Ask ten people their definition of utopia, and, depending on their belief systems, you're likely to get ten different answers. If you ask a Christian what utopia is, they most likely will say heaven. They might add that mankind isn't going to find it on earth. If prodded – or allowed - they will explain why.
In that explanation they will tell you that mankind is flawed, sinful, and incapable of restoring earth to its pristine condition before The Fall. They will continue to cite centuries of hideous and ongoing acts of murderous intentions repeated over and over again. They will contend that those sinful and heinous acts are not diminishing as an evolution toward utopia would purport but in fact are increasing as the debasing of human life continues.
So what's this got to do with football? I'll tell you what. The politically correct crowd, those who believe in an earthly utopia brought about by none other than the elites who can generate such things, this bunch believes they can control the game of football and make it better! Since players and coaches are incapable of self-preservation, knowing the risks of the sport, they must be controlled, guarded, protected, from their own stupidity and love of the game and who better to make sure they're not going to hit each other in ways that will further damage each other than the politically correct and self-appointed managers who, for the most part, have never played the game but think they know more about it than those who have and do.
Don't get me wrong here. There are wicked hits. There are severe injuries that can happen to the brain and almost every other part of the body. From numerous and dangerous concussions to the rupturing of testicles, injuries are a part of the game. Equipment is designed and tested, and every effort to make it more trustworthy, durable, and comfortable continues as it should.
I'm not one to proclaim football is a "violent" sport. I recognize professional football is a tough and punishing game played by strong men who love contact and have managed to perfect their skills to a level most football players can only dream about. It's a sport that has crippled and damaged its players on occasion, some never returning from their injuries, others rushing to rehab and return. Yesterday, a top linebacker for the Houston Texans (Brian Cushing) was tackled and broke his leg and may have a torn lateral collateral ligament in his left knee — the same one surgically reconstructed last fall — and will have to undergo surgery again. On crutches he vowed he'd be back sooner than predicted.
These injuries are a danger of the game. Nobody forces these players to love the sport and to want to play it. Well, wait. I suppose there are a few parents who push their atheltic sons to excel in different sports, but when it comes to actual training to play a sport, those who can't measure up to the dedication and the talent, to the willingness to sustain injuries, to rehab if necessary, and to play some more, the process culls those who can't do it for whatever reason.
It's a statement about our politically correct culture to infiltrate a hard-hitting and rough sport to intervene and regulate the hits by players on players. The penalties have been so extreme for even the suggestions of infractions as to take part of the fun out of the game for players, coaching staffs, and fans. The rules have created a game where after nearly every play, players are throwing their hands in the air demanding a flag be thrown against their opponent, pretending to be victims. Too often it works. The penalties are often illegitimate, subjective, partial to particular positions, and, yes, even to particular players.
Most of us watch football because we love the game and to escape the rigors and effects of politics played out in everyday life. Well, now it can't be done. Between Bob Costas and his leftwing rants on Sunday Night Football, the league considering changing the name of the Washington Redskins because of "offending the Native Americans", and the Commissioner Roger Goodell endorsing gay marriage and all of its implications, there is no escape in football. The utopians want to control the sport too. It's not enough to press for control of everything else in our lives. Now they want football too.
Why? Because they believe they know best. For everyone. You and me? We're too stupid to know what's appropriate and good for our lives. The utopians insist they have all the answers. After all, they're better men and women than you and me. And certainly better equipped to govern a sport they don't even like, let alone have never played. As with all things mankind tries to do to regulate, control, and improve: it's been a massive failure to stop injuries. But it is successful in ruining the game. Perhaps that's the real objective.
Father, if only . . . we could follow you as you desire. We would know the peace of God which is in Jesus, and we would relinquish control of our lives and the lives of others and surrender them to you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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