Giants Among Us
These discarded heros sit in silent circles in scattered waiting rooms. Patiently waiting medical care. Addled. Scarred. They have seen violence. Lived it. Pain we can’t imagine. Now the recompense. Physical therapy. Memory specialists. The ravages of repetitive traumatic stresses.
Lovers and caregivers aid or wheel them, on entry and exit. Soothe. Translate. Hear the doctors’ grim consensus. Really more warning, threats even, than diagnosis.
These men served for us. But we turn away from the unpleasant results. We stand for the anthem but our mind is elsewhere.
Of course, there often is genuine widespread expression of sympathy, sometimes anger, but is anything actually done? There are advocacy groups. Occasional lawsuits or threats of activism. Â But we want what we want.
Did they agree to it voluntarily? Yes, there is that. It did lift many of them out of poverty. In some neighborhoods taking on this great risk was just about their only way out.
They are more diverse than most segments of society. More representative of the common man. Not overeducated elites. Lunchpail guys. Foxhole buddies. A family unto themselves.
We are losing so many. To drugs. Bankruptcy. Suicide. Oblivion.
Is it worth this price? All metrics suggest we think so. Resoundingly. But ask yourself this. How would you feel if your child joined?
To paraphrase Nicholson, you want them on that wall. You need it. They are part of the very fabric of America. Part of what makes us unique. That is a powerful and overused word but in this case apt. You don’t have the desire, courage or ability to do what they have done, but somebody needs to do it.
 Football is just that damn important.
Scott- I can't remember the last time I read something that has this much depth on something that's been brushed off as so superficially entertaining. The spirit of football, and much of American sports, is as you've so beautifully put---from the waiting room, to medical treatments, to childhood poverty, to societal's ills--the important thing that took a boy in a dimly lit bedroom ... into a realized stadium-sized dream. Where everyone is cheering for, if not a triumphant victory built upon years of hard work, then for the ability to jump at and adopt that boy's win as their own. And deservedly so. Your ability to put all this at the forefront of your words--I think really stood for the important topic that should no longer be overlooked. Hope you're well otherwise (and recovering from the Thanksgiving meal)? Cheers, -Thalia
Every year about this time I tell myself: "I'm not wasting my time watching football." Then comes the kickoff.