OPINION: NFL Opening Week A Reminder How Little Things Have Changed

Football returned this week, but Atlanta's problems still exist and it showed on Sunday

Cue the music.

"It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The Falcons are frustrating, Tom Brady is Brady and football is here. It’s the most wonderful time of the year!"

It’s not Christmas. It’s not a holiday season. It wasn’t normal. That’s not how it felt. It felt like that cookie you snuck into the cabinet to snag while your parents were asleep.

Admit it. If felt fun. It felt good. It gave us a tease of normal.

There was crowd noise during the NFL’s first Sunday of 2020, but there weren’t any fans present in Atlanta.

Many could argue there weren't any Falcons there, either, but we can save that discussion for another column.

Football was played on Sunday, but hospitals around the country were more crowed today than they were in March when COVID-19 collided with the sports world via Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz.

It felt a little inappropriate to be talking about the Falcons’ lack of defense or lack of offensive direction in the middle of one of the world’s most destructive pandemics.

It's not over, but COVID-19 was barely mentioned on the Falcons’ broadcast. The war on social injustice was mostly an afterthought as well, other than brief moments when players were shown wearing their "protest" statements. 

The problems of this summer haven’t been solved. They’ve only been ignored. 

This doesn’t feel good to say. We all know sports bring people together. We all hoped to huddle around our televisions as a nation to share in common hoots and hollers.

It hasn’t been that. Fans aren’t at at the games. COVID-19 is a political topic. The fight against social injustice has fallen from the headlines.

This is what we promised we wouldn’t do. As George Floyd’s death ignited protests and positive conversation around the nation, we seemed to be making progress.

Prior to July, we had hope of keeping people out of hospitals by fighting COVID-19 tooth and nail. 

Football players wanted justice for Floyd. They wanted change. They still do. 

The NFL is nearly 70 percent African American. The fight for racial justice hits home for many players who were on the field on Sunday, many of whom can empathize with the pain and suffering experienced by their home communities.

They asked the average Joe to mask up in June and July, so that they could put their shoulder pads and helmets on in September.

Instead, cases surged. That’s been the reality nearly everywhere. Instead of there being a shutdown, the league trudged ahead wholeheartedly.

I need to back up.

They trudged ahead without a preseason. Training camp was shorter. Games were sloppy on Sunday, the Falcons representing a perfect case study.

My question is, how football can be played safely without practice? The sport is as game-centric as it’s ever been.

Tackling in practice is nothing more than a thud, so preseason games are the first time many players even hit the ground.

I’ve played football. I can’t imagine walking from the lunch table into a game. It takes time to get used to being fallen on from behind.

Players have to practice planting their feet while having bodies all around them. It takes time to grow the numbness it takes to run smack-dab into another human being.

Let’s not stand on safety. Football isn’t safe. I tore my ACL, sprained my ankle at least six times, and I have a few joints that still pop. I only played high school football.

Back to my distraction point.

The booing during the moment of unity of the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans game on Thursday night was disheartening.

It was the greatest fear of those who were hesitant to begin sports in the first place. There are more important things to consider today.

America isn’t in a place to ignore its fault for a moment. The pandemic is rampant. Social injustice is still alive and well.

There are those that want to enjoy their sports. They refuse to respect the lives of those that play them. These athletes are risking their lives and the lives of their families to entertain the world.

The least the world could do is listen to them. 

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