FAN Loyalty: More than just points and wins

Hey y'all it's your FAVORITE SportsGal IN THE BUILDIN'! I hope that I still have some followers even though I have definitely been slacking. Please forgive me.. With school behind me I have committed more to making sure that I post once a week if not more. Particularly after MNF, but today I had to post and YES this one will be about the Steelers, but not in the way you think.

Today/tonight I watched the Steelers play the Raiders.. My last time in Oakland for a Raiders game was when the Steelers came to town. The Raiders won and I STILL got harassed all the way to my friend's car. So going into this game I knew it was just going to be exciting.

   The game was beautiful, despite a Steelers loss, it was exciting all the way to the end. BUT here is where I begin my post:
     #29 Ryan Mundy collides helmet to helmet with Raiders player Heyward-Bey. Heyward-Bey lays on the ground for who knows how long, but long enough for the fans, the coaches, players and everyone watching the game to pause and pray.
 Commentators are worried about the fact that replacement refs didn't call a flag for the helmet to helmet and I am sitting here wondering what that matters in this moment. When you are staring at a player on his back, not moving, with medics surrounding him and worried about whether or not he's okay. While you are watching, you are looking for some sort of movement, a thumbs up, eyes open something and those seconds turn into minutes and into what seems like forever. In those seconds it's not about whether the right call was made, at least right away. It's about making sure the player that needs the love is getting it.
   In those minutes it's not about fault, because believe you me, the player who hit him is praying, pleading that he didn't just end another person's career, let alone life.
  In those moments that seem like forever fans across the country hold their breath, knowing that could have been one of their own.
   It's not the time to point the fingers, it's not the time to worry about who messed up. At that time it's OUR collective responsibility to make sure that the game we love does better at ensuring the safety of the people who put their lives and bodies on the line each Sunday to make sure that we get enjoyment out of what they do.
   Shortly after the game concluded, I was filtering through some fan pages that I follow and someone posted "It's not over, til it's over. I'm sure Goodell (as in Roger Goodell, as in NFL Commissioner) is going to pick his pocket for that one." EXCUSE ME! I am a Steelers fan, you know that. And yes I don't like to see bad calls or penalties against my team, but can I go back to something I said before, it's more than just entertainment. As fans we have to remember that more than just points and wins, we have to make sure our players are safe, or their won't be a game. Yeah maybe fining isn't the best thing to do, but when that money goes back into funds for players who have been injured, and funds to continue research on spinal injuries etc, I am not sorry that MY player is getting fined. Steelers fan or not a hit to the helmet is UNACCEPTABLE.. I like Mundy and I don't think that ANY player intends to lay someone out and put them in a hospital, but as a fan if you are just worried that "it's not over" because you think someone is going to get fined, YOU DON'T GET THIS LIFE!! 

People's lives are on the line EVERY time that whistle blows and until you watch someone you care about not get up, you won't get what that means... 

I think that as fans we have a responsibility for the game that we love to do a better job to petition EVERYONE involved in the NFL to do a better job of player safety. This means Refs (replacements or not) have to do a better job of controlling fights, they have to call the penalties and the flags, even if that means  it's against the team you like or love. The coaches and the players have to train better, teach themselves how to hit differently do what they need to do to make themselves play a game that is more sustainable, for their health while they play and their health after. The NFLPA and the NFLCA and all those involved in research etc, need to do a much better job at petitioning for swift moves that encourage player safety. And yes the fans, y'all are even responsible for not getting butt-hurt because your player is going to be "fined". How about if it was your player on that field, your friend, your family? At what point would you want to have "Goodell pick [their] pockets?"

Player Safety FIRST and FOREMOST! 

  To this I hope Heyward-Bey is okay... It's time we all take a knee and pause and remember it's bigger than those seconds and minutes.. Sometimes it's forever.