Football
Photo: NBC News On Saturday, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck announced his retirement from football. After seven successful seasons in the NFL, the toll on his body became insurmountable. He explained that he’d been caught in a “cycle of injury, pain and rehab,” which was “unrelenting, both in season and off season.” This is understandable. Over the course of his career, his injuries have included a torn cartilage in two ribs, a partially torn abdomen, a lacerated kidney, a concussion, a torn labrum in this…
Over the course of the past year or so, I’ve become increasingly angry at how the NFL treats players who kneel during the national anthem and/or who speak out against police brutality and systemic racism. By NFL, I mean everyone from Roger Goodell and the franchise owners to a loud faction of the fan base that is predominately white, nationalist-leaning and, in some cases, overtly racist. A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about my frustration. I was prompted to do so when…
Last week, the Seattle Seahawks canceled a planned meeting with Colin Kaepernick. My understanding is that the purpose of the meeting was for Kaepernick to work out with the team and to discuss potential opportunities with the franchise. However, according to reports, Seahawks management called off the meeting when Kaepernick would not disclose his plans for future off-field activities and also refused to say if he would continue to kneel during the national anthem. A day after the cancellation was reported, the Seahawks signed Stephen…
Dear Richard, It’s not like I didn’t know it was coming. It had been all over social media and sports radio for days. Still, when the official news broke, it hit me like a sledgehammer. I was at my desk at work and lost my breath for a moment. My gut knotted up. I was expecting it, but it still felt so surreal. The next day, you signed the deal with the 49ers. Any lingering hope that you might come back to the Seahawks was…
Technically, football season isn’t over until after the Super Bowl. But for me it came with the Seahawks' crushing loss to the Cardinals at home on New Year’s Eve. Sure, I watched the playoffs. But the off-season blues had already started to kick in. Transitioning into the off-season is always a dreary ordeal for me, especially this year as my team didn’t even get into the playoffs. (I mean. I can’t even. WTF?) The first few Sundays are always particularly gloomy. I wake up in…
I’ve spent the past week or so shuffling around aimlessly, discombobulated and adrift since the Seahawks' season ending lost to the Arizona Cardinals on New Year’s Eve. My beloved and mighty Seahawks did not make the playoffs this year. The last time they missed the playoffs was 2011. It’s a hard truth to square with. As such, it’s taken me a little time to snap out of my gloomy disappointment and organize my thoughts for this post. It was a tough season. It didn’t help…
Last Sunday afternoon, I did the unthinkable: I turned off the Seahawks game. They were playing the Jaguars, and it was close to the end of the third quarter. I couldn’t take it anymore. It wasn’t a matter of turning it off in anger and disgust at the way they were playing. It was an act of self-preservation. It was too painful. I couldn’t watch them implode anymore. I got put in my shoes and grabbed my coat. In the haste of the moment, I…
-Getty Images Last week, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman was injured in an ugly Thursday Night Football game against the Arizona Cardinals. My friend Nate and I watched the game at a little sports bar in West Seattle and saw the play and the injury. The visual of my hero crumpled on the field was upsetting. A chill ran through me, but I still held out hope that the injury was not significant. However, as I was driving home that night…
It’s the second week of the National Football League season. As I gaze out across the vast expanse of football fandom and traverse the wild terrain of posts, comment threads and Tweets, I’ve made a striking observation: There are some fans that are unhappy with their team’s offense. In particular, they’re unhappy with the offensive line. Seriously. It's a thing. And for some poor souls, this is causing significant stress, anxiety and displeasure. It’s disrupting their thoughts and poking at their fundamental sense of well-being.…
I don’t have to tell you that it’s ugly out there. We’re engaged in a dark battle over what this country is and what it will be. While this conflict is rooted deeply in our history, it was harshly exacerbated during the 2016 presidential election and continues to rage. What started in social media threads and on cable news has now spilled into the streets as violence and bloodshed. Two factions. Two very different views of what it means to be American. Tangled up in…
