The loss handed down from the Green Bay Packers to the Chicago Bears in yesterday afternoon's NFC Championship game was a hard pill to swallow. But perhaps what made it most bitter was the birth of bubbling accusations directed at Bear's quarterback Jay Cutler. An apparent left knee injury to the 27 year old was incurred in the latter portion of the second quarter of the game. However, it is the validity of the injury that was drawing most scrutiny from masses of fans and analysts alike.
Within moments of the injury's declaration on the game broadcast, Twitter accusations from NFL players, both past and present were being hoisted into the spotlight. Post game analysts took various shots at the young quarterback with heavily opinionated responses regarding his effort to remain in the game. Newscast displayed fans burning #6 (Cutler's number) jerseys in the parking lot of Soldier Field. The hysteria caused by all involved seemed to paint the picture a dictatorship thwarted by coup de ta rather than the simple conclusion of a football contest. Hell, even I took a misdirected shot via Facebook in my feeble attempt to make sense of the post-game situation with many questions unanswered. A day after and a few beers metabolized later, I retracted (erased) the statement. I felt dirty. I came to the realization that I had taken part of some kind of modern day witch hunt; not my proudest moment.
It's not so much the nature of the inury that has drawn so much attention; it's rather the manner of it's coming to light and it's handling therefrom. We, as fans, have become so pampered by the recent advancements in a game's broadcast. Sometimes if a controversial play is in need of review, networks now furnish a retired referee to key inform fans into the intricacies of game rule and detail as we wait. As proven by the Twitter attacks on Mr. Cutler by fellow players, new instant social network options are proving to bring a fan closer to the inside "dirt" that fuels team rivalries. Ultimately, as an effort to draw more fans to the game, the league has in effect spoiled it's fans with a barrage of options creating a false reality of being closer to the game.
Enter the Cutler situation: we're introduced to the second half of the game with the sudden and brief announcement that Jay Cutler is struggling through a knee injury and Todd Collins, the team's back-up, is on the ready to take over. As a fan I had witnessed many injury scenarios before. However, typically there is a side-line reporter to get the 'skinny' on the severity and cause of the injury. Furthermore, a player that is injured so severely to be pulled out of the game usually takes an exit from the playing field or is shown being given frequent attention by it's training staff. The overwhelming frustration felt by fans seemed to be heavily fueled by the lack of communication of injury detail to those watching. Fans at the game were simply left to watch their injured quarterback walking the sidelines with an oversized jacket cloaked over his shoulders. Fans at home are not shown the in-depth, frequent updates about their leading man that they'd grown so accustomed to. The frustration builds and unfounded questions of Cutler's drive to get back on the field starts to grow throughout masses of onlookers..
But are the network and the those responsible for the team's public relations the ones to blame for the issue? Fans now look at these modern day gladiators as if they possess extra-human qualities. They train with the best equipment, science, and technology. They consume the most cutting edge dietary supplements. Physical feats of speed and strength are pushed further and further every year. Long standing records are being crushed seemingly every season. We've witnessed the likes of Brett Favre and Jerome Bettis playing important games with broken bones while wincing away unbearable pain. Why, even a couple week's prior, I had witnessed the Philadelphia Eagles' DeSean Jackson leave the playing field barely being able to walk. Minutes later he emerged from the locker room in almost a dead sprint to get back into the game. God only knows what they had to pump into him? All of these assorted showings of "valor" have hoisted men like this into the Hall of Fame and have become the material that has woven the cloth of the NFL for several decades now.
Players live lavish lives of fame and fortune broadcasted on reality T.V. shows and featured in entertainment tabloids. It seems to me that there has actually become a major separation between player and fan all due to the attempts of the modern technology to bring the fan closer to it. These guys are superhuman, unbreakable, and virtually infallible. On the rare occasion that they do break, we want to see them carted off the field on a gurney giving us the ol' thumbs-up to ensure us that they are down but not gone for good. Nothing short of a player displaying the inability to walk, we've grown to expect a full and prompt return to the field.
The long term effects of playing this brutal game are starting to rear their ugly head. Players long retired are starting to show the effects of frequent head trauma. There have been symptoms that parallel ALS that have been linked to concussion related injury. Much respect to the NFL this season for implementing heavy penalties on tackles that can bring on such trauma. I feel it's important that we check ourselves for a moment to find respect in the sacrifice of these elite few athletes that have worked their way into the premier level of the game we all love. It's very important that we don't linger in a crowd like blood hungry ancient Roman masses watching two groups of warring factions bludgeoning one another to death.
When it boils down to it, an the NFL game isn't life, it's simply a game. If it means life to anyone, it would be the players. If there's anyone who can paint this picture better to all us fans, it would BE the players. Yes, believe it or not, hours after the "devastating" playoff loss handed down to the Bears by the Packers, Jay Cutler and crew were already settling down at various steakhouses and restaurants throughout the city. They're not wringing their hands while crying at their lockers. They move on, and so should we. We all enjoy the thrill of living and dying over the duration of a game on the couch, recliner, or stadium seat. But what's most important is we move on at the conclusion of the game. And most importantly, I feel that there is a great need to focus on the return of the pure enjoyment of the contest and not all the unnecessary details between that have made way into our lives as of late.
Turns out, Jay's injury is bonified and legit, but he'll be back and so will we as fans. And remember: (because I was so quick to forget) sacked 52 times this year, and he almost always got up. And lest we forget the famous body-sacrificing helicopter rushing TD he delivered against the Lions ??? (video) So let this all be a lesson in the importance to all fans, regardless of team, to check ourselves and WAIT for pertinent information before jumping to conclusions. Shame on me for becoming a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale fueled meathead. And shame on the moron that burned a jersey in the parking lot of Soldier Field... Who does that ??? BEARS!
