Seeing a career end…makes me think
I’m not a particular fan of the New England Patriots. I mean, I don’t hate them*, but they’re not my favorite NFL team either. I wasn’t one of the people rejoicing when Tom Brady’s knee went in a direction that knees are not supposed to go during a game against the Chiefs early this season. I think, even if were a Patriot-hater, I’d rather see all their best pieces out on the field. If they win, they’re clearly better (but I can hate on them anyway, for reasons of my choosing). If they lose, then hey - more power to the victor for overpowering the best players New England had to offer.
*my hatred of NFL teams is limited exclusively to the Cowboys, the Raiders, and the Broncos. All other teams are subjected to periods of dislike or utter indifference, but never hate.
Anyway, Tom Brady’s early-season injury isn’t my point at all, because the Patriots have done OK, if a little schizophrenic at times, without him (they’re 4-2, and won handily over the Denver Broncos on Monday).
BUT despite a huge margin of victory, it was a sad night for Pats fans, who saw safety Rodney Harrison suffer a season-ending injury.
I didn’t get to watch a whole lot of NFL action over the weekend because I was spending time with my family, but I did see Harrison go down. Even though he’s not a player I particularly care for, I felt weird seeing that happen to him. I think it was all the talk about how this injury could spell the end of his career. There’s just something sickly surreal about watching a short video clip of football, and knowing the result of that footage is that some guy’s career is over.
It’s hard sometimes to feel sorry for guys whose job is to play a game, especially when people all over America are losing their more real-world jobs as I type this. In rough economic times like this, it’s extra-sickening to see athletes swimming in pools filled with money while the rest of us worry about getting through the day.
But still. I feel for athletes who have to call it quits because of an injury. Retirement should be a choice, and a player should know when he’s suiting up for the last time. Just like anyone else, they should get to know when the end is coming, rather than be surprised by it in front of a national TV audience.
Note: a personal item, if I may. Both my desktop computer and my laptop are on the fritz today. The laptop refuses to connect to the Internet, and the desktop needs either a new video card or a new motherboard. My sudden lack of personal computers will make blogging (and homework!) a little bit harder than usual this week.