Life Or Death Struggle With Reality

A new year has begun, and it's time for the tough to get going, especially if you happen to live in Pennsylvania. "Maybe it's because I'm old, and I grant that I'm old. But it just goes against everything that football's all about. This is part of what's happened in this country. I think we've become wussies." That is how Governor Ed Rendell reacted to the decision to postpone the Eagle's Sunday night game until Tuesday night. There was a blizzard that closed airports and kept temperatures well below freezing. It was decided that, for the sake of those in the stands and on the field, common sense should prevail and the game could wait until everyone could experience it without fear of frostbite. And then the governor went on: "The Chinese are kicking our butts in everything. If this was in China, do you think the Chinese would have called off the game? He's right, the people would have been marching down to the stadium, they would have walked, and they would be doing calculus on the way down. What do you think Lombardi would say? He would say we've become a nation of wusses."
First of all, I think Lombardi would say, "Why is the dad from 'Wonder Years' playing me on Broadway?" Or "Why should I care about the Philadelphia Eagles or their fans? I coach the Green Bay Packers!" But most likely, "Hey, get me outta this pine box!" Which brings us back tot he point: Football shouldn't be about life and death. It is, after all, just a game. I know that some of you must consider the source of this wisdom, but it is true. I once sat in a mostly empty stadium on drifts of snow in sub-freezing temperatures to witness a nineteen-all tie between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Colorado Buffaloes. There is little doubt that if the Eagles' game had been played on Sunday night, there would have been plenty of hearty souls, including the requisite number of green and white painted shirtless wonders, that would have found their way to their seats, or the pile of snow where they might have huddled for three hours as stories of "Blizzard Bowl 2010" were hastily prepared for the morning edition.
That didn't happen. No stories for your grandchildren. No lingering numbness in your extremities. No unnecessary amputations of limbs. Cooler heads, but not frozen ones, prevailed. As a result, even more people tuned in, and fans were treated to a very special holiday treat of pro football on Tuesday night. And nobody died.
Yes, Vince Lombardi coached his players to fight and win on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field, and the collapse of the Vikings' bubble in Minneapolis might suggest the contrary, but I believe the biggest sacrifice any fan should have to make would be actually talking to his or her family on Sunday evening. Last time I checked, coming in out of the weather makes you smart, not a wuss.
Meanwhile, on the Planet of Fox, another opinion about the game was being shared: Tucker Carlson, filling in for Sean Hanninty, mentioned that while President Obama was calling to commend the Eagles' owner for postponing the game he also said that he appreciated how they had seen fit to give Michael Vick a second chance. Mister Carlson said that, while he is a Christian and has made mistakes and believes in forgiveness, that he believes that Michael Vick should have been executed for killing dogs. Maybe next season Tucker Carlson will be named commissioner of the NFL. Better not mess with that substance abuse policy, wuss.