We Lost Together

Despite their bowl loss, Jackson State University under Head Coach Deon Sanders completed a fantastic season. The program brought national attention to the program, the university, and to its fans. The accolades were well deserved, and a close loss in the season final bowl game should not have tarnished what the players and their coaches accomplished. However, for some fans that was not the case at all.

According to media coverage after the game, some fans bombarded the Jackson State football player who dropped a touchdown pass in overtime with hate mail and death threats. Fan or not, how low can a person get? Is there no decency or humanity left in people these days? Good grief, when all is said and done, it is still a game. It is not a gladiator sport played with life and death consequences!

What kind of person would stoop so low as to send a young man – a kid – hate mail or a death threat over a dropped football? Enthusiasm over a sport/game is a good thing, especially when tempered with a little common sense, sense of reality, and decency. Unfortunately, common sense, reality, and decency too often take a backseat in today’s fan response to sports. Too many take it as a personal affront when their team loses, or a player makes a mistake.

When speaking to the young man, Coach Deon Sanders summed up the drop beautifully, “We go through adversity in everything. OK? That ain’t on you, that’s on us. We, we lost together, do you understand that?” The problem is too many fans fail to understand “that”, which is a sad commentary on our society.

Congratulations to the Jackson State football team, the university, and its thousands of loyal fans. However, shame on those who chose to vent their disappointment for the loss on a single player when as Coach Sanders said, “We, we lost together.” Hopefully, the young man will listen to his coach and ignore those who would demoralize a student athlete for something we all are guilty of from time to time – making a mistake.

JL

©Jack Linton, December 19, 2022