nations were at war with each other.

3. a contest carried on by force of arms, as in a series of battles or campaigns: the War of 1812.

4. armed fighting, as a science, profession, activity, or art; methods or principles of waging armed conflict: War is the soldier’s business.

5. active hostility or contention; conflict; contest: a war of words.

And, once again, we have to get all the way down to the fifth definition of a word for it to have any, however vague and loose, association with the game of football, or any game for that matter.  It’s downright shameful.  Sportscasters (for the most part) have journalism and communications degrees.  They get paid to know what words to use at the right time.  We can’t do better than this?

Blown-up –

 1. (of a picture, photograph, image, etc.) enlarged.

2. damaged or destroyed by demolition, explosion, etc.: blown-up bridges.

3. (of a ball, balloon, etc.) inflated.

4. overexpanded; unduly large:

I’m guilty of this one.  I used this term in my last blog post.  Until this weekend, and the epiphany that ensued, I didn’t realize how wrong I was.  A military man uses this term for his target, or for that of his comrade in arms that he’s lost.  We use it to describe a huge hit on the field.  I apologize to my veteran friends, family and anyone else.  It’s the wrong term.

Players and announcers talk about “Putting it all on the line,” “Giving it their all,” and even occasionally “Defending at all costs.”  These are terms that do not belong in a game, even one as tough as football.  The words above, defined as they are and the terms I just mentioned, need to be reserved for greater times and greater men than those on a football field playing a game.

Diluting these terms and phrases only belittles the one’s the sport and all Americans, have been trying to honor this weekend and on this Veterans Day.  Save this wording for what they truly mean.  Honor and thank the veterans of all wars for the freedoms we have by saving this language for the real Heroes, those that have been in Battle, fought Wars.  Those that have been true Warriors, with Bombs, and Destruction, seen things that have really been Blown-up.  These aren’t football terms.

So, while the NFL and NCAA allow announcers to use terms such as these, and players walk around talking about how awesome and manly they are.  They need to sit down, and realize, they have the freedoms to say what they say, and do what they do because of the men and women in our armed forces.  Since the Revolutionary War began in 1775, the veterans (living and dead) have given us the freedoms we enjoy, and usually don’t fully appreciate for the last 238 years.

Happy Veterans Day.  And thank you to the troops!

What’s the Going Price For Your Honor Code?

Shame on you Texas A&M!

Your quarterback “Johnny Football” Manziel, won the Heisman trophy last year.  The first to do that as a Freshman.  Congratulations to him.  He was electrifying, and it was well deserved.  He had off the field troubles with the law prior to last season and he’s done it again this off-season.

To a certain extent, I’ll let these sorts of things slide.  As we’ve been told numerous times over the summer (primarily during the SEC Media Days) he’s “only 20 years old.”  I was a dumb college kid once.  But part of winning the Heisman, is being in the spotlight, so these things will be magnified and examined.

One of the things that came to light this off-season, is that Johnny signed 4500 pieces of memorabilia for brokers.  Uncited sources claimed that he was paid for these signings.  This is obviously a violation of the amateurism rules of the NCAA.  Even still, these were signed for brokers, who were bound to sell them for profit.  Yet another violation of the rules of the NCAA, “not allowing other to use your likeness to turn a profit should be restricted whenever possible”.  (That is of course unless it’s the NCAA or the University that is making the profit, but that is another discussion.  Let’s stay on point here).

Manziel met with the NCAA for over 5 hours of questioning on Sunday August 25th.  Reports were, that he denied accepting money for these signings.  He’s been questioned by the Chancellors of the University, and I’m assuming the coaching staff of the football team.  I would assume the same answer was given to them as well.  So, we’re supposed to accept the fact that he sat for hours at a time with these brokers and signed memorabilia because he’s a nice guy??  Not likely.  If he’s met with these brokers, he has to know, that they are going to sell this merchandise and make a profit from it.  So, rather than stopping this process, he’s aiding in that process.

So we know there has been some violation.  But there is question about a greater violation.  The NCAA is notoriously uneven in these punishments and their handling of these situations.  The University of Miami has been waiting for YEARS to find out their punishment for their Shapiro related violations.  Heck, they suspended Dez Bryant for an entire year for having dinner with Deion Sanders (which is not a violation) but because he lied about it!  So we know we can’t rely on a consistent punishment from the NCAA.

Which brings me to Texas A&M.  Texas A&M is a “Senior Military College” (SMC).  An SMC is recognized by the government and offer military ROTC programs to the students.  There are only six of these in the United States.  These are not the traditional service academies.  I attended one of the Senior Military Colleges when I was a young man.  I’m a proud graduate of Virginia Tech.

When you attend these schools, as a cadet or not, you’re subject to a very strict Honor Code.  Every “Blue Book” exam you take, you sign your school’s Honor Code, and violation of the Honor Code can lead to expulsion from the school.  The Texas A&M Aggies, have a very simple, memorable and fairly famous one:

“An Aggie does not lie, cheat or steal, or tolerate those who do.”

Seems fairly straight forward.  Also, at an SMC, there’s a strong sense of right and wrong.  Punish the guilty, but don’t punish the innocent.

Personally, if you’ve done something wrong, you admit to it, accept your punishment, learn from your mistakes, and move forward.  If you’re innocent, you deny the allegations.  You would think a university like Texas A&M would adhere to this sort of thought process.

Apparently not.

The NCAA and The Aggies, came to an agreement in the last 24 hours that there was an “inadvertent” violation surrounding these autographs.  Manziel was suspended for the first half of the first game of the season against the mighty football juggernaut Rice (here’s where I wish there was a sarcasm font).

As I’ve said, I don’t expect a reasonable, consistent, or predictable punishment from the NCAA.  However, I do from Texas A&M!  If Manziel is innocent, I expect A&M to fight to the “last man” (Even the 12th Man if you want to put it in a football term respecting the tradition of A&M Football).  That’s the SMC thing to do.  Having said that, if there’s even a shred of evidence, that was denied by Manziel, that means he’s lied.  That’s a violation of the first portion of the Honor Code.  “An Aggie does not lie….”

He’s either guilty, or he’s not.  If he’s not guilty, he should not miss a minute of football.  If he’s guilty and lied about it, then he should be kicked out of school immediately for the Honor of the Code.  Unfortunately, ”I am proud of the way both Coach Sumlin and Johnny handled this situation, with integrity and honesty,” Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp said in the statement. ”We all take the Aggie Code of Honor very seriously and there is no evidence that either the university or Johnny violated that code.”  BULLSHIT.

That comment from the Chancellor is why this post is being written.  If he’s innocent, A&M should have fought for him.  If Manziel is guilty and lied about it, he should be gone.

But, perhaps the $37Million in additional Media Exposure that Manziel brought in to Texas A&M last season was enough that the Honor Code could be overlooked.    Enough to let the Aggies “tolerate those that do” lie.

An SMC should never look passed that code.  An SMC should never punish the innocent.  Finally and SMC should never accept the lesser punishment when available.  Right is right and wrong is wrong at an SMC.

We know Manziel lied to the police when he gave them a false name and fake ID when he was stopped for underage drinking prior to last season.  That’s a violation of the code regardless of any autographs.  Apparently we “tolerate” lying if you have talent.

A&M has handled this beyond poorly, and it’s sad to me that The Code, has a price.  Apparently that’s about $37Million or so in Aggieland.