Finding a pulse

CLEAR!

*cue steady machine beep*

Yes, there it is, a sign of life. A pulse, starting slowly but gaining strength. A being, once vibrant and full of life, finding once again the will to live, the motivation to look around and take in the reason for its purpose.

Football has returned.


Alright, I'm just kidding, my life isn't nearly that dramatic. I also have plenty of reasons to live that don't involve body pads and pigskins. However there is truth in my words about returning to life in regards to this blog. I took a hiatus this summer, more than what I had planned, because life has a way of interfering with your plans, but I'm back here again, shaking off the dust and anxious to get back into the swing of things.

College football is back into the mix, and while I anxiously await the start of the NFL season just days away, the changing of the guard is already in effect. The loathsome, dragging baseball season is on its way out, golf will soon fade back to obscurity and the WNBA will continue being ignored by most of the sports world (sorry ladies). Football will, as in years past, be pushed to the front page. Not to say that is right, but it is the way things have always happened, which brings me to the topic of Michael Sam.

Sam, a 7th round draft pick out of Missouri, was the first openly gay NFL player to see action on the field this fall but has since become a casualty of the Ram's depth at the defensive line, being left off the final roster and being thrust into free agency. Now, Sam's decision to come out was brave, and he is a pioneer in social progress, that much is sure. His impact in the league extends beyond the playing field, however the NFL is a business and the Rams are one of 31 teams vying for a championship (lets be honest, the Raiders don't have a chance). When you only get 53 roster spots, teams will go with the 53 best players they have more often than not. Sam played well in the preseason, but that doesn't guarantee anyone a roster spot. I don't feel like the Rams left Sam off because of the media circus surrounding his young career, but it wouldn't be the first time a team had parted ways with a player in that situation, and it won't be the last. It is just the way it is. I genuinely hope we see the full inclusion of any player with the necessary skills, regardless of sexual preference, but it is not about what I want...

...which is obvious when considering the decision of Central Michigan University athletics to move the student section from the south endzone (where it has been for all 5 seasons I have watched them) to the east stands, a decision I thought was a very bad move. Based off the attendance from last season, it seemed like a good way to make the student section even less of a presence, but at least for the first game of the season I was dead wrong. Seven full sections of the east stands were filled, easily 3000-5000 students yelling, cheering and enthusiatically supporting the Chippewas. It may last, it may not, but at least for one game, the students cheered up, and showed me once again that a rash decision is typically a wrong decision...

...which is probably why Josh Gordon seems unable to make good choices. Gordon, one of the NFL's most talented receivers and a freak athlete, recently had his year long suspension for violating the leagues substance abuse policy upheld, meaning he will watch from the sidelines as the Browns sputter through another losing season (just kidding, maybe...probably a good guess). And as far as sympathy goes, I have none for him...

Carefully steps onto soapbox, cue rant....

 I am a big believer in second chances, and recognizing that people make mistakes and can face adversity and move past it, if given the opportunity. Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, seems to agree with this principle, which is why he didn't throw the book at Ray Rice (for alleged domestic violence) and is now throwing the book at Gordon for multiple offenses. However at a certain point, which Gordon is at, my sympathy and understanding runs out. When someone is made aware of a strict drug policy that their employer has for them, and yet continuously violates and or makes light of said policy, and when all that person needs to do is not smoke marijuana for a few years while collecting some of the fattest checks known to man, then that person is, without a doubt, a moron. There simply isn't another term for it. I don't care who you are or where you came from, if you cannot choose to put down a drug in favor of a paycheck to support yourself then there are more serious issues there. Perhaps with a year off he'll have time to think about what is TRULY important to him and make the right choices, and if not, then that is truly tragic.

Awkwardly step off soapbox, almost fall.

While I have the opportunity, and since I own this platform and don't have an agenda to push (take that, ESPN!) i'd like to give a shout out to some of the sports that are the forgotten middle children of the sports world. If the NFL were Eminem, these sports would be the Vanilla Ice of the sports sphere. This list includes the aforementioned golf, the NHL (still a professional league, who knew?!), tennis since the decline of Roger Federer, the WNBA since the beginning of time (sorry again, ladies), any college sport not named football or basketball and last but certainly not least, the game where they drive the cars around the track really fast.

Oh and also I want to bring attention to the FIBA games going on right now, which stands for the International Basketball Federation. Similar to the World Cup for soccer, this contest pits the top national teams for all the worlds countries against each other, and very much unlike the World Cup, the USA is actually top of the world in this regard, which is why the rest of the world tries to pretend the FIBA championships don't exist. So if you're a fan of basketball and or America, and want to feel the rush of freedom through your veins that only follows a red white and blue victory, then tune in and watch our national team play.

Well I'm sorry this stretched a little long, I guess just like with my professors there is no such thing as easy syllabus day on the Committed Fan, I hope you stayed with me and hope you continue to stay with me on the blog, giving me your time and attention.

Keep calm and chive on, friends, and be mindful of the words that the (tragically) mortal Ned Stark said.

Winter is coming