The NFL...and Ultrarunning

I have a hyperdeveloped sense of fair play, and never have cared for the New England Patriots (Steeler fan here, having grown up in western PA).  So the cheating scandal in 2007 that swirled around Patriot's head coach Bill Belichick merely reinforced my dislike for the team and the man.
 
I was just reminded again of the scandal by reading something in my local paper this week.  The sports section of my local paper (Chambersburg Public Opinion) carries a short blurb daily entitled “Say What?”, always humorous or thought-provoking. Here is the entry from a couple days ago, and sums up why the Patriots SUCK, forever and always:

 

“The longer Bill Belichick goes without winning a Super Bowl after the NFL put an end to his intricate spying operation, the more a case can be made that his championships deserve an asterisk.”  -- Gary Meyers, NY Daily News columnist.
 

The link to Ultrarunning (as I probably have said here before) is that the sport is relatively pure.  I don't personally know of a single participant who has cheated or would cheat.  And it's not just a matter of there not simply being any incentive for a middle-pack runner to cheat--I sincerely believe that even if there were some financial or other reward, the runners I know still would not do it.

Even if they were the only ones to know.  See, they pay attention to that still, small voice inside that tells you right from wrong (see related post here).

 

Things Ultrarunners Don't Do

Via CBS News:

New Orleans Saints players and at least one assistant coach maintained a bounty pool of up to $50,000 the last three seasons to reward game-ending injuries inflicted on opposing players, including Brett Favre and Kurt Warner, the NFL said Friday. "Knockouts" were worth $1,500 and "cart-offs" $1,000, with payments doubled or tripled for the playoffs.  The NFL said the pool amounts reached their height in 2009, the year the Saints won the Super Bowl.

The league said between 22 and 27 defensive players were involved in the program and that it was administered by defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, with the knowledge of coach Sean Payton.   

A long suspension or ban for Williams and head coach Payton would be appropriate, as a minimum.  Also seems to me like the Saints ought to forfeit their Lombardi trophy, not just for being evil but also for being stupid.

The article goes on to say that defensive coordinator Williams apologized for his role, saying:

"It was a terrible mistake, and we knew it was wrong while we were doing it."

We have that little small voice of conscience inside us, and the world would be a lot better if we heeded it.

 

Tebowed

Close on the heels of my Survivor rant the other day (here), here's another.  Some NFL players have long demonstrated apparent religious thanks/reverence in the end zone after a touchdown. 

The action is now officially referred to as "Tebowing," after the Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, who took the practice to new heights in college and now in the NFL.

Well, the photo above was the predictable result from a game on Sunday.

Quote from an article on the game piece (also the image credit, CNSNews.com): 

Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch celebrated his sack of Tebow by joining the "Tebowing" craze, striking a prayerful pose near the prone second-year quarterback in the first half.

Maybe--probably--you really shouldn't mock somebody's religion.  But some dark part of me appreciates the irony.