Life and Football

Football (American) is my latest fixation, my escape from everyday life… not through actual play, but I’m convinced that with a bit more height, and had I been male, I could have snagged an MVP title in my youth. Watching also serves as a valuable source of entertainment that my mother and I can enjoy together. At 93, she struggles to keep herself busy, and football offers us something to bond over.

Sunday night was the last game of the regular season. The Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers played, and the winner would go on to the playoffs that start on January 10; the other team’s season would be over. I was on Team Ravens. Why? I like quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry. Oh, and the Steelers quarterback is an anti-vax, right-wing, miserable human whose own family doesn’t speak to him. (Maybe Aaron Rodgers is just misunderstood.)

That last game was a nail-biter Even if you are bored to tears by football, the last quarter of this game might interest you. It had me by the throat. This is a concise clip. 👇🏼

https://youtube.com/shorts/7i5vWeFZpPE?si=sKWCxJ3lU9_9Apqq

It came down to the last two seconds, by design. The 24-year-old rookie kicker was put in the position of deciding the winner. He had the weight of the Ravens and their fans on his shoulders. I imagined the pressure he must have felt. (He looks like he’s 14.) His success record and the kicking distance to the field goal, with a lack of wind, made this doable. When the ball was set, he kicked… and the ball sailed far right. He missed.

The Ravens’ kicker (I’m not naming him) bent forward holding his head in distress. Obviously this is a moment he will remember forever. He ended the Ravens’ season with that miss. Most of his teammates headed for the locker room, but those who remained looked stunned. Derrick Henry’s mouth hung open, his reaction was one of disbelief. When a reporter asked the kicker about the field goal, he said “I mishit the ball.” (What a stupid question.)

I read an interview a few weeks ago with another kicker; his name escapes me, but what stuck with me was his admission that he receives several death threats on social media after every missed kick. Remind me of the value of social media. Beyond the constant over sharing and inflated portrayals of people’s personal greatness, there are cyberbullies who feel emboldened by anonymity.

Threats to the kicker are not helpful, especially after the fact. I don’t know the dynamics, but they already seem a bit isolated from the team.

Then I saw this:

“We are one team.”

Why is sportsmanship absent from our government? That concept—respect, fairness, and accountability—is one the world should adopt. Let’s be honest. The United States President is the embodiment of a missed field goal, sailing wide and far to the right. I believe a solid 70% of Americans are not on Team Trump, having concluded that the felon is a big part of the Epstein files, a pedophile, guilty of all Jack Smith testified to, and a dangerous lunatic.

We’re metaphorically in the last quarter, and it would be a great time for Congress to ensure team democracy prevails. Trump is in office for three reasons: Putin, Musk, and Thiel… Okay, Netanyahu is in the mix somehow. And there is a link between Epstein and Netanyahu; I believe they had joined forces to blackmail Trump. It wouldn’t be too crazy to assume Donald Trump is waging war because he’s panicking over the release of the Epstein files. The details of his part in the files are so bad that he’s willing to wage a war to distract us. He will kill civilians and soldiers to change the news headlines.

Trump launched an attack on Venezuela and kidnapped their leader on the date of the deadline set by Congress for the Department of Justice to explain all the redactions made in the Epstein files. That is no coincidence. He will burn down the world to keep his sins from being made public. Our next election is not until November. I don’t think we’ll last that long. The cheating preparation has begun. From gerrymandering to USPS postmark rule changes, and you know what Elon says: “You can hack anything.” If democracy prevails until the midterms, overcoming the cheating, then we will have three months from the election date until the new Congress is sworn in. It will not be a peaceful transition of power. Trump has shown us what he is capable of.

We need intervention now. Congress has the power to stop him. They need to hear from us. NOW. Trump has committed impeachable offenses. We need a nonpartisan agreement that they must restrain Trump from committing more violence to keep himself out of prison.

How to Contact Your Member of Congress:

1. Find Your Representative: Use house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative to find your House Representative, or senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htmfor your Senators.
2. Call Their Office: Call either their district office (usually closer to home) or their Washington D.C. office; staff will take messages to relay to the Member.
3. Use Online Tools: Websites like 5calls.org provide scripts and numbers to easily call your members on current issues. 

https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative#:~:text=The%20Find%20Your%20Representative%20service%20is%20provided%20as%20a%20public,to%20their%20representative%20in%20Congress.

https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm#:~:text=*%20Web%20contact%20forms%20are%20available%20on,senators’%20websites.%20*%20Postal%20Addresses.%20*%20Telephone.

Anyway, how about Da Bears? Will they have divine intervention because Da Pope is from Chicago? (I’m a native of Da Windy City, and I don’t think even God can help them.) My guess is Denver will get the ring this year. I don’t care, though… Like my mom says, “As long as everyone has fun.”