wmg1299
Professional
I don't usually post off-topic stuff in the Lounge, but I had an unexpected encounter today. SMU gives free football tickets to active and retired military and first responders. My youngest son is the starting Right Guard on his 8th grade football team and has started to take a serious interest in football. I decided to fill-out the online form and take him to see SMU play Cincinnati (Ranked 21st in AP Poll) on Saturday.
While we were hanging out at the Boulevard (SMU's version of tailgating), ESPN sent Robert Griffin III to walk through the crowd with a camera crew. I decided to take the opportunity to grab a quick picture for memory's sake. What surprised me was that Griffin took the time after the picture to ask my son if he played football. When my son told him that he was an offensive lineman, Griffin spent a few minutes talking to him about the importance of the offensive line and how much he respected the linemen he worked with during his football career.
My opinion of many NFL players has fallen in recent years due to the injection of politics into football. I have boycotted the NFL completely since the league refused to allow the Dallas Cowboys to wear a sticker on their helmets honoring the police officers assassinated at a BLM protest on 07/07/2016. One of the five officers killed that night, Sgt. Mike Smith, had been a mentor to me during my police career, which made the refusal very personal.
ESPN was one of the worst offenders when it came to inserting social justice issues into sports. I normally would not have interacted with ESPN personalities at all, but I didn't want to deprive my son of the opportunity to meet a Heisman Trophy winner. I have to give credit where credit is due. RG III seems like a genuinely nice guy and I appreciate him going out of his way to talk football with my son. I'm not sure if I am ready to fully forgive the NFL, but this interaction was a pleasant surprise.
While we were hanging out at the Boulevard (SMU's version of tailgating), ESPN sent Robert Griffin III to walk through the crowd with a camera crew. I decided to take the opportunity to grab a quick picture for memory's sake. What surprised me was that Griffin took the time after the picture to ask my son if he played football. When my son told him that he was an offensive lineman, Griffin spent a few minutes talking to him about the importance of the offensive line and how much he respected the linemen he worked with during his football career.
My opinion of many NFL players has fallen in recent years due to the injection of politics into football. I have boycotted the NFL completely since the league refused to allow the Dallas Cowboys to wear a sticker on their helmets honoring the police officers assassinated at a BLM protest on 07/07/2016. One of the five officers killed that night, Sgt. Mike Smith, had been a mentor to me during my police career, which made the refusal very personal.
ESPN was one of the worst offenders when it came to inserting social justice issues into sports. I normally would not have interacted with ESPN personalities at all, but I didn't want to deprive my son of the opportunity to meet a Heisman Trophy winner. I have to give credit where credit is due. RG III seems like a genuinely nice guy and I appreciate him going out of his way to talk football with my son. I'm not sure if I am ready to fully forgive the NFL, but this interaction was a pleasant surprise.
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