Tim Lundmark's Blog, page 23

Stop Ruining Football!

The No Fun League is at it yet again trying to ruin Americas Game. The powers that be have created a new rule in an attempt to protect the players. This new rule in effect will fine and suspend players for flagrant hits. It is my understanding this is; but not limited to helmet to helmet tackles, and the big hits safeties deliver over the middle. These types of hits are a staple of the NFL. When a receiver is going over the middle he should expect to get drilled by a safety, cornerback or linebacker. This is what separates the men from the boys. Players like Cris Carter made a name for himself being fearless over the middle. He knew he was going to get jacked, yet he still caught the ball. He was deaf to the footprints over the middle, and focused solely on catching the ball. He was a warrior who put his team before his own body. He was a football player.

There are a countless amount of football players who have made a name for themselves as fierce hitters. These gladiators waited over the middle licking their chops waiting to unleash unimaginable amounts of pain on whoever touched the ball. They were the enforcers of the team, and were respected and feared by the competition.  The one enforcer that comes to my mind first is Ronnie Lott. The opposing offense knew when they came in to play the San Francisco 49ers the receivers needed to be aware of Lott patrolling the middle of the field. The receivers knew if they wanted to go over the middle Lott would be waiting there for them to deliver a mighty hit. This fear factor changed the way teams played against the 49ers. This one man was able to change the course of a game, and how opposing offensive coordinators game planned.

Football is a mans game. Lott for example chose to have one of his fingers cut off so he wouldn't miss any games. Jack Youngblood played with a broken leg so he could help his team in the playoffs. Brett Favre kept getting up after brutal hit by brutal hit in last years NFC Championship game. His ankle was completely destroyed. It takes a tough son of a bitch to put on those pads and strap on a helmet every Sunday. These men enter into battle every weekend with the goal of victory. This is why we love and admire these players. Limiting players like Ed Reed from being brutal and ruthless on the field is in effect taking him off the field. The NFL needs to realize they are taking away one of the greatest weapons of a defense. If a defense is able to get into the quarterbacks and wide receivers heads and alter their mindset; then the defense has already won. 

Over the years the National Football League has created new rule after new rule to help protect the players. The "Brady rule" for example was conceived when the New England Quarterback Tom Brady was injured the first game of the season and was lost for the year. This was after the New England Patriots undefeated regular season. The NFL had to create a rule to protect its big named quarterbacks. I can somewhat understand this, but these quarterbacks need to realize they are playing professional football, and in playing football you are going to get hit, and you are going to get hit hard. The true test of a football player is getting up off the ground and playing another set of downs. What's next changing the game into flag football?

Changing this rule, and tacking on a punishment as stiff as suspension and losing a game check is going to cause the big hitters of today to not run full force like they should. The fear of accidently causing a helmet to helmet tackle will cause them to let up on the gas a bit. This will be a disadvantage to the defense, and a shame to the fans. This is going to rob the fans of one of the greatest elements of professional football the big hits. We tune in every Sunday to watch a war between two opposing teams. This is our version of the Roman Coliseum; these are our warriors. Why must we ruin the purity of the game? Injuries happen, and people get hurt. This is all part of the game. The owners know this, the players know this, and the fans know this. Taking away the raw violence of the game is to water down the greatest sport ever. I turn the television on every Saturday and Sunday to watch men battle men. To see the unscripted violence in full HD, I do not want to see timid defenders holding back because they are afraid of suspension. Let the gladiators' loose and let them battle.

Grown Men Do Not Need Leaders

"Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet tank or L.A. cop that guns him down."

Edward Abbey

The great thing about quotes is you are not always there to bare witness to what exactly was going on when these things were said, or for that matter in what context the quote is being used. What I love about doing these pieces on the philosophy of quotes is it allows me to find a quote that speaks to me and add my own philosophical spin on it. I am a fan of many things Abbey has said, but I like this quote, because the question is "what did Abbey mean by this?" Edward Abbey was an author, and primarily known as an environmentalist activist; many of his quotes resonate on a deeper political landscape.

In many of his writings and quotes you can tell Abbey was opposed to any form of government. In his opinion the only just government is no government at all. He once said "Anarchism is founded on the observation that since few men are wise enough to rule themselves, even fewer are wise enough to rule others." Abbey had very little faith in man to do the right thing. His claim is if we are not even able to take care of ourselves and be responsible enough to make the right decisions; then what does that say about man's ability to rule a nation. This sentiment was repeated in many of his famous quotes. I wonder what Abbey would think about our society now, with the discovery of global warming and the oil spill. I can only imagine he is rolling in his desert grave.

Describing civilization as a youth, and one with a primitive weapon in hand; says to me that in anarchy there may be violence, but this violence is minor, yet necessary to right the ship of society. The description of culture being a tank or L.A. cop gunning this youth down represents how quickly and swiftly our culture can break us down. He is saying the violence and destruction this youth will bring is nothing compared to the level of violence and oppression our current government shells out.

In one of Abbeys quotes he says; "Society is like a stew. If you don't stir it up every once in a while then a layer of scum floats to the top." The youth's purpose in an anarchy run society is to stir the stew, keeping us from being overrun with the greedy, but because of our culture the powers that be prevent this from happening; hence why our society has slowly fallen a part. We have no youths standing up and demanding change. We do not have this, because we know it isn't possible. We have no recourse but to submit to our masters. 

I often think about what our society would look like if it was over run and anarchy reined supreme. I think the concept of anarchy sounds great, but just like socialism it is corrupted by mans hand. I think you look at any government system and on paper it sounds great, but somehow we end up screwing the pooch. If we were just to switch to no government it would not stop the corporations from taking over. They already hold to much power in this country imagine what it would be like if they were able to take the politician gloves off and truly have at us. As a society we could still have our Molotov cocktails, but the corporations would have the tanks and machine guns. There would still need to be some sort of hierarchy. There would still be the few who held all the power, and the many who don't. Abbey once said this about power "Power is always dangerous. Power attracts the worst and corrupts the best."

I go back and forth on whether big government is a good or bad thing. I suppose like most Americans I am all for big government when it benefits me (universal healthcare) and against it when it doesn't (bank bailout.) I think if we had honest people in office who legitimately cared about the country and the well being of the people, the more favorably the public would perceive our government to be. Our elected officials have been letting us down for the last thirty plus years. Instead of standing up and protesting for change and holding our officials accountable we have just grown to accept this as status quo.

We have all grown tired over things remaining the same and we are always skeptical when the government legitimately tries to do something good for us. Take the healthcare reform bill. The democrats were finally able to make a push towards universal healthcare. Everyone was positive about it until the special interests killed it with the negative ads regarding the change. People starting freaking out thinking we would become socialist if we accepted this change. The majority of people wanted reform, but as soon as that magical picture box started saying negative things, is when people started to believe this was bad. Its amazing how much power that little box has; isn't it?   

I think our government in its current form is as destructive as they come. This is true whether you are talking about republicans or democrats. Abbey had this to say about our conservative leaders "our 'neoconservatives' are neither new nor conservative, but old as Babylon and evil as Hell." And this to say about democrats "One man alone can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for real bona fide stupidity, there ain't nothin' can beat teamwork." His sentiments and complete lack of faith in our system is harrowing. The sad part is during his time; he would have been in the minority for thinking this way. I think today he would most definitely be in the majority. I look and wonder where are our Edward Abbeys to try and stir the pot? Where are our youths holding their molotov cocktails? I can easily answer these questions. We are indoctrinating our youth to become blind followers of the establishment.

We have accepted things as they are without questioning them, or partake on any real quest at changing them. We have been so hypnotized by money, media and possessions that we have been blind over the hijacking of this country. Big business has infiltrated our government, and we have just sat here and allowed it to happen. We have not stirred our society up enough by questioning our leaders and challenging their policies. The end result is we have let ourselves get overtaken by the scum of the earth. Our elected officials are demons in suits, selling lies to the gullible.

Keep Swinging

"My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging."

Hank Aaron

Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron: (born February 5, 1934 in Mobile, Alabama) is a retired Hall of Fame baseball player whose Major League Baseball (MLB) career spanned the years 1954 through 1976. Aaron is widely considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

Sports figures have given us many memorable motivational quotes throughout history. These quotes not only give us motivation to keep trying on the field, but off it as well. An athlete may give us a quote that only pertains to on the field perspective, but we can always incorporate it into our personal lives. The lessons we learn about ourselves through participation in competitive sports reflects in our personal and professional lives long after we hang up the cleats.

In baseball if you are able to achieve a .350 batting average you just had an All Star season, you would be praised by the fans, as well as by your peers. If you are able to finish your career with a lifetime batting average of .350 or greater; you would have written your own ticket to the Hall of Fame. If we stop to think about this success to failure ratio, a Major League Baseball All Star only succeeds 35% of the time! I do not know many companies who would keep an employee who failed 65% of the time.

I use the batting average analogy with my children who participate in sports. They will get down if they have a bad at bat, fumble, or just an overall bad game. This success to failure ratio in sports will put a smile on their faces, knowing those they look up to also have bad games. They are motivated for their next at bat, next down, or their next game. I think this and the analogy of practice makes perfect have given my kids valuable lessons on how to succeed in sports and in life.

Sometimes failures can become our greatest lessons. In life we will make many mistakes. We should look at mistakes as learning opportunities. These lessons shape us into who we are through trial and error; success and failures. We learn what works and what doesn't, and hopefully refrain from what doesn't; sometimes that can be a mistake all on its own. The mistakes we make today will become tomorrow's good choices. Imagine a world where everyone was perfect 100% of the time. In my vision this world seems dull, and not very much fun. The reason we cherish and remember successes so much is because of the lessons and stories behind them. Trying to accomplish a task or fulfilling a dream will result in many failures before you are successful. This builds character and teaches us about perseverance. Actress Julie Andrews (The Sound of Music) said it best.

"Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th"

The nice thing about living creatures is we are resilient. If a lioness gave up every time she failed to make a kill; her pride would starve. If we were to give up every time we experienced failure in our personal and professional life we would cease to advance and grow. We are similar to our idols in professional sports; we will be judged on our successes and failures. In order for us to reach the Hall of Fame in life we need to keep swinging.