{"id":248,"date":"2007-01-10T08:45:53","date_gmt":"2007-01-10T12:45:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.summerofjim.com\/2007\/01\/10\/he-played-the-game\/"},"modified":"2007-01-10T08:46:58","modified_gmt":"2007-01-10T12:46:58","slug":"he-played-the-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/?p=248","title":{"rendered":"He Played the Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although it was the Etruscans who first introduced gladiatorial games<\/em> to the civilized world, it would be the Romans who would give greatest expression to this form of entertainment.<\/em> <\/p>\n

The first record of gladiator combat<\/em> took place in 264 BCE.\u00a0 It was staged by Decimus Junius Brutus Scaeva to honor the death of his father.<\/p>\n

For the next 450 years gladiators would occupy the central stage of Roman cultrual entertainment.\u00a0 The contestants were recruited from the ranks of slaves, criminals, conquered peoples and Legionnaires… the warriors of <\/em>Rome<\/em>.\u00a0 They were pitted against each other in pairs, in combinations and\u00a0against animals.\u00a0 While injury and death were part and parcel of this activity, it was not the design to kill off prized property.<\/em><\/p>\n

That is what gladiators were… property.\u00a0 Property of wealthy free citizens of Rome.\u00a0 Gladiators would learn their craft in carefully organized and funded schools… learning their skills from retired <\/em>gladiators.\u00a0 They would be pampered… well fed, groomed… treated to wine and women.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

And on the day they entered the dusty ground of the Coliseum they would do so to a chorus of cheers.\u00a0 Admired for their physical form, admired for their bravery… shouts and cheers to feed the Roman lust for violence.<\/p>\n

Death was sometimes the end… and even to the survivors they would retreat to receive the best medical attention of the day, to prepare for future contests.<\/p>\n

The staged combat <\/em>in present day arenas and coliseums in the form of football bears striking similarities to gladiatorial combat<\/em> of legend and lore.<\/p>\n

Hard plastic and pad have replaced metal shield and helmet… and while death is ultimately rare, injury is not.\u00a0 And for 16 Sundays in the year, we gather as the Free Citizens of Rome did, to cheer and become rabid in our lust for violence.<\/p>\n

Perhaps we should expect the behavior of the contestants to mirror that of the citizenry.\u00a0 Here is a Free Citizen, fueled by copious amounts of beer, stripped to the waist in 25 degree weather, body painted half in red and half in blue, a clown wig in electric colours as well, shouting profanities & if necessary, to punctuate his opinion, hurling a container of his brew in the direction of an official of the game, or\u00a0at an opposing player…<\/p>\n

So no surprise when a player carries on in a similar vein.\u00a0 Mini demonstrations staged to satisfy the lust of the Free Citizens.<\/p>\n

But this is not Rome.\u00a0 Or so I tell my self.\u00a0 And the excesses of behavior, on and off the field,\u00a0are just that… excesses.\u00a0 And if you are going to show something on television, and then replay it… and then replay it again.\u00a0 What are you going to choose?\u00a0 Randy Moss scoring a TD and then standing in the endzone, pretending to drop his pants to moon <\/em>the Greenbay hometown crowd?\u00a0 Or perhaps we’ll replay Tiki Barber scoring a TD, picking himself off the turf and handing <\/em>the ball to the Official?\u00a0 What makes better entertainment<\/em>?<\/p>\n

How many times on ESPN do you think they replayed Moss’ moon?\u00a0 How many times do you think they replayed Barber giving the ball back to the Official?<\/p>\n

Maybe that’s why Tiki Barber’s retirement from the game of football will warrant little more than a blink from an audience that\u00a0applauds glitz and glitter… an audience that puts showmanship above sportsmanship.<\/p>\n

For those who don’t know me… I am a Colts fan of old… stretching back to the “Johnny U” days in Baltimore.\u00a0 But I have enjoyed following the good Giants teams under Parcells.\u00a0 Harry Carson and John Mendenhall were my favorites… and who could deny Lawrence Taylor’s excellence?<\/p>\n

But there are few players who I have enjoyed watching today more than Tiki Barber. Against my Colts he “touched” the ball 23 times: 18 times rushing the ball for 110 yds (a fat 6.1 average) and 5 receptions for another 61 yards.\u00a0 He finished fourth in the league in rushing.\u00a0 This year’s rushing champion and this year’s MVP, LaDainian Tomlinson (being hailed as a combination Michael Jordan\/Wayne Gretsky\/Tiger Woods) is an outstanding back\u00a0but his numbers this year weren’t as good as Tiki Barber’s last year.<\/p>\n

I am really sorry to see Tiki retire.\u00a0 He is such a good back.\u00a0 I loved watching him play.\u00a0 I loved his expression<\/em>… he loved to compete… he was proud <\/em>to compete.\u00a0 And if he took a good lick, he was quick to praise his adversary with a pat on the helmet.\u00a0 He played the sport pure.\u00a0 No chippiness.\u00a0 He respected <\/em>the sport, he respected<\/em> his teammates, he respected <\/em>his adversaries… he gave his all on every down.<\/p>\n

He played the game the way it was meant to be played.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Giants came up short against the Eagles in their bid to advance further in the play-offs.\u00a0 On\u00a0Tiki’s way back to the locker room for the last time, helmet in hand, baseball cap on his clean shaven head, Brian Dawkins, All-Pro Defensive Back for the Eagles\u00a0sought him out, shook his hand and paid him the ultimate acknowledgement of honor and respect, “You were a warrior.”<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/p>\n

HE PLAYED THE GAME<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although it was the Etruscans who first introduced gladiatorial games<\/em> to the civilized world, it would be the Romans who would give greatest expression to this form of entertainment.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first record of gladiator combat<\/em> took place in 264 BCE.\u00a0 It was staged by Decimus Junius Brutus Scaeva to honor the death of his father.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the next 450 years gladiators would occupy the central stage of Roman cultrual entertainment.\u00a0 The contestants were recruited from the ranks of slaves, criminals, conquered peoples and Legionnaires… the warriors of <\/em>Rome<\/em>.\u00a0 They were pitted against each other in pairs, in combinations and\u00a0against animals.\u00a0 While injury and death were part and parcel of this activity, it was not the design to kill off prized property.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

That is what gladiators were… property.\u00a0 Property of wealthy free citizens of Rome.\u00a0 Gladiators would learn their craft in carefully organized and funded schools… learning their skills from retired <\/em>gladiators.\u00a0 They would be pampered… well fed, groomed… treated to wine and women.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And on the day they entered the dusty ground of the Coliseum they would do so to a chorus of cheers.\u00a0 Admired for their physical form, admired for their bravery… shouts and cheers to feed the Roman lust for violence.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Death was sometimes the end… and even to the survivors they would retreat to receive the best medical attention of the day, to prepare for future contests.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The staged combat <\/em>in present day arenas and coliseums in the form of football bears striking similarities to gladiatorial combat<\/em> of legend and lore.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hard plastic and pad have replaced metal shield and helmet… and while death is ultimately rare, injury is not.\u00a0 And for 16 Sundays in the year, we gather as the Free Citizens of Rome did, to cheer and become rabid in our lust for violence.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Perhaps we should expect the behavior of the contestants to mirror that of the citizenry.\u00a0 Here is a Free Citizen, fueled by copious amounts of beer, stripped to the waist in 25 degree weather, body painted half in red and half in blue, a clown wig in electric colours as well, shouting profanities & if necessary, to punctuate his opinion, hurling a container of his brew in the direction of an official of the game, or\u00a0at an opposing player…<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

So no surprise when a player carries on in a similar vein.\u00a0 Mini demonstrations staged to satisfy the lust of the Free Citizens.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But this is not Rome.\u00a0 Or so I tell my self.\u00a0 And the excesses of behavior, on and off the field,\u00a0are just that… excesses.\u00a0 And if you are going to show something on television, and then replay it… and then replay it again.\u00a0 What are you going to choose?\u00a0 Randy Moss scoring a TD and then standing in the endzone, pretending to drop his pants to moon <\/em>the Greenbay hometown crowd?\u00a0 Or perhaps we’ll replay Tiki Barber scoring a TD, picking himself off the turf and handing <\/em>the ball to the Official?\u00a0 What makes better entertainment<\/em>?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

How many times on ESPN do you think they replayed Moss’ moon?\u00a0 How many times do you think they replayed Barber giving the ball back to the Official?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maybe that’s why Tiki Barber’s retirement from the game of football will warrant little more than a blink from an audience that\u00a0applauds glitz and glitter… an audience that puts showmanship above sportsmanship.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

For those who know me… I am a Colts fan of old… stretching back to the “Johnny U” days in Baltimore.\u00a0 But I have enjoyed following the good Giants teams under Parcells.\u00a0 Harry Carson and John Mendenhall were my favorites… and who could deny Lawrence Taylor’s excellence?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But there are few players who I have enjoyed watching today more than Tiki Barber. Against my Colts he “touched” the ball 23 times: 18 times rushing the ball for 110 yds (a fat 6.1 average) and 5 receptions for another 61 yards.\u00a0 He finished fourth in the league in rushing.\u00a0 This year’s rushing champion and this year’s MVP, LaDainian Tomlinson (being hailed as a combination Michael Jordan\/Wayne Gretsky\/Tiger Woods) is an outstanding back\u00a0but his numbers this year weren’t as good as Tiki Barber’s last year.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I am really sorry to see Tiki retire.\u00a0 He is such a good back.\u00a0 I loved watching him play.\u00a0 I loved his expression<\/em>… he loved to compete… he was proud <\/em>to compete.\u00a0 And if he took a good lick, he was quick to praise his adversary with a pat on the helmet.\u00a0 He played the sport pure.\u00a0 No chippiness.\u00a0 He respected <\/em>the sport, he respected<\/em> his teammates, he respected <\/em>his adversaries… he gave his all on every down.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

He played the game the way it was meant to be played.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Giants came up short against the Eagles in their bid to advance further in the play-offs.\u00a0 On\u00a0Tiki’s way back to the locker room for the last time, helmet in hand, baseball cap on his clean shaven head, Brian Dawkins, All-Pro Defensive Back for the Eagles\u00a0sought him out, shook his hand and paid him the ultimate acknowledgement of honor and respect, “You were a warrior.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although it was the Etruscans who first introduced gladiatorial games to the civilized world, it would be the Romans who would give greatest expression to this form of entertainment. The first record of gladiator combat took place in 264 BCE.\u00a0 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}