Sunday, September 24, 2017

The NFL as good guy?

You know things are strange when this blog, retired nine months ago for the sake of my mental health, is resurrected, for one night only, to ... I can barely type it ... praise the NFL?

How in the world did Roger Goodell turn into a good guy?

How did a protest initially scattered among a few NFL players (the primary figure among whom is not in the league at this point) become a movement that has induced even a player in staid, ultra-conservative Major League Baseball to take a knee?

How did bitter on-court NBA rivals end up allies?

How did it come to pass that an NFL owner end up joining his players on the field?

How did players in a game mostly noted for picking off about a third of them with extreme brain damage finally get woke about their status in a league that relies upon them but usually would prefer they shut up, and in a country in which that feeling goes double?

How did one of the less salutary traditions of sport/politics intersection finally get broken?

How did another of sport's less salutary traditions get interrupted for possibly the first time since World War II?

How did a league in which nine of its owners gave money to that guy end up calling him divisive?

How did the great divisions of a country end up playing out on playing fields?

How does this ever work out?