It’s not earth-shattering to say that sports has been used
as an escape by people who get comfort in viewing life on the
simplistic terms of win or lose.
Coaching or playing in a football game is not brain surgery.
And maybe that’s the wonderful thing about it, you know,
getting to put away all your mental gymnastics and spend an
afternoon watching some bullish physical feats. The speed and power
of football is mesmerizing.
But the point to be made is that with all the scrutiny athletes
and coaches face from fans and the media, it’s tough to draw
the line between what is being passionate about sports and what is
being clinically insane.
The Northern Colorado punting fiasco this season has reminded us
that the line certainly exists.
For those not privy to the situation, this story might reset the
standard for moral idiocy.
For those of you who do know about it, you pay close enough
attention to college football to understand the danger of taking
sports too seriously.
On Monday, Mitchell Cozad, the backup punter for Northern
Colorado turned himself into Greeley, Colorado authorities and
posted $500,000 bail for the attempted murder of Rafael Mendoza,
the first-string punter for UNC.
Mendoza was stabbed in his kicking leg outside his apartment on
Sept. 11, suffering a three to five-inch puncture wound by a man
wearing a black piece of cloth to hide his face. The Evans police
later arrested Cozad, who cited a chance to get more playing time
as the motive. Apparently, Cozad just wanted to get a leg up on the
competition.
After the arrest, Cozad was suspended from attending classes and
participating in games by school officials.
The irony of the whole mess is that UNC has a Division IAA
football program wasting away in obscurity, so it’s not as if
Cozad was risking his chance at a professional career by sitting on
the bench.
Even worse (or better, depending on your outlook) UNC brought in
a third-stringer to assume punting duties while Mendoza was
hurt.
Mendoza has returned to the team and averaged a career-high 47.8
yards on 10 punts, including a career-best 75-yarder in a loss to
Eastern Washington.
Meanwhile, Cozad’s trial for attempted murder is pending,
and the Greeley Police Department is still looking for an
accomplice to this pathetic event.
For those who fall into the tritely called category of
“die-hard sports fan,” this incident gets added to a
very special list. Cozad now finds his name alongside Tanya Harding
and Todd Bertuzzi ““ people who resorted to criminal behavior
because they were unable to put a sports game in perspective.
It seems like a waste of print, but let’s just get it out
of the way: It’s just a game.
At its most poignant, a sports event can raise spirits for a
brief pocket of time, but soon after the people make their way
through the turnstiles, all the relevance of everyday life
remains.
It would be easy to condemn Cozad or any other Neanderthal drawn
from the same clothe, but his repugnant act is truly a
blessing.
Every once in a while we are lucky to be given a gift. Someone
commits an act of sheer stupidity that reminds us that maybe a
sporting event isn’t all that big of a deal.
And let’s thank these people, for if we didn’t have
their egregious act we wouldn’t be reminded of what can
happen to a human mind when it rots from a diet of World Series of
Poker reruns and fantasy NHL leagues.
In the end, the UNC punting horror show could be the most
uplifting story of the 2006 collegiate football season. Mendoza
recovered from the injury and regained his job, so there’s no
harm there.
The hope is that Cozad’s act will loosen up the entire
culture of sports fandom.
If it can save just one life, then it’s all worth it.