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Here are a few things to not let bother you
© St. Petersburg Times It's a good thing America is returning to normal. Otherwise it would be heartbreaking to see someone's mother or father, or son or daughter, using a bottle as a flying weapon because he was upset about a football game in Cleveland. Otherwise it would be repulsive to hear Browns owner Al Lerner and team president Carmen Policy blithely dismiss the mayhem by citing the cold weather, the game's outcome and the passion of fans. As if those were suitable excuses for committing potential acts of violence. Otherwise it would be infuriating that commissioner Paul Tagliabue showed the weakness of his convictions by demanding officials return to the field in dangerous conditions to complete the final meaningless minute. Otherwise it would be even more infuriating that Tagliabue passed up an opportunity to set a leaguewide precedent by declaring the game a forfeit in favor of the visiting team. Otherwise you would be inclined to condemn Jaguars defensive line coach John Pease, who showed the maturity of a child by taunting Cleveland fans and motioning for them to give him their best shot. Thank goodness America is returning to normal. Otherwise it might be shocking to discover that, in his first month back on the court, Bob Knight was called "the most arrogant, disrespectful and spoiled" person ever encountered by a longtime arena manager. Otherwise it would be difficult to see through, and accept, the greed and self-serving manner of baseball owners who demand blind loyalty from their fans and show absolutely zero in return. Otherwise it could rub you the wrong way when the commissioner of baseball goes before a congressional committee with a promise to open the sport's financial books and then has the gall to do a merengue around the truth. Meanwhile, an MLB attorney threatens legal action if the players union leaks the financial details the commissioner conveniently left at home. Otherwise it might make you question why Notre Dame officials were so frightened by the fibs George O'Leary told on his resume but had no qualms about an incident at Georgia Tech when, upset by a missed blocking assignment, the coach instructed four defensive players to line up and drill a helpless offensive lineman as a lesson. Doctors attended to the player on the ground for 15 minutes before he got up, walked off the field and never returned. Yes, it's a blessing America is getting back to normal. Otherwise you would have to ponder the unseemly words of Randy Moss, who said he plays his hardest only when the mood strikes him. It might make you think he felt no responsibility to a team that gave him a $75-million contract, that he felt no loyalty to teammates who work beside him every day and that he has only contempt for fans who cheer his name. Otherwise you would shake your head in disgust when told of Dan Issel's racially insensitive remark to a heckling fan. Or when you heard of the black basketball coach at Central State University who awoke one morning to find a sick individual had scratched a profanity and a racial slur on the hood of his son's car. Otherwise it would be terribly suspicious that, for the second time in five years, Colorado football recruits were entertained at a house party where an alleged sexual assault took place. Otherwise a cynic might look askance at the persistent, and anonymous, rumors of Bill Parcells coming to Tampa Bay and wonder whether the source was someone who was acting on behalf of the mercurial coach. So thank heaven America is returning to normal. Otherwise we might have retained a shred of the perspective gained some months ago. Otherwise we might have demanded our stars, our owners, our coaches, our fellow fans be held to a higher standard. Or any standard at all.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
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Times columns today Jan Glidewell John Romano Elijah Gosier |
